clAgriculture '
Vol. 19 No. 38
Kerry Boyd, right went away from
the Lancaster FFA Hog Show Wed
nesday loaded down with trophies
and cash. This handsome Duroc-
Hampshire cross earned him the
FFA Hog Show
{fas 302 Entries
Ephrata’a Kerry Boyd
walked' 1 off with the grand
chafhpion trophy at
Tuesday’s 12th _ annual
Lancaster County FFA
Market Hog Show and Sale.
The 15-year-old Ephrata
High School student won out
over one of the largest fields
ever entered. A total of 52
FFA members entered more
than 300 hogs in the show.
Christine Erb models her camel hair wool coat that
she made during a free lance project in sewing.
show’s grand champion trophy
presented here by Tony Folker,
secretary of the Lancaster County
Swine Producers Association.
Boyd is the son of Elmer
Boyd, Ephrata RDI. In
addition to the. grand
champion ribbon, Kerry won
two breed championships
and one reserve breed
championship. His 205-pound
grand champion, a Hamp
shire-Duroc cross,' sold to
Penn Packing for $1.30 a
pound, a total of $266.50.
Judge Henry Gruber, who
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 3, 1974
heads up livestock
procurement for A&B
Packing Co., Allentown,
awarded the show reserve
grand champion ribbon to
robert Strauss, 18, and his
two brothers, Richard, 15,
and Steve, 14. Like Boyd, the
three are also Ephrata Area
High School students, and
are the sons of Mr. and Mrs.
[Continued On Pace 9]
“Getting Involved is Everything”
by: Melissa Piper
Christine Erb is a young
lady who believes that
getting involved in wor
thwhile projects is im
portant. Her dedication and
work in 4-H certainly proves
that she can be taken at her
word.
Christine, who is seven
teen, lives on a farm at RDI,
Mt. Joy with her parents,
Mr. and Mrs. Wilbur Erb,
two sisters and one brother.
She is a member of the Mt.
Joy Sewing Club, recently
completing a free lance
project that included making
a camel hair tailored coat
and is also a member of the
Mt. Joy Busy Bakers Cake
Decorating Club.
This is the first year
Christine has had a steer
project and belongs to the
local Red Rose Baby Beef
Club which is under the
leadership of Harold Fry and
Wilmer Nissley. Christine
has also carried numerous
as gardening
Ends Worst Drought in 40 years . . .
Rains Fall On
Parched Midwest
The worst drought in 40
years has hit the Midwest,
and there’s no doubt that'
livestock feeders here in
southeastern Pennsylvania
and throughout the Nor
theast will be paying dearly
for com and soybeans. No
firm estimate of yield
reductions will be available,
though, until the USDA’s
crop report is published on
August 12.
Some Midwestern areas
had gone as long as six
weeks without rain, and
temperatures soared in
record breaking heat waves.
Reports of the mercury
hitting the century mark for
days on end were not at all
uncommon, and some days
with 110-degrees were noted.
On Thursday, rain did fall
on most of the Com Belt,
driving futures prices in the
Chicago exchanges down the
limit'. Unfortunately, for
much of the crop the rains
came too late- to help the
yield picture.
On Friday morning,
Lancaster Farming spoke
with Neil Gunkel, of the
Illinois Department of
Agriculture. It was raining
outside his office window in
Springfield, but, said
Gunkel, “It’s not doing us
nearly as much good now as
it would have done a week
ago.”
“A lot of our com has
Christine Erb
and flowering in the
Elizabethtown-Donegal
Community 4-H Club.
Besides her regular
project work, Christine
serves as co-president of the
Lancaster 4-H County
Council and will be traveling
to Penn State to compete in
the Achievement Festival on
the county Consumerama
Team.
When asked what the team
competition involved
Christine explained that the
Consumerama team “judges
products on their worth and
cost to'the average buyer
and consumer”.
Last week she attended a
4-H sponsored Citizen Short
Course in Washington D. C.
and said she had the op
portunity to meet with
Congressman Eshelman and
an aid of Senator Schweiker.
“The Citizenship course,”
she said, “helped me to
understand just how
government works.”
“I learned more about the
already tassled and it’s
short, so the rain isn’t going'
to do too much good on that
acreage,” Gunkel said.
“Some of the late-planted
com will be helped, and the
soybeans will benefit from
the rain we’re having right
now. But we’re still looking
Perennial Cover
Crop Seen Halting
Erosion Problems
News of a cropping
practice that could eliminate
the need for soil erosion
countermeasurers was one
of the more startling pieces
of information greeting
farmers who visited the
weed control field day on
Wednesday at Penn State’s
88-acre Southeastern Field
Research Laboratory at
Landisville.
Dr. Nathan L. Hartwig,
from the University, told the
group of about 100 that be
believes a perennial cover
crop and no-till planting
The Berks County DHIA report appears for the first tin •
this week in Lancaster Fanning. The publication will now I
carrying (he DHIA reports from York, Berks, -Lebano
Lancaster and Chester Counties on a monthly basis.
„ government than I knew for
many years,” she explained
“I feel it was a good learning
experience and I received a
lot of information on how to
get involved in community
work.”
Also this summer,
Christine served as an ad
visor for the leadership
training school held in
conjunction with the 4-H
State Congress.
In This Issue
FARM CALENDAR 10
Markets 2-4
Sale Register 37
Farmers Almanac 6
Classified Ads 40
Editorials 10
Homestead Notes 26
Home on the Range 29
4-H News 14
Organic Living 33
Farm Women Calendar 32
Lebanon Co. DHIA 12
Berks Co. DHIA 20
4-H Playground 18
$2.00 Per Year
for corn yield in Illinois to be
down by 25 to 30 percent
from last year. That’s a 243.6
million bushel drop.
Soybeans will be down 20 to
25 percent or about 57.6
million bushels.”
In lowa, Deputy Secretarj
1 Continued On Page 41]
methods could virtual!
eliminate soil erosion. “
you were using crownvetc
or birdsfoot trefoil, you cou
even run your corn rows i -
and down the hills,” Hartw
told the group.
“You wouldn’t nci,
diversion terraces, yr
wouldn’t need strips and yi
wouldn’t have to plant on t£
contour,” he said. “You
have better moisture i
filtration, and you may ev
get some bonus nitrog.
from a legume cover crop*
[Continued On Page 9]
When asked how she j
interested in 4-H woi
Christine said that when :
was nine she wanted to les
how to sew and asked 1
mother if she could join 4
Her first year proved to
very successful as she m:
seven more pairs of slipp
than she was required tc
“I must have been
most enthused 4-H mem
in the area that first yea
she said.
“I just loved sewing
took right off.”
Her work and training
paid off since she is now i
to sew most of her
clothes.
This week at county D>
Revue, Christine will
modeling a camel hair i
coat that she constru
and fully lined herself.
Christine has not only 1
a leader in her area clubs
has also helped raise m<
[Continued On Page 7]