Dale Herr IConbnutd from Raft 16] Conscious of the value of his resources, Herr has followed conservation programs diligently and says "I’m doing everything the soil conservationists recommend • I get along with’em real good." To date he has installed 2,350 feet of diversions and 4.120 feet of sod waterways on his farm. Fields are being contoured as crop rotations permit. He serves as a director in the Octoraro Watershed PgTvT } REMINGTON I i CHAIN SAW I I for CHRISTMAS | EASY TO HANDLE { REMINGTON A MIGHTY r> MITE i CHAIN SAW * ■L X X *lets bar and chain jR EASY TO HANDLE. FUN TO USE | This 6Vz pound Mighty Mite Remington Cham | Saw is so versatile you'll use it for; | Felling trees up to 2 feet thick | Cutting firewood S Trimming, pruning, clearing i Camping, sdmmer homes » Building outdoor furniture X *99“ BENJ. W. CLAUSER | Farm Machinery S Service * Located on Ruppsville Rd. jj WESCOSVILLE, PA I |_ Ph. (215) 395-2542 * <%> Crop Care Center BEST WISHES FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON Heisey Farm Service Mt. Joy, Pa. (717) 653-1568 r\ D \ Rt. 2, Box 682 - DECEMBER MEANS: ARRANGE DELIVERY on bagged fertilizer now. C*rtif«d Buy before low fall prices end. Take advantage of big cash discounts. ro P CASH PREPAYMENTS against 1976 fertilizers earn you high interest. ANHYDROUS AMMONIA- finish your fall nitrogen application before ground freezes - Save money & time in spring! COMPLETE DEALER: Heisey Farm Service RD2, Mt. Joy, Pa (717) 653-1568 Association, and is a member of both the Colcrain Planning Commission and the Solanco lx>ng Range Planning Commission. A husky man with curly, reddish-brown sideburns nearly half the size of his hands, Herr began farming on his own In 1066 - four years after graduating from Solanco High School. Prior to that he had worked for his father by the week. When he and his father agreed to farm on the halves, he recollected, ill he owned was his car and two pigs - one of which he had won in a contest at school. He eventually sold both pigs to buy a refrigerator. Gradually, beginning In 1966, he acquired ownership of the cows. By 1970 he owned the entire herd and also one of the family’s three farms. He presently rents the other iyto properties from his mother, the widow of the late Abram Herr who had purchased the main farm 45 years ago. AMMONIA APPLICATION SERVICE James Groff Strasburg, Pa. (717) 687-7176 ORGANIC PLANT FOOD CO. 231 £ NORMAN ROAD Luke Good Lititz, Pa. (717) 626-7503 Asked how he liked farming, Herr hesitated a moment and then answered: "It's a challenge and all I've ever known. Also, it makes me feel good and satisfied to know I can feed more than 50 people besides myself.” When asked to list some discouragements in his business, he hesitated even longer, grinning sheepishly as he thought about his answer "There's a lot of'em," he began, "like when we have hay to put in and it looks as though it’s going to rain, and then something breaks down and the implement shop is closed and we were planning on going away for the evening." His wife, the former Fay Fryberger, nodded in agreement. "And It's always the good cows that you lose," he added. In spite of the problems which arise from time to time, Herr likes his profession and the competition which is associated with it Not sure of what kind of a future is in store for agriculture as a whole or the dairy business in particular, Herr believes simply that “They’re going to have to have the farmer for as long as there are people - the farmers are the backbone of our nation.” Commenting briefly on prices, the award-winner said he likes to think of a farmer being his own boss, but that it’s not entirely true because “we pay what people ask us to pay, and take what we’re offered when we go to sell.” A member of Inter-State Milk Producers Cooperative, Herr looks forward to more stable prices in 1976 - not only for milk, but for feeds. He cites more on the farm storage of grains as a major reason for the stabilization of grain prizes. The most important management tool in farming is a good and complete system for keeping records, according to Herr. He has his cows on DHIA and maintains ar ticulate records on each of his fields. Agronomical records include a schedule on crop rotation, complete annual soil tests on each field, fertilizer and lime expenditures, and crop yields. In addition, he carefully evaluates his tillage practices and continues to experiment with recommended ideas such as chisel plowing and minimum tillage. Herr has been following a prescribed, long-range conservation plan for the past five years and continues to work closely with his district conservationists. Minimum tillage practices became a part of his farming program two years ago, and more recently he began using the chisel plow - a tool he has learned to like a lot, he said. Level sod fields are plowed, he explained, and chiseled after com. Included in his crop rotation program are com, alfalfa, small grains, tobacco, and potatoes. A four-year rotation program is generally followed, except for alfalfa, which he likes to keep for five years. Herr plants his alfalfa along with a nurse crop and is cautious about putting the seed into the ground too early. ‘ ‘Not before the first of May,” he recommends, if best results are to be expected. LIQUID NITROGEN SERVICE Harold B. Zook 220 Lampeter Rd. Lancaster, Pa. (717) 394-5412 Harlan Keener Willow St., Pa. (717) 464-2669 LANCASTER, PA. Lancaster Farming. Saturday, Dec. 20,1975 — To be continued next week. eg) Paul Clugston Bird-m-Hand, Pa (717) 656-9993 PH: 397-5152 17
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