C2—Laicaster Farming, Saturday, October 3,1981
BY DICK ANGLESTEIN
LANCASTER - “We have
something very important in
common,” Lancaster County
Commissioner James Huber told a
group of representatives of the
Japanese poultry industry in a
visit to Lancaster County last
week.
Speaking at a welcoming
breakfast at the Holiday North,
hosted by Hubbard Farms, of
Lancaster, Huber paid tribute to
the indust, '.ousness ot the
Japanese people.
"One of the greatest resources of
Lancaster County,” Huber ex
plained, “is our industrious, hard
working people.
"We believe in the work ethic,
too - a day’s work tor a day’s
pay.”
Commissioner Huber also ex
plained the current efforts in
Lancaster County to preserve,
farmland.
“This is a lesson we can learn
from you, too,” he said.
"We must leam how to preserve
and use the farmland remaining as
efficiently as possible. ’ ’
Commissioner Huber handed out
Red Rose lapel stickers to the
group of 14 visitors.
Also speaking at the breakfast
were Robert H. Garland, manager,
Hubbard Farms, Lancaster; and
John Longenecker, of L and W
Hatchery, Elizabethtown.
Longenecker introduced John
Martin, general manager, and
John Brubaker, hatchery
manager, of the L and W staff.
After the breakfast, the group
traveled to the L and W facility,
where more than a half-million
chicks are hatched weekly.
The group also paid a visit to
Victor F. Weaver’s plant in New
Holland and the egg processing
plant in the Greenfield Industrial
Park.
A visit was also made to the
Oregon Dairy Market.
NEWARK, Del. Rats and mice
make expensive guests in the
poultry house. They spread
disease, eat large amounts of feed,
and waste feed by ripping open
bags.
Rodents are starting to look for
winter shelter, warns Delaware
Extension poultry specialist
George Chaloupka. Examine farm
buildings for telltale signs;
droppings; urine; smudge marks;
tracks; runs; holes dug around the
foundation; evidence of gnawing;
nests; odors associated with
rodents; and of course, actual
sighting.
Do everything possible to rodent
proof your farm buildings before
rats and mice establish themselves
for the winter; once they are there,
control is difficult.
Controlling rodents is a year
round job. Whether or not you’ve
seen evidence of rodents, keep the
farm cleared of junk to deny them
comfortable living and breeding
places. Seal all possible entrances
to buildings, and cover windows
and doors with sheet metal or close
mesh wire to prevent gnawing.
Rats and mice don’t require
much of a hole to crawl through,
Chaloupka points out. Place metal
around places where pipes and
wires enter a building. Don’t forget
Japanese poultry leaders visit Lancaster Co.
Visiting leaders of the Japanese poultry industry gather
outside Weaver’s, New Holland, before touring chicken
Lancaster County Commissioner James Huber presents
gift to Katsuma Tokuhara, Managing Director, Nishi-Nippon
Hatchery Co., Ltd., Yamaguchi, Japan.
Get rats out
of chicken house
that rats can enter through sewer
lines, so place a metal grating at
the end of the external dram.
If rodents are already present,
chemicals such as the an
ticoagulants probably provide the
most effective control. Read and
follow directions carefully.
Although rats tend to avoid
strange new objects, properly
placed traps can help reduce the
rodent population. Cats, too, can
help in rodent control.
Remember, if cats are used,
they should be fed for good con
dition; they should not leave the
building; and they should be
protected from poisons and traps.
Cats should not have access to
rodents that die from poisons.
If you happen to spot one or two
rats around a poultry house but
feel you don’t yet have a problem,
consider these facts from Shaver
Poultry Breeding Farms:
Two rats will eat more than 50
pounds of feed per year and have
the potential to contaminate and
waste more than ten tunes this
amount.
Rats have been known to kill
several hundred baby chicks in one
night. A group of hungry rats can
injure or kill older birds as well.
Rodents carry 18 different kinds
of lice, fleas and mites. They can
transmit 35 diseases affecting
humans and domestic animals.
Rat damage to poultry houses
may be unobtrusive at first, but it
is usually significant. Bats can
undermine foundations and walls,
destroy insulation, and chew
electrical wiring and plastic pipes.
Rats average eight to ten young
per litter and five or six litters per
year. In one year, one pair of rats
can produce from 50-70 offspring
that will reach maturity and
themselves bear young.
Usually for every rat you have
seen, there are 10-12 more you
haven’t seen in the vicinity.
Considering these facts, the
effort it takes to rodent-proof farm
buildings is a small price to pay,
Chaloupka concludes.
THI
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i— i—n
pi processing facility. The group also visited Weaver's
egg processing plant and the L & W Hatchery, Elizabethtown.
Robert H. Garland, Manager, Hubbard Farms, Lancaster,
makes presentation of ceramic egg -- symbolic gift of Hub
bard.
Commonwealth
tops ag lending
HARRISBURG - Com
monwealth National Bank, ac
cording to statistics compiled and
recently released by the American
Bankers Association (ABA), ranks
as the leading bank in Penn
sylvania for agricultural loans for
the year 1980. This is the sixth
consecutive year that Com
monwealth National has topped
the list.
On a nationwide basis, Com
monwealth National Bank now
ranks 26th among tbe top 100 banks
in agricultural loans. In previously
released figures, Commonwealth
National Bank ranked 27th
nationally in 1979,315 t in 1978 and
45th place in 1977 in terms of total
agricultural loans.
The ABA report shows
agricultural loans at Com
monwealth National Bank totaled
$62,874,000 as of Dec. 31,1980. This
total Includes loans made directly
through the bank as well as
through its wholly-owned sub
sidiary, Commonwealth National
Agri-Loan Corp. The 1980 total is a
7.2 per cent increase over the Dec.
31,1979, figure of $58,678,000.
Commonwealth National Agri-
Loan Crop, was formed in 1970,
when the bank 'had $11,486,000 in
total agricultural loans.
The announcement was made by
Robert P. Bucher of Lancaster,
president of the subsidiary and
vice president and manager of the
bank’s Agri-Loan Department.