AGRICULTURAL AND
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES LIBRARV
VOLr. 12 NO. 18
Adding Heat In Tobacco
Shed May Be Profitable;
Management Holds Key
by Bon Timmons
Pr e 1 i mi nary findings from
three yeais of tentative studies
shew that the addition of arti
ficial heat in the tobacco shed
may aid in curing, tobacco,
whether or not the process is
profitable depends to a great
extent on management
This Was the way John Yo
cum “described the current find
ings this week to this reported
Yocum, superintendent of the
Petal Stai« University * South
eastern Pennsylvania Field Re
search Laboratory near Landis
viQe, reported on the study
done on the 1966 tobacco crop
on the- fai m of .cooperator Jay
RoJtrer at Manheim R 2
■ Hohrer generally plants about
14 acres of tobacco each -year,
in- with PSU r - he
harvested _fiye < -acres of- Penn
- BeHJg between -September -2
and 13. This was hung: in a
shed which was divided by a
fioor-to-ceiling plastic barrier.
Three acres of tobacco .were
hung on the heated side, and
two acres on the unheated side
Farmers Warned On Land Grab
Sl River Basin Compact Problems
More than 100 members of
- the Lancaster County Farmers’
Association Thursday mght at
the Strasburg Fire Hall heard
some sharp criticism and words
of warning on pending legisla-
tive matters
Speaking at the group’s an-
nual spring meeting, Hollis Hat-
field, administrative secretary
of the Pennsylvania Farmers’
Association, labeled Senate Bill
253 as “the lowest level of land
stealing ever seen”
It would authorize the Be-
partments of Forests & Wa-
ters, Agriculture, and county
governments to acquire land
for open spaces by the power
of eminent domain, he de
clared.
"We already have enough
agencies with this power; we
don’t need any more,” Hat
field said He added-that State
Farm Calendar
Apnl 3 630 pm., annual
spring banquet of Honey
Producers & Fruit Growers
Assns., at Meadow Hills Din
ing House.
April 4 730 pm, all 4-H
Tractor Maintenance Club
members tour at New Hol
land Machine Co baler plant,
New Holland.
8 p.m., Solanco Holstein
dub at Solanco High School
agriculture room.
- 8 p.m.,' Ephrata Adult
Farmers Plan & Fun night
at Ephrata High School
April '5 8 a.m., -Lancaster
- (Combmued;on Page-9)
SHOWS LOSS
Although heating three-fifths
1 of a tobacco shed yielded cost
1 figures showing a loss ol $36.58
per -acre treated, Yocum said
the study indicates the value of
continuing the work next year
“We realize from this year’s
effort that there is a point be
yond which you can’t econom
ically go in supplementing- to
bacco curing,” Yocum -said. He
went on to explain that, in the
R-ohrer- shed, this year, they
kept- running the gas -heaters
in an attempt to-cure the Jast
two or three, immature leaves
on the stalks Whether or not
they would have succeeded will
never toe known since a cold
snap m early November caught
them with the heaters off, and
the last leaves were lost any
-way. - -
> Y p,c u m implied the study
-might-well have -shown a prof
it for heat if they hadn’t wast
ed gas in trying to get those
last few leaves cured.
BREAK-EVEN POINT
The loss of $36.58 per acre
(Continued on Page 8)
Agriculture Secretary Leland
H Bull has the power to “kill
this bill” if he desires At the
very least. Hatfield suggested,
Bull would have the right to
withdraw his department from
such an arrangement
BIGGEST PROBLEM
Hatfield described the Sus
quehanna River Basin Compact
as “the hottest issue of our
time’’
(Continued on Pace 16)
- SEEN AT THE SPRING MEETING of the Lancaster County Farmers’ Asso
ciation Thursday night were, from left: Gleam- D. Thrasher, representing National
Live Stock, and Meat Board;-Hollis Hatfield, administrative secretary of PFA; and
-County Farmers’ -Assn;--president NoahrW eager. , . L. F. Photo
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 1,1967
EXAMINING EFFECTS OF SUPPLEMENTAL, heat on leaf quality are jay
Rohrer, left, and John Yocum. Yocum supervised the project designed to test for
economic advantages to tobacco growers from adding artificial heat during the
natural curing -process. This photo was t-aken-on-Januiary 31st in -Rohxer’s -tobacco
cellar. - L. F. Photo
4-H Tractor Clubs
Plan Tour& Roundup
Dates for the annual tour
and roundup for all Lancaster
County 4-H tractor maintenance
clubs were announced this
week by associate county agent
Wmthrop Men lam.
TOUR
The tour is scheduled for
Tuesday evening April 4. Mem
bers and their, fathers are in
vited on a trip through the
baler assembly plant of the New
Holland Machine Company at
New Holland
All members who are inter
ested should meet in the lobby
oi the baler assembly plant at
730 pm, Mernam noted One
(Continued on Page 10)
F & H Foundation Meets With Farm
Leaders To Plan $lOO,OOO Campaign
Two dinner meetings were
held this week between leaders
and officers of the county’s 40
farm organizations and direct
ors of the Lancaster County
Farm & Home Foundation.
The objective, as developed
at a recent directors’ meeting,
was to enlist the support of
farm people through their or
ganizations in completing the
fund raising campaign for the
Lancaster County Farm &
Home Center now under eon
struction
According to fund-rusing
committee co-chairman LeviH
Brubaker, the balance needed
$2 Per Year
is $140,000 It is hoped that
$lOO,OOO of this amount will be
raised from farmers, Iby fann
ers. thus eliminating the ex
pense of enlisting professional
fund-raising assistance
RESPONSE GOOD
Response by the farm lead
ers to the directors’ meeting
was excellent Brubaker report
ed. with 55 leaders attending
the March 27th meeting at the
Quarrvville Methodist Church,
and 70 others at Hostetter’s
Dining Hall in Mount Joy on
the 29th
ELMER ESBENSHADE
REMEMBERED
At the March 21st directors*
meeting, the board passed a
resolution noting their appreci
ation to Elmer L Esbenshade
for his generous contributions
to the community and to the
(Continued on Page 9)
Food And Drug
Sets Tolerances
For DDT
The Food & Drug Adminis
tration established tolerances
for residues of the pesticide
DDT in milk and milk products
at levels recommended by a
scientific advisory committee.
The tolerances will permit
DDT residues of up to 005
parts per million in whole milk
and 125 parts per million on a
milk-fat basis in manufactured
dairy products. These maxi
mum residue levels apply to
DDT. its chemical degradation
products DDD and DDE, or any
combination of the three, PDA
said.
Both the advisory committee,
(Continued on Page 14)