AlO-Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, June 29,1985
NOW IS THE TIME
To Obtain The
New Lancaster County
Soil Survey
The 1985 Lancaster County Soil
Survey is complete and ready for
distribution. This is a valuable
document that lists all the soil
types, descriptions and slope of the
land. The aerial photography lists
each farm, buildings, highways
and streams in the county.
The Soil Survey can be used by
various segments of agriculture,
industry, transportation, real
estate and water quality units.
Farmers will find it very useful
when completing soil testing forms
or if they plan to build a manure
disposal pit.
The last Soil Survey was
published in 1959. The new issue
will show any changes due to
erosion and drainage. Also, new
technologies used in testing and
mapping give a more complete
survey.
These Soil Surveys are
available, at no charge, at the
Extension Office, Soil Con
servation Service and the Soil
Conservation District Office. Stop
in and pick up a copy for your
personal use.
To Combine At
The Proper Speed
We are finishing up the barley
(Continued from Page Al)
for dairymen to cull further,
because prices for culled cows are
quite low, he said.
Part of the problem, said Mathis,
is that dairymen feel they have
little effect on the market as in
dividuals. And no matter what
prices are doing, the more milk a
producer has to sell, tKe more
money he’ll bring in.
“Many of them feel that cutting
back is just a faster way to
bankruptcy,” he said. “So they
react as rational businessmen and
produce more milk.”
Government purchases of milk
and milk products, he estimated,
will be around 10.4 billion pound
equivalents, up significantly from
last year, though still far short of
the record 16.8 billion in 1983.
The additional purchases will
increase the pressure in Congress
for further price cuts or some sort
of program to cut the revenue
outlay from the dairy support
program, the experts said.
They cautioned that price cuts
eventually will slow down
production, though the Congress
and Administration may quickly
grow impatient with the progress.
“We’re producing more than we
ever did, that’s the head of steam
we’re building up,” said Jurchak.
“And I’m not sure that (the $11.60
price) will be enough to slow them
down.”
Jurchak cautioned against
By Jay Irwin
Lancaster County Agriculture Agent
Phone 717-394-6851
harvest, and in a few weeks, the
winter wheat crop should be ripe.
Both of these crops require
mechanical harvesting equipment
and good weather. From the
amount of volunteer grain seen
growing after barley and wheat
harvests, it is evident that too
much grain is being left in the
field.
I am concerned that high
combine speed might be part of the
reason that grain is thrown out
with the straw. The manufacturer
recommendations should— be
followed in this respect. Also, there
are times when the grain may be
too tough to combine. This is often
the case when the crop is quite
weedy. The important thing is to
have the combine adjusted to the
best of your knowledge and then
drive at recommended speed.
You’ll need every bushel of grain
and every bale of straw from your
crop.
To Plan For
Summer Alfalfa Seeding
It may seem early to be thinking
about the late summer seeding of
alfalfa; however, in another month
this practice will be at hand. One of
the first steps in planning for this
legume seeding is to have the soil
Price down, output up
bringing the price down too
rapidly, lest an overreaction and
severe shortages of milk result.
“Given enough time, $11.60
would correct it (the surplus),”
said Andrew M. Novakovic,
assistant professor of agricultural
economics at Cornell University.
“It’s just a question of how much
time the Congress and the Ad
ministration are willing td give.”
Novakovic and Jurchak both
said they expect additional cuts in
the support price, possibly by
October and most certainly by
April if the present surplus con
tinues.
Both mentioned $ll.lO as a likely
target and $10.60 as a real
possibility, as long as there are no
sudden increases in gram prices or
consumption.
Whatever happens, the dairy
industry faces a skeptical, if not
hostile, Congress, as it goes
through the motions of writing
permanent farm legislation, the
experts said.
“It makes it very difficult to
write appropriate dairy price
legislation in the 1985 Farm Bill,”
said Mathis.
If anything, adds Jurchak, the
delays in Congress may help, as
the industry begins to cut back in
response to the new price reduc
tion.
If Congress does not have a new
tested. It it needs lime, then the
application should be made as far
as possible ahead of the seeding.
Alfalfa requires a neutral soil (7.0
pH); too many farmers are still
guessing at the amount of lime
needed.
The investment in seed and labor
is going up; thereford good ad
vance planning is most important.
In this part of the state the summer
seeding should be made in late
July through the first ten days ot
August. That time will be here
shortly.
To Consider Lightning
Rods On Shade Trees
How many times have you
driven past a pasture field and
noticed dozens of cattle or other
livestock grouped together under
one or two large trees. During
severe thunderstorms, livestock
will gather under these trees. If
lightning strikes the tree, many of
the animals will be killed For the
protection of valuable livestock,
we suggest that some of these
individual trees be fitted with a
lightning rod system. If there is a
woodlot in the pasture, or a
number of trees, it may not be
practical
Farm Bill in place by Oct. 1, it will
have to write stop-gap legislation
that may well be influenced by any
progress made in slowing the
production surpluses, Jurchak
said.
So, he said, the industry may
have a chance to redeem itself
before Congress actually gets
around to writing both the interim
and the permanent legislation.
No part of the process is easy, in
that the dairy industry requires
quite a bit of flexibility in price
supports and is extremely
dependent on what’s happening in
other parts of the farm economy.
Rising gram prices, for instance,
can drive up the cost of dairying
significantly. Or, conversely,
falling grain prices can make it
extremely attractive to produce
large quantities of milk, as has
happened recently, said Mathis.
“It’s been tough to adjust our
industry because the rest of
agriculture is so impaired,”
concluded Mathis.
CCC permitted to reject excessive rates
WASHINGTON - The
U.S. Department of
Agriculture has amended its
offer rate system for con
tracting grain storage space
THE NET
YOU CARRY
June 30,1985
Background Scripture:
Micah 7.
Devotional Scripture:
Micah 7:14-20.
Micah lived in a terrible era.
Wherever he looked there was
crime, violence, dishonesty and
conspiracy. Our response to his
gloomy view may be that in every
age these factors are present to
some degree.
But Micah’s pessimism goes
beyond that: “The godly man has
perished from the earth, and there
is none upright among men; they
all lie in wait for blood, and each
hunts his brother with a net” (7:2).
Not only does Micah find the
people of Israel domg evil, but he
finite them doing it diligently.”
‘ ‘The prince and the judge ask for a
bribe,” says Micah. In other
words, at all levels of society evil is
rampant.
PLACE NO TRUST
The result, says Micah, is a
society in which distrust is the
norm, not the exception. “Put no
trust in a neighbor, have no con
fidence in a friend; guard the doors
of your mouth from her who lies in
your bosom” (7:5). In short, trust
no one, because no one is trust
worthy.
The reason for this climate of
distrust is that life in Israel has
become largely a matter of “every
Farm Calendar gS/
Saturday, June 29
Bedford County Beef Preview
Show, Bedford Fairgrounds.
Phone Bedford Extension - 814-
623-5148.
Berks Wool Pool, Reading Fair
Livestock Building, 7 a.m. to 3
p.m.
Annual Meeting, Pa. Red Cherry
Growers Association, Holiday
Inn, Gettysburg.
Wednesday, July 3
I Lancaster Conservation District
monthly board meeting, 7:30
p.m. at the Farm and Home
Center.
Sunday, July 7
Pride of York County Day and
Silent Auction, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.,
Indian Steps Museum, Airville.
Summer Youth Program, Pa.
Association of Farmer Co-ops,
Juniata College; Continues
by givmg 'the Commodity
Credit Corporation the right
to reject offers by warehouse
operators when the handling
rates exceed acceptable
man for himself.” When one is
concerned only with “looking out
for number one,” truth, integrity,
and honor are in short supply. If i
alone am important to me, then m
order to protect and further myself
I can and will do anything I must.
No ties, no relationships can be
allowed to get in the way of what I
want, I think is good for
me: “the aon u cat he father with
contempt, the daughter rise*-
against her mother, the daughter
in-law against her mother-in-law;
a man’s enemies are the men of his
own house” (7:6).
Micah might well be describing
the day m which we live as well as
his own. A recent report revealed
that the majority of violent acts m
our society are against family
members and fnends. Similarly,
many crimes of larceny are
committed by people who are
known to their victims. As m
Micah’s day, sometimes our
enemies are within our own homes
and neighborhoods.
HUNTING OUR BROTHER
The key to all of this evil, ac
cording to Micah, is selfishness,
wanting and pursuing what others
have (or seem to have). “Each,"
says Micah, “hunts his brother
with a net.”
Before you reject Micah’s
analogy, consider that there are
many different kinds of nets with
which we may hunt our brother.
There is the net of deceit that is
often regarded as “just plain good
business.” There is the net of
"cutting corners,” of manipulation
(which is often called “finesse”),
of expediency, exploitation, and
scores of other harmful practices
that are justified for the sake of
“getting what’s coming to me.”
Look into our own hands. Is that
a net you’re carrying?
through July 10
Youth Camp, Pa. Farmers Union;
contact Cheryl Cook at 717-234-
4311; Continues through July 11
Wednesday, July 10
Semi-annual Delegate Meeting,
Milk Marketing, Inc. Ohio State
University.
Thursday, July 11
Annual Meeting, Pa. Inland
Fertilizer Association, lan
disville Experimental Station.
Friday, July 12
Pa. Angus Breeders Show, Centre
' flail.
Saturday, July 13
Pa. .Polled Hereford Association
Field Day, Falklands Farm,
Schellsburg Phone: 814-733-
2818.
levels, according to a USDA
official.
“If a warehouse operator
makes an offer for either
receiving or loading out
rates that is excessive, CCC
can reject the offer and
terminate the storage
contract, unless the operator
subsequently submits ac
ceptable rates,”' said
Everett Rank, administrator
of USDA’s Agricultural
Stabilization and Con
servation Service.”
Rank said that acceptable
ceiling for handling rates
will be determined by using
rates charged by other
elevators in the area or
region.