16—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 5. 1972
with a weed-free strip 10 inches wide
along each side of fence rows, Ben Sum
Farmstead Weed Control
Gets More Emphasis
A QUICK look at Ben Sum
mers’ farmstead from a passing
car makes it apparent that he
places much value on keeping
things neat.
The closely trimmed lawn,
neatly groomed shrubs and trees
and the inviting stone house all
testify to the work that has gone
into giving this Chester County
farm its tranquil, welcoming
appearance.
The eye-appeal doesn’t end
with the area immediately
around his house it continues
along the road in front of his farm
buildings. It’s so noticeable that
people have asked him how he
does it.
His answer: a lot of push
behind the lawn mower and the
use of a chemical weed killer.
“It may be extra work to keep a
place neat like this, but it’s worth
it,” he says. “It improves the
value of your property and I
guess it’s just more satisfying.”
Summers used chemicals to
mers can nuzzle his large mowers right
next to the fence.
wipe out weeds where he used to
mow, and found his best control
of weeds along his fence rows
came from spraying early when
the weeds were young. Because
he sprayed some areas late, he
experienced some regrowth last
year. “The weeds were high,” he
recalls, “but even the regrowth
turned yellow and died, even
those long-rooted milkweed.”
Summers also wanted weed
control in hard-to-reach places
like under fences and around
buildings as well as on steep
banks along the road, where it’s
hard to use a scythe. So he bought
a chemical from a local grain
dealer who had used it himself
and recommended it.
Overall, Summers’ results
were good enough to stir outside
interest. “One neighbor asked me
to spray for him,” Ben says.
“Then later the county men
asked me what I used after they
saw a ditch I’d sprayed along the
road.”
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Summers did the spraying
himself, holding a hand sprayer
while driving the tractor. “I
might have missed some spots so
this year I’ll use a wider nozzle to
give me better coverage.” His
cost, other than his own labor,
was $l2 for diesel oil and $4O for
Pramitol. And this gives control
up to a year or more.
Another farm that has turned
to chemical weed control for
fence rows and farmsteads is the
Hempt Farm, Cumberland
County. This is a showplace for a
large horse breeding operation,
with 1150 acres, 90 brood mares,
three stallions and ISO head of
beef.
Dr. Wendell L. Cooper is the
veterinarian-manager of the Max
C. Hempt operation.
Controlling weeds, un
derstandabley, can be a costly
item for a farm this size, with
several miles of wooden and wire
fence.
“In fact, in 1970, it cost $6OOO to
hire six high school boys to trim
weeds four or five times a year,”
Dr. Cooper says. And when the
“weed tax” begins to run that
high you look for another way.
That’s what Dr. Cooper did last
year when he combined
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1 fading as Good’s Feed Mill
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chemicals with hired labor to
control weeds.
With two high school boys and
Pramitol, he was able to cut weed
costs in half. A custom applicator
did the job this year.
He found, as did Summers, that
the best control comes with a
March or April application, and
that chemical control sure saves
time and cuts costs.
Dr. Nate Hartwig, weed
science professor at Penn State
University, feels these chemical
users are on the right track.
“We have been recommending
this herbicide for industrial weed
control and anywhere farmers
want total weed control. It can be
used to keep weeds down around
barns, in the farm yard where
there is gravel, and along fence
rows anyplace where you
can’t mow or want to eliminate
the need to mow,” Nate Hartwig
says.
XXX
Each of 209 million Americans
throws away an average of seven
pounds of solid waste per day—
which adds up to more than one
ton per person per year.
N 6
SHEDS
• PAINTED
STEEL METAL
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