—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 2,1971
10
Keep Harvest Losses Down
It’s harvest time again for the impor
tant corn crop and other late crops.
Farmers who have carefully followed
all the best management practices through
the season in an effort to get top yields
should not overlook the harvest itself as a
possible yield reducer.
Our reports indicate, for instance, that
as much as 15 bushels per acre of corn can
be left in the field because of improper
harvesting practices.
Clifford M. Hardin, U. S. Secretary of
Agriculture, recently noted that soybean
producers leave an average of one bushel
out of every 10 of soybeans in the field, at a
cost nationally of more than $350 million a
year. Hardin stated that two-thirds of this
loss can be avoided.
A 15 per cent harvest loss can mean as
much as 10 to 20 bushels per acre of corn
left unharvested in the local area. When we
Danger is never far away from the
farmer who is constantly operating equip
ment.
Danger is particularly near during rush
periods when the farmer is working long
hours, gets in a hurry, and is tired. Such a
time is now, during the harvest season.
The combination of long hours and hard
work leads to both carelessness and slower
reflexes. This can be fatal.
On Blackbirds, a Modern Pest
A few years ago, Alfred Hitchkok, with
his uncanny ability to project the borders
of reality, made a hit with a movie called
“Birds.”
Alfred Hitchkok’s blackbirds were ex
tremely numerous, to the point that there
seemed to be no end to them. Now, people
are increasingly finding that hordes of
blackbirds are not just a movie man’s
dream.
Nearly everone is familiar with the
great flocks of blackbirds which fly over
head from time to time. They literally
darken the sky and it takes quite a bit of
time for the whole flock to pass over.
Hitchkok’s birds, unlike the birds we
know, became very aggressive, attacking
man and becoming a threat to man’s very
survival. The blackbirds we know are not
attacking individual persons, but they are
becoming an increasing threat to his agri
cultural economy.
The Pennsylvania Department of Agri
culture recently issued an item quoting
Lauree Crom, a Crawford County dairy
farmer, on the farmer’s problems with red
winged blackbirds. He said the birds ruined
two-thirds of his 75-acre corn crop at an
estimated loss of $4,000.
Croip, who was urging that something
be done to prevent such damage and to
compensate farmers for the loss, said car
bide cannons which fire intermittently are
LANCASTER FARMING
Lancaster County’s Own Farm Weekb
P. O. Box 266 - Lititz, Pa. 17543
Office: 22 E Main St., Lititz, Pa. 17543
Phone: Lancaster 394-3047 or Lititz 626-219)
Robert G. Campbell, Advertising Directoi
Zane Wilson, Managing Editor
Subscription price; $2 per year in Lancastei
County; $3 elsewhere
Established November 4,1955
Published every Saturday by Lancastei
Farming, Lititz, Pa.
Second Class Postage paid at Lititz, Pa
17543.
Member of Newspaper Farm Editors Assn.
Pa. Newspaper Publishers Association, and
National Newspaper Association
Be Safe at Harvest Time
consider that Lancaster County has nearly
150,000 acres of corn, the potential size of
the harvest loss becomes staggering.
In commenting on the soybean loss, Sec
retary Hardin pointed out that with the
typical production of 30 bushels of soybeans
per acre, the loss is usually about three
bushels per acre. If two-thirds of the loss is
saved through improved soybean harvest
managemtn, it could mean a saving of $6
or more an acre.
Similar or even greater savings can be
achieved on many local corn fields. Making
sure that the harvesting equipment is
properly adjusted and working smoothly,
that the crop is harvested at the proper
time, that the equipment is operated at the
proper speed and other simple, but es
sential, management practices will be
amply rewarded at harvest time.
There’s usually a rash of serious farm
accidents both during the spring planting
rush and the fall harvest rush.
Keep this in mind during the harvest
season. A deliberate effort to be safe, es
pecially when the hours are long and the
work is hard, can be among the farmer’s
most important jobs in the next several
weeks.
no help. “Those black babies just love to
roost on the cannons,” he said.
It doesn’t take much imagination to see
what large flocks can do when they settle
into a farmer’s corn or grain field. What
these birds lack in size they make up in
numbers.
While some species of birds are en
dangered by man, the blackbirds are one of
those species which thrives on the man
made environment. Deer and many species
of ducks, so long as they are not over
hunted, also thrive and are reported to be
more abundant than ever before.
Many of the prospering species seem
to have one thing in common they pros
per at the farmer’s expense. Actually, much
of the wildlife feed provided by farmers
is no direct cost to farmers, since much of
the feed is in the form of grain and corn
left on the field from inefficient harvesting.
Few farmers, we feel sure, will be
grudge wild animals and birds a small
share of their crops. Squirrels, racoons,
deer and many species of birds have tradi
tionally shared in the bounty of the farm.
But the modern farm scene, which has
seen declining populations in many rural
areas, the development of large acreages
harvested by large machinery, and other
developments have resulted in a situation
where the food available to animals and
birds has increased at the same time pres
sure by people has decreased.
Some species, such as blackbirds, have
found these conditions ideal and have multi
plied to the point where they are a threat
to their human benefactors.
It now appears that the blackbird must
soon join an already long list of pests, such
as corn rootworm and Japanese beetle and
hundreds more, which farmers must control
m order to continue to feed the nation.
While the breeding of corn and grain
varieties with maximum resistance to bird
damage would appear to be a partial and
temporary solution, it would appear that
blackbirds lack the natural predators which
will keep their populations under control.
Direct action by man to reduce blackbird
populations will almost certainly be needed
in the future to keep blackbirds from be
coming much more numerous and a far
greater menace to our own food supply.
NOW IS
THE TIME..
By Mat Smith
Lancaster County Agent
TO RESPECT
FLY-FREE DATE
Winter wheat, continues to
receive considerable acregge in
many parts of the country.
Growers are reminded that the
Hessian Fly is still a problem
with most varieties available at
this time; for several years it was
regarded that Redcoat was fly
resistant, but according to the
experiences of 1971, we suggest
that this variety not be classified
as fly resistant. The recognized
fly free date for Southeastern
Pennsylvania is around October
10, or after the first killing frost.
This means that wheat for grain
purposes should not be planted
before this time.
TO MANAGE
HERD CAREFULLY
Dairymen are reminded of the
danger of grass-flavored milk
when the milking herd is grazed
on alfalfa or clover at this time of
the year. This lush growth of
legumes should be handled
similar to the early growth of the
spring. Cows should be grazed on
the area after the milking period
and removed from the forage for
at least four hours before the next
milking period. Also, freshly
chopped forage or com silage
should be fed after the herd is
milked rather than prior to the
milking period. Milk flavor and
quality must be good in order to
prevent rejections and loss of
milk prices. Garlic infested
WRONG NUMBER?
Lesson for October 3,1971
Background Scripture* Exodus 3:1-20,
2 Timothy 1 8-9
Devotional Reading Mark 2 13-17
Have you ever noticed how
often it seems that God makes
some poor choices in the people
whom he calls for leadership’
Frequently he selects precisely
the kind of persons that you and
I would ignore or reject if the de
cision were ours.
Sometimes we
can’t understand
how God could
exercise such poor
judgement.
A case in point
was the man
named Moses He
seemed the least
„ .... likely candidate
Rev. Althouse ], ecome the
leader who would successfully
lead the people of Israel out of
Egypt He had started out well
enough, for though he had been
born a Hebrew, a “lucky break”
caused him to be raised in the
palace by the Pharaoh’s daughter.
Brought up as an Egyptian noble,
he had all the benefits of the cul
ture and education of the royal
court. These bright prospects,
however, were thrown away with
a senseless, violent act.
The tragic disappointment
Many years later this tragic
failure is confronted by God in a
mystical experience and in his
awe, asks: “Whom am I .... ?’
pastures should not be grazdd by
the milking herd; we notice .‘that
the fall growth of garlic has
already developed and dairymen
should be aware of this milk
quality threat.
TO RODENT-PROOF
CORN STORAGE
Corn picking time is ap
proaching and many cribs and
storage bins will be filled to
capacity. The damage done by
rats is enormous on too many of
our farms. This is expecially true
when normal storage cribs will
not hold the crop and piles of corn
are placed on the barn floor or
other temporary places. When
cold weather arrives, rodents will
come looking for a home for the
winter; these open grain storage
places is inviting to them and
soon the rat population will in
crease. Hardware cloth or other
metal shields may be used on
normal storage cribs and the
open storages should be fed out as
soon as possible. Good sanitation
about the premises will help keep
down the rat population along
with pdison bait stations. Broken
concrete floor or walks and loose
stone or black walls are good
nesting places for rats and should
be repaired before cold weather
arrives. Rodents carry disease as
well as destroy or damage
valuable feed grains. We urge all
farmers and property owners to
wage war on them and make
every effort to eliminate all rats
and mice.
There were a number of answers
that might have occurred to us:
—the murderer of an Egyptian
slave-master
—a fugitive from Egyptian
justice
—a simple Midianite shepherd
—an eighty year-old “has-been”
—a descendant of Abraham who
knows little, if anything, of Ab-
raham’s God.
Surely this is not the man for the
job! Perhaps God has gotten a
wrong number!
This same thought occurred to
Moses too. He too could not be
lieve that God wasn’t giving the
message to the wrong man. “Who
am I that I should go to Pharaoh,
and bring the sons of Israel out
of Egypt” (Exodus 3:11). It was
a good question, but Moses would
find that God could always matcn
a good question with a good
answer.
I will be with you
Actually, Moses had asked the
wrong question. Instead of ask
ing, “Who am I”, the real ques
tion was “Who are you’” It is not
because of who Moses is, but who
God is that the task can be per
formed. “I will send you” and “I
will be with you” he is assured.
The success of this mission will
not rest upon the power of Moses,
but upon the power of God. All
that Moses will have to do is to
hear the call and respond to it.
But why Moses?
For one thing, Moses had
“turned aside to see this great
sight.” If he had ignored the
burning bush, if he had refused
to listen to God’s voice, he would
not have received the call. Fur
thermore, Moses not only “turned
aside,” but he accepted the chal
lenge and thus God was vindica
ted in his choice of this man
whom we would likely have re
garded as a “wrong number.”
(Sasod on outlines copyrighted by tho
Division of Christian Education, National
Council of tho Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
Released by Community Press Strvico.)