86—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 19,1980
Rising production costs demand fine-tuned cropping
GEORGETOWN, Del. -
This year your soil test
results may turn out to be
your very best friend. With
the drastic rise in the price
of fertilizers for the 1380
cropping season, the soil test
can be one of the best
management tools foe"
making a profit, says*
University of Delaware
extension crops specialist
Frank Webb.
Costs of nitrogen and
phosphorus are way up this
year, he reports, with
nitrogen prices running
somewhere between 20 and
24 cents a pound. And for the
first tune in the history of
modern fertilizers,
phosphorus costs more per
pound than nitrogen
anywhere from 25 to 30 cents
a pound. T 1 is a con
siderable inci. e over 1979.
Potash has increased the
least of the majc • fertilizer
inputs, with prices still
running somewhere in the
neighborhood of 12 to 14
cents a pound.
PMMB to
tolling enforcement
HARRISBURG - At a
public meeting held Friday,
April 11, the Pennsylvania
Milk Marketing Board voied
to suspend the enforcement
of the Board’s tolling
regulation, Regulation 141.4.
According to PMMB
Executive Secretary Earl B.
Fink, Jr., the move was
taken pending the outcome
of litigation with Dairylea
Cooperative, et al, presently
before the Commonwealth
Court.
Lehigh Valley Farms, on
February 13, 1980 had
charged Danylea with
illegal tolling of milk.
The charges stem from an
When you calculate your
total fertilizer investment in
terms of pounds applied per
acre on your com and
soybeans, you can see that
what you pay for these in
puts alone is going to boost
your production costs way
up this year. Add the in
creases in what you pay for
fuel and pesticides and it’s
obvious that you’re going to
have to sharpen your pencil
and put all you know to good
use, to make a profit in 1960.
The soil test is one farming
tool that can be used with a
fair amount of confidence
today, says Webb.
Both research and ex
tension demonstrations at
the University of Delaware
show that with the high level
of phosphorus and potash in
many Delaware soils, it’s
often possible to reduce or
even eliminate ap
plications of these materials
in some fields.
So take a close look at your
soil test results, rather than
suspend
arrangement between A&P
and Dairylea on the
processing and packaging of
milk from Dairylea’s
Scranton plant at a price
Lehigh charged is below the
cost of production.
Dairylea has denied the
charges and said they were
within full compliance with
PMMB regulations.
making routine applications
of these nutrients. If you
already have adequate
fertility, this may be the
time to use some of it.
Of course, where soil test
analysis reveals that levels
are low, you will need to
apply phosphorus and potash
at recommended rates. In
spite of the rise in fertilizer
costs today, remember these
nutrients are still probably
one of the best buys around,
when it comes to making a
profit on a crop
If you need any help in
determining fertilizer rates
for your crops this year,
contact your county
agricultural agent, Webb
suggests. Just remember
that in order to fine tune
Poultry Efficiency Quotient
Sponsored by Ralston Purina and your
local Purina dealers.
THURSDAY. APRIL 24
A PERSONAL INVITATION AWAITS YOU BY CALLING
BILL MARKEY, POULTRY OPERATIONS MANAGER FOR
IN THE YORK, LANCASTER, LEBANON, ADAMS
Call Bill at his home (717-252-2431) or office (717-354-4616)
your fertilizer program you
need good soil test results.
Ideally you should have your
soil analyzed each year.
There are other ways to
economize on corn, soybean
and small gram production.
Take your weed control
program. With the rising
cost of herbicides, it pays to
take extra care in their
application. Also, price out
the different materials
available. You may find that
a number of different ones
will do the same job as far as
broadleaf weed or grass
control are concerned. But
they may not all be priced
competitively
What you’re looking for
are effective materials that
will do a good job at the
BY ATTENDING THE
PEO RALLY
9:30 A.M. - 3:00 P.M.
in the Harrisburg area.
KEYSTONE MILS
AND CHESTER COUNTIES.
cheapest price This is the
best way to optimize the
return on your investment. '
One other area which
needs close scrutiny if you’re
trying to pare down your
production costs is fuel use.
There’s not much we can do
'about fuel prices, says
Webb But we can organize
our tillage operations and
consolidate some travel over
our fields In some areas
there’s certainly the option
of going no-till.
No-tillage can result in
considerable fuel economy
especially on corn The
savings from this cultural
practice have been well
demonstrated over the last
six to eight years in
Delaware.
ST
ILL
B.Ki
TRY
VE
The Ralley is
The program is well
described in the extension
publication, “Recipe for No-
Tillage Com Production ”
This is available free from
extension offices m Newark,
302/738-2506; Dover 302/67&
4675; and Georgetown
302/856-5250.
No-tillage also works well
for double-cropped soybeans
after gram. But as in the
case of no-till com, certain
procedures must be
carefully followed in order to
get the weed control and
good crop stands that will
result in a good yield.
If you need help in setting
up a no-till program on your
farm, check with your
county agent on this matter,
too.