P2—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 5,1983 "* } ■>' >" r -> < ' '* v. '■ v ** N , V' V NEED SOMEONE WHO CAN FILL THE SHOES? Try A Help Wanted Ad In Classified. Phone: 717-394-3047 or 717-626-1164 V<♦<*<* *«v Plant may bring hunger WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today’s problem of food surpluses could be replaced by food shortages in the 1990’s unless government -begins immediately to invest more in plant breeding research. That is the conclusion of 40 leading plant breeding scientists from the U.S. and Europe, who analyzed plant breeding in vestments and their impact on future food supplies at a recent Plant Breeding Research Forum. The Forum, sponsored by a leading seed developer, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., today brought its message' to those responsible for making decisions about the future of public funding of plant breeding. Forum representatives’ reports offered both optimism and pessimism. Scientists can continue to Baylor gets post at Beachley-Hardy CAMP HILL - John E. Baylor, Professor Emeritus of Penn State Agronomy Extension, has been named manager of market development at Beachley-Hardy Seed Co., Shiremahstown, ac cording to Hugh MacWilUam, vice president and general manager. A native of New Jersey, Baylor received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Rutgers University. Following graduation he served on the staff at Rutgers as an extension crop specialist. He received his Ph.D. from Penn State in .1957, at which time he joined the Penn State staff as extension agronomist. He assisted in the development of the Penn State University Forage Testing Ser vice, and provided early leader ship in the development of Penn sylvania’s annual Forage and Agricultural Progress Days. He pioneered the organization of the Pennsylvania Grassland Council in 1960, the first council of its kind in the U.S., and served as its first president. Baylor has earned an in ternational reputation as a con sultant on forage and livestock programs. He has worked with the IRI Research Institute in Sao Paulo, and has worked extensively in New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines, Thailand, India, and Canada. Baylor took an active part in the organization of the IX In ternational Grassland Congress held at Lexington, Kentucky in ipBl. He is a member of the con tinuing committee planning for the XV Congress scheduled for Japan in 1985. He is a member of the American Society of Agronomy (ASA) and serves on the Board of Directors of the American Forage and Grassland Council (AFGC). He served as that organization’s president in 1969-70, and is currently me council s secreu.y treasurer and editor of its official publication, “Forage and Grassland Progress”. Baylor has been the recipient of many awards, including the following from the Pennsylvania - . This isTh.eNew. Idea M0de1.522 sicKleb3r.rnp.wer. ~ breeding research cuts develop higher yielding crop varieties, said William L. Brown, chairman of the Forum. But future advances are going to be much more costly, he warned, because “the easiest gains have already been made.” For example, plant breeders continue to add about one bushel per acre per year to com yields but only by investing twice as much as they did 10 years ago. Plant breeding investments made today will not pay off for at least 10 years, Brown noted. The rate of gain in productivity of crops is already slowing due to a lag in federal plant breeding investment that begin in 1965. State-appropriated funds con tinued to rise until 1979, when they, too, levelled off. As a result, the publicly-supported plant breeding programs which have been so ef- Forage and Grassland Council: AFGC’s Outstanding Service Award in 1981; the Medallion Award in 1971; and the Bicen tennial Award in 1976. He was installed as a Fellow in the American Society of Agronomy in 1977, and received the ASA Ex tension Education Award in 1980. John E. Baylor New Idea cites mowers | COLDWATER, OH In 1883, P o * l * l or styles. Cut- New Idea will build and market terbars are extremely strong and two models of sickle bar mowers in ar ® protected by a break-a-way 9-and 7-foot sizes. device-which allows the bar to sw- These new mowers feature a mg back if an obstacle is struck, balanced head sickle drive for - These mowers will soon be smooth-running, high-speed per- available from New Idea dealers formance and are available in 3- throughout North America. in the 90’s fective in the U.S. are being hampered at a critical time, said Brown. Brown and other members of the forum painted an optimistic pic ture of what can be done if ade quate funds are provided. Yield can continue to move up ward, thus moderating increases infood costs. Increasing yield per acre will allow erosion-prone land to be removed ham the production of crops. The U.S. competitive ad vantage in world agriculture trade will be enhanced, expanding employment related to exports and improving the U.S. balance of trade. . Dependability of yields can be J increased, insuring a steady ly of food at reasonable prices. 1 The nation’s farmers can reduce their use of insecticides due to the ability of plant breeders to breed insect tolerance or resistance into new varieties. Varieties adapted to tillage methods which protect the soil from erosion can be developed. In spite of this promising poten tial, public funds for plant breeding have been declining, after adjustment for inflation. This has had several adverse effects on universities which have tradi tionally performed much of the state and federally funded research. In some cases, universities have attempted to maintain or expand their plant breeding research by increasing their reliance on private grants. This in itself need not be harmful, Brown said. However, dependence on private, sources may shift emphasis awayj from the fundamental researqli which has been one of the irapor- tant university contributions. Without such basic studies, all plant breeders will become less ef fective, he warned. Another risk of underfunding universities is that staff members will seek more lucrative employ ment, hampering the training of future plant breeders. Investments in plant breeding have produced annual returns to society of from 35 to 50 percent, Brown said. “The United States is penalizing itself by its failure to in vest more in plant breeding research. What we do, or do not do, today will be felt in the 1990’s at a time when food demand could well exceed supplies,” he said. I