COLLEGE PARK, MD. - Ap parently Mr. Robinson had the right idea when he took Benjamin aside in the movie “The Graduate” and told him conspiratorially that the future boiled down to one word; Plastics. At least that is the case in the People’s Republic of China, ac cording to the University of Maryland’s Dr. Franklin D. Schales, an associate professor of horticulture. “In the last five years, the Chinese have adopted plastics to produce food and fiber crops at a phenomenal rate,” says Schales, and that rate is expected to continue during the next five years.” The Chinese are not planting plastics and feeding them to their some 1 billion people. Rather, they are adopting a technology that has been used in this country for some time Plastics, primarily in the form of sheets and polyethylene film, are used to produce greenhouses and Certified WHEAT Hart Potomac Red Coat Scotty Tyler Titan Logan Caldwell Boyds 84 VWAP Boyds 78 AT Baler Twine - Fertilizer « With A STIHL (f v »' I STIHL® FS-50AVE Gasoline-powered grass trimmer ideal for aver age trimming and edging. With electronic ignition for fast, smooth starts; fully adjustable loop handle; and flexible drive shaft. Weighs only 10 lbs. SEE YOR STIHL DEALER FOR HIS AUGUST PROMOTIONS STOLTZFUS WOODWORK RD Gap, PA Box 183 1 Mile North Rt 897 From Gap HOLLINGER S lawn & garden equip. 1755 W Main St. (Loc onßt 322) Ephrata. PA 717 738 1131 NUMBER ONE WORLDWIDE Chinese use plastics to row tunnels, and to provide a protective mulch for some crops. Row tunnels constructed from the plastics help to protect tender crops from wind damage and low temperatures, Schales explains. They also make it possible to ex tend the growing season for some crops. Clear plastic sheets, used as a mulch covering, increase soil temperature to allow farmers to plant earlier than they normally would during the growing season. They also improve plant growth and help to increase yields, ac cording to Schales. Using plastics also improves on farm efficiency because it cuts down on labor and water needed to sustain some crops. The increased use of plastics in China is indeed phenomenal, says Schales. In 1981, the Chinese planted nearly 15,000 hectares with plastics. In 1984, the number of hectares cultivated under plastics grew to approximately 1.25 million hectares-primanly for cotton and Certified BARLEY Barsoy Maury RYE ALFALFA Boyds Wet Foot Saranac AR and others STIHL® MODELSG-17 MISTBLOWER • Excellent For Blowing In Chicken Houses • Tobacco, Worm, And Sucker Control • Outlasts Them All A &B SALES & SERVICE 2 Miles South ol Rt 23 Aloi* 772 Thru Monterey RD 1 Ronks. PA MARTIN HARDWARE & EQUIPMENT CO. Rt SOI l'/i Miles South of Schaefferstown PA Phone 717 949^6817 ALFALFA TOP DRESSING 0-14-42 'Kj STIHL® 024AVEQ Stlhi’s newest mid-size saw features low weight (10.9 lbs.) combined with a smooth high-performance engine. With single-lever Master Control” and stan dard heavy duty anti vibration system and elec tronic ignition. Quickstop' available. -■*#/// nee. A hectare is approximately 2.5 acres. Says Schales, the Chinese have enjoyed a number of successes in agriculture since adopting the use of plastics on a wide scale. These include higher yields, one of the Chinese main objectives in a society where, as recently as 35 years ago, citizens lived in a semi colonial, semi-fuedal environment “One of China’s problems for some 4,000 years has been its inability to produce enough food to A LESSON WELL LEARNED... LANCASTER FARMING'S CLASSIFIED ADS GET RESULTS! Phone: 717-394-3047 or 717-626-1164 # DREXEL AUTO SUPPLY RD1,80>64 Mt Nebo (Pequea) PA 717-284-2916 BOMBERGER'S STORE. INC. Newport Rd Elm PA 717 665 2407 increase ag yields feed its entire population,” says Schales. Not only are plastics helping the Chinese harvest more-m some cases two or three harvests of rice per growing season-they are helping them harvest earlier in the growing season. That means they can plant and harvest rice in the northern regions prior to frost, according to Schales. Plastics are helping Chinese farmers in other ways, he adds. They prevent soil compaction and the ln=c of nutrient's from the CCC asked to extend loans for soybeans, feed grains PARK RIDGE, IL - The American Farm Bureau Federation has asked Agriculture Secretary John Block to extend the loan period on existing Commodity Credit Corporation loans on soybeans and feed grains Farm Bureau requested the action to prevent any further price erosion in the market and as a means to aid financially pressed farmers. The outstanding loans cover 190 million bushels of soybeans and 800 million bushels of corn and gram sorghum with a combined value of over $3.5 billion. The current loans will mature in the next 30 to 60 days. Farmers with maturing CCC loans are faced with a choice of forfeiting the commodities •or redeeming them at the face value of the loan. In a message to Block, AFBF President Robert Delano said the loans will mature just as the new crop harvest enters the market. “With cash farm prices depressed Your silo walls stay dean and your Pats unloader stays level. Spring tension keeps the self sharpening Patz power cutter knives tight to the silo wall. With no silage buildup, your Patz silo unloader stays level for reliable feeding. Choose Patz ring-drive or surface drive silo unloaders to meet varied needs. ROOPFAR SYSTEMS New Windsor, MD 301-775-7678 Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 17,1985-E47 below the loan rate in many areas, many farmers will either be for feiting their grain or redeeming it at a cost which they cannot recover on the present market," said Delano "Such pressure on far mers will only add to the already tight credit problems nany of them are facing.” Delano contended the extension can aid the government as well. "Forfeiture of the gram to the CCC will compound the government’s problems associated with storing, handling and disposing of the stored grain it owns.” The farm leader requested the loan period be extended for nine months. “This will reduce some of the pressure on cash prices during the next few months, perhaps sufficient to encourage many producers to terminate their loans. In addition, it will help many producers avoid having to seek other sources of credit to carry them through the rest of this crop year,” Delano said. Contact Us Today. DIS Dennis Skibo 717-664-2333 Patz soil; reduce crop injury; increase soil temperature around crops and retain soil moisture; and, they make it possible to grow some crops on soils that normally would be alkaline. Between 1975 and the year 2000, the Chinese hope to increase their agricultural productivity by 400%. “In the last 10 years, plastics have played a role in meeting that objective,” says Schales “The Chinese expect that they will continue to play a major role " ICT
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