?ERl^ l!^ R V ? r lT y PATTEc LI j ?i _ .._—£ £EMMWI.VAt«»A SIATt UNIVERSJ VOL 29 No. 29 Pa. Department of Agriculture representative Donald Lerch, center, answers a question on milk quality while Sterling White, left, Interstate Milk Producers, and Paul Kocher, Atlantic Processing Inc., look on. Making the most of that woodlot BY DICK ANGLESTEIN DILLSBURG How does this . sound for a crop? -It’s probably already growing jxi your farm, on marginally productive land at that. -It doesn’t require near the ' attention in both time and expense that your field crops demand during the growing season. -And what time that should be devoted to it to likely double its potential economic value can be allotted in the wintry off-season. -It’s a permanent stand and will renew itself. -If you don’t get around to harvesting it this year, it will still be around next year. -And, on a long-range, properly managed basis, it can provide a good little extra bit of sup plementary cropping income. Sound too good to be true? Well, many of you already have this crop growing on your farm. It’s the woodlot that’s down beyond the lower pasture. The one that you or friends occasionally visit for a load of firewood. And, of course, the one that sees its most use during hunting season. But other than the times for cutting firewood or seeking bun nies, birds or whitetails, it’s the farm acreage that goes pretty much neglected and forgotten as emphasis and time is concentrated on the tillable land and the livestock. And, in the back of your mind is the thought that the woodlot and its timber will be your retirement nestegg. But that nestegg is probably being eroded away through inattention and with a (Turn to Page A2O) Four Sections Improvement cut on seven-acre timber stand, shown in background, has yielded stacks of firewood and pulpwood on Lerew Farm Markets operation, R 2 Dillsburg. Remaining top genetic trees are retained to mature for saw timber and veneer. From the left are Ken Olenderski. of Pa. Forestry Association; Thomas Wieland, forester for Glatfelter Pulp Wood Co.; and Lloyd E. Lerew, general manager. “/ look at the Tree Farm Program as a long-term agricultural investment , of roughly half of our land.” - Lloyd E. Lerew, R 2 Dillsburg Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 19,1984 making better use Milk quality begins down on the farm BY LAURA ENGLAND UNIVERSITY PARK - Farm quality problems, as they relate to milk quality, was the topic ad dressed by a three-member panel during Tuesday’s session of the Pa. Dairy Sanitarians’ and Laboratory Directors’ Confemce held earlier this week at Penn State University. Problems ranging from an tibiotics in milk to improperly cleaned milking equipment were pointed out by the panel consisting of Paul T. Kocher, Atlantic Processing Inc ; Donald P. Lerch, Pa. Department of Agriculture; and Sterling White, Interstate Milk Producers. The speakers stressed the importance of overall farm quality procedures to insure a quality end product - milk. Speaking first, Paul Kocher offered encouraging words on the antibiotics in milk problem. Kocher said a drastic change has U. of Md., USD A sign co-op research plan BY JACK HUBLEY BELTSVILLE, Md. - The USDA, together with the University of Maryland, signed an agreement on Wednesday to establish collaborative research in the field of biotechnology. Historically, the U.S. Depart ment of Agriculture has main tained a similar relationship with universities through the state Agricultural Experiment Stations located on the campuses of universities throughout the country. Wednesday’s agreement was an amendment to the original pact signed by the university and the USDA in 1957. The current agreement provides for an emphasis on agricultural research in the field of molecular biology, commonly referred to as biotechnology. Basically these Otis observes Dairy Month Even Otis is making special plans for June Dairy Month. Dairy cartoons involving Otis are scheduled to be published throughout the month beginning with the Dairy Issue on Saturday, June 2. Otis plans to provide a light hearted, change-of-pace contrast to the multitude of more serious dairy features to be published. There will be a special series of articles, dairy recipes, on-farm operational features, dairy princesses and much more. To be a part of the dairy ob servance get in touch with us now. May 25 is the advertising deadline and May 29 is the news deadline. Call us at (717) 394-3047 or 626- 1164. RECEIVED MAY 8 01984 occured in the last few months concerning the amount of an tibiotics found in milk tanker samples. “It used to be that 10 tankers per month were reported with an tibiotics in the milk,” Kocher said of his cooperative, “but with tougher regulations, that number has gone down to four incidents per month.” The “tougher” regulations favored by most dairy cooperat ives require a farmer, who has been linked to a contaminated milk tanker and is found in violation of the antibiotics ruling, to pay for the entire tanker. A tanker of milk on the average holds 47,000 pounds of milk worth approximately $6,500. “I feel it’s a shame to have to go this far and make the regulations so stiff,” Kocher said, adding that (Turn to Page A 26) studies employ genetic engineering to combat diseases and increase productivity and efficiency m both crop and livestock production. On hand at the USDA’s Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) to add their signatures to the amendment were U.S. secretary of Agriculture, John R. Block, and University of Maryland president, John S. Toll. “Agriculture is the largest in dustry in the U.S., and in Maryland. Its continued prominence is critical to the well being of mankind,” said Dr. Toll during opening remarks, “Science has made enormous contributions to agricultural productivity in the last 100 years, and biotechnology offers an opportunity for us to (Turn to Page A 34) 17.50 per Year