Farm
(Continued from Page 15)
find the ground was
relatively dry just two feet
below the surface. It made
the design task easier and
assured the Groffs that they
could go ahead with a
holding area without the
worry of having their
storage fill up from an un
derground water source.
A waterway diverts
ground water away from the
holding area.
The roof drams are con
nected mto the tile dram
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LANDIS BROSJNC.
1305 Manheim Pike
Lancaster, PA 17601
Ph: 717-291-1046
improvement
system so there is no added
pressure on the manure pit.
Manure is scraped out the
lower end of the bam with a
skid loader. A concrete slide
is located below the apron
where the manure is pushed
out.
The slide was put in to
make sure the important
downhill side of the retaining
wall would not erode from
the constant sliding of
manure from the bam.
Wilmer says the manure
moves easily to the deep
middle of the pond and he
has noted no problem with it
piling up below the push-off
ramp.
When the Groffs get their
milkhouse put in, the
manure holding area also
will handle all milkhouse
waste.
With a total volume of
30,000 cubic feet, or roughly
225,000 gallons, the storage
should have no problem
handling the extra.
Since the Groffs use only
sawdust for bedding they
anticipate no trouble with
long hay or straw in the
system.
They have a concrete
ramp on the uphill side of the
manure storage which leads
down into the pit.
They expect to get a three
pomt hitch agitator in for
emptymg their pond.
This will allow them to
agitate, will eliminate the
need for a vacuum pump,
and will permit them to
leave the spreader tank at
the top of the ramp rather
than go to the struggle of
hauling it uphill, fully
loaded, every time they want
to make another tnp.
The manure holding
facility has been m only for a
few weeks and to date they
have less than a month’s
manure in it.
The late fall has helped to
some degree. Grass they
planted to hold the sides of
the slope began to show
green earlier m the week—
and that means less problem
with any runnoff into
duckies Creek.
The Groff farm sits on the
far Western edge of the
Chickies Watershed.
In fact, the water which
drains down one side of the
lane goes into the Chickies;
water on the far side of the
garage goes into the
Conestoga.
Since the government was
considering a flood control
project along the Chickies
they made extra funds
available for projects in the
area which would help
improve the water quality.
Scott Eberly, left, from the Soil Conservation Service, and Wilmer Gorff are on
the access ramp to the new manure facility. At the far corner of the barn is the
scraping apron just in front of the lower retaining wall. This area formerly was a
steep, wet, slope dropping into the background.
In the past two years a
total of $27,000 has been
available for use just in the
23 square mile area
designated as part of the
Chickies Creek watershed.
This money is in addition'
to the cost sharing funds
available for use elsewhere
in Lancaster County. And
the rate is slightly higher.
Farmers are allowed 80
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Ptcambar 1,197 S
percent sharing for high
priority projects and 40
percent for lower priority
projects.
All funds for this year have
been allocated.
On December 17 more
money should become
available for use through the
regular county program.
Whether more watershed
money will be available to
Chickies Creek area farmers
will have to await
developments.
But for the Groffs and the
government, the money is
well spent. The Chickies
Creek watershed will be a bit
less prone to runnoff
problems and the Groffs will
be in a better position to keep
their cows, and themselves,
contented.
17