DlO—Lancaster Famine, Saturday, October 18,1980 Agriculture has taken a strange twist over the last 100 years or so, particularly in the South. And that in cludes the Delmarva peninsula. Perhaps some would quarrel with the concept that the peninsula is part of southern agriculture. But when you look at its history, climate, soil type, and some other natural factors, it’s obvious that the coastal plains of the Delmarva peninsula are a lot closer agriculturally to the Carolinas than they are to Pennsylvania or New England. A century or more ago southern agriculture was dominated by large plan tations, with tenant farmers doing the work. Each tenant had a small plot of ground that he could till with hand labor and a mule or two. He was closely supervised by the plantation owner and usually owed his success or failure to the owner’s generosity. Over time, our land inheritance system and the economics of farming changed all that. It changed it so much, in fact, that today we have almost a complete reversal with small lan downers and large tenants. It’s not unusual throughout the South, and that includes Delmarva, to find big-scale farmers who own very little land but till thousands of acres. ALASKA KODIAK WOODBDRNERS FIREPLACE MSERT • Fits into your existing fireplace complete with all parts, including blower and instructions for easy installation. • Specifications (Large) Burning time 10 to 12 hours. Heating capacity with blower, 2,500 Sq ft., without blower 2,000 Sq ft. Fireplace minimum opening 23*/2” high x 32‘/4" wide x 15%" deep. Effective Now Factory Authorized Super Sale of 1980 MANY OTHER MODELS AVAILABLE CHESTER B. NOLI 30 S. Hershey Ave., Bareville Leola, Pa. 17540 717-656-6898 STORE HOURS: Closed Mon &Tues., Open Wed., Thurs , Fn 10 to 8, Sat 10 to 4 Other hours by appointment Farm Talk Jerry Webb In tiny Delaware, with its three counties, there are a number of these big operators who rent farms from dozens of landowners and who, with a little hired help and a lot of expensive machinery, handle two, three, even five thousand acres of com and soybeans. Some of these tenants still farm on shares but most pay cash rent. Instead of a domineering plantation owner hovering over them, the tenants are calling many of the shots. Most of the meaningful negotiation takes place when the terms of the rental agreement are established. At that point, the lan downer and the renter get together and determine price and other terms such as length of contract, ap- - plication of lime and fer tilizer, use of buildings, - general care of the property, and other considerations. In some instances, the rent is paid and that’s the only contact renter and owner have. That’s quite a switch when you think about it. And it’s a switch that worries a lot of thinkers in agriculture. They remember the good old days when a farm was about 80 acres and it in cluded a home and a large family who sent their kids to the local schools, shopped in the nearby town, attended the crossroads church, and were, in general, a part of the community. Contrast that with the current system of absentee landlords and large-scale tenant fanners. It’s a sort of phantom agriculture. You can ride for miles in the heart of Delmarva and never see anyone who looks like a farmer, unless you pick those peak periods like right now when the harvest is on. And even now you must look quickly on any given farm to identify the real farmer. /It’s not all unusual for these big operators to come in with two or three com bines and a fleet of farm trucks and harvest the whole farm in a day. Likewise, in the spring they roar in with huge diesel tractors and once-over tillage systems that allow them to do everything, in cluding seeding, in one or two passes. They strike quickly, planting an entire farm in a day or -two, and then move on. The end product from all of this bigness and mechanization is a highly productive, efficient agriculture, but one totally different from 50 years ago. Rural Delmarva is lucky to have a large nonfarm population that keeps it alive and well. Otherwise it too might look like some of the grain deserts of the south and midwest where even the big-time farmers live in town. Here at least most of the suitable dwelings are oc cupied, even if by renters who work somewhere else. And the crossroad villages and towns bustle with commerce even though the feed store and the farm supply center have long been closed. POURED SOLID CONCRETE STORAGE SYSTEMS V V Increase Your Volume By In-Ground Storage 410 Main St. • Akron, PA 17501 • (717) 859-2074 or 733-9196 Almost every town in Delmarva is a bedroom community of sorts, meaning that people live there and work somewhere else, and the farm-to-market roads are dotted with strip developments, mobile homes, and other kinds of housing for rural residents who travel 100 miles or more a day to good paying jobs. Obviously die tremendous recreational industry abounds on Delmarva’s water edges has great im pact on nearby rural areas. Hunting and fishing rights, campgrounds, cottages, roadside . markets, restaurants, ( are -slanted toward the recreation market/ And those dollars spill over into the' rural areas. Meanwhile, the business of producing food and-fiber goes on even if the principles involved do appear almost ghost-like. But with all the changes that have come and gone in agriculture, one thing remains constant-the land. And whether by mule, by hand, or by 4-wheel drive tractor, whose, same acres are tilled year in and year out, becoming steadily more productive. A hundred years ago half the people in this country lived and worked on farms. Today, according to the latest census estimates, only three in a hundred do so. Maybe they still live in rural areas, but they aren’t farmers. Those three who are farmers are growing bigger and becoming more ef ficient. They’re the phan toms who appear out of nowhere astride large green or red tractors, gobbling up ± Any Size CONCRETE WORK; INC. -the production of a whole farm-in a matter of hours and then roaring off into the sunset, not to be seen again -until next year. - Phantom farming is a fact clear across the crop oriented south, and it’s a factor also here on the SWANSON PTO DRIVEN SPRAYER PATENTED DUAL ADJUSTABLE BLOWER • Made of 3" x 5” tubing. • PTO driven from tractor with 35 HP or larger. • MyersMulti-Stage centrifugal pump 2C95 with capacities of up to 100 GPM at 200 PSI. •'Cable controls, all gauges mounted on sprayerjor easy viewingfromtractorseat. 5 The patented fan is available in 4 sizes to suit tractor horse power. All housings arestamless steel and are resistant to rust and corrosion. The dual adjustable blower is fully adjustable for any spray pattern required and can be adjusted for dual pattern suitable for large trees mterplanted with smaller ones. Positivefluid agitation that can be adjusted to any con centrate desired. Offset tandem for smooth stability over uneven ground and easy turning. The offset tandem wheels give great er stability in hilly terrain and better flotation under wet and muddy_conditions. Four different height adjust ments. 300 gallon tanks size standard with single axle. The tank is 304 stainless steel to give long trouble-free . life. Available in 500,400, and 300 gallon tank sizes. Lancaster County's Only Dealer Specializing In Sprayer Sales & Service LESTER A. SINGER Ronks, PA Phone: (717)687-6712 .Evenings & Sat. 717-687-7116 ilage Pit Walls lanure Pit Walls etaining Walls Delmarva peninsula. Whether it’s good or bad is for someone else to judge. EGGS
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