D6—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 17,1982
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Farm Business
News
Dairy-Tronic range increased
Farmtronix has added the Texas Mile to its complete line of
components for electronic, automatic feeding systems. The
Texas Mile increases the range of Dairy-Tronic System. It
permits location of the central control unit up to one mile
from the feed station. The standard Dairy-Tronic system
handies distances up to 1,000 feet. The Dairy-Tronic System
of electronic automated feeding consists of the central control
unit, cow identifiers at each feed station and a cow iden
tification tag for each animal on the feed program.
Weir gets Carnation honor
HUGHSON, CA. - Joel K. Weir,
who coordinates Carnation
Genetics activities in direct herd
and distributor sales throughout
Southeastern Pennsylvania and
the eastern portion of Maryland,
has been selected as the com
pany’s “District Sales Manager of
the Month.”
Weir’s selection for this honor is
based on his consistent placement
among the top 10 district sales
managers, according to W. R.
Pringle, general manager ot
Carnation Genetics.
Weir joined the Genetics division
Baltimore Farm Credit cites
MOUNT POCONO - Over .750
persons at the Farm Credit Banks
of Baltimore’s Annual Meeting
were told by President Gene L
Swackhamer and members of the
senior management staff that the
Baltimore Banks continued to
grow over the course of 1981 in
spite of the nation’s uncertain
economic conditions.
“We share your concerns
regarding the economy and the
difficulty most farmers face in
operating farm businesses on tight
margins, ’ Swackhamer told the
group of agn-busmess leaders, and
managers and directors of the
Farm Credit Associations and
stockholding cooperatives. “As
creditors, we cannot assure the
success of any business, but we can
help bridge some valleys when
economic conditions change as
abruptly as they have in recent
years.”
Meeting agriculture’s need for
comprehensive credit services in
the Banks’ operating district
brought a 15 percent increase in
the loan volume of the Federal
Land Bank (FLB), a 12 percent
increase in the loan volume of the
Federal Intermediate Credit Bank
(FICB), and a total gross loan
volume of $162.6 million in the
Baltimore Bank for Cooperatives
(BC).
The Banks’ management noted
that 1981 was “probably the most
challenging” of recent years due to
ot Carnation Company more than
two years ago. Previously he
served in a similar capacity with
the company’s milling division tor
more than two years.
Following his graduation in 1969
from Penn State’s College ot
Agriculture with a degree in
animal industry, he worked as
assistant farm manager for the
Rockview Correctional Institute at
Belief onte, until joining Carnation.
A native of Charleroi, he now
makes his home m the Lancaster
County community ot Mount Joy.
growth in challenging year
the volatile state of the economy.
Executive Vice President J.
Howard Settle told the group, "the
Board of Directors was challenged
to walk the narrow line between
farmers caught m a pnce/cost
squeeze, and the need to maintain
a financially sound organization.”
“We were able to achieve a
reasonable balance," he added,
“while meeting both objectives.”
The three-day meeting at the
Mount Airy Lodge in Mount
Pocono, featured several noted
speakers, including Robert
Delano, President of the American
Farm Bureau Federation, and
Penrose Hallowell, Agriculture
Secretary for the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
“The farming business is gomg
through a tough period of
reorientation,” Delano told the
group. “Currently, the farm
production plant is overbuilt and
undercapitalized. Unlike some,
Farm Bureau is not dashing about
crying ’’the sky is falling.’ Rather,
we work to shape what is hap
pening so that it occurs in a con
structive, orderly fashion.”
“America is in transition,”
Delano continued, echoing the
Annual Meeting theme. “(And) we
can tolerate short-term economic
pain in exchange for long-term
economic progress.”
Pennsylvania Agriculture
Secretary Penrose Haliowell noted
"the last two years have been
Cushion harrow absorbs shock
»
y 3
C’HIGAGO, IL. international
Harvester’s new 496 tlex-wing
cushion gang disk harrow is
designed to take the shock ot ex
ceptionally rough field conditions
while providing superior disking
action and depth control m tillable
but tough soil.
The harrow's exclusive dual leaf
cushion gang bearing standards
are capable of absorbing shock
loads in excess of 10,000 pounds
while maintaining the flexibility
necessary for proper soil
penetration. Its C-shaped bearing
standards are made with two
sections of 2 x 1 in. spring steel,
allowing gangs to move rearward
and upward to prevent damage
when obstacles such as rocks,
stumps and roots are encountered.
The gangs for 496 models are
built with extra-strong components
that provide long life under such
demanding operating conditions.
Gang bars are made by heavy 5x3
in. tubular steel. Large 1-1/2 in.
diameter spring steel arbor bolts
increase assembly strength and
maintain rigid alignment.
Like the conventional 496 disk
harrow, introduced by IH last
year, the 496 cushion gang version
is equipped with IH patented Earth
Metal disk blades. Earth Metal
blades are specially formulated
with rare elements
Check sprayers for calibration
UNIVERSITY PARK - Poor
pesticide performance can often be
traced to poor sprayer per
formance, according to Penn State
Extension specialists. This is often
due to poor calibration. Calibration
simply means to apply a known
amount of spray mixture to a
known area.
Several methods are used to
calibrate a sprayer. The simplest
is to travel over an area, about one
tenth acre, and determine the
amount of water applied.
Measure oft a strip that provides
a known area. For example, a 21
3/4-foot boom (13 nozzles at 20-mch
spacing) traveling over a 200-foot
course provides one-tenth acre.
opposite sides of a bad com. In
1980, inflation, expanded debts,
and a short crop from draught
caused economic problems on the
farm. Last year, overproduction
drove farm prices down.” The
Agriculture Secretary said that the
forecast for 1982 was another year
when farmers would have to
struggle with the impact of the
national economy. He noted that
cooperation between members of
the agricultural community should
be sufficient to let farmers work
their own way out as the economy
improves.
“We have leadership m our farm
organizations, with the lending
institutions and in state and
federal governments who
recognize and understand far
mers’ needs,” Hallowed said.
“And the strength of our farmers
themselves add to the foundation
for my optimism.”
Addressing both today’s
economy and concerns for the
future of agriculture, the chairman
of the Banks’ Board of Directors,
William S. Jackson, noted that the
Farm Credit System “was created
in a period of great adversity,
much like the adversity we face
today. Farm Credit has developed
during a period of great change,
not unlike the changes we see
happening all around us today.”
"We expect that tomorrow’s
(Turn to Page D 8)
The International Harvester 496 flex-wing cushion gang
disk harrow is designed to take shock loads in excess of
10,000 pounds. The harrow's exclusive dual leaf C-shafied
bearing standards (insert) are made from heavy spring steel,
allowing gangs to move rearward and upward to provent
damage.
them a non-directional internal
structure which results in blades
up to 60 percent stronger with 20
percent longer life.
Coupled with exclusive IH
crimp-center design, Earth Metal
disk blades puli easier, reduce soil
One-tenth acre for a 28-foot boom
(17 nozzles) is 154 feet. Next, fill
the sprayer tank with clean water
to a known level.
Travel over the course at the
desired rate of speed. Make sure
full speed is attained by the time
the spray is turned on at the
beginning of the course. Determine
the amount of water applied by
placing the spray tank m the same
position and measure the amount
of water required to refill the tank
to the same level.
Most wettable powders and
emulsions call tor 15 to 30 gallons
of water per acre to provide good
coverage. Thus, you should have
applied l*/a to 3 gallons on the one
tenth acre plot.
If the amount applied is outside
West Willow offers new service
WEST WILLOW - The West
Willow Farmer’s Association is
offering area Gog producers the
services of a computerized record
keeping system designed by the
Ralston Purina Company, Tom
Bowman, of West Willow, has
announced.
Called Compass, the .-ystem’s
chief advantage, according to
Bowman, is that it allows
producers to confidentially
compare their production
statistics with those of similar size
and type operations.
“Based on this data,” Bowman
said, “producers can make better
decisions on their projected costs,
returns, cash flow and production.
Gitt joins Pennjield
LANCASTER - Michael H. Gitt
has joined Pennfield Corporation’s
Feed Marketing Division as a
representative for, dairy and
livestock feed sales in Adams and
York Counties.
Gitt earned his B.S. in Jour
nalism and Mass Communications
in 1973 from Point Park College,
Pittsburgh. He formerly was
associated with radio stations
WTHU, Thurmont, Md.. and
WGET, Gettysburg. Most recently
he was assistant sales manager for
Gross Minerals Corporation,
' Aspers.
Gitt resides at Biglerville R 2
with his wife Linda and children
Kirsten, 4, and Kimberly, 2
compaction and penetrate better
than conventional blades. The
blades are held in place by
iron spools that provide supeno*—
blade-to-spool contact for higher
resistance to blade and spool
failures.
this range, adjust by one or a
combination of three ways:
To mcrease rate: Slow travel
speed (by shifting to a lower gear
keep engine speed up to provide
adequate pump pressure and
volume); mcrease pressure; or
use large nozzle tips. To decrease
rate: Use opposite adjustments of
above three factors.
Always stay within the range of
pressures specified in the sprayer
manual tor any particular tip.
Most weed spray tips are
tor maximum efficiency at 30 to 4 J
pounds per square inch pressure.
Low pressures give large droplet
size, poor coverage and poor
toliage penetration. High
pressures give small droplet size
and mcrease problems ot drift.
They can set attainable goals and
base their investments on those
goals.”
Two programs are available.
One program provides
producers with monthly sum
maries of productions in each
phase of the operation, help spot
potential trouble areas and give
progress toward annual production
goals. Also, a confidential com
parison can be made with similar
facilities and types of herds.
The second program provides
monthly financial analysis, in
cluding a breakdown of costs,
income, inventory and other asset
analysis and feed conversion.
i..
Michael H. Gitt
-)