A24—Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, October 8,1983
HARRISBURG - Friday, Oc
tober 14, is Farm Women’s Day in
Pennsylvania, by a proclamation
signed this week by Governor Dick
Thornburgh.
On hand to witness the
proclamation signing ceremony at
the Capitol Building were
representatives of the Society of
Farm Women organization, the
Pennsylvania Senate and the state
Department of Agriculture.
After he had affixed his
signature to the official document,
Governor Thornburgh accepted a
basket of the state’s diverse food
commodities from Farm Women
president Marie Baughman,
Shippensburg.
Also taking part in the ceremony
were the Farm Women’s first and
second vice-presidents, Naomi
Bupp, Glen Rock, and Edith Diehl,
Shippensburg. Deputy Secretary of
Agriculture Chester Heim and
Senator Edward Helfrich,
Will farmers ever
grow smooth
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S.
Department of Agriculture’s
search for “energy crops” got a
boost in 1977 when Congress
directed the Department to make
U.S. agriculture self-sufficient in
energy by 1990..
'lf surpluses continue to erode
farm economy, new “energy
crops” could give fanners a boost
as profitable alternatives to com
and soybeans in the 1990’5.
One such crop reported on here
today at the national meeting of
the American Society of Agronomy
is smooth sumac a woody
perennial native to North America.
Unlike its distant relative, poison
sumac, smooth sumac causes no
allergic reactions.
According to T. Austin Campbell
of USDA’s Agricultural Research
Service (ARS), smooth sumac
or Rhus glabra by its scientific
name would grow wherever
corn and soybeans grow.
Moreover, smooth sumac would
draw a higher price in today’s
market because the whole plant
can be processed to yield more
types of products. Based on
preliminary economic analyses,
“the oil and protein from an acre of
soybeans is not worth as much as
the polyphenols, oil and protein
from an acre of Rhus,’' he said.
To be profitable, however, new
handling, processing and
marketing systems would have to
develop alongside the new crop,
according to scientists at ARS's
Northern Agricutural Energy
Center in Peoria, Illinois.
The center, which was
established as a result of the 1977
Congressional legislation, has
surveyed more than 500 plant
species for energy-rich
“botanochemicals.” Smooth
sumac is a semifinalist as a multi
use crop.
Although its products would now
power the family automobile, the
plant is rich in tannins
chemicals currently imported
from Europe for leather
manufacturer and other
polyphenols that could serve as
antioxidants or be converted into
adhesives and resins for use in the
manufacture of wood products. It
also contains a variety of oils
which could replace
petrochemicals as lubricants or as
industrial raw materials for
instance, in the manufacture of
plastics. After these chemicals are
extracted, Campbell said, the
Farm Women’s Day
chairman of the Senate Ag and
Rural Affairs committee, attended
as well.
Governor Thornburgh saluted
farm families as the backbone of
Pennsylvania’s agriculture
tradition, farm women as being
instrumental in preserving the
farm heritage.
His proclamation states: “For
nearly 70 years, the Society of
Farm Women has continued the
fine farming customs and
dedication exhibited by the
Commonwealth’s first family
farmers. By sponsoring activities
in their communities, these women
uphold the dignity and purpose of
farming, teach youngsters respect
for the soil, and foster a deeper
appreciation for farming and rural
life.”
Membership in the Society of
Farm Women includes over 4,000
women from 187 local societie° in
17 counties across Pennsylvania.
sumac?
residue could serve as high-protein
cattle feed.
Campbell, who is an agronomist
based at the Beltsville Agricultural
Research Center in Maryland, is
cooperating with the energy center
in Illinois to study smooth sumac's
potential as a field crop.
Smooth sumac passed the first
test: it grows well from seed. It
can be harvested once during the
planting year and twice a year, in
spring and fall, thereafter. If
adopted on the farm, Campbell
explained, the whole plant would
be cut, allowed to dry and baled
much like hay, then hauled off to
an extraction plant nearby.
Campbell evaluated plants
grown from seeds gathered at 17
locations in 3 states to determine if
smooth sumac can be improved
through breeding. He statistically
analyzed the variation in growth
characteristics such as plant
survival, vigor, dry matter yield,
and number of secondary shoots
as well as the variation in
polyphenol and oil content. He
found significant genetic diversity
and concluded that smooth sumac
“has the potential for great im
provement in botanochemicals
through breeding, and for
moderate improvement in yield
through breeding and
management.”
Although the ratio of polyphenol
to oil may have to be adjusted
through breeding, Campbell said,
some of the plants had combined
polyphenol-oil levels that exceeded
the requirements of two economic
feasibility analyses.
Campbell also sees no problem
in improving protein content
through breeding. According to
reports by energy center scien
tists, residues of smooth sumac
already contain about 7 percent
crude protein, which is only 2
percent below the level deemed
necessary to make smooth sumac
competitive as a high-quality
animal feed.
Yield, said Campbell, poses the
only potential problem. But that
depends on which economic
analysis one relies on, he added. In
his own study, yields were far
short of the energy center’s
recommendations for a profitable
crop, but were as high or higher
than the levels recommended by
Mississippi scientists.
Campbell estimates 5 to 10 years
of breeding should bring smooth
sumac up to par as a cash crop
After signing Farm Women’s Day proclamation, Gov. Dick Thornburgh receives
basket of Pa. farm products from Farm Women officers, from the left, Edith Diehl, Marie
Baughman and Naomi Bupp.
‘DofeaU,
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