U. of Delaware engineer tells mushroom NEWARK, Del. Mushrooms' are big business in the U.S. Last year the crop brought in close to |4OO million to growers in 27 states, with nearly half of the production centered around southern Chester County, and the adjoining nor thwestern comer of New Castle County, Delaware. Today this profitable industry is struggling to stay alive in the face of increasing foreign competition. To survive, American growers must trim costs wherever possible. One way to do this is to reduce the amount of energy they use to produce the crop. “I pay $50,000 a year to the electric company,” says one local “but I don’t know what that covers.” Others are in the same boat. To help get a better handle on such energy costs, last year the American Mushroom Institute asked engineers at the University of Delaware’s Agricultural Ex periment Station to conduct a study of mushroom production similar to one on the broiler growout process they’ve been working on for the Delmarva poultry industry. That project resulted in a computer model in which all aspects of production have been reduced to mathematical equations which can be readily evaluated in terms of their effect on energy use. Ap plying this information has saved area poultry producers thousands of dollars over the past six years. With the help of a $6,000 grant from AMI, Kenneth Mitchell Lomax, a specialist in electrical and processing at the Ex periment Station, set out to develop a similar model of the Stop in and fill out a computer fuel-saving comparison form and the result will be mailed to you. ★ Arrange a demo or rental to get first hand comparison of fuel savings plus Deutz workmanship and extra reliability and operator comfort. , x . ★ Along with each tractor we provide our usual factory trained service and parts service. TRACTORS IN STOCK DX-120A (4WD) 110 Hp Rebate: DX-120 .110 Hp Rebate: $2,000.00 6807 A ;'. 68 Hp Rebate; $1,500.00 MO7 . 68 Hp Rebate: $1,000.00 5207 ' 52Hp Rebate:sl,ooo.oo 4507 . 45Hp Rebate: $1,000.00 6io6;:;;:::;:;:;.;...62Hp Rebate;sl,soo.oo (or) 14% A.P.R. FINANCING THRU DEUTZ CREDIT growers how to save energy energy used to grow mushrooms. Since he comes from the Hockessin area where most of Delaware’s growers are located, Lomax is familiar with this crop. Working with him on the project have been agricultural engineer Norman E. Collins and Coleen M. Denneny, an undergraduate ag engineering major. It took them 18 months to develop a systems analysis. The resulting computer model consists of three sections: growth; con struction; and management. To use the growth section, all you need to do is tell the computer which air temperatures you’ve set your thermostat for inside the mushroom house and how much compost you’re starting out with. From that, the computer can tell you the bed temperature of the compost. This is measured to determine the health of microbial action in the bed. The computer also tells you the heat energy produced by this microbial action in BTU’s, plus the anticipated mushroom yield in pounds per square foot of bed per day. “The entire growing program is stated in terms of square foot of bed,” says Lomax, “so it doesn’t matter how big the house is. ” Inputs for, the construction section of the model include length of house, topography of the site (which affects building design), and cost of materials to be used. There’s also a variable input for the amount of ceiling insulation added. With this information, the computer tells you the cost of constructing a particular mushroom house, including materials and labor. It also gives the cost of attached equipment 11 ftaufffer Diesel Inc. Phone: (717) 354-4181 New Holland, PA 17557 such as electric motors, fans, air conditioners, and bed boards. By the time you’ve completed these two parts of the model, you know the value per square foot of your mushroom operation. The final section of the model involves management options which affect the cost of production especially as it relates to energy use. Computer inputs for this section include production and building construction data from sections one and two, plus real weather data and economic in formation (primarily taxes, in terest and inflation rate) over a six-year period. From these, the computer can tell three things; the fuel requirements for that particular house (total and per unit area); electrical energy requirements (total and per unit); and unit area and annual costs, excluding harvest and salaries. “The model is a way for us to look at the results of a lot of dif ferent construction and management combinations without actually having to try them,” explains Lomax. Tins way, only those which look promising need to be tested m reality. The rest can be disregarded as im practical or uneconomical. “Our strongest data in the project is energy related,” says the engineer. “But our goal isn’t energy conservation per se, but increased net profit which is another way of saying the bottom line.” For example, the model can tell a grower what the optimum amount of celling insulation will be in a particular house under selected growing conditions. In- Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 7,1981—D5 sulation thickness (R value) af fects both electricity and fuel use. But over-insulating won’t pay. Perry Co. DHIA Ethel Vonme Stacey Ronald C Fauth #54 Richard Knebel Cnssy Claudia Ava Harry R Book, Jr Judy Jenny Fairy Ellen John R Gabel #214 #217 #2lB #225 #233 H John B Sauder, Jr Spunk 55 H #l3O H Y 133 H VX4B H #5l H Dean McMillen Marcy Richard G Smith #l3 H Clarences Martin #lOO #47 H Ed & Wilma McMillen Mamaie .H JohnL King Mable Katie Dale Smoker #l6 #4O #46 #47 #5l #7l H Philip E Brubaker #2B H #7 H #5 H Edwin L Sheibley Queen H Snowbal H Marcy H Gooiy H Eugene M Nolt #2 Henry S Lapp #1 H Arthur E Dum, Jr Daisy H Wayne L Stephens Carol James M Palm #37 #55 H M W Smith Farms Sally H FALL SPECIAL MF-2675 TRACTOR Used 640 Hours. Loaded with options. Excellent condition, very clean, like new appearance. Will sell with or without duals. 14% A.P.R. Financing Fixed Rate this month D ttauffier Oiesel Inc. 1 PHONE 717-354-4181 NEW HOLLAND, PA 17557 In one case, a grower was told to install R3B insulation in his ceiling. (Continued from Page D 4) 305 305 305 289 9 10 305 305 302 93 83 49 3 10 305 305 305 305 43 4 10 305 305 305 305 305 H Br S 57 43 39 33 25 305 305 293 305 305 298 2 11 305 84 50 305 305 305 305 305 10 4 64 34 90 80 60 34- 10 0 305 305 305 305 305 305 305 305 304 53 5 1 45 40 305 295 305 305 305 5 II 284 305 80 305 5-11 305 272 59 00 305 -20 (Turn to Page D 6) 714 823 747 19,091 18,831 18,718 682 18,674 919 761 836 21,254 20,946 20,416 4 1 40 4 1 4 1 670 720 792 842 16,292 18,014 19,500 20,743 680 774 656 694 702 39 47 35 43 35 17,526 16,541 18,796 16,231 20,142 34 33 3 7 36 40 655 762 784 726 679 19,524 22,842 21,241 20,325 17,016 839 18,988 753 22,450 816 667 24,892 16,603 865 24,111 677 764 20,504 21,979 866 738 870 932 693 787 25,223 21,759 23,520 21,983 17,048 24.022 719 841 712 18,997 23,060 19,619 34 35 36 37 735 657 769 755 21,697 18,819 21,513 20,260 654 18,802 685 18,687 731 17,174 740 19,876 806 658 21,718 21,039 676 18,380
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers