Here are tips on no-till farming
LANCASTER Hundreds
of Pennsylvania farmers can
save time and fuel while
i greatly reducing erosion if
1 they switch to no-tillage
farming, according to Bill
McClellan, an agronomist at
Penn State University.
But to be successful, he
warns, they first need to
practice good management.
Although no-till has been
around for some tune, it’s
only within the last decade
PUBLIC SALE
REAL ESTATE
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6
at 1:30 P.M.
Located in Salisbury Township, Lancaster
County, PA. 1 mile Southwest of White Horse, 2
miles North of Gap on School House Road.
REAL ESTATE consists of an 8 room frame & bnck
house, 5 bedrooms and full bath on 2nd floor with kit
chen, dining room, living room, den, full bath and
laundry room on Ist floor with full basement. 2 story
barn, 2 box stalls, work shop, forebay, 2 car garage,
drilled well, electric and gas heat on half acre lot with
nice shade trees.
For inspection of property call for appointment 717-
442-4387.
10% down day of sale - Final Settlement by March 1,
1981.
Terms By:
AMOS K. & RACHEL K. STOLTZFUS
Attorney:
Wentz & Weaver
AUCTIONEERS:
Steve Petersheim
215-869-2508
Everett Kreider
AUCTIONEER’S NOTE: Improvements in mce
condition.
Located approx. V/z miles W. of Dover on S. Salem Church Rd. between
the Admire & Davidsburg Rds. (Watch (or Sale Signs).
D-15 (48 H.P.) A.C. Senes II diesel tractor - very good cond., Massey Ferguson 16
H.P. Hydra Speed lawn tractor w/elec. start & 48” mower, A.C. loader to D-15 tractor
w/bucket & 7’ Myers snow plow, A.C. 314 plow w/getters, A.C. 7’ side mount mower,
A.C. sub soiler, 2 A.C. Hyd. rams, A.C. cultivator fenders, A.C. 5’ cut combine w/bm &
spreader, A.C. combine, clover seed attachment for shatterable seed, J.D. 3 section
lever harrow, 3 sect, rotary hoe, J.D. hay conditioner, J.D. 18x28 hyd. disc; J.D. 14-T
baler, Case side delivery hay rake; J.D 494 corn planter - like new, J .D. 17 disc gram
drill, 28’ Smoker elevator w/swivel head, 18’ alum, conveyor, 14’x7’ Case & Grove
farm wagons, 13’x7’ farm wagon, 6’ Bush Hog heavy duty rotary mower, A.C. W-D
Pulley, chain & load binders, Buffalo thresh machine bag scales • good, chicken
crates, tractor chains, hay rope, hay forks, dung forks, hay hooks, wire stretcher, new
grass sythe - never used, push pails, 273 gal. tank & pump, 10’ metal water trough, old
horse plow, horse ground scoop, fence posts, approx. 50’ endless belt, extra mower
knives, bag truck, tractor tool box, circle saw w/several blades, Unico 10 hole self hog
feeder - like new, 4 cast iron hog troughs, 5 butcher kettles & stands, long poles, hay &
straw, baler twine, elect, fence wire, saw null lumber, beams, 12’x8”xl0” beam,
misc. lumber, oil cans, misc. tools, drag-chain, deep well piston type pump w/% H.P.
motor, Weed Eater - like new, Hawn-Echpse 4 H.P. rotary tiller - good cond.. Craft
sman 14” chain saw & case - like new, elect, cable & motors, scrap iron, log chains,
lawn roller, and many misc. items.
Zinc lined dry sink w/RH drw. & back, fancy oak buffet w/back, oak conference
table w/drw., Victrola talking machine - like new, set of 6 pressed back oak chairs,
Singer treadle sewing machine, early wooden press, wooden measures & barrells,
Bentz Mill desk, Bentz miniature iron trough, old wooden com meal table, old wooden
mill pulley, Ford magneto, several sets ot shoe lathes, old chandher, wooden
wheelbarrow, butcher bench, old books - The Better Little Books, golden leaf mirror &
old pictures, 2 wash bowls & 1 pitcher, old light shades, oak pedestal, child’s rocker,
camel back trunk, Necco candy jar, Lance cracker jar, old hanging scales, baskets,
old 78 RPM Records, slaw board, wash board, 5 gal. & 1 gal. crocks, 4 gal. H.B. & C.B.
Pfaultzcraft crocks w/blue letters, purple carnival bowl, depression platter, new cast
iron parlor wood stove. Lazy Boy reclmer, solid cherry drop leaf coffee table, dbl.
maple bed, Odessey home video game, cosmetic mirror, costume jewelry & watches,
ladies emerald cat eye ring, service for 8 of Homer Laughlm egg shell china, service
for 8 of Royers 1881 silverware, other silverware, hand made Cavalier wooden sail
ship, runners & throw mgs, Bxlo carpet, vacuum cleaner, what not shelf, ping pong
table, Kirby sweeper - like new, guitar & case, elect, heater, camp stove, books,
screens, glass pie case, antenna controls, roasting pans, 48 cup coffee maker, cold
packer, card tables, lot of restaurant dishes, kitchen utensils, jars, baskets, chrome
rails for 8' Chev. pickup - new & many items not listed.
Terms: Cash or Approved Check. Not Responsible For Accidents Day of Sale.
Lunch Available at Sale.
Auctioneer: John Kline
Ph. 843-8292
Clerks: Bolton & Kline
that it really has begun to
catch on. According to
McClellan, the system is
currently turning in ex
cellent yields in Penn
sylvania on such crops as
com, wheat, barley, oats,
forage and pasture.
Under the no-till method,
farmers plant directly into
mulch or stubble left from
the previous crop while
controlling weeds with a
combmation of residual
PUBLIC SALE
Of Valuable Farm Machinery, Antiques,
Household & Misc.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15
at 9:30 A.M.
(Farm Machinery & Misc.)
(Antique, Household & Misc.)
herbicides and a contact
herbicide.
“When you leave a cover
and don’t tdl the soil, you’re
going to greatly reduce
erosion,” McClellan said.
“Studies conducted here at
Penn State by Jon Hall have
shown striking differences m
erosion between no-till and
conventional systems.”
In Hall’s experiments on
run-off plots with 14 percent
slope, soil loss on untilled
plots was reduced 96 to 100
percent when compared to
plowed plots which lost 14.5
tons of soil per acre. In
addition, during 1977 and
1978, one to three inches
more rainfall percolated into
the no-till plots than into
those plowed.
Because of data like this,
the no-till system is
currently being touted
across the country as one
way for farmers to meet
increasingly strict federal
pollution standards.
Also, many farmers are
finding that no-till allows
FEEDER
SALE!
WED., NOV. 12
7:00 P.M.
Four States’
HAGERSTOWN, MD.
call: 301-733-8120
Owner;
MR. RALPH STINE
Bill McClellan
them to crop land that would
have formerly washed away
under cultivation, and it has
proved a real boon to far
mers with rocky or
limestone soils.
“Sometimes it’s ex
MAR LEE FARM
“HERDSMAN'S CHOICE”
CLUB CALF SALE
50 TOP SHOW STEERS-ANGUS &
MOSTLY BLACK CHIANINA X BREDS
WESTERN & HOMEBRED
10 SHOW HEIFERS-ANGUS
& ANGUS-CHI
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28
7PM
DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING
FAIRGROUNDS, FREDERICK, MD.
Lee E. Milter, DVM Wes McAllister
30U-.898-7274 301-898-5691
REAL ESTATE
AUCTION
2.9 ACRES m/l BARN, STREAM
2 MOBILE HOMES GUNS
Vz TON TRUCK • TOOLS
SEASONED LUMBER - ELEC. DRILLS
SAWS ETC. - 7’ GRASS MOWER
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15
at 9 A.M.
LOCATED on Route 895 east of Village of Rock,
approx. 5 miles west off Route 183, 5 miles east
off Route 501 Washington Township, Schuylkill
County.
REAL ESTATE AT IP.M.
2.9 acres m/l with 30’ i 50’ bank bam. Route 895 road
frontage, fishing stream. Property offers homesite,
camping, hunting and/or income potential. Inspection
Sunday, October 26th, 1-4 P.M., or by appointment.
10% down balance upon settlement.
MOBILE HOMES - TRUCK - GUNS
l-B’x4o’, 1-Io’x3B’ each unit can be moved easily. 72
custom 10 Chev. piv. 336-30-30 cal. marling, Octogan
barrel Rem. Mod. 12 C 22 pump, Savage 22 Mod. 8
single shot, old 22. Sold at approx. 1:15 P.M.
TOOLS - LUMBER, ETC.
Homelite XL auto, chain saw 16”, 2 Shopmate IV*”
saws, Vi” air wrench, 3/8” elec, drills, Vz” ram drill, 7”
disc sander, heavy duty vice, Craftsman Vz” drive
socket set, (plus many more), heavy chains, ram sabre
saw, 4-6”x7’ I beams, air compressor, Craftsman table
saw and benchgruider, rubber tire wheelbarrow, ext.
ladders, creeper, 6-20’ tele, poles, H.P. ext. cords, hand
trucks, approx. 75’ service wire, elec, hack saw, 2-275
gal. oil tanks, 2-5 gal. cans alum, roof coating (new),
rear mt 7’ mower, 2 hole com sheller, old com
cracker, old butcher box, old pulleys, tires, wheels,
staple guns, levels, bars, saws, hammers, approx. 500
sq. ft. rough seasoned lumber-oak, pme and spruce.
Old lard press, shovels, nails, nuts, bolts, tubs, sewing
machine, wringer washer, radios, elec, heater, leather
change purses, kerosene lamp, many other items too
numerous to mention
TERMS; Cash or approved check. Lunch available.
Not responsible for accidents.
Estate of
CLAYTON SCHWARTZ
JAY RIEGEL JR., Auctioneer
717-739-4718
Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, November 8,1980—D37
tremely hard to till these
soils because it tears the
equipment up,” McClellan
said. ‘‘So traditionally in
many areas, these lands
were left in permanent
pasture. However, since no
till eliminates plowing and
cultivation, it now makes it
feasible to have more
profitable production on
rocky land.”
Another key no-till saving
that McClellan noted is
manpower.
“No-till takes ap
proximately 25 percent of
the time it would require to
cultivate and plant under a
conventional system,” he
said.
“lf you’re in a situation
where your labor supply is
extremely critical early in
the spring, you’ll be able to
get your crop in with less
labor and closer to the ideal
time by using no-till
techniques.”
He points out that no-till
also offers the farmer as
much as an 80 percent
reduction in diesel fuel usage
and allows him to get by with
smaller tractors and less
equipment.
In addition, sod that isn’t
tilled is firmer at harvest
time, which means in a wet
year, equipment is less
likely to get bogged down in
loose mud.
Since no-tdl sod retains
more moisture beneath its
surface, it allows crops to
thrive during periods of
drought. This point was
graphically illustrated in
parts of the country this past
summer when many no-tdl
crops were still growing next
to conventional crops that
had already burned from the
heat and lack of ram.
However, those who think
that no-till is a panacea are
in for a shock, McClellan
warns.
“If you can’t do a good job
with the conventional
system, you’re going to have
to clean up your act before
you consider no-till,” he
said. “If your management
level’s too low now to grow
your crop up to the standard
of the area, you’d better get
some of your problems
ironed out first.”
He continued, “Although a
good manager will produce
as much under no-tiil as he
will under a conventional
system, a poor manager will
sometimes produce far less
in no-till than in con
ventional.”
He attributes this
divergence to the fact that
no-till is not a forgiving
system.
“If you’re not committed
to learning how to do it right,
or if you’re prone to take
short cuts in fertility and
pesticide use, then no-till is
not a good system for you to
consider,” he said. The
consequences of a mistake
can be very rough when you
don’t have die option of
going in and cultivating.”
For those considering no
till, McClellan says the first
step is to learn good
management techniques.
Farmers should also be
prepared to make a slightly
higher investment in
pesticides, although in most
cases, those going to no-till
can continue a similar
chemical program to the one
they used under a con
ventional system.
The two mam differences
with no-till are a slightly
higher rate of herbicides,
and the addition of a good
contact herbicide. The
contact herbicide plays the
traditional role of the plow or
disc by killing vegetation
that is present at the tune of
planting.
“If you’re planning to go
no-till, ease into it rather
than putting all your acreage
into the system the first
year,” he said. “If you jump
in and have problems, it’s
pretty easy to blame the
system and not search for
your own mistakes. This
way, if you ease into it, you
can use your conventional
land as a check.”
McClellan also urges those
considering no-till to seek
advice from other growers
and as many experts as
possible. For those who wish
more no-till information, it is
available by contacting local
extension agents, soil con
servation service personnel
and the Penn State
agronomy department