—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 21. 19/7 110 By DIETER KRIEG Sometimes a farmer doesn't see the fruits of his labors until weeks or months after he finishes a certain task. And sometimes the results are missing completely. Such was the case on a number of farms during the early and mid 1960’5. I remember the expressions of sadness which were etched into Dad’s tanned and weathered face each time he returned from the fields. No one needed to ask him how things were going. We all knew. • Never theless, our plight became a frequent topic of discussion at the dinner table, and everyone was drawn in with concern. Having |ust purchased the farm a year or so earlier, the entire mater of keeping or forfeiting the farm hung in the balance. There were no financial cushions or crop reserves of any kind which we could depend on. Each day brough with it new hope, but as the sun rose higher into the sky, our hopes sunk to new depths. The front page of the morning paper told part of the story: “Sizzling 92 Sets Record for May 21." Inside was the weather report, predicting more of the same. Day after day, the situation grew worse. We listened to weather Wheat and hay down HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania’s 1977 winter wheat crop is forecast at 7.02 million bushels based on May 1 conditions according to the Crop Reporting Service. This is a 26 per cent reduction from 1976. Acres for harvest are off 55,000 to 260,000, while yield as forecast at 27 bushels per acre is down ten per cent. U.S. winter wheat production is forecast at forecasts with hope, only to have it disappear when the broadcasts ended. On days when clouds hovered above, we waited anxiously for their gift, but none came. Meanwhile, our fields baked in the heat until the soil itself cracked for lack of moisture. Hard, barren and dusty, these fields were to be the beginning of a chain of events which eventually led to a paycheck from the dairy cooperative. With no feed for our cows, we wouldn’t stay in the dairy business, it was as simple as that. The day arrived when all hope was given up. The soil was too hard for seeds to sprout. What’s more, many of the kernels of corn had died of thirst. There was nothing we could do except start over. Reluctantly, Dad decided to disk the poorest fields for re-plantmg, while remaining acres were scrat ched just enough to break the crust, in the hope that life below would be freed. As time went on, we children and my grandfather filled gaps in emerging rows of corn by poking holes in the dry ground and dropping in kernels of corn. It ended up being a meager year for life on the farm of all sorts. 1,477 million bushels, six per cent below last year. Hay stocks on Pennsylvania farms May 1 as estimated at 692,000 tons are 25 per cent below a year ago. U.S. stocks at 19.6 million tons are down 23 per cent from 1976. U.S. spring potato production prospects increased to 22.7 million hundredweight, six per cent above last month but eight per cent below the 24.8 million produced in 1976. Peach production in the nine southern states is forecast at 634.5 million pounds, 23 per cent above last year. TRY A CLASSIFIED AD! Franklin County dairy team places in national contest CHAMBERSBURG. Pa - The Western Dairy PH C lub from Franklin County has Been named a winner in the 47th Annual Hoard’s Dairyman Cow Judging Contest. The cHjb has received an “Honorable 2-FEED SYSTEM INCREASE YOUR PROFITS? A 2-FEED SYSTEM is a way of balancing a feeding program by using 2 feeds which are very different in their protein, energy, and mineral content. For example, to balance a program based on corn silage roughage (which is high in energy, but low in protein and calcium) the first supplemental feed would be a high-protein high-calcium formula. The second feed would be a regular milking ration, to be fed to the higher producers according to their individual production. Whatever the needs of your herd, a 2- FEED SYSTEM assures proper nutrition at the least cost. Your Beacon Advisor would like to show you in detail how a 2-FEED SYSTEM works. Call him. Or, if you don’t know his name, please call us collect. BEACONFEEDS -'/ mm $, York, Pa. McCRACKEN'S FEED MILL, INC. Manheim, PA 717-665 2186 R & W FEEDS AND HARDWARE Centerport, PA 19516 Phone 215-926-3818 THARPE & GREEN MILL Churchville, MD 301-734 7772 W. L MUMMERT CO. Hanover, PA 717-637 6923 HYKES QUALITY FEEDS York Haven, PA 717-266-1269 EARL SAUDER, INC. New Holland. PA 717-354 o*6) RICHARD B. KENDIG CHESTER WIEST R. E. RUDISILL Special Accounts Sate I Distribution Sates & Distribution Representative Manager Manager Phone 302-478-305* Phone 717-741-2600 Phone 717-854-22*1 Mention” award, placing among the top fourteen from 1,466 international 4-H entries. The contest, sponsored by the well known dairy publication, is the world’s largest cow judging contest. A total of 119,394 CANA That's what it’s doing for many good dairymen. Phone 717-843-9033 entries were recei’ featuring entries from a states and 15 countries. Club leaders incl James and Nina Burdc Rt. 1, Mercersburg; J Stoner, Rt. 2, Mercersbi and Dean Horst, Rt. 1, Thomas. Beacon Milling Company, Inc. NEW FREEDOM FARM t GARDEN New Freedom, PA 717-235 3606 H. M. STAUFFER & SONS, INC. Witmer, PA 717-393 1369 ROBINSON BROS. Delta, PA 717 456 5215 E. W. HOLTON Daretown. N J 609 769 2334 CLARK SUPPLY CO. Rising Sun, MD 301-658 5225 H. JACOB HOOBER Intercourse, PA 717-768-3431 IVI fori
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers