SB~-Lancaster Farming, Saturday. March 13. 1976
Soil
By DIETER KRIEG
MORGANTOWN - To
some, working with soli and
plants isn't much different
from working with cows or
hogs. Many of the same
principles apply. A healthy
plant, for example, will
resist disease just as a
healthy animal withstands
ailments. Anyone who has
ever milked a cow Knows
that the teats have to be
squeezed right In order to
obtain the milk. And so it is
with the soil. It has to be
managed right, so that
plants can be fed right and
provided with a good
"home.”
That, in a nut shell, is what
Don Schriefer, spokesman
for the Advanced Ag
program, told a gathering of
farmers here earlier this
year who are either
minimum tillage fanners or
are giving that concept some
consideration.
Schnefer pointed out that
the plant is the only thing on
Earth which produces food
everything else consumes
and he stressed the need
for proper care. “Some of
the things we’re doing in
agriculture are absolutely
atrocious,” the Illinois soil
and plant specialist said. The
“Dust Bowl,” for example,
came about as a result of
unwise soil management. “If
you want productive soil,
then treat it right physically
have a proper system,
choose the right chemicals
and balance them to
eliminate limiting factors,”
he advised. “If it’s right
physically and chemically,
then it’ll be right
biologically,” Schriefer
observed.
Advanced Ag is a program
which puts its emphasis on
proper soil management,
and as far as they're con
cerned, the plow has no place
m it. In fact Schriefer went
so far as to state; “The
sooner the plow goes, the
healthier agriculture is
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going to get. The plow is
going fast, although there
are still a lot of our people
who are using it." The
reason Advanced Ag and
similar organizations oppose
plowing is that the practice
eliminates the benefits of
decaying field trash, and
cuts down on capillary water
action.
In trying to make his point,
the agronomist referred
back to animal in
terpretations noting how
important it is for a baby calf
to receive colostrum, and
how some baby pigs turn Into
runts due to lack of proper
nutrition. Schriefer drew
similarities here and then
went on to liken the soil to a
cow’s rumen. "Both depend
heavily on bacteriology,” he
explained.
Worms, in Schriefer’s
lecture, were called “little
torque amplifiers” which
make a lot of things happen.
“But just because you have a
lot of worms in your fields
doesn’t mean you have it
all,” he cautioned jokingly.
It takes more than that.
Bacteria are essential to
keep the soil loose and
ventilated and also for decay
of field trash.
The soil specialist, who has
spent years advocating
advanced soil technologies
all over the country and
claims to win significant
numbers of converts every
year, explained a number of
recommended practices
during a program held here
at the Fire Hall which lasted
more than three hours. The
nicest thing he had to say
about plowing is that “it is
one of the most pleasant
things about farming
farmers look forward to it
and like it the soil looks
nice after plowing. Chisel
plowing, on the other hand,
does not look nice but
according to Advanced Ag,
it’s a good, solid soil
management practice if it’s
done properly.
ih
Service
Depth and chisel spadngs
are two of the more im
portant considerations.
What’s done with the soil
after chiseling is also Im
portant whether It’s
further work with the soil
directly, or seeding it with a
cover crop.
Defining minimum Ullage,
Schriefer coupled it with the
phrase: “meeting proper
soil management." It’s good,
in other words, as long as soil
and plant requirements are
satisfied properly. “But, If
the idea is to do nothing, then
the soil is abused," he added.
One Chester County small
grains and com fanner who
is posiUvely sold on the
Advanced Ag concept is
Wilfred Mast. Soon to be
entering his third full year in
the program, Mast first
learned about Advanced Ag
at the Agriculture Depart
ment in Harrisburg. He had
been attracted to a meeting
in March, 1974, by a post
card mailed to him which
claimed that a man named
C. J. Fenzau was 25 years
ahead in fanning. Impressed
by Penzau’s speech. Mast
went home to study bis notes
and apply the “new
technology.” With two
harvests of Advanced Ag
managed crops behind him,
Mast now says he’s im
pressed with the results and
A.A. has very definitely
helped my farming
program.” He and his two
sons farm 260 acres of prime
Chester County farmland
near Elverson. According to
him, approximately a dozen
fanners near here use the
Advanced Ag program,
which has now spread to 20
states and Canada. Mast
describes it as being
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service, and points out that
they're not in the business of
competing with fertiliser
companies. But thc> oo offer
and provide trace minerals if
needed which would not be
available elsewhere, he
added.
Schriefer, a former ag
teacher and graduate of
Illinois University, is head of
Advanced Ag Associates'
eastern division and works
out of DeMotte, Ind. His
company analyzes soil
samples and offers
management tips. A full
explanation of the program
encompasses 10 major soil
management areas. The cost
of a composite soil sample is
140.00 which works out to
about 60 cents to $1.25 per
acre, depending on soil
differences. In addition, the
complete program involves
an annual consultation and
educational fee which varies
from $l.OO to $1.50 per acre,
depending on the size of the
operation. Expensive?
Advanced Ag answers with
an emphatic “No!” They
claim it’s the lowest priced
service of its kind and add
that the complete program
costs less than “one trip
custom application to apply
fertilizer or chemicals.”
Mast agrees en
thusiastically, saying that
his experiences have proven
to him that soil nutrients can
be balanced properly
resulting in better crops,
bigger yields, fewer
diseases, and less insect
problems. “The more the
soil is out of balance, the
more insect problems you’ll
have,” he warned in an in
terview at his farm.
Changing to the AAA
presented
program has meant
changing some management
procedures as well as
acquiring new equipment,
Mast pointed out. Last year,
for example, he used only
one-third of the normally
recommended amount of
herbicides while cultivating
to make up for it. He uses a
Lillixton roiling cultivator,
hitched up with nitrogen
applicators to take care of
that job at the same time.
As Mast and Advanced Ag
technicians see it, the 11
primary reasons for tilling
the soil are: 1. manage
residue, 2. direct decay, 3.
prepare seed bed, 4. improve
weed control, 5. aeration, 6.
hilling, 7. water
management, 8. root ex
tension, 9. biological sup
port, 10. chemical support,
and 11. material application.
That’s a long string of
reasons to be tilling the soil
which might lead one to
think the more the better,
but not so if Advanced Ag
suggestions are followed.
The key is not how much or
how often, but simply
“how,” Whatever is done
should be done scientifically
and properly. Desirable
physical properties (lack of
lumps and clods) in con
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Junction with properly
balanced soli components
and nutrients is of utmost
importance lot achieving
optimum plant growth which
in turn leads to good animal
production and better human
health.
Schrlefer challenges
farmers to believe that high
crop yields are as much
influenced by tillage prac
tices as chemical ap
plications. He and his firm
believe that “more yield is
lost due to mia-management
of tillage rather than mis
management of chemistry.
“A tillage system must be
custom designed to fit the
soil situation of a particular
farm or area. Regardless of
the soil situation, the prin
ciples remain constant and
only the ways and means will
vary." He states:
“We believe a proper
tillage program must begin
in the fall to lay the foun
dation for reaching the
maximum productive
capacity for a given
operation. The fall tillage
program must satisfy the
following objective:
To position the soil in
ridges with crop residues
(Continued on Page 60]
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