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
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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
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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'