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
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} 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
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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