DEKALB, 11. Actinomycetes,
Rhizobium japonicum,
Azotobacter: These names may be
confusing but actually are part of
nature’s most basic forms of life
sometimes called microbes and
include bacteria, fungi, and
viruses.
The word “bacteria” usually
causes thoughts of sick animals or
dying crops. Dairy and beef far
mers though, are aware that
bacteria are the key to successful
silage making and, depending on
the species, bacteria contribute to
many varieties of tasty cheeses.
Just as important to farmers as
these activities are the processes
microbes cause in the field.
Imagine how difficult it would be to
plant a crop if all the cornstalks,
cobs, straw, etc. that were ever
produced hadn’t decayed! Un
fortunately, some of these decay
causing microbes are also
responsible for stalk, root or ear
rots.
Many microbes are friendly
because they decompose crop
residues and animal waste so that
future plants and animals may
utilize die nutrients contained in
those residues. Before the residues
are completely broken down they
become an important component
Soil microbes
of the soil called organic matter.
Besides recycling nutrients
contained in crop residues,
microbes themselves serve as a
vast reservoir of nutrients that are
made available to plants as the
mocrobes die and decompose.
Generally, the vast majority of
these microbes live and die in the
soil profile where the roots of living
plants obtain most of their water
and nutrients.
Microbes also help make
nutrients available from the in
soluble, inorganic components of
soil by creating acids that react
with these components. This
process also converts various
farmer-applied fertilizers to
soluble forms that plants can use.
Phosphorus, potassium, calcium,
magnesium, sulfur, manganese,
and iron are some of the elements
affected by acid-producing bac
teria.
A very important plant nutrient,
nitrogen, is affected by many soil
microbes. Most of us think of the
nitrogen produced by various
species of Rhizobia bacteria that
infect the roots of legumes.
However, there are bacteria in the
soil that can fix nitrogen without
legumes being present.
Other soil microbes can cause
perform essential function
loss of the nitrogen fixed by bac
teria, the nitrogen applied by the
farmer, or the nitrogen released by
the decomposition of crop residues
and manure.
In recent years agricultural
scientists have discovered that soil
microbes are responsible for some
unexpected “failures” of her
bicides and insecticides. Since
most pesticides are organic
compounds that contain essential
elements like carbon, hydrogen,
nitrogen, and sulfur, it really isn’t
too surpising to find that some
microbes can utilize these com
Milk program offers
YORK In compliance with
1983 farm legislation, the
Agricultural Stabilization and
Conservation Service announced
the new Milk Diversion Program,
effective January 1, 1984. The new
program establishes an incentive
payment for eligible dairy farmers
of $lO per hundredweight to reduce
their commercial milk sales,
according to Wilson Nace Chair
man of York County Agricultural
Stabilization and Conservation
Committee.
WASHINGTON, D.C. process, the U.S. requesting public
-As part of its periodic Department of comment on triticale
egulatory review Agriculture is standards.
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pounds as a food source.
Generally, failures of in
secticides and herbicides result
from a conditioning of the soil by
repeated use of a certain product,
or chemically related products, for
two or more years. With an
abundant food source and
favorable environment, bacteria
that feed on these chemicals in
crease populations to levels that
break down the chemicals before
they can do their job. For this
reason farmers are advised to
alternate between different
“families” of chemicals.
To be eligible for the program,
the farmer must establish a milk
base and submit a milk reduction
plan to our office no later than
January 27,1984, and sign a USDA
milk diversion contract by
January 31, 1984. ASCS is en
couraging dairymen to visit the
office early in January or call for
an appointment. Eligibility
standards require the farmer to be
a milk producer in one of the 48
contiguous States; he actively
engaged in milk production as of
November 29, 1983; and not have
transferred to any person, dairy
cows which would or could have
been used for milk production in
the U.S., after November 8, except
as allowed in the transfer
provisions of the program.
The milk base is determined
from the producer’s 1982 com
mercial milk marketings, or the
average of such marketings for
1981 and 1982, whichever the milk
Triticale comments requested
200 Tablets... $18.95 Postpaid
incentive payments
217 S. Railroad Ave.
New Holland, PA 17557
How can farmers affect the
beneficial microbes previously
discussed? One inexpensive and
easily corrected factor that im
proves the environment for
microbes is pH. Fortunately, the
optimum pH for beneficial
microbes is the same as for most
agricultural crops. Soil test every
three years and bring pH to 6.5 to
7.0. Adequate aeration and
drainage will also optimize the
work of those billions of hired
hands that answer to names like
Actinomycetes, Rhizobia,
Azotobacter, and bird’s nest fungi.
producer selects. Under the
contract, the milk producer must
reduce marketings from 5 to 30
percent between January 1, 1984
and March 31, 1985. The milk
reduction plans show how the
producer plans to achieve the
required marketing reductions and
includes an estimate of the protion
of the reduction to be achieved
through increased slaughter of
dairy cows including the number of
dairy cows to be sold for slaughter
during each month of the contract.
The Milk Diversion contract
percentage reduction agreed to by
the producer will be binding except
that the Secretary of Agriculture
may reduce the percentage if
producer participation would
cause excessive reduction in milk
supplies. The minimum reduction
of 5% will not be reduced. Final
contract decisions by the
Secretary are expected by the end
of February 1984.
Triticale is a cereal
grain which is a cross
between rye and wheat.
Kenneth A. Gilles,
administrator of
USDA’s Federal Grain
Inspection Service, said
USDA has identified
three specific questions
to be resolved. They
are;
Should the
allowable limits for
castor beans in the
numerical grades be
tightened from two to
one? For example, two
seeds will render
triticale Sample grade.
Should the
presence of an extreme
amount of smut be
deleted as a factor
rendering triticale
Sample grade?
Should the stan
dards be eliminated, or
is there sufficient need
to retain them?
USDA periodically
, schedules regulatory
reviews to determine
the effectiveness of the
U.S. grain standards
and their respon
siveness to the needs of
the grain industry.
USDA seeks comments
to help the agency study
and evaluate present
marketing and grading
practices relating to the
standards and to
develop recom
mendations for change.
Written comments
should be sent in
duplicate by Feb. 21 to
Lewis Lebakken, Jr.,
Information Resources
Management Branch,
USDA FGIS, Rm. 0677-
S, Washington, D.C.
20250; telephone (202)
382-1738.