Control Boosfs Farm Credit Directors Tour A^ way
Forage, Pasture
Returns
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
OF AGRONOMY
With today’s energy crisis,
inflation, high grain prices,
and the talk of grass
fattened cattle, forage and
pasture crops may well be
the sleepng giants of modem
agriculture. In Mississippi,
the value of livestock and
their products has increased
tenfold in the last twenty
years. We have made good
progress but the challenge of
the future looks ever more
promising. For example,
only 20 percent of our total
pastures (5 million acres)
are planted to improved
grasses and legumes. In
addition, olny 10 percent atre
fertilized and less than 5
percent receive some form
of weed control.
These trends can be ap
plied equally as well to other
states in the southeast or the
nation. Harlow Hodgson of
the USDA has reported that
ATTENTION
CORN GROWERS
ADD SPRAY ADJUVANT
TO YOUR ATRAZINE SOLUTION
nu
SPRAY ADJUVANT increases the herbicide’s
effectiveness on weeds.
SPRAY ADJUVANT Complies with Federal
Regulations, Approved by FOOD & DRUG
ADMINISTRATION.
SPRAY ADJUVANT added to Atrazine solution,
COSTS LESS Than using Atrazine alone.
YES! COSTS LESS.
FOR FULL DETAILS CALL OR WRITE
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250 N. Charlotte St.
Lancaster, Pa. 17603
PH. (717) 394-76140 r 393-5707
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■ -
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forage and pasture crops
occupy approximately half
of the land area in the U,S, (1
billion acres). Forages
produced on these lands vary
tremendously in kind, yield,
and quality, but they all have
one thing in common; little
or no value until market
through livestock.
The value of forages
produced in the U. S. has
been estimated to almost
equal the combined cash
receipts from soybeans,
wheat, cotton, tabacco and
sorghum. In addition,
forages add tremendous
value in erosion control,
beautification, and water
conservation.
Current forage research
programs across the country
are stressing the develop
ment of packages of
technology for the livestock
producer. As these soil
plant-animal forage systems
Know
Tml
As a portion of their annual field trip, members of
the Board of Directors of the Farm Credit Banks of
Baltimore toured the Agway Distribution Center
near Elizabethtown on Monday, April 7. Directors
and guests are from left (front row) Paul Nay,
George Steele, Art Cochran and Ed Hartnett.
are developed and adopted in
on-the-farm situations,
producers are indicating
that a practical and
economical method of weed
control is essential to the
success of the pasture
systems.
These suggestions are
futher strengthened when we
study the results in Table 1.
These data represent the
average of several pasture
demonstrations located
throughout Mississippi. One
readily sees that a com
bination of improved forage
varieties, good
management, and a sound
weed control program has l
allowed stocking rates to be'
increased by 3 times and
beef production to be in- 1
creased by 4 times over the
typical pasture situation.
Another often overlooked
concept in a pasture weed
control program is that it
takes just as much or more
fertilizer to grow a pound of
weeds as it does to produce a
pound of desirable forage.
Table 2 shows the nitrogen,
phosphorus, and potassium
content of some troublesome
pasture weeds such as
pigweed, smartweed, and
ragweed. These weeds ac
cumulate approximately
twice as much nitrogen, 1.6
times as much phosphorus,
and 3.5 times as much
potassium as a desirable
forage plant such as corn. In
ft®’xloo’iS=l4’x22
ONLY $1.55 sq. ft.
(\ LIST PRICE $8,400 LESS FACTORY CASH REBATE SI2OO
|l NOW $7,200. ,
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AUCTION SERVICE
MIRACLE SPAN STEEL BUILDINGS
CAINSDALE FARM SERVICE
DRYING & STORAGE SYSTEMS
TROJAN SEED CORN
IVAN R. YOST
addition to reducing yields of
desirable forage plants by
competing for nutrients,
accumulation of nutrients
such as nitrogen can result in
losses of livestock from
nitrate poisoning. These two
factors alone will more than
justify a sound chemical
weed control program.
Let’s consider that it takes
approximately 80 pounds of a
high quality forage such as
ryegrass to produce the one
pound T-bone steak!
Abandon the weed control
program in your pastures
and fencerows, and the
punds of weed infested
forage required to produce
the same steak may be 3
times as large.
Many livestock producers
have suggested that the
biggest problems facing
most pasture weed control
programs are finding time to
spray because versified
farming operations such as
cotton, soybeans, and
livestock, and increasing
weed pressures resulting
from using only 2,4-D m
many pasture weed control
programs.
Recent development of
products such as Banvel and
Weedmaster (combination
of Banvel and 2,4-D) has
made a tremendous impact
of the potential of pasture
weed control in many
regions. These products
have the ability to control
most 2,4-D resistant weeds
215-593-5326
Ro#l
CHRISTIANA, PA 17509
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 12,1975
(Middle row) Miguel A. Pons, Jack R. Cobb, William
Dickinson, Harold Bailey, Hugh Dailey and E. G.
Fouse. (Back row) Bill Jackson, Bill Collins, Dan
Weybright, Carl Brown, J. W. Korman and Ervin
Jordie.
that have become serious
posts in recent years. In
addition, release of desirable
species and chemical
changes within the plants
indicate that the improved
forage quality would nav for
the cost of using Banvel or
Weedmaster in most pasture
weed control programs.
When new products such
as Banvel and Weedmaster
are intergrated into pasture
weed control programs, total
weed control in a diversified
operation becomes much
closer to being a reality
rather than a concept.
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Phone 733-1206
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MESSICK FARM
EQUIPMENT INC.
Elizabethtown 367-1319
FRANK SNYDER
Akron 859-2688
SOLLENBERGER FARM
CALEB WENGER SUPPLY
Quarryville 548-2116 Centerport 215-926-2722
Photo by Bishop’s Studio. Elizabethtown
The Lancaster County
Pomona Grange No. 71 will
hold its spring meeting
Saturday, April 19 at 8 p.m.
at the Fulton Grange Hall,
Oakryn. The master, Jesse
Wood, will be in charge of the
business session. Bob Ab
bato, a representative from
the Pennsylvania Power &
Light Co. will give a talk on
the proposed rate increases,
surcharge and fuel ad
justment.
LOCAL DEALERS
Pomona
Grange
To Meet
LANDIS BROS. INC.
Lancaster 393-3906
CARL L. SHIRK
Lebanon 717-274-1436
19