j Luttringers’ find
I LANCASTER
I Americans visiting New
I Zealand and Australia come
I to the pleasant realization
I that Americans are very,
$ very welcome and that
| American policies are
I sympathetically supported.
i| H. K. Luttnnger, who
£ traveled in February and
£ March as a leader of an
agricultural leaders People
| to-People Goodwill Mission,
■ said the welcome his 21-
‘f member group from south
/ central Pennsylvania
DRAINAGE PROBLEMS?
COCALICO EQUIPMENT HAS THE TWO MACHINES TO
HANDLE YOUR DRAINAGE PROBLEMS.
* Both Machines Equipped with Laser Beam Grade Control
Drainage Pays High Returns COMPARE
investment a-SKSL Even with the conservative fig-
Land Dramage 2146% u res shown here, it s obvious that
SmLa U nd mgs 3 1i% land drainage should top farmers’
lists of investment priorities.
V COCALICO EQUIPMENT CO.
DRAINAGE & EXCAVATING
RD #3, DENVER, PA 17517
received was genuine. He
added, “What our group saw
impressed them that 12,000
miles away is a country very
capable of a high degree of
agricultural technology. The
people know exactly what
they’re doing and they’re
doing it very well.” Lut
tnnger, 1559 Mission Road,
is vice-president for
worldwide marketing and
communications for Sperry
New Holland.
Australia is almost as big
as the United States, and the
★ We Stock Heavy Grade Tubing which
Exceeds SCS Specifications. In sizes 4",
6", 8". 10" and 12".
★ Also Pipe And Fittings For Tile Outlet
Terraces.
People To People Tour ' fami! " 8 ’ SJtll^<l^ 1, ■ M,rol ' 29 '
goodwill
Pennsylvania delegation
visited a very small portion
of the country around
Sydney in southeastern
Australia. They visited
primarily the North Island of
New Zealand, one of the two
islands which comprises that
nation.
The area they visited in
Australia used mostly
dryland farming, which
means it is non-irngated.
Thousands of acres are
planted to wheat, Luttnnger
said, and it is all grown with
normal rainfall, which is
about 25 inches a year
maximum, but may amount
to only 15 inches. The biggest
agricultural enterprise there
is sheep, and the Penn
sylvania group saw sheep
grazing by the thousands on
the flatland.
This family had 1850 head
of sheep, which is less than
one animal per acre, the
average for sheep farming
there. “It is just pasture,”
Luttrmger said. The man
handles the whole farm
himself with the help of
sheep dogs. They sell spring
lambs and mutton and breed
their own replacement
animals. Because of the
temperate climate, the
breeding is spread out year
round. An operation such as
this one, Luttrmger said,
was totally new to the
Pennsylvanians.
He explamed that a basic
problem with the land is the
small depth of topsoil. It
leaches easily, losing its
fertility. Fertilizing is ex
tremely important, and he
said superphosphates are
He added, “Many of our (Turn to Page C3O)
Luttringer said that
“stations”, as their farms
are called, average from
2000 to 4000 acres and are
operated as family units. A
single family can handle that
acreage, he expiring,
because of the good weather
and the flat land. “They
don’t have winter.” Often, it
is possible to grow two crops
annually.
Soybeans are being grown
there as a new crop, and
there are fields of sunflowers
from which seed or oil is
harvested. Luttringer said,
“Many people were sur
prised that they didn’t use
larger equipment, but they
don’t have the tractor power
we have.” Nevertheless, big
equipment does help with the
harvest.
New Zealand and Australia
grassland practices are
from New Zealand and
England, and they are very
advanced in their
technology.”
The Pennsylvanians had
the opportunity to stay
overmght with some of the
Australian farmers they
visited. One couple they
stayed with had been
crowded out of the
Melbourne area because of
growing suburbanization,
and moved 600 miles nor
theast of that city to run
sheep. The couple reported
paying $2OO an acre for land
18 months ago, with the land
now worth $6OO per acre
Luttnnger pointed out that
this is land suitable only for
grazing.
PH: 215-267-3808
Mr. and Mrs. H.K. Luttringer show a sample of
the few momentos they purchased on their
goodwill mission to New Zealand and Australia.
The agricultural mission learned about farming
practices in those countries. Luttringer sports his
"Joe hat”, a straw hat designed by Prime Minister
Joe Fraser to protect farmers from the sun.