CREAMERY - The Mon tgomery County Conservation District presented annual awards to four Montgomery Countians at the recent Grange Farm-City Banquet in Trappe. The awards, given in recognition Recipients of this year’s Montgomery Co. soil and water conservation awards were left) Wilson Hoffman, Walter Hackman, Bill Steuteville and Ellis Anders. CALL OR WRITE FOR YOUR RESERVATION NOW BEFORE JANUARY 2, 1985 -12 NOON Four Honored for Good Soil, of outstanding soil and water conservation work, were presented to Ellis Anders of Center Point, Walton Hackman of Hatfield, Wilson Hoffman of Niantic, and Bill Steuteville, a Dresher resident. Anders, Hackman and ATTENTION FARMERS CHEMGRO'S ANNUAL MEETING __Our Informative Program* Includes The Following Speakers JACK BEIDMAN (Ciba-Geigy) STEVE FISHER (F.M.C.) • BUFORD GUNKLE ALL FARMERS INVITED Water Conservation y, January 8,1 Midway Reception Center Lititz, Pa. CHEMGRO FERTILIZER CO, Ik. Hoffman are farmers and Steuteville is an employee of the County of Montgomery with the Conservation District. In presenting the awards. Dr. Duane G. Clarice, chairman of the Conservation District, explained • JIM BOWERSOX (Chemgro) • WOODY FUNK (Chemgro) Box 218 East Petersburg, Pa. 17520 Phone (717) 569-3296 that nominations for awards were made by the Soil Conservation Service staff and final selection was made by a committee of district directors and ASCS (Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service) com mitteemen. In the past, a Montgomery County Conservation Farmer of the Year Award was given, but this year, partially because of the many nominations, awards were given in different categories, Conservation officials explained. Anders was recognized for his no-till farming, Hoffman for his conservation farming of rented ground, and Hackman for his years of conservation efforts and for being an outstanding spokesman for agriculture. Steuteville received a special award for his work in Montgomery County’s No-Till Program. (No-till is a new method of farming that protects the soil from erosion by eliminating tillage operations). Anders, a long tune dairy far mer, “retired” from dairying 10 years back, but he still grows com and small grain on his own acreage, and also rents land on the Peter Wentz Farmstead historic site. Anders also does custom planting and combining for a number of his neighbors. This fall Ellis regularly worked past midnight to get his customers com harvested, while his own com waited in the fields. from Lancaster Fannins, Satarday, December 29,1954-A27 Three years ago Anders bought a no-till corn planter, and he and his neighbor Sherm Heebner began experimenting with no-till on their own. They relied on what little printed information there was for help, but mostly they used their own intuition, and trial and error. Since Anders bought a no-till grain drill last year he and Heebner are 100 percent no-till farmers. How his fields look is as important to Anders as how they yield he says and he thinks that no till farmers. How his fields look is as important to Anders as how they yield he says and he thinks that no till looks good on both counts. Hackman is a dairy farmer, and has been a strong proponent of farm conservation for many years. He has installed 5,000 feet of waterways in his fields, as well as stripcropping and terraces. He is active as a spokesman for agriculture at the local, state, and federal levels of government, as well as within his church. A believer in the strength and virtue of America’s family-owned farm, he devotes much effort toward expressing its plight, and finding ways to protect it. Walton’s efforts, along with the work of four or five others, was instrumental in making Montgomery County’s new Farm & 4H Center at Creamery, Pa. a reality. Hoffman, a beef producer, farms large tractos of rented ground, including much of the county’s land surrounding the Green Lane Reservoir. Farming so close to the water source for the Suburban Water Company has made him particularly aware of soil erosion problems and the resultant polution. Wilson decided he would do whatever it took to prevent erosion from happening. First, he decided that no-till would give a good amount of immediate protection, and he planted 90 percent no-till this year. His full season no-till soybeans yielded 48 bushels per acre, but no till alone wasn’t enough for Hoff man. His long term plans for his rented ground call for waterways and diversions on all the land. In 1984 year he started with water ways on 40 acres. Wilson treats his rented ground equally as well as his own land. Steuteville ran the Montgomery County Conservation District’s No- Ill! Program this year. He helped farmers with their no-till crop plans and provided technical assistance on using the no-till equipment the district has available for farmer use. Steuteville claims he doesn’t deserve credit for performing his job responsibilities, but is quick to add that he is happy with the success of the program. “We doubled the number of acres and farmer cooperators in the program this year, and this in spite of the money problems that far mers are facing,” he said. “I think that they should be recognized and congratulated for trying something new and ‘revolutionary’ in this uncertain economic climate.” Steuteville said that the awards, though given for individual commitment, represent three major areas of concern for the Conservation District: no-till, proper conservation practices on rented land, and the preservation of Montgomery County’s farm base and community. Nominations for next year’s awards can be made by calling SCS at its new office at the Mon tgomery County 4H Building in Creamery, phone 489-6071.
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