Md, farmer’s chickens pay living 9 trees WASHINGTON, D.C. - Chicken fanner Ed Coons of Somerset County, Maryland, raises 170,000 broilers a year. It’a a living. For happiness, he grows trees. “We’re not in tree fanning for the money,” Coons said, speaking for himself and his wife, Suzanne. “In fact, our chickens help pay for the trees. We won’t be around by the tune these trees are ready to harvest. We just love to work on the land and watch the trees grow.” In Coons’ view, he’s paying a debt. “You shouldn’t take from the land without putting something back,” he said. That’s been Coons’ philosophy for the 17 years the family has managed some 1,000 acres of woodland. They used some of the timber to build an addition to their house, which they heat with wood. Fhen they reforested all of the cutover area, so another timber FSJj TO SERVE YOU BETTER fFJ From IMMJJ‘ LANCASTER, PA. SeSS AGRICULTURAL CHEMICALS ROYSTER BONANZA AND CROP SPECIALS THREE LOCATIONS IN PENNA. DANVILLE 717-275-4050 RICHLAND 717-866-5701 LANCASTER 717-299-2541 m /Fertilizers] crop could start growing. “We want to leave trees for future owners just like the past owners did for us,” said Coons. An official of the U.S. Depart ment of Agriculture says he’d like to see more private landowners take such a keen interest in planting and caring for trees. “The Coons are the kind of people the nation is depending on to meet future demands for timber and food,” said R. Max Peterson, chief of the USDA’s Forest Ser vice. “A recent USDA assessment of the nation’s resources shows that timber demand soon will outstrip supply under present management levels. “Seventy-five percent of the best economic opportunities to increase timber yield is in growing more trees sooner, and most of these opportunities exist on land owned by fanners and other private citizens,” Peterson said. But it is difficult to motivate R/K (Royster / Kirby) 500 Running Pump Rd., Lancaster, Pa. 17601 MIXED FERTILIZER / New Banvelhcrbicidc 1 f 2-step overlay program... i Now you can lay-by com BEFORE it’s 5 inches high! fleeult. Banvel early lay-by controls a broad spectrum of important broadlaat weed*, including the tough onas 2 4-D misses during tha time whan waedcontrof is moat needed And you probably won t hav« to go back into tha tutd Ml harvast' r s ' Banvel R/K AGRI SERVICE . *= • Large Enough to Serve fw • Small Enough to Care I ] Call us now about tha Banval htrbictde 2-stao overlay program from Valsicol WRITE OR CALL LANCASTER 717-299-2541 IN PA. 1-800-732-0398 OUTSIDE PA. 1-800-233-3833 AGRI SERVICE /y I JL | I 1 l/Ti pnvate owners to invest in long term timber management when the pay-off is so far in the future. Two government programs provide an incentive. These are the forestry incentives program and the agriculture conservation program. Both are cost-sharing programs ad ministered jointly by the USDA’s Forest Service and USDA’s Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service. The programs provide financial and technical assistance to nonin dustrial private landowners for reforestation and timber stand improvement. “Without these programs, I would have to sell land to get the money to keep planting,” said Coons. “My tree farming began with 700 acres in 1963. 1 applied for $5OO for planting from the agriculture conservation program through the Maryland Forest Service. At the MATERIALS FOR BLENDING OR DIRECT APPLICATION... UREA (GRANULAR) AMMONIUM NITRATE NITROGEN SOLUTION DIAMMONIUM PHOSPHATE TRIPLE SUPERPHOSPHATE MURIATE OF POTASH GRANULAR ZINC BORATE (GRANULAR) MICRONUTRIENT MIX SULFUR (GRANULAR) 46% 33 l /z% 30% 46% 60% 22% 32% 90% Here's hew the Banvet early lay-hy program werfca 1 Apply your ore-emergaoce herbicide to control graasea 2 Apply Sanvel before com is more than S inches, when btoadleaves are germinating before weeds have robbed significant amounts of moisture or nutrients from your crop tune, that was the maximum available in a year.” Today, the forestry incentives program will pay up to 75 percent of the costs of reforestation and timber stand improvement, not to exceed $lO,OOO per year per recipient. The agriculture con servation program will pay up to 80 percent, not to exceed $3,500 per year. Coon’s tree fanning efforts paid off with special honors in 1978. He was named Outstanding Tree Fanner in Maryland and then Outstanding Tree Farmer in the Middle Atlantic Area. He credits much of his success to USDA assistance and the technical ad vice of Maryland state forester Dick Whitney. “I wouldn’t have known where to begin without Dick’s help,” said Coons. Since he began in 1964, Coons has planted some 325 acres of cutover woodlands with loblolly pine TWO LOCATIONS IN SO. MD. JAMES H. McKENNY Sales Representative CHARLOTTE HALL 301-884-4604 301-932-6527 UPPER MARLBORO Rear of Three M Farm Supply 301-627-8700 m (Fertilizers/ Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, May 9,19t1—€41 pay debt seedlings, either by himself or with contracted hand labor. He used chemicals to stop low-quality hardwoods from competing with the pines on 500 acres. Private contractors bulldozed and shear-bladed grown-over sites on 100 acres. He used controlled burning to get the land ready for planting on 150 acres, and 200 acres have been treated with herbicide to control undesirable underbrush after timber harvest. This spring, Coons band-planted another 60 acres with loblolly pine seedlings. He received federal assistance for about 20 of these acres. Without the federal funds, Coons says, his tree planting efforts would have been greatly con strained. “Most fanners like myself need to use their available cash for paying living expenses, capital debts and taxes,” he said. Peterson said research results back up Coons’ words. Forest Service studies, he said, show that many of the nation’s private forest owners lack the capital for making the investments needed for most timber management decisions. ‘ ‘We know investments in timber management on these private woodlands are important and that they will benefit society by in creasing supplies for the future. This will benefit consumers through lower prices and more readily available materials. That’s why we have these assistance programs,” he said. Coons said when he eventually sells some of the timber, he puts most of the profits back mto growing more trees. HYDROPONIC FARMING Here is your opportunity to own and operate a high profit and enjoyable greenhouse business growing tomatoes, lettuce and cucumbers year round!! Growers are needed in your area to become owner/operators in this fascinating money making business. We provide complete training and technical assistance. Investments from $12,000-$25,000. Gross annual income $14,000- $22,000. Investigate this opportunity through personal inspection of our PROVEN SYSTEM bv visiting a greenhouse in full production. FOR COMPLETE INFORMATION CALL OR WRITE: PHONE 215 527-0850 HYGRO PRODUCTION, INC. EARL CURTIS NICHOLS. PRES. 21 MEADOWS LANE HAVERFORD, PA 19041
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