- .1 PEHNSYLVa.V* „, VOL 29 No. 20 Under review 3 digester proposals received BY DICK ANGLESTEIN HARRISBURG - Only three proposals have been received by the Governor’s Energy Council in a cost-sharing fund project to study the feasibility of farmers joining together in a cooperative methane digester system to generate power from manure. Friday, March 9, was the deadline for farmers, farm groups, agribusiness or alternative energy firms to submit proposals to the Council. “The proposals are now under review by a panel,’’ said Linda J. DeLiberty, program coordinator. It is expected that decisions will be made shortly. The Council had hoped for more proposals, particularly since more than 100 requests had been received for copies of the regulations concerning submitting proposals. While declining any specific information since the proposals are under review, the Council did report that all three submitted proposals involve proposed projects in the Lancaster County area of the southeastern part of the state. Under the Council cost-sharing program, the state would provide 80 percent of the cost of a feasibility study, up to a maximum of $lO,OOO. The funds, totaling (Turn to Page A 36) Jack Hubley named to Lancaster Farming staff LANCASTER Joining the staff of Lancaster Farming as an associate editor this week is Jack Hubley, a Lititz resident and graduate of Warwick High School. Graduating from Lebanon Valley College in 1973 with a Liberal Arts degree, Hubley began exercising an interest in writing during "his senior college year, selling his first magazine article in April of 1974. Since that time he has written for numerous outdoor periodicals on both the national and regional levels. A member of the Pennsylvania Outdoor Writer’s Association, Hubley is currently the outdoor columnist and feature writer for the Lancaster Sunday News. Also recently, he has served as a part-time agribusiness writer for Lancaster Farming. A lifelong resident of Lititz, Hubley is the son of John A. and Dorothy G. Hubley. He currently resides at 707 E. Millport Rd., with his wife, Christina, a teacher, and two-year-old daughter, Amber Elizabeth. <; OlVlS lu « 1 Ll sf»« ON I VE« V T ‘ Five Sections Elected to head the Pa. Guernsey Breeders Association for 1984 are, seated from left, vice president Bill Cannon, president Albert Hack, secretary/treasurer Elsie Wolff and National director Janet Harding; standing from left, directors Wilmer Campbell, Donald Brown, Harry Wright, John E. Marchezak, Richard 0. Smith, Ginger Myers, Robert Smith, Rodney Stuff and Charles R. Smith. BY LAURA ENGLAND DANVILLE - Albert Hack, Pennsylvania Guernsey Breeders president, said he wished his association’s report could be brighter, but the fact remains that a decrease in herd numbers was noted in 1983, and the fiscal year ran into the red ink. Hack, addressing the 53rd an nual meeting of the Association held March 9 and 10 in Danville, Jack Hubley In his spare tune, Hubley enjoys hunting, fishing, weight lifting, and nature photography, which he has displayed in local photography shows and in slide presentations for various organizations. With Laura England assuming dairy responsibilities, Hubley will be handling a variety of assign ments, with an emphasis on livestock reporting. Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March ? 7,1984 Guernsey Breeders discuss sale of Lancaster pavilion said herd numbers have dropped from 96 in 1979 to 84 last year. He added that changes have been made to cut costs but “we’re still running into red ink.” These changes include cuts in travel expenses and the number of employees. Employees are also working out of their homes, business manager Lee Yost said, and this has helped. i don’t mean to paint a black picture on our association,” Yost said. “We do have money. The association isn’t broke, but it’s a question of the directors putting the assets into the best use. ’ ’ It is th’s question of where to place the assets in terms of use and importance that has brought mixed emotions among the Guernsey breeders One asset is the Guernsey Pavilion, located east on Route 30 in Lancaster. The association has E. Lancaster nutrient studies expand BY DICK ANGLESTEIN TERRE HILL - A detailed study of manure and fertilizer nutrients in the soils of Eastern Lancaster County by Penn State soil scientists will be expanded during the coming year. Focus of the studies are the amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus being applied to the land and where they are going. Heading up the studies - now in their second year - is Dale E. Baker, professor of soil chemistry and coordinator of Chesapeake Bay projects at Penn State. Also taking part from Penn State are soil scientists Richard H. Fox and LesE Lanyon. Working closely with the soil scientists are Donald M. Robinson and Robert H. Anderson, adult been offered $BOO,OOO for the building. This amount, along with $150,000 offered for the Cham bersburg office, would bring a total $950,000 into the association which would go towards operating ex penses and breed programs. The question is, should the Guernsey Pavilion be sold? Association member William Cannon, who has been studying the issue, says yes. "The selling of the Guernsey Pavilion would be a salvation to our breed and our association,” he said. The building is in an ideal location for the sale, Cannon said. He also added that one board member said “we need the income more than the building.” Cannon suggested that if the building is sold, the association could possibly use the Penn Stat* 1 (Turn to Page A2O) farmer instructors in the Eastern Lancaster School District. At the core of the studies will be a detailed tracing of manure and fertilizer nutrients, particularly. -How much is applied and is started with at the beginning of the growing season -How much becomes available to the plants as they grow and is used up. -How much is left over after harvest and where it can go over the winter. Concern over the excess nutrients that may be in the soil beyond what the corn or other plants need is two-fold - the nitrates and phosphorus can find their way into underground water supplies and farmers’ wells or into streams and down the RECEIVED MAR 2 11984 Lehieh Valley Successful year cited by co-op BY LAURA ENGLAND LANCASTER Another year of financial success was reported by Lehigh Valley Farmers treasurer Robert Gehman as the cooperative increased both its milk sales and membership during 1983. Speaking at Lehigh’s annual meeting held Tuesday at the Host Farm, Lancaster, Gehman said the cooperative marketed 841 million pounds of milk last year valued at $117,280,000. The sales generated a net margin of $2,215,000 which will be ditributed to members. Gehman said $841,000 of the net margin will be distributed as certificates of equity. Quality notices of allocations, totalling $1,099,000 and cash dividends of $275,000 constitute the remaining net margin. Lehigh Valley Farmers, under a 15-year long term contract, ships all its milk to Atlantic Processing Inc. (API), a dairy cooperative federation. Lehigh supplies 65 percent of APl’s milk with producers in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Maryland. Although the principle supplier for API, Lehigh needs more members to meet the cooperatives needs, membership chairman Max Sumser said. “API needs more milk,” Sumser said, “and we need 350 new members to meet its needs. We have the will and resources to do this.” Membership did increase over last year by 15 percent, Sumser said. The number of members jumped from 1,139 producers in 1983 to 1,309 in 1984 for a total 170 new members. Looking for additional members in 1984, Sumser said Lehigh has initiated a membership drive (Turn to Page A2l) Susquehanna River to the Chesapeake Bay. Baker and other participants in the studies met with Eastern Lancaster County farmers who are cooperating in the studies at a session in the Union Grove Alternative School on Wednesday night. During the coming year studies are being expanded to more farm locations and becoming more detailed as additional federal monies are being allocated for projects involved in the cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay Test sites will be expanded to 30 farms this year, compared to 22 last year. In addition to soil sample testing, plant tissue testing will be done to determine how the plant is (Turn to Page A 32) 17.50 per Year
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers