112 — Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 4,1978 SCS to administer clean water program WASHINGTON, D.C. - Secretary of Agriculture Bob Bergland has given the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Soil Conservation Service (SCS) leadership in ad ministering the rural clean water program, under the 1977 Clean Water Act. No-till success depends on details EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second of two articles dealing with no-till corn management. It was prepared by Doris Henrique of the University of Delaware. NEWARK, Del. - “It’s the details that make the dif ference between success and failure when you’re growing no-till com,” says Univer sity of Delaware Extension crops specialist Frank Webb, in explaining how some fanners manage to fail with this production method. In just about every case of no-till com failure he’s seen in the last few years, the problem has turned out to be the same - somehow the grower goofed. It’s not enough to have a good formula for successful no-till production. You’ve got to have the patience to apply it properly, right down the line. Take the guy who’s in too great a hurry at planting time, for instance. Haste than makes costly waste, when it results in poor stands and unnecessary wear on machinery parts from excessive planting speeds. Your planter must be properly adjusted, too, says Webb, who’s given a lot of thought to the problems associated with no-tilj corn production on the Delmarva peninsula. For farmers intending to grow no-till corn this year, he has some ad vice on the pitfalls to avoid. - Seed planted too shallow is likely to -be eaten by birds and mice, he warns. So for good stands it’s essential to place seed 1% - two inches YEAR ROUND MARKETING PAYS OFF Besides speeding harvest by eliminating some dependence on other people our farm storage pays its way in higher prices. Table shows that if you had sold your crop in November every year, you would have received the lowest price of the year 13 out of 27 years. Highest prices were heavily concentrated in May through September snd not once did lowest price of the year fall during this 5 month period! MONTHLY U 6 CORN PRICES RECEIVED »Y FARMERS Yr Jan Fad Mar Apr May Jun« July Au« S#pt Oct N#» Dac Spread Hi La 50 715 1 16 119 126 134 IJ6 144 51 754 160 160 162 164 162 163 52 168 165 165 163 170 173 173 53 148 >4. I*l6 146 149 146 M 7 54 142 14j 144 145 147 149 150 55 140 140 IJ6 1 -36 140 140 140 56/74 1 120 132 139 142 143 57 123 120 121 1.23 T 22 1.23 53 93) ’ '-O It~ 115 119 118 59 103 106 1 P 118 116 113 60 999 102 I0t) 108 109 109 61 9?0 131 968 102 103 105 62 95- i IGO 102 104 104 105 63 10/ ili 1.0 111 116 119 84 1 I? i 1 s 1 15 117 116 112 65 11 <- - i2l 1 J 126 1 2b 122 66 1 U 10 1 17 1 19 121 1.20 127 i? 121 iv 128 126 125 126 t2l St 104 106 1 06 106 109 107 104 69 108 109 109 1 12 119 1 18 1 18 70 112 114 1 13 11b llt 1.21 124 71 142 143 143 a 13* 143 1.36 72 709 109 10 1 1 15 1 13 114 73 138 fjs .7 Ih2 161 199 203 74 269 276 2u? 24 7 245 257 291 76 307 286 26/ 26S 266 258 272 76 244 24P 260 246 261 274 292 Tht average *rtea spread between the yearly low and htfh was 31 6 cents a bu*xl Raise your income with our farm storage! GAYLORD EQUIPMENT We have the Best Prices on afl your grain handling and storage needs (24 hrs.) 201-329-2666 That program, the secretary said,, provides for five to ten year cost sharing contracts with farmers and ranchers to help them install the “best management practices” to keep soil and chemicals from washing into nearby streams and lakes, into the soil. Make sure it’s well covered and firmed down, too. No-till coulters should run one - IVz inches deeper than planting depth. Depth bands should be set deep enough to allow for surface unevenness and debfis. Also make sure weather conditions are right for planting. Temperatures should be at least 50 degrees on the soil surface and soil should not be too wet. Another place where a no till operation can go wrong is in the effectiveness of its spraying program. Researchers and extension specialists at the University of Delaware have established a combination of herbicides which give ex cellent cover kill and residual weed control. But, says Webb, unless these materials are properly mixed, properly timed and properly applied, they can be practically worthless. Take, for instance, the control of fall panicum - the number one annual weed problem in no-till com. Its control is largely a matter of timing. Miss on this and you could be in for serious weed problems. This weed is one of the first to germinate in the spring. Before it has sprouted, the herbicide to use is Simazme. But once it’s out of the ground, that will have no 144*144 137 137 4,45 30 165 1.65 164 !£ 1 161 14 173 171 153 14S 130 21 148 150 134 133 141 17 153 153 145 137 139 16 130 124 114 109 1 15 31 145 143 119 121 122 39 123 t 15 IOS 985 314 35 118 1 13 104 942 102 26 113 109 Q9l 988 971 IS 10/ 105 99? 902 9J9 19 104 1 o** 102 992 994 OS 103 04 103 9»? tO4 06 119 131 111 105 109 16 1 1- 117 113 107 1 16 10 t to 1 Id TlO ?04 113 22 134 135 129 126 129 It Ml 112 104 5/5 103 JO 9*6 101 962 104 105 13 1 18 115 1 12 /07 109 12 127 13« 134 129 136 26 119 111 100 974 108 46 1 5 122 1 19 120 1.42 33 2jSI 215 217 218 2.39 133 337 330 345 332 3J7 104 295 276 262 233 23 7 74 2£4 260 233 202 224 *0 thereby quality. improving Secretary Bergland said the department’s new water quality effort will be organized by a Rural Clean Water Coordinating Com mittee, headed by SCS ad- effect and you’ll have to go to Bladex instead- unless - the plant has already grown beyond the two leaf stage. After that, Bladex won’t work either and your only control is Roundup - a very costly solution- to the problem. The answer then, if you’re planting no-till corn,, is to keep close tabs on troublesome weeds. And make sure to treat them early so they don’t get ahead of you. Sometimes you may want to apply your herbicide spray one or two weeks before planting to get at the fall pamcum before it ger minates, if you intend to delay planting until the first of May. While you’re applying your herbicides, include some materials for early insect control as well, ad vises the agronomist. An application of Toxaphene can prevent loss of worm control. Use Furadan in your planter to control flea bee tles, the first brood of com borers, bill bugs, wireworms and even root worms, if these are a problem in your particular area. The best chemical program in the world won’t give you control over weeds and insects if you goof up the mixing process, however. During mixing of materials, you’ve got to get good agitation in your spray tank. Mix -wettable powders or suspensions first. Add your sticker last if no anti-foam agent is present. Be sure to use clean water, too. Both Paraquat and Roundup are deactivated if there’s silt or clay in the water. If you’ve been drawing water from a (Turn to Page 114) WHERE QUALITY HAS BEEN FOR OVER 60 YEARS mmistrator R.M. Davis. Five other USDA agencies will be represented on the committee; Forest Service; Farmers Home Ad ministration; Science and Education Administration; Economics, Statistics and Cooperatives Service and Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service, which will provide guidance to state and county Agricultural Stabilization Conservation (ACP) com mittees. water The Environmental Protection Agency will approve water quality plans WE HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED FOR A DAIRY HEALTH PROGRAM! ★ PREVENTION & TREATMENT PRODUCTS * ■ ★ £ /JSv NOW HANDLING: Iff) J I PENNFIELD FEEDS % II Mj/ MOPRO LIQUID PROTEIN :< lip' And a complete line III of animal health products * pennficld feeds your full service dealer i* + ELMER M. SHREINER UJC. Poured Concrete Silos ana provide concurrence in USDA rules, regulations and project proposals. The SCS administrator also will enter into agreements with local soil conservation districts, state soil and water conservation agencies or state water quality agencies for ad ministration of the program. Karl Helierick, Soil Conservation Service Lebanon, called the rural clean water program “the most important new authority for the Soil Con- LET US DEVELOP A DAIRY FEEDING PROGRAM JUST FOR YOU! T/A GOODS FEED MILL R.D. 1. NEW PROVIDENCE, PA. PHONE: (717) 786-2500 servation Service in many years.” Hellerick pointed out that “SCS is no longer helping just one segment of the public with soil erosion problems/ Now SCS is equally concerned with maintaining and improving water quality, a matter that affects all Americans. In its new role, SCS will be working closely with the Environmental Protection Agency to help achieve the national goal of water fit for swimming and fishing by 1984.” f'
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