Library vf. Agriculture
Vol. 20 No. 2
Against the backdrop of a steeply
rising hill oa their Pequea RDI farm,
Chris Hess Sr:, right discusses farm
operations with two of his sons, Chris,
No-Till Com Favored
By Pequea Partnership
More and more area
farmers are investigating
the pros and cons of no-till
com planting. And every
year, more of them seem to
be adopting the practice. As
old planters and plows wear
out, the practice could
become even more
prevalent, especially as the
state’s 1977 deadline for
Jane McSparran
FFA Sweetheart
and Teen Leader
Jane McSparran, RD2,
Peach Bottom, received a
medal honor tins week when
she was selected as the
Chapter Sweetheart of the
Solanco FFA Club.
Hie Chapter Sweetheart is
selected annually by
members of the FFA and
must submit a picture and
short biography of them
selves before entering the
contest.
When asked what her
duties as the Sweetheart
would be, Jane explained the
appointment.
“The Sweetheart is mostly
involved in public relations
work that the FFA is in
volved with.”
Jr., center, and Raymond. Chris Sr.
and his six sons farm 500 acres, 300
of which have been planted to no-till
corn since 1969.
farm conservation planning
draws nearer.
By July 1, 1977, the Penn
sylvania Department of
Environmental Resources
has decreed that all Com
monwealth farms must be
operating under some kind of
plan to control the
movement of water-borne
soil into streams. Farmers
“We attend their meetings
and any special functions
that the FFA Chapter is
involved in,” she explained.
Although Jane is not a
member of FFA she has
worked in the field of
agriculture for many years
as she is a member of the
Lancaster Guernsey Club,
the Solanco Community Club
and also the 4-H County
Council.
Dairy projects have been
the highlight of Jane’s 4-H
work as she has shown her
dairy animal at the Solanco
Fair, the Chester Fair and
also at the 4-H shows.
(Continued On PajeJS]
Serving The Central and Southeastern Pennsylvania Areas
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 23,1974
equipped with no-till plan
ters may have an easier time
of meeting DER’s
requirements than fanners
planting corn with con
ventional tillage equipment.
No-till planters deposit seed
[Continued On Page 32]
Jane McSparran, RD2, Peach Bottom was selected to
represent the Solanco FFA for the coming year when
she was named the FFA Sweetheart.
Dairy Farmers Plan
March on Washington
Local dairymen are ex
pected to converge by the
hundreds on the U.S.
Department of Agriculture
building in Washington on
Tuesday. They’ll be there to
protest a USDA denial of a
request for milk price boosts
in all 61 federal milk
marketing areas across the
country.
Dairy farmers are upset
because the federal order
price they get for milk right
now just barely covers their
costs of production. Figures
from the Pennsylvania
Farmers Association show
an average blend price in the
Philadelphia milkshed of
around $8.70 cwt. Average
production costs for a
hundred pounds of milk are
$8.56, according to Richard
Dennison, manager of PFA’s
Farm Management Service.
Dennison’s office helps PFA
members keep tabs on their
production costs and in
comes.
“To adequately com
pensate the farmer for his
investment, there should be
In This Issue
FARM CALENDAR 10
Markets 2-4
Sale Register S 3
Farmers Almanac 6
Classified Ads 24
Editorials 10
Homestead Notes 34
Home on the Range 39
Organic Living 41
Farm Women Calendar 36
Thoughts in Passing 48
Lancaster DHIA 12
Holstein Awards 16
Agway Annual Meeting 15
at least a $1.25 spread bet
ween the farmer’s price and
his cost of production. Our
$8.56 figure includes cash
expenses, building, equip
ment and depreciation costs,
$2 an hour for the farmer’s
labor and his family’s labor,
plus six percent interest on
his equity.”
According to Dennison’s
figures, feed costs account
for approximately 35 percent
of the cash expenses, and
feed is up 20 percent over a
year ago. Labor, which
accounts for 10 percent of the
cash expenses is up by about
20 percent, and fertilizer
costs, which are about 12
percept of a dairy farmers
cash expenses, have doubled
in many cases.
Costs have clearly
skyrocketed in recent years,
as evidenced by another set
of PFA figures. In 1987, the
cost of producing 100 pounds
of milk increased about 10-
Lebanon Co. DHIA
Holds Annual Meet
Lebanon County Dairy
Herd Improvement
Association members filled
the large meeting room at
the Tulpehoeken Church on
Wednesday evening for their
45th annual meeting.
The dairymen present
witnessed the presentation of
production awards to eight of
their fellow members. They
also beard from Lebanon
County Dairy Princess Ruth
Miller, and reports from
associate county agent
Newton Bair, DHIA state
director Alfred Brandt, and
DHIA state fieldman Earl
Baum. The meeting was
conducted by Harold
Bollinger, president of the
county association.
Isaac Zimmerman,
Lebanon R 3, received an
award for his herd’s average
production for the past 12
months. Zimmerman’s 16-
cow herd produced an av
erave 0f696 pounds of fat and
16,653 pounds of milk.
Seven other county DHIA
members had butterfat
averages which topped 600-
pounds per cow. They were:
Dale Hostetter, Annville R 2,
whose cows averaged 658
pounds of fat} Harold
Bollinger, Newmanstown
RD1,657; Abram T. Lefever,
Jonestown RDI, 624; Robert
Martin, Myerstown RD2,
618; Hershey Bare, Lebanon
RIM, 611; Raymond N. Getz,
Myerstown RD3, 610; and
Edwin E. Funck, Jonestown
RDI, 606.
hi his report, Newton Bair
told the members that their
association had increased
$2.00 Per Year
cents over the 1966 cost, and
stayed at that level until
1970, when it went up another
15-cents. A 30-cent increase
was posted in 1971, and
another 30-ccnts was tacked
on in 1972. In 1973, though,
costs rose by an astounding
$1.20 over the year before,
and this year it costs $l.OO a
hundredweight more to
produce milk, according to
PFA tabulations.
“No wonder dairy farmers
are upset,” Dennison said.
“We felt we presented data
that was more than adequate
to justify a price increase at
the October hearings. But we
were cut down, and I think
the real reason we were cut
down is consumer pressure.
The administration didn’t
want consumers to hold
Washington responsible for
higher milk prices.”
The hearing Dennison
referred to was held in
[Conbrnied on Page 21]
from 5183 cows in 1973 to 5442
in 1974. The average milk
production per cow in 1974
was 13,722, compared to
13,294 for the previous year,
and 12,848 state-wide in 1974.
The value of the milk
produced by the average
Lebanon County DHIA cow
in 1964 was $665 over the cost
(Continued on Page 21]
Farm Land
Tax Measure
Approved by
Legislators
A bill permitting
preferential tax assessment
on plots of agricultural or
undeveloped land was
passed unanimously
Tuesday in the House.
The measure, intended to
give farmers a tax break and
help preserve the state’s
open spaces, goes on to Gov.
Shapp who is expected to
sign it.
For months, the legislation
was delayed by
disagreements between
state farm organizations and
environmental groups, who
questioned whether die bill’s
provisions would deter
development of farmland or
simply provide tax ad
vantages for farmers.
The final version is a
compromise between the
original positions taken by
both sides. It would im
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