VOL. 10 NO. 23
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GERALD SNAVELY, LITITZ Rl, glances back briefly as he heads down the
field planting part of his 126-acre corn crop. He has used wheel track planting
a minimum tillage technique for the past eight years. In this practice, a seed
bed is fitted in plowed land by the action of the tractor wheels and an extra
wheel mounted in front of the planter. This is the first year Snavely has used a
four-row planter. The offset effect that he managed by his hitching arrangement
can be seen from the angle of this picture. “It’s the little refinements in equip
ment and in technique which makes this practice work,” ’Jerry tells us.
Grumbling, Cloister
FFA Chapter, Wins
Area Land Contest
Kenneth Giumlbling of Stev
ens Rl, a junior class mem
ber of the Cloister FFA Chap
ter of Ephrata High School,
topped the field in the York-
Lan'easter area land judging
contest held this week at the
Susquehannock High School,
Glen Rock, York County. He
was one of four Cloister mem
bers placing in the top ten.
This- was Grumbling’s first
jear in competition in land
judging. In fact, he had no
experience in Land judging
prior to this year’s course in
vocational agriculture. When
asked-by teacher Lewis Ay
ers how he managed to do so
well, he replied that he studi
ed very hard over last week
end in preparation for the
contest!
Runner-up was Eichlard
Smith from the Solaneo FIFA
Chapter.
This contest serves as a fi
nal examination for the top
hoyis taking the land judging
unit in their vo-ag programs.
(Continued on Page 4)
Farm Calendar
May 10 Fulton Grange #66
will host Granges of Lan
caster County at Oakryn
720 pm Soil and Water
Conservation District Di
rectois at County Court
House.
May 111 10 am to 3 p.«n.
DHlAmemiber tour of dairy
(barn (remodeling and ex
pansion; starts at Jay Gar-
Iber farm, Lancaster R 6
6 pjn. Garden Spot 4hH
IComtounity Olu'b at Smoke
(Contmued on Page 12)
Governor Scranton Dedicates New
Pennsylvania Agriculture Building
From the seat of a tractor
Governor William Scranton
cut the rihlbon in a dedica
tion ceremony “officially”
opening the 'Pennsylvania De
partment of Agriculture’s new
building
'The Governor told the
group assembled for the cere
mony that “seventy years ago
the Department of Agricul
ture was founded in the be
lief it could help assure us
an adequate food supply and
help many of our people elim
inate some of the slavery and
drudgery then prevalent in
farming.
“Seventy years ago in its
little one room headquarters
in the old iOapitol Building,
THE NEW PENNSYLVANIA AGRICULTURE BUILDING WAS DEDICAT
ED BY GOVERNOR WILLIAM SCRANTON this week in a ribbon-cutting cere
mony which featured the Governor on a tractor. The building has been in use
since last December 16, and is the official home of the Pa. Dept, of Agriculture.
The one-story, connected building on the right rear is a laboratory extension and
greenhouse.
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 8, 1965
the 'Department was and
stall is today a pait of
government intended as a
seivlce for the people
“Today we stand on the
thieshold of both a new budd
ing and a new era in this
NEW Pennsylvania,” the Gov
ernor proclaimed.
According to Pennsylvania
Secretary olf Agriculture Le
land H Bull, the new build
ing, in use since last Decelm
ber 16, has enabled his de
partment; to exlpanid its vari
ous services to the general
public For example, use of
the conference facilities by
an increasing number of farm
organizations confirms the
(Continued on Page 6)
Jerry Snavely Saves Soil
And Tillage Costs With
WheelT rack Corn Planting
Eight yeais ago, Jerry
Snavely was a sophomoie in
high school He chanced to
lead a college reseaach pa
pei on wheel track planting,
and felt that the method
might be piactical for open
ing up some of the fields for
continuous coin on the 175-
acre home farm
“The equipment was pretty
primitive that first year. The
method was so new there was
nobody around to ask about
the details so we just had to
figure it out as we went
along,” Snavely recalled. Us
ing pictures and a sketchy
understanding of the principle
involved, he developed a two
row planter and adapted a
30-year-old CaterpiUe<r tractor
to pull it by adding a three
point hitch They managed
to plant 40 acies in corn by
wheel-track that first year
The farm nOiw has 126 acres
L. F. Photo.
Special Meeting Will
Launch Youth S & W
Conservation Projects
A special meeting on the
4-H Soil and Water Conserva
tion Project bias been set for
Thuisday, May 13, at the Farm
Bureau Bldg, in Lancaster, ac
cording to Winth'rop Mernam,
associate county agent.
The program is open to any
present 4 J H Club member, or
any other young person of
4-H Club age. There are no
restrictions regarding place of
residence. Farm, rural-non
farm, and urban youngsters
may take part.
At Thursday’s meeting the
conservation project will be
thoroughly explained, record
books will be distributed, and
the awards program outlined.
(Continued on Page 12>
$2 Per Year
in continuous corn, and Suave
ly becomes moie sold on the
“new” method each year.
Although yield has in
creased each year, with the
exception of last year, Snave
ly feels this advantage is
leally secondary. The mam
advantages come from re
duced tillage costs, which he
estimates at about a $5 sav
ings per acre, and from a re
duction in soil erosion. He
also noted that the soil tilth
and water-holding capacity
have steadily imfproved.
•The Snavely farm does not
contain much limestone soil;
most of it is Berks shaley
silt loam Accoiding to coun
(Continued on Page 5)
Vo-Ag Teachers
Plan For County
Institute Days
At their regular monthly
meeting held this week in the
Warwick High School, _ the
county teachers of vocational
agriculture made plans for
pai ticipation in the County
Institute Days to ,be held! next
Fall The tiwo-day meeting
will he general the first day,
and Ibreak up into special in
terest gioups the second day.
The agriculture section will
be held from 8 30-11 ,- 30 aim.
on the second dlay.
A committee Was named
(Continued on Page 6)
Ivanhoe Dau.
Gains National
HIR Prominence
A Registered Holstein cow
owned by Sinking Springs
Farms, 'lnc, York, hlas en
tered the select teir'cle of na
tional and state leaKJers on
Dairy Herd 'lmprovement
Registry test
Holstein-Frifesian Associa
tion of America reports that
Sinking Springs Twain Bright
(VG) has completed the
fouitb highest official nation
al milk record made toy a
Junior threte-year-old milked
two times daily in the 365-
(Continued on Page 4)
Weather Forecast
Temperatures for the five
day period, Saturday through
Wednesday, are expected to
average above the normal of
73 degrees high and 49 low.
It will be generally warm
throughout, but will become
cooler about mid-week.
Precipitation is expected
to total more than Vz inch.
This will occur as showers
on Saturday and again on
Tuesday.