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Blackbirds
(Continued from Page C3O)
population passes through
Delaware then.
Two years ago the count
set a record for the lower
Delaware Valley 300
million birds on a single day
during the spring migration,
Last year the peak oc
curred around the first of
December.
The summertime
population of blackbirds is
hard to estimate because
they’re so dispersed. But
compared to the winter, the
number is quite low
somewhere around five
million.
As a scientist who’s
devoted a lifetime to trying
to bridge the gap between
agriculture and biology
the needs of the farmer and
the realities of nature
Linehan looks at the
blackbird in two ways.
First, there’s the damage
done to crops and the
economic loss this brings.
“I feel the problem is very
★ MINIMIZES FEED WASTE
Not only the
physical shape of the
feed trough, but the
operation of the
feeder has been
engineered to reduce
feed waste. The
trough shape cuts
down on feed loss
from “raking" and
"billing," while the
feeder has been
specifically designed
for Chore-Time’s
programmed and
performance feeding
concept
★ LET US SHOW YOU A REVERSE CAGE SYSTEM IN OPERATION
AGRi"
CATTLE HOG - POULTRY EQUIPMENT
R.D. 4, EPHRATA, PA. 17522
PH; 717-354-4271
STORE HOURS: Mon.-Fri. 7:30 to 5:30; Sat.7:3o to 12:00
SERVING PA, N.J. AND N.Y.
real. Some growers have
been terribly hurt,” he says
At the same time, he’s
aware of another dimension
to the problem the impact
on all of us of the presence of
such a highly mobile ver
tebrate population.
“We’ve already lost this in
the buffalo, the passenger
pigeon, and many of the
species m Africa,” he says.
“And I’m convinced that
those of us now living will be
the last to witness this
phenomenon whether or
not we do anything
deliberately to destroy or
control it. What we’re doing
now by way of control of the
blackbird is only speeding up
an inevitable process. ”
Twenty-five years ago
fanners on both sides of the
Delaware River were all m
favor of an all-out war
against the blackbird as a
crop pest. Some still see
extermination as the only
solution. But aside from the
ethics involved m
deliberately wiping out an
entire vertebrate population,
there’s the question of the
feasibility of doing so.
&
★ LESS BIRD STRESS
EQUIPMENT,me.
When he first came to
Delaware in the mid 1950’5,
Linehan’s efforts were
aimed primarily at control
of the com-feeding redwing
blackbirds, grackles and
cowbirds causing farmers so
much grief. His observations
since then have led him to
consider massive control
both a costly and futile ef
fort.
Instead, he has come to
believe that damage
avoidance methods such as
those described earlier are
much more likely to be
successful in producing a
harvestable com crop where
bird predation is a problem
He feels research into bird
behavior, as well as
research on the crop grown
especially plant breeding
for resistance will allow
us to produce com in spite of
the blackbird.
To him, the ideal solution
is to use modified cultural
practices and plant
breeding, together with
selective controls, in order to
produce a crop without
having to resort to massive
control efforts against this
crop pest.
ijirvi
WASHINGTON, D.C. - A
US. Department of
Agriculture official said
today that USDA will adopt a
rule May 1 which will extend
permissive official testing
for protein to all classes of
wheat except for mixed and
imdassed
Leland R Bartelt, ad
ministrator of USDA’s
Federal Gram Inspection
Service, said all official
agencies, unless exempted,
vll be required to provide
official testing for protein
upon request
Only official agencies
designated to provide ser
vices at interior locations
are eligible to apply for an
exemption. To a large
degree, such exemptions will
be based on the volume of
wheat inspected by an
agency
The system has been design
ed for bird comfort!
Each bird has her place at the
feed trough Each has easy
access to water Obstruction to
light and the flow of air have
been greatly reduced, providing
more uniform ventilation and
lighting for every bird Com
bined with Chore-Time’s auto
matically controlled air mlettmg
system, you get a layer house
environment designed for bird
comfort and the resulting
better production
AGRI-EQUIPMENT
INC., OFFERS
COMPLETE
• SALES
• INSTALLATION
• SERVICE
Expanded protein testing
approved for wheat
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 12,1980—C31
Requests for exemptions
must be submitted to FGIS
in writing by April 10
“Official protein testing
will be provided strictly on a
request basis under the U.S.
Grain Standards Act,”
Bartelt said. “Wheat buyers
and sellers, both in in
terstate and foreign com
merce, are entirely free to
choose whether or not to use
official protein testing
services.”
FGIS has been providing
official protein testing
services upon request for
hard red winter and hard red
spring wheats at export
elevators since May 1978.
“We expect requests for
the service to increase when
testing is available at all
specified service points, and
is extended to soft red
winter, durum and white
wheats,” Bartelt said
For domestic lots of
wheat, including inbound
lots at export port locations,
official agencies will be
authorized to use any FGIS
approved protein testing
method. For export lots of
wheat shipped from export
port locations, only an FGlS
approved near-infrared
reflectance machine may be
used.
Bartelt said the near
infrared reflectance
machine is the only method
currently available that is
capable of providing the
rapid and accurate results
needed.
“Since loading at export
port locations is conducted
on a sublot basis, prompt
testing results are extremely
critical,” Bartelt said.
Marketing wheat on the
basis of protein content has
become increasingly im
portant since protein content
has been proven to be a
reliable indicator of wheat
quality for milling purposes,
Bartletsaid.
Notice of the expansion of
the protein testing service
was published in the April 1
Federal Register.