O-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 11,198 S ill A NOW IS THE TIME To Check Weevils in Alfalfa We are right into the decision making period for alfalfa weevil control. The question comes up, should I spray or cut it? This depends on the degree of damage and just how far your alfalfa is along. If your stand is getting along in maturity, then it would pay you to cut it early. If you decide to spray, then it should be applied only when 60 to 70 percent of the plants show slight feeding damage at the tips. In most cases, spray application will not be necessary. The economic threshold line is based on a loss of 1/10 ton of alfalfa hay per acre. At $lOO per ton of hay, a loss of 1/10 ton equals $lO. If the cost of spraying is $9 to $lO per acre, you are at the break even level. The two major problems with spraying is the physical damage by running the tractor over the growing plants and, secondly the tolerance time from the time of application until the residue is “off” the plants. Be sure to read the label before applying pesticides. To Use a Starter Solution For Transplants Gardening is a way of life for farmers and most suburban people. And if you want to give UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - As a result of framing workshops at The Pennsylvania State Univer sity, farm-nutrient management specialists for the lower Susquehanna Basin are better prepared to help farmers prevent losses of fertilizer and mailtire caused by erosion and runoff. The four weekly workshops, Farm Calendar Saturday, May 11 W. Pa. Sheep and Club Lamb Sale, Mercer Co. 4-H Park, Mercer, 6:30-p.m. Phone; 412-662-3800. Monday, May 13 Pa. Dairy Sanitarians’ and Laboratory Directors’ Con ference, J.O. Keller Conference Center, PSU. Continues through May 15. Servicemen’s Seminar; Holiday Inn, Shamokin Dam. Phone: 814-865-5573. Thnnday, May 16 PACMA meeting at Clover Packing plant, Selinsgrove; 7:30p.m. By Jay Irwin Lancaster County Agriculture Agent Phone 717-394-6851 your garden a real boost this spring....then use a feitilizer starter solution when you set out your plants. It’s easy to make...just dissolve about three tablespoons or so of regular 10-10-10 fertilizer in a gallon of water. And, as you set out your plants, such as cabbage, tomatoes or peppers, pour some of the starter solution in the hole...stir the soil...put in the plant...cover the roots with soil...and you’ve got that plant off to the best start ever. A starter solution makes plant nutrients available to the young roots immediately...just the time you do your transplanting. Or, even better, you might want to buy a special starter fertilizer. There are specially designed complete fertilizers which are high in available phosphorus. Be sure to follow label directions on the container. To Inspect Lightning Rod System The thunderstorm season is at hand and buildings that have rods should be protected; that is, if the rods are connected and free of obstructions. We urge owners of rodded buildings, especially barns, to inspect them closely and remove all items that will stop the flow of the electrical bolt. In many cases straw, hay, bags, or V '” -H Soil conservation workshop completed by Penn State completed recently, were attended by state, federal and conservation district personnel from 6 counties, according to Mitchell Woodward, manure management specialist for the southeast region of the Penn State Extension Service. The workshops were conducted by Penn State faculty as a part of the Chesapeake Bay cleanup Saturday, May 18 ABS Cattlemen’s Spring Field Day, Stornoway Farms, Ligonier. Phone: 412-238-9756. Spring Farm Show, Carroll County Farm Museum, Westminster, Md. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, May 22 20th Spring Rally, Pa. Society of Farm Women, Rama da Inn, Hagerstown, Md. Saturday, May 25 Pa. Simmental Association Sale, Farm Show Building. Sunday, May 19 WELL JUHN, JUST GO HOME TONIGHT AND PUT A THICK, JUICY, NUTRITIOUS. DELICIOUS STEAK ON THE GRILL, ... rTlflf might be between me rod and the building and cause a fire. Also, be sure the rods go into moist soil and are well grounded. A close in spection of the rod system will assure the protection that is needed. To Check Your Dog For Parasites Most all farms have a dog or two around as pets and for security purposes. In either event, now is a good time to check for parasites. Fleas become a special problem during the spring. The eggs they laid in the fall that were not killed by insecticides may have been dormant over the winter. Then in the warmth and moisture of the spring, these eggs hatch. Numerous treatments exist for fleas such as flea and tick powders that contain carbaryl. One ap plication won’t eliminate the problem. You must also pay at tention to your pet’s environment. Aerosol sprays work well for treating living areas. You may not be aware that your dog has fleas, especially with a longhaired dog. Just roll the dog on its back and look at the belly where the hair is thin. You can usually spot fleas in this area. The Penn State Extenilon Service !■ an affirmative action, equal opportunity educational tautltution. program. Fertilizer and manure washing down the Susquehanna River provide a significant part of the Bay’s pollution problem. In the coming months, the nutrient management specialists will be helping farmers to prepare nutrient management and erosion control plans for their farms, said Woodward. They will also be staffing a mobile soil and nutrient testing laboratory for the lower Susquehanna region. Workshop participants represented the Extension Service, County Conservation Districts, Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Resources, the U.S. Soil Conservation Service and the U.S. Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service. Workshop presentations and discussions covered various aspects of fertilizer and manure use, as well as related matters of tilling and water quality, said Woodward. At the first workshop, soil chemist Dale Baker presented the overall goals and strategies of the Chesapeake Bay cleanup program in Pennsylvania. Baker directs Penn State’s part in that program. “It was good to get that overview,” said Woodward. “So many people and agencies are involved that it’s hard to see how they all fit together.” IS IT ALL “VANITY”? May 12,1985 Background Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:1 through 2:11; 12. Devotional Reading: Eccelsiastes7;l-13. Except for Chapter 3, which begins with the familiar words, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven...”, I am quite certain you’ve heard few, if any, sermons from the book of Ecclesiastes. It seems to be no one’s special source of faith and inspiration. Interestingly enough, if Ec clesiastes had been published outside the Bible, it would probably have survived as a gem of philosophic literature. But no one I have ever encountered seems to have a satisfactory explanation as to why Ecclesiastes is found in our Bible. What purpose can it possible serve? It’s mood is so depressed, so hopeless, so crushing that it seems an outlook on life really quite in contrast to the perspective of faith and hope. WHAT THE PREACHER SEES The problem is not so much what the writer of Ecclesiastes sees in the world, but with the conclusions about life which he draws from his observation. The Preacher, as the writer of Ecclesiastes in known, has his facts down pat. What did the Preacher see? He saw pretty much what many nf us see in out At subsequent sessions, faculty of the Departments of Agronomy and Agricultural Engineering discussed such tonics as laboratory methods for deter mining nitrogen and phosphorus requirements for crops, especially com. Les Lanyon, associate professor of soil fertility, presented a worksheet for helping determine whether a farm field receives more nutrients than necessary for its crop. Cutting back on fertilizer excesses can reduce farm ex penses and protect water quality in streams and domestic water wells. Agricultural economist Bill York County reaches 30% acreage reduction signup YORK - When the 1985 farm program sign-up period ended April 1, York County farmers had enrolled 15,688 acres, or 30 percent of their eligible wheat and feed grains in the federal acreage reduction program. Harry Wolf, Chairman said York Co. producers enrolled 207 farms in the programs and agreed to take out of production, at least 30 ...AND AFTER you TAKE JUbT one Bite of it, believe me, YOO'LL KNOW... WORTri hT ' world today: he saw lots o' evils and problems that appeared to be utterly beyond his ability to do anything about them, he saw the world in a rut or treadmill running like mad, but getting nowhere-and he saw a sense of “vanity” in all that he tried to do. Nothing seemed to matter. Who us has not put down the moi.ang md its fresh accounts of disasters an ’ 1 around the world and not said the contemporary equivalent of: “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity”? (1:2). Life seems futile, devoid of meaning, and going nowhere fast. Nothing we do appears to make any difference. ADDING IT UP But, if we read through the twelve chapters of Ecclesiastes, even though we first identify with the Preacher’s gloomy feelings, we may find ourselves saying, “Enough is enough!” Yes, we all feel that way sometime, but the Book of Ecclesiastes is one com plaint or gloomy prediction after another. Maybe that’s why there is a Book of Ecclesiastes in our Bible; to serve as a negative example, to show us we are not supposed to be. By the time I come to the-end of reading this book, I want to argue with the Preacher and say to him, “Yes, life can be discouraging, but it can also be inspiring. Yes, there is a lot over which to be gloomy, but there’s also much to be happy and thankful." Probably the most positive thing the Preacher says, is: “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” Perhaps it was as much as could be said, until the coming of Christ, who changed the Preacher’s “vanities” into God’s redeeming purpose. McSweeney led a round table discussion on the • difficulty of assessing fertilizer requirements and available nutrients in fields which receive heavy applications of manure. “Many farmers have a long tradition of applying fertilizer as well as manure, as a way of protecting yields,” said Mc- Sweeney. “Before we can suggest That a farmer cut back on fertilizer applications, we have to find an effective way of evaluating manure’s nutrient content and the economic impacts of relying on manure rather than fertilizer. We don’t have any easy answers.” percent of their wheat and 10 percent of their feed gram base acres. “This means that as much as 1,932 acres of cropland in York Co. could be idled this year, depending on how many acres of program crops are planted by par ticipants,” Wolf said. Crop base acres enrolled in the 1985 farm programs include 13,870 acres of teed grains, and 1.818 acres ol wheat. Program participants will be eligible for price support loans at $3.35 a bushel for wheat, $2.83 for com, $2.09 for barley, $1.53 for oats, and $2.43 for sorghum. They are also eligible for target prices of $3.03 per bushel for com, $2.88 for soghum, $2.60 for barley, $1.60 for oats, and $4.38 for wheat.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers