AlB—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 18,1984
Kitchen table meetings promote conservation
BY JOYCE BUPP
Staff Correspondent
GLEN ROCK - While top en
vironmental and political figures
meet around polished board room
tables to debate the planned
cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay,
landowners in part of the water
shed are looking at the problem
from their own point of view.
Over soup and sandwiches in the
spacious kitchen of the Clarence
and Darlene Godfrey farm home,
at Glen Rock R 2, a handful of local
farmers shared conservation
concerns.
This casual “kitchen” meeting is
part of the strategy devised by
local soil conservation officials to
pinpoint grass roots problems in
the targeted South and East
Branches of the Codorus Creek
watershed.
Not only does this portion of the
Codorus join the greater
Cheaspeake watershed area, it
Mid-Atlantic Direct Marketers
LANCASTER - The 1984 Mid-
Atlantic Direct Marketing Con
ference will be held at
Americana’s Host Farm Resort in
I-ancaster on February 21-23.
Some of the finest direct farm
markets in Pennsylvania are
located in Lancaster County With
over 50 such markets in the county,
direct marketing is highly com
petitive
On Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 21, a
lour of three selected direct
markemg outlets in the Lancaster
area has been planned Last yeai
was the first time to have a toui
with the conference and it was a
big hit This year the tour will
include Cherry Hill Orchards
Outlet, Pine View Dairy Market,
and Central Lancaster's Farmer's
Market
Two Great
Alfalfas
526
531
Ask your
Pioneer salesman
about the alfalfa
variety that’s right for
your farm.
PIONEER
BRAND ALFALFA SEED
PIONEER HI-BRED INTERNATIONAL, INC ,
EASTERN DIVISION. TIPTON, INDIANA 46072
The Limitation of Warranty and remedy appearing on the
label is part of the terms of sale.
Pioneer is a brand name; numbers identify varieties.
trademark of Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.,
also provides the sole source of
drinking water for the greater
York metropolitan area.
By meeting with small groups of
farmers, like the nine who turned
out for the first local target area
discussion, conservationists hope
to stir new interest in erosion
control installations by landowners
who have never previously taken
part in preventing soil and water
runoff.
In addition, Conservation
District and Soil Conservation
leaders hope to rekindle interest in
updating conservation plans that
may be a decade or two old, and no
longer adequate for newer intense
cropping methods.
Some $70,000 of Mason-Dixon
Erosion Control Area monies have
been allocated for use in York
County’s targeted area, in addition
to previously budgeted con
servation practice funds of $70,000.
Target erosion area funds are for
to convene
Wednesday s schedule offers a
full day of seminars, workshops,
and panel discussions A general
session in the morning will focus on
merchandising Multiple
educational sessions in the af
ternoon will deal with displays,
merchandising, advertising, and
promotion A panel discussion will
address the question of liow to gel
started in direct marketing A
separate session will address
concerns of milk juggers
Wednesday evening convention
goers will have the opportunity to
dine and relax A banquet and
presentation of awards are
scheduled early in the evening
followed by dancing, swimming
and entertainment
Motivation and success
stones” are the subject of Thur
FFA
Yields, winter-hardiness
and Bacterial Wilt tolerance
are excellent.
High tolerance to anthracnose.
Very fast recovery after harvest.
in Lancaster
7
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PIONEER.
/_ BRAND
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erosion control practices only, and
may not be used toward animal
waste facilities.
Manure runoff, a prune focus of
the Chesapeake Bay problem
studies, is expected to be ad
dressed in a special $2 million
conservation practices cost
sharing proposal submitted by
Pennsylvania, with half of that
total likely aimed at six counties in
the state’s Susquehanna River
basin.
“Farmers are doing a lot of little
things on their own that are
working,” soil conservationist Lee
Bentz told this initial gathering of
Codorus watershed farm owners.
“We want to set up meaningful
demonstrations using local far
mers who are willing to share what
they’re doing with others.”
Bentz is especially interested in
finding farm sites along major
highways where he can set up
sday s general sessions Successful
direct market operators will talk
on selecting and training em
ployees, and bringing customers
back
A commeicial exhibit area will
feature over 50 exhibilois who will
have displays set up thioughoul
the entire conference
Sponsors for the event are
Cooperative Extension Service in
Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey
and Pennsylvania, Retail Kami
Market Division-PFA, Maryland
Farm Market Association, Penn
sylvania Milk Jugging Association,
and the soon to be formed
Delaware Dnect Marketing
Association
Registration loi the loui and
conference is required A late
registration fee can be avoided by
registering with one of Hie above
sponsors before Feb. 14.
Fersons who would like to have
accommodations al Host Farm
Resort, should contact the resort
directly at telephone 717-299-5500
SOW & GROW LOANS
If you re a farmer thinking about a loan
for seed, fertilizer or herbicide, come
see us We’ve got special FIXED
RATE LOANS that best match your
cash flow
AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY LENDER
OFFICES IN NEW HOLLAND SMOKETOWN, INTERCOURSE, AND EDEN RD, LANCASTER
Among Codorus watershed farmers expressing concern to
York soil conservationist Lee Bentz is dairy producer Barbara
Taylor.
erosion and runoff control
demonstrations easily accessible
to anyone interested.
Already, plans are underway for
spring seedings of “switchgrass,”
a perennial summer forage
developed especially for beef
cattle. Potential yields from this
crop, which grows back from a 4-5
inch stubble, are “fantastic” Bentz
says. While initially expensive to
establish, the crop should never
need reseeded it properly
managed.
Another forage possibility is
Kentucky 31 Fescue, a durable
grass that turns unpalatable in
summer’s heat and could be
planted to, discourage cattle from
overgrazing steep slopes prone to
erosion under heavy summer
storms. Cool weather renders
grass more tasty to cattle, for
winter grazing needs.
Dairymen could possibly use
such a grass, Bentz figures, to
discourage cattle from grazing
stream edges bare and erosion
prone.
Conservation district manager
Linda Houseal also issued a
request for demonstration sites for
no-till small grain seedings.
Staffers will help locate no-till
seeding equipment for farmers
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percentage
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interested in cooperating on such
demonstration plantings.
“We’ve got to start somewhere,”
says Bentz of the initial neigh
borhood meeting, an idea he and
Ms. Houseal hope will be repeated
across the 14 Pennsylvania and 8
Maryland counties in the Mason-
Dixon Erosion Control Area that
forms the Chesapeake watershed.
A concurrence of farmers at the
session was that rpajor soil and
water runoff problems are being
created by absentee landowners
renting for the highest dollar-per
acre obtainable, with little concern
over enforcing conservation
practices.
Often, they agree, hilltop-to
valley-bottom corn or beans
creates heavy top-soil losses and
sediment problems, since no grass
or hay crop strips are left lay to
catch and utilize heavy downpours
or groundwater runoff.
Conservation practices continue
to be strictly voluntary measures,
with conservationists available for
advice and technical assistance.
Landowners interested in such
assistance may contact the Con
servation District offices at the
York County Home Complex at 122
Pleasant Acres Road, York, or call
755-2966 or 755-0406.
n
COS®
80
SDOS
New Holland
Farmers National
Bank
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