VOL 24 No. WlfC? Is no-till a farm energy solution? NEWARK, Del. - What’s the most demanding pro blem facing U.S. farmers during the next 50 years? Is it the cost squeeze? Un predicatable markets? Ur ban sprawl consuming precious agricultural acres? They’re all serious, but the most demanding problem during the next few decades could be the energy shor tage. The USDA reports that in a typical year, food and fiber production on the 2.5 million farms requires 6.3 billion gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel, 173 billion cubic feet of natural gas, 1.5 billion gallons of LP (li quified petroleum) gas, and 32.3 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity. While this ac counts for only 3 per cent of Debra Strickler , Neither traffic nor gentle rain detracted these sheep in a pasture on the outskirts of York. But when the photographer stopped by, nearly every head was lifted. the energy used in the United States each year, concern is growing among agricultural experts about energy waste on the farm. At the University of Georgia, for example, a long-term study was in itiated in 1976 to accurately Boyd dominates FFA hog show ByKENDACEBORRY and DEBRA STRICKLER LANCASTER - Grand champion hog, breeder exhibitor champion, and pen of ten champion were all shown by Kerry Boyd, a last year member of the Ephrata Cloisters FFA at the 17th annual Lancaster County Debra Strickler becomes ag reporter LITITZ - Debra J. Strickler, Hi View Drive, Lititz, has been named to the position of associate editor of Lancaster Farming. Prior to her recent marriage to Richard Strickler, she resided with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Harold Rohrer, 1623 Book Road, Lancaster. Debbie was involved with the ac tivities of 50,000 layer hens and beef cattle on her parents 160 acre farming operation. Debra is a 1976 graduate of Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 4,1979 measure the amount of energy consumed by dif- ferent tillage systems in the Southeast. And at the University of Nebraska, data collected during the past several years is now be ing studied to determine how FFA market hog show held Thursday at the Lancaster Stockyards. The grand champion hog came from the medium weight class, weighing in at 230 pounds. It was a Duroc crossbred, and Boyd noted that the grandsire of the Lampeter-Strasburg High School and a May graduate of Messiah College, Gran tham. She holds a bachelor of science degree in home economics education. During her last semester, she was student teaching at Lower Dauphin Junior- Senior High School, Hum melstown. She is an active member of the Pennsylvania Home Economics Association and served as secretary of Messiah’s chapter. In her senior year, she was honored as the energy can be conserved on Midwestern farms. A related study, though based on different soil condi tions and involving actual field measurements, has been in' progress at the University of Delaware since 1973. Two agricultural boar was Big Bullet, and the sow was out of Indy champ. The breeder exhibitor champion was a three way crossbred gilt weighing 225 pounds. The top pen of ten averaged 215 pounds and were also crossbreds. Completing his sweep in the show, Boyd was also outstanding homo economics student. In previous years, she was chairperson of the school exhibits during the West Lampeter Community Fair and a member of the Lampeter-Strasburg Merr imaids 4-H Club. She was a 4- H leader in the Merrimaids Club for the past two mon ths, and enjoys working with young people. During high school, she was literary editor of the yearbook staff, president of the FHA, and active in the engineers there, Dr. Norm E. Collins and Thomas H. Williams, are focusing this study on energy consump tion of different tillage systems used for production of corn in that state. They report that the study initially stemmed from research named champion senior fitter and reserve champion showman. This is not Boyd’s first exposure to the cham pionship. He had the champion hog at the 1974 roundup and the 1978 reserve championship. (Turn to Page 13) student council, and NHS. Debbie was awarded the DAR Good Citizen and Betty Crocker Family Leadership awards in her senior year. Her hobbies include bicycling, sewing and cooking. She likes to create new recipes and is very interested in food science. Debbie is excited about her position on the Lancaster Farming staff. “I know it will be a great opportunity to be involved in the fanning community,” she says. ,S7.ooH?erYear Lancaster Farminjphofo by Dieter Krief • they were doing on no-tillage corn production in Delaware, and their primary purpose was to determine if this relatively new farming technique does, indeed, re quire significantly less amounts of energy than con ventional fanning. “What we want to do now, oncs we produce a more reliable data base, is to model a system so Delaware fanners can minimize either fuel requirements or machinery investment,” Dr. Collins explained. “We’d like to give them a guide or table to follow. Maybe at some future noint in time, a farmer can push a button in the morning to determine if, for instance, he needs to use (Turn to Page 34)
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