I
Delmarva farm country
growing bigger
Delmarva farm country is
getting bigger.
, That may sound different from
J whaU people have been led to
resbelieve for so many years. Sure I
know farmland is being gobbled up
for'housing, highways, parking
lots, and some other uses. A sizable
j chunk is gone and will never return
I to farming.
> But while this has been hap
pening, xnarfy farmers have been
i finding ways to make their farms
| bigger, a combination of land
j prices and other factors have
! encouraged them to bring new land
into production -r acres that grew
only trees or marshgrass or
pasture: -
So today,' any tour through the
lower Delmarva -peninsula will
reveal more land clearing and
draining activity than highway and
shopping center building. And
while I don’t have figures on this
exchange,' I’m sure there will be
more total acres farmed this year
than last.
The trend really picked up steam
about 1973 when farm incomes
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Farm
Talk
Jerry Webb
improved dramatically and when
the secretary of agriculture called
on farmers to! plant their ground
right up to the fence rows.
The fact is there’s lots of land on
the peninsula that isn’t that busy.
Land covered with scrub timber
costs a lot to get into production
more than it was worth until recent
years. But as fanners searched for
ways to expand their farming
operations, land clearing for many
of them became a better alter
native.
Consider the option of buying a
neighboring 190 acres already ip
agricultural production or clearing
100 acres a fanner owns. You can
figure $2,000 an acre minimum to
buy land. And it’s not always
possible to buy land that joins or is
even convenient to the home farm.
On the other hand, depending on
how it’s done, land can be cleared
of timber at perhaps one-third that
cost. A fanner can often market
some timber, then hire someone to
come in and clear up what’s left,
pull the stumps and burn the
debris.
NEW HOLLAND, PA
No doubt it’s cheaper to clear
land than it is to buy land. And at
the clearing price, it makes
economic sense to do it to expand
production of soybeans that sell for
$7 or more a bushel.
the impact of that economic
situation is simply (ha( a lot of land
is still being cleared.
Land drainage likewise has
become more worthwhile so the
continual problem of tiling and
ditching moves ahead as growers
reclaim open ground that in the
past was too wet to farm. Some of
the peninsula’s wet ground isn’t
the very best, but it will produce
good crops if it’s handled properly
and if enough fertilizer is used.
And some of it is very good once
the drainage problem is solved.
Farms are getting larger in
another way one that doesn't
really add acres as more and
more farmers turn to double
cropping. Farmers who were once
quite happy with an annual com
crop planted in April and picked in
December now want a second
' crop.. So they harvest in Sep
tember, plant small grain for
harvest in late June and follow that
with a crop of soybeans. In two
crop years they harvest three
crops their 200 acres now equal
300. Some farmers grow even
shorterseason vegetable crops and
get two harvests every year.
Other techniques such as
maximum fertilizer use and
irrigation double and even triple
crop yields. Add all this up and it’s
easy to see why Delmarva farms
are getting bigger.
A 200-acre farm that used to be
half woodland yielded only 50
bushels of com per acre each year.
But now, due to land clearing and
drainage, all 200 acres are
productive. Fertilizer, irrigation
and other production technology
increase yields and double
cropping adds a whole new
dimension.
So, instead of binning; 5,000 that same farm in two years
bushels of com, that farmer grows compared to only 10,000 bushels a
twice as many crops on twice as fewyears ago.
many acres and gets three or four Any way you look at it
times the yield per acre 30,000 Delmarva farm country is getting
bushels of com one year, 15,000 bigger. Consider the world food
bushels of barley, and 10,000 , situation and the pressures that
bushels of soybeans the next. exist for land, it’s a comforting
That’s 55.000 bushels of grain from realization.
Subsurface drains
LEESPORT If properly
maintained, subsurface drains
should function well for many
years, says Tina Dtdyoung, soil
conservation technician of the Soil
Conservation Service.
Trouble in drainage systems
occurs when soil washes into the
dram and blocks the line. Lines can
also be blocked by small animals
and tree roots.
Most drainage failures can be
prevented by regular care and
inspection of the dram lines, adds
Didyoung.
If wet spots or cave-ms are
noticed over drain lines, this is an
indication that the tile could be
broken or dislocated. If water
stands in low areas for a few days,
the dram is partly or completely
blocked.
Surface inlets often became
sealed with trash and should be
checked regularly. Open inlets
require frequent cleaning and
trash rrfrom the protective
Broiler placements
HARRISBURG - Placements of Placements m the 19 key poultry
larmier chicks in the Com- producing states were 72,406,000,
monwealth during the week ending four percent below the previous
October 31 were 2,148,000 ac- week h* one percentabove
cording to the Pennsylvania Crop s*” l * we€k * year earlier. Average
Reporting Service. placements during the past nine
The placements were seven weeks were four percent above a
percent below the corresponding year ago.
week a year earlier, but four Broiler-fryers slaughtered in
percent above the previous week. Pennsylvania under federal m-
Average placements dunng the spection for the week ending Oc
past nine weeks were slightly tober 21 totaled 1,526,000, with an
below a year ago. average hveweight of 4.11 pounds.
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need proper
maintenance
grates, where as a filtered inlet
requires replacement of clean
sand, gravel or rock as areas
become clogged with sediment.
To prevent rodents and other
small animals from entering and
blocking outlets, insert pins
horizontally through end of pipe
inches apart or install a flap
gate for lines with surface inlets.
Periodically check outlet to be sure
roots and other debris do not block
opening between puis. Replace
poms and flap gates when they
wear out or are damaged.
The outlet pipe usually empties
into an open ditch or channel.
Sediment accumulation and
vegetation can block the pipe,
reduce flow in the dram and cause
sediment to accumulate in the line.
Periodic ditch cleanouts will
maintain free drainage outlets.
For more information on sub
surace drains, contact the U.S. Soil
Conservation Service.