VOL 29 He. 1 Md. tobacco offers stay around $1.25 TERRE HILL There seems to be a lot more Southern tobacco buyers traveling the back roads of Lancaster County this year, but their initial offers are about the same as last year. Reports out of Eastern Lan caster County in the past week or 30 indicate initial offers of $1.25 to 1.30 a pound for Maryland tobacco - about the same as last year. But there are also reports of a half-dozen or so buyers, as com pared to the two principal buyers who moved last year’s Maryland crop. Even though there was a short burley crop in many parts of the South due to the drought and heat, there isn’t expected to be too much initial fluctuation in the local tobacco offers. The large carryover of burley from the previous year’s bumper crop is expected to more than balance this year’s lower yields. The influx of more buyers is likely due to the increasing amounts of Maryland tobacco now being grown in Lancaster County. This past season it is estimated that about 40 percent of the 13,000 acres of tobacco was devoted to the Maryland leaf. This would place the Maryland harvest this year at about nine million pounds in the county. The Southern buyers have in dicated that they are interested in the stripped Maryland leaf being dried down more than was customary with the Pennsylvania leaf. Also, some buyers have taken McKean farmers ‘bear’ their corn harvest losses well BY DICK ANGLESTEIN SMETHPORT Corn growers in Pennsylvania have had all kinds of problems this year. In the southcentral and southeastern parts of the state the drought devastated the crop. PK-idled acres took their toll of crop totals, too. In some places, disease and weeds had their effect. But up in McKean County on the New York State border it was a different kind of problem. Despite a good growing season with adequate, timely moisture that resulted in some 150-bushel yields, a number of McKean farmers are reporting only half crops in some areas. Tlie McKean County problem is bear. That’s right, the rumbling, lumbering Pennsylvania bear that has a liking to munch on com and a much greater fondness to playfully flatten a lot more of the crop than he eats. “The bear problem in com seems a lot worse this year and there seems to be a lot more bear,'’ reports Jack Erway, McKean County extension agent. “Although I’ve never seen one in Four Sections leaf for test and findings show that it is higher in nicotine than is desired. Again, this is likely due to some management practices being carried over from the Penn sylvania leaf, such as manuring and fertilizing at higher rates than are needed. With preliminary buying of the Maryland leaf just beginning, activity is expected to pick up during the coining weeks. Annual meeting season begins It’s annual meeting season in the Pennsylvania Farm Community. The largest state farm organization the Pa. Grange has concluded its annual session and another large group the Pennsylvania Farmers Association is preparing to begin its annual get-together. For a summation of Grange events, including an address by Ag. Sec. Hallowell, policy resolutions and top awards, turn to page A 24. A preview of the PFA annual meeting agenda is found on PageASO. And, on page D 33 is a list of upcoming winter annual meetings of farm groups in Delaware. a field, it appears that they’ll just sit down in the middle and start pulling the stalks toward them. “They’ll eat some and flatten a lot more and when they’re done, there’s just no way you can pick the corn that’s left.” He cites a few examples: “John and Jim Borum were filling silo between Keating Summit and Port Allegany. But first they had to chase six bears out of the fields.” John Brown had a test plot in cooperation with Extension along Rt. 46 in Farmers Valley. He had some trouble with a bear and the Pa. Game Commission trapped it. Brown called Erway; “You better get up here and make your measurements in this test plot,” Brown said. “The Game Commission took that bear down near Emporium and they said it would only take him about two weeks to make his way back here. So, you better get your plot measurements now because I want to get the rest off for silage before he gets back.” Bob Strait bought some extra com to take off a couple of fields (Turn to Page A3l) Lancaster Famine, Saturday, Nevetnber 5,1983 Physical quarantine seen for Avian-infected area BY DICK ANGLESTEIN SMOKETOWN - The primary Avian influenza-infected area in County is expected to be physically quarantined within the next few days, which would include road patrols to prevent the illegal movement of birds out of the area The exact boundaries of the quarantine area have not been finally determined yet, but the primary area is centered in the northern and western sections of I Lancaster County. Speaking at the Lancaster County Poultry Association annual meeting Thursday night, Penn sylvania state vet Dr. Max Van Buskirk Jr., said he expects the quarantine perimeter to be finally established and set up within the next few days. “The boundaries of the area could change due to new flocks becoming affected,” he said In an update of the disease. Dr. Van Buskirk said the present 87 affected flocks now include some suspected in Berks and Lebanon counties, in addition to those in I Lancaster, as well as a couple in Franklin, which were infected by birds brought from a 1 Lancaster auction. The physical quarantine by a federal task force would include the stopping of trucks to make certain that the illegal movement of birds is halted. Establishment of the physical quarantine is seen as partially being brought about by the Roads patrols planned movement of suspected birds out of the area by some operators who wanted to beat the establishment of any quarantine against their farm Heart of the Avian influenza epedemic is the Northwestern section of Lancaster County around Manheim, Mount Joy and Elizabethtown. But the virus has spread out toward Ephrata, into neighboring Lebanon County and southwest of Lancaster to affect some three million birds. 17.50 per Year Movement of birds would b< permitted out of the quarantim area only by permit and trucks would be checked for such permits (Turn to Page A 39)
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