C42—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 11,1981 Oil discovery may MEXICO, D F Discovery of vast petroleum and natural gas supplies has helped transform Mexico mto one of the top markets for U.S agricultural exports Mexico had traditionally ex ported more farm products to the U.S than it bought, usually ranking as our number two sup plier after Brazil In 1972, U S agricultural sales to Mexico totaled only $lBO million, while Mexican farmers sold us $590 million worth of their products Sales to Mexico reached a record $2 billion last year, making it our third largest customer for farm products, according to USDA economist Donna Roberts Meanwhile, the U.S imported $1 2 billion of Mexican farm goods, so the U S. netted about $BOO million after agricultural trade books were balanced. This year, Roberts says U 6 farm sales should equal last yeai s record-perhaps a bit higher. Last December, the U.S and Mexico signed a 1-year agreement providing for Mexican purchases of six to eight million tons of U S grains, oilseeds, and vegetable oils, worth about $2 billion. Three factors are primarily responsible for the dramatic turnaround in the trade balance in recent years Ouackgrass— —— D Rhizomes should be chopped up so that no more than four nodes remain on a stem. Several diskmgs may be required in heavy quackgrass sod Fall plowing, if soil erosion is not a problem, may be necessary to winter kill (Continued from Page C 35) to using atrazme is its long persistence in the soil at high con-, centrations. By using lower rates the second and third years, levels of atrazme in the soil can be reduced enough so that small grains, beans and forage legumes can be seeded m the fourth year of the rotation However, a measure of quackgrass control is sacrificed when rates are reduced. Growers wishing to rotate portions of their crops as a market hedge will require a chemical treatment that controls quackgrass in corn tne first year and still degrades sufficiently to allow rotating to an alternate crop the following year Eradicane is a good herbicide to use for this purpose Not only does it suppress quackgrass but it leaves planting options open for growers Its flexibility allows growers to choose among four application methods for quackgrass control, while benefiting from the herbicide’s wide spectrum control of general weed problems Rates of up to seven and one-third pints of Eradicane per acre can be incorporated preplant for control of moderate infestations or suppression of heavy infestations Or, for growers ac customed to the split application method of quackgrass control, it can be preceded by a preplow application of atrazme m the fall or spring. To get acceptable quackgrass control with atrazme or Eradicane, however, thorough soil preparation is necessary before ap nlvimr thp hprhipiHp Unfavorable weather has hampered Mexican farm production In 1979 di ought and early frost damaged crops and increased import needs Mexico's population growth rate is one of the world’s highest averaging more than 3 2 percent annually over the last decade-to total nearly 70 million people Agricultural output hasn’t kept pace with the rising demand for food Mexico’s oil discoveries have translated into more money to upgra