—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 19. 1972
10
County farmers should stop and take a
good look at the conservation needs for
their individual farms.
Do these gutters in the corn field con
tinue year after year and are some of them
impossible to cross with the corn-picker?
Does surface water come rushing through
the barnyard during heavy rams carrying
ma nu re and sediment i nto nearby strea ms ?
If this is happening on your farm, maybe a
change is needed.
Frank Lucas, with the U. S Soil Con
servation Service in Lancaster, says that
soil erosion is a dominant problem on most
of the sloping, well drained land in Lan
caster County.
Lucas further states that soil erosion is
something to cope with today, not next
month.
Soil develops slowly. It is estimated that
nature needs from 300 to 1,000 years to
build an inch of soil. A single storm can
remove more than this amount from an
area that is poorly managed or protected.
Once this soil is washed away it is gone
forever.
Soil erosion can also mean money out of
your pocket and pollution to nearby
streams The soil leaving the farm carries
play nutrients, pesticides, herbicides and
other chemical pollutants. It has been
estimated that each ton of soil per acre
carries approximately $2 worth of plant
nutrients This figure could be higher
Don’t Buy and Plant Weed Seeds
Recent news releases from the
University of Maryland point out
something about which farmers should
alway remain alert
It’s the need to deal with reliable seed
firms and to make sure that top quality
seed is always used, no matter what the
crop
In one release states that various
Matyland governmental agencies acted to
stop the sale of Ohio Certified oats which
were contaminated by the noxious weed
Quackgrass The firm selling the seed was
fined $5OO plus court costs
More than 300 stop sale actions were
taken in Maryland in the past year on over
1 000 seed lots involving nearly a quarter
of a million pounds of seed One Maryland
offic-al stated. “Imagine what planting this
seed over the state could have done to our
weed problem ’’
Another Maryland news item refers to a
“furor in seed trade circles” resulting from
“heavy infestation of sorghum and Sudan
grass seed with seed from a Johnson grass
type plant
The report goes on to note that the
Maryland Crop Improvement Association
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Erosion Still Big Problem
where large amounts of fertilizer are ap
plied each year.
According to Lucas, one ton of soil loss
per acre annually is not excessive as many
county soils can safely stand a loss of three
to four tons per acre annually without
harming productivity.
Soil erosion on Lancaster County’s
farmlands can be reduced by following
conservation practices such as farming on
the contour, no-till farming, contour strip
cropping and establishing grass waterways
so that surface water can flow off the farm
safely. Diversion terraces and cropland
terraces can be constructed across the
field to reduce the length of slopes and to
carry water off the field without erosion.
Experiments have shown that cropland
terracing can reduce soil loss as much as
85 per cent as compared to straight row
farming.
Lucas says that the Soil Conservation
Service, Room 4, Farm and Home Center,
Lancaster, can assist county farmers in
establishing erosion control practices, but
the request for assistance must be
initiated by the farmer.
More and more farmers are coming to
recognize that conservation pays. If your
farm is not among the approximately one
third of local farms which have been
treated for conservation, now’s a good time
to get started.
has already joined its Delaware coun
terpart in withdrawing recommendations
on all varieties of sorghum and Sudan grass
seed And county Extension agricultural
agents in both states have been instructed
to advise farmers not to plant any sorghum
or sudan grass seed in 1972. Virginia
agricultural leaders are expected to follow
a similar procedure, while North Carolina
officials have instituted an emergency
germination testing program through
which all samples of sorghum and sudan
grass seed must pass in order to be ap
proved Finally, the Maryland Agricultural
Commission has commended the State
Board of Agricultural regultory officials
for taking action to join in a nationwide
campaign to police the sorghum seed
growing industry
Maryland farmers are being urged to rely
soley on corn for silage in 1972, while oats
and rye are deemed satisfactory for green
chop feeding Farmers are also being
advised to increase their alfalfa acreage,
because of the possibility that the sorghum
seed contamination problem may exist for
several years
The problem apparently stems from
Texas and the Southwest where John
songrass grows wild. The Johnsongrass
seed is reported so similar in appearance
to sorghum and Sudan grass seed that “it
could not be readily separated, even by
trained analyists in a seed laboratory."
This difficulty of detection is apparently the
major reason that the problem is so severe
and will be so difficult to overcome.
While we have received no similiar
teports about seed problems in Penn
sylvania, we suspect that the same general
conditions would apply here as in neigh
boring states
It is extremely important that some of
the more noxious weeds not be allowed to
get established While many new chemicals
are very effective in controlling them,
prevention still will prove to be a lot less
costly on some of these weeds
NOW IS
THE TIME . .
By Max Smith
Lancaster County Agent
To Provide Salt
And Minerals
All types of livestock should
have free access to both salt and
minerals in different containers.
The liberal consumption of loose
salt will increase water con
sumption and in turn, increase
both milk production in the dairy
cow, or gains on fattening cattle.
The lack of salt may cause poor
appetities and slower gains or
production. Some minerals may
be in the commercial feeds, but it
is doubtful if the amount is suf
ficient to supply the needs. There
are many kinds and mixtures of
minerals but in most cases the
animals need larger amounts of
either calcium or phosphorus.
Trace mineralized salt in the
mixture will usually provide all
of the trace minerals that are
needed. For efficient production
all dairy and livestock producers
should be sure of ample supplies
of both salt and minerals at all
times.
To Use Heat Lamps
Or Brooders
February and March are the
times of new arrivals of many
lambs and pigs. Under modern
hog farrowing facilities there will
be supplemental heat which
provides the dryness and the
warm temperatures for the new
born pigs. However, in some hog
barns and most sheep bams the
atmosphere might be too cold and
damp for the new-born animals
and they will get chilled the first
few hours. The use of heat lamps
or other brooders over the young
animals for the first few days is
strongly recommended. Don’t let
them get chilled.
ON “SAVING
YOURSELF”
Lesson for February 20,1972
■ackaraund Scripture: Luka 23.
Oavatianal Reading: Romans 5:1-11
“Save yourself.
That was the challenge hurled
at Jesus on the day of his death.
Some people believe that Judas’
betrayal of Jesus was, in effect, a
challenge to the Master to save
himself, to force him to use his
powers to bring
in the long-await
ed kingdom
Pontius Pilate
also challenged
Jesus to save him
self. Had Jesus
co-operated with
him, made some
r>-„ «ifi appeal to his au-
Rev. Althouse thority> the Ro
man governor might have made
a greater effort to spare the life
of this man in whom he found no
wrong.
Herod too challenged Jesus to
save himself. The Hebrew king
was happy to see Jesus, having
heard much about the Galilean.
Luke says. “ . .he was hoping
to see some sign done by him”
(23 8). Oh yes, Jesus, save your
self and entertain me 1
The value of survival
The officials at Calvary also
challenged him. “He saved others;
let him save himself, if he is the
Christ of God, his Chosen One!”
(23:25) The soldiers also took up
the cry. “If you are the King of
To Plant Certified Seeds
In another month the 1972
growing season will be starting
and some new seedings of
legumes, grass, and spring oats
will be in the making. With the
high cost of all inputs into a'crop
it is very essential to get the best
quality seeds that are available.
No doubt many seeds have
already been ordered and
delivered. If they are certified,
they should give the best results
and a good return for the ad
ditional inputs of labor and
capital. I’m aware of the temp
tation to use other seeds because
they are cheaper and may be in
the hands of a neighbor.
However, greater yields with less
problems from insects and
diseases will be experienced
when certified seeds are used.
Cheaper seeds might turn out to
be far more expensive.
To Attempt Greater
Forage Yields
Forage crops are very im
portant to most Pennsylvania
farmers and every effort should
be extended to get the greatest
yield per acre. Whether the crop
is one of the grasses such as
Timothy or Orchard Grass, or
one of the legumes such as
Alfalfa or Red Clover, the
response from liberal lime and
fertilizer applications should pay
dividends. Some of the tem
porary forage crops such as
sorghum or soybeans have a
place on some farms and may be
used as a double-crop following
winter grain. A complete soil test
is the place to start and then
apply the recommended lime and
fertilizer elements.
the Jews, save yourself!” (23:37).
Last of all, there was the taunt
of one of the criminals who hung
on a cross next to him: “Are you
not the Christ? Save yourself and
us'” (23-39).
Everyone seemed to assume
that if he were really the Christ,
he could save himself from death.
What they seemed to overlook
was the fact that if he were real
ly the Christ, he would not save
himself! If he were God’s An
nomted there would be some
thing more important to him than
preserving his physical existance.
And because he was—and is—
the Christ, Jesus held commit
ment and obedience to God’s will
as his highest goal.
Survival was not the supreme
value for Jesus. This does not
mean he was indifferent to it; in
Gethsemane he had prayed with
great emotion that the “cup” of
death might be taken from him.
When he realized, however, that
he could save his life only by
backing-down on the gospel he
had been preaching, he accepted
the cross rather than betray his
commitment.
The right way of gaining life
Strangely enough, it was be
cause Jesus was willing to die
that he survived. Without the
cross there would have been no
resurrection. By laying down his
life he saved it. (Hadn’t he said
this to his disciples?). Kenneth
Boulding says; “It is by the will
ingness to risk death that both
men and animals gain life.”
What this means is that there
is but one way to survive: by put
ting commitment to God ahead
of everything else, including our
fear of suffering and death. If we
would wear the crown of eternal
life we must first be willing, like
Jesus, to bear the cross
(ftased on outlines copyrighted by the
Division of Christian Education/ National
Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
Released by Community Press Service.)