Greenhouse
Using research findings
some growers are chopping
fuel bills one-half, report
scientists involved in the
trials at Penn State.
At the firm of J. L. Dillon,
Inc., Bloomsburg, thermal
blankets are pulled over
beds of growing plants to
exclude chilly night tem
peratures. Blankets are
removed the next day to
expose plants to warm sun.
The firm chopped heat bills
by |20,000 in one year.
Greenhouses used in
conservation research can
be inspected during the
activities of Agricultural
Progress Days, Tuesday
through Thursday, nine
miles west of State College
on Route 45. The exhibits will
be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
each day.
University tests at Penn
State, Cornell, and Rutgers
produced savings up to 60
percent when thermal
blankets were used.
Material and installation
expenses can be recovered
in one to three years.
Most greenhouse
operators experience
The Vicon KM-240 cuts and conditions the tallest,
tangled, wettest, heaviest, hay Tlr
conditioner eliminates a pick-up '
you can put up more hay FA.
With a working width of 7'10", it
mow twice as much area in a day
as most competitive models Most
competitors use a pick-up reel,
which limits ground speed adds
maintenance problems and
allows leaf loss
The Vicon six-disc cutter b;
yourcrop directly, stem first, into rul
f p
MOWER AND MOWER CONDITIONERS • HAY RAKES viconfarmmactAierKina POWER HARROWS - SPREADER SEEDERS
TURN A VICON LOOSE
CONTACT: BOYD MOODY, 2113 Circle Rd., Carlisle, Pa. 17013 717-243-3062
similar savings, but no
single technique fits every
situation, caution resear
chers John White, professor
of floriculture at Penn State;
and Robert A. Aldnch, now
professor and head of
agricultural engineering at
the University of Con
necticut. They estimate
20,000 apres are under glass
in the United States.
Experimental and field
applications demonstrate
that operators m colder
climates must innovate and
make conservation decisions
on a case-by-case basis,
White reports.
The greenhouse of John
Lochner of Kirkwood, Mo., is
one such situation. After
Lochner covered his 30-by
-100 foot quonset style
structure with double
polyethylene and installed
thermal blankets, one
300,000 BTU heater provide
sufficient for the house.
Researchers help
operators find other ways to
cope effectively with fuel
Costs.
Without conservation
measures, a Bethlehem
3741 Cook Blvd Chesapeake Virginia 23323 - 804/485-1600
blankets cut fuel bills in
greenhouse enclosing 19,200
square feet needs 43,000
gallons of No. 2 fuel oil to
heat the structure built with
single-layer lapped glass.
Penn State research found
that covering the glass with
air-inflated double
polyethlene cuts oil to 29,000
gallons. Adding thermal
blankets increases in
sulation value and pares fuel
to 12,000 gallons.
Now on the market are
practical exterior covers,
thermal blankets for intenor
spaces, sidewall insulation,
Grain market outlook
despite current weakness
LANCASTER Gram
market prices are currently
under downward pressure
because of high interest
rates and the tense situation
in Eastern Europe.
However, declining
supplies of grains and
condition green hay or wet grass Itdnestaster and bales
le and labor
,M-240hasnochains.no belts, nosickle
jar If you need only a mower, look at
the ViconCM-165(4discs-5 , /2’ work
ing width) or the CM-240 (6 discs -7'10"
working width) Both make clean cuts
in heavy grass or tangled crops
Ask your dealer to showyou the
:on KM-240 mower-conditioner Cut
lay-making down to size with VICON
i mower-conditioners
CM 240
infrared heaters, and solar
and associated storage
systems.
But, White indicates, some
unproven techniques are on
the horizon. One is soil
heating in combination with
blankets for individual beds
of a greenhouse. “They look
promising,” he says, “so
why heat the entire house?”
Another is power-plant
waste heat as a potential
method of heating
greenhouses.
White and Aldrich have
written a manual entitled
oilseeds, coupled with strong
demand, provi . a relatively
firm base for stronger gram
prices.
In early December, year
end world stocks of gram for
1980/81 were estimated at
152 million metric tons -
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 3,1981—A13
“Greenhouse Energy
Conservation”. The manual
is published by Penn State in
easy-to-read non-technical
language, with 27
illustrations.
Each section includes
thorough discussions of
payback tunes, expected
fuel savings, energy ef
ficiencies, and other
economic data. Growers
report their experiences,
describe potential problems,
and suggest solutions.
Commercial products and
suppliers are listed. Sections
little changed from the
November estimate but 20
percent below the 191 mmt
earned over m 1980.
This will be a record
single-year decline m world
carryover gram stocks.
Total production is ex
pected to remain near the
1979-80 output, but con
sumption is trending up
ward. Stocks will show the
greatest decline m the
Umted States because 1980
coarse gram crops were
sharply reduced and use is
up m response to strong
demand.
World consumption of
wheat and coarse grams in
1981 is expected to exceed
production by nine and 32
mmt, respectively.
Consequently, yearned
stocks of wheat m 1981 will
be reduced to 70.4 mmt; this
would be the lowest level
smee 1976 and represents a
lower stocks-to-use ratio
than during the tight supply
situation of the mid-1970’5.
Year end stocks of coarse
grams are projected to be
lower than m the mid-1970’s
both m absolute terms and in
the stocks-to-use ratio, with
the U.S situation par
ticularly tight.
JJJS. Livestock prices will
also increase next year,
particularly m the second
Stud sells 60
ELBURN, IU - Curtiss
Breeding Industries has sold
sixty of its surplus young
sires to Select Sires, Inc and
Midwest Breeders
Cooperative, the company
announced recently.
Many of the young bulls
are sons or grandsons of
Pawnee Farm Arhnda Chief,
Milu Betty Ivanhoe Chief
and Paclamar Astronaut,
according to Karen Drier,
LIVESTOCK SCALES
For
Hog Operations
TRUCK & PLATFORM SCALES
ALSO AVAILABLE
GARBER SCALE COMPANY
121 Witmer Rd. Phone
Lancaster, Pa. 17602 (717) 393-1708
ALL SCALES STATE APPROVED.
half
are included on cold-tolerant
crops, cultural conservation
methods, boosting efficiency
of present equipment and
operation, and tips for hobby
operators with greenhouses
attached to homes.
“Greenhouse Energy
Conservation” is $2.50 per
manual, postage paid; rates
for bulk orders are available
upon request. Order from
Industrial Research and
Innovation, 225 Pond
Laboratory, Dept. AG,
University Park, PA 16802.
firm
quarter. Lower pork
production will be the major
factor underlying the up
ward price pressure, but
declining beef production
will reinforce the situation in
the spring.
In 1981, prices will rise for
most farm inputs, with
energy prices increasing the
most. On a per-acre basis,
crop production costs may
average 10 to 13 percent
higher than in 1980.
However, if crop yields
return to more normal levels
next year, mcreases m per
unit costs will be much less.
Net farm income (in
current dollars) will un
prove m 1981, perhaps
regaining all the loss of 1980.
Sharply higher prices for
most farm commodities will
be instrumental in raising
cash receipts.
If growing conditions are
more normal next year,
increased farm inventories
would add to net farm in
come, and higher yields
would partly offset the
impact of nsmg input prices.
Retail food prices are
expected to rise 10 to 15
percent m 1981, led by meat,
poultry, and eggs. The farm
value component will ac
count for more of the in
crease in retail prices than it
did in 1980.
young sires
of Com-
Director
munications
The sale was part of a
program to provide a better
balance of genetic material
among the Curtiss young
sires-m-waiting, she said
Curtiss, an innovative
leader in improving both
dairy and beef cattle through
artificial insemination since
1949, is headquartered near
Elburn, Illinois.