AlB-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 28,1985 BY BARB MILLER Staff Correspondent WILLIAMSPORT - There’s a new crop gaining acceptance in Pennsylvania. According to Wayne White of Spring Mills, Centre County, it is one that has markets waiting to be filled. White recently opened PLOT, 1, Inc., an artichoke processing and storage plant, in South Williamsport. As far as White knows it is the only one of its kind in the east. White will process 260 acres of artichokes from central Penn sylvania this year and has con tracted 500-600 acres for next year. These are not the artichokes for which California is famous, White explains. Those are grown above ground on a thistle-like plant.. Rather, these artichokes are tubers, thick fleshy roots, such as potatoes, carrots and beets. Known as Jerusalem artichokes, they are a member of the sun flower family and grow 10-15 feet high with yellow daisy like flowers. The whitish bulbs are edible and may be used raw in salads, pickled, or made into high protein flour, llie tops may be harvested as silage for farm animals. Ar tichokes can also be used to make ethanol for fuel. An acre of artichokes yields 20.000 pounds of tubers and 18,000- 20.000 pounds of tops for livestock use. Farmers under contract to White receive eight cents per pound for the tubers. “It’s an excellent crop for livestock feed, and as a cash crop,” White says. Tom Dunlap of Jersey Shore R.D. 4, who grew 20 acres of ar tichokes for White this year agrees, “I think it will be a good cash crop for farmers. Right now there’s no money in com or soybeans.” According to Joyce Dunlap of Jersey Shore, R.D. 4, manager of White’s Williamsport operation, artichokes are similar to potatoes Tom Dunlap and his son Tom unload artichokes into a 25- ton rig, checking first for stones, roots and other foreign material. Harvesting artichokes with a slightly modified potato harvester are George Huet, left, and Wayne Robinson, right. Artichokes double as in planting and harvesting. Like potatoes they are planted in rows, hilled and even dug with a modified potato digger. But unlike potatoes, artichokes may be planted and harvested in either the spring or fall. Most farmers prefer fall for both operations because they have more free time. Also, tubers planted in the fall give an increased yield. When a farmer plants ar tichokes, he must make a decision as to their use, White says. “The farmer has to decide whether he wants a high protein level for livestock feed or lower protein and a bigger tuber yield,” says White. If the farmer opts to use the artichokes for animal feed, he may make as many as three cuttings of the tops during a season, but his tuber yield will be smaller. If he’s growing them primarily for tubers, he’ll make fewer or no cuttings from the tops. White says more and more farmers each year are growing artichokes for use as a high protein animal feed. Ralph Reisophl of Blair County who has 45 acres under cultivation and Geoge Martin of Vicksburg are area dairy farmers currently growing and using artichokes for livestock feed. What has been the effect, if any, of the artichoke rations upon milk production? “They have seen no drop in milk production,” White reports, “but (have seen) a drop in bulk protein.” Pennsylvania State University, according to White, is monitoring artichoke tops for yield and protein and within the next year will have completed additional research concerning their use for livestock feed. One third of White’s artichokes, he says, will be sent to Philadelphia to be made into pickled artichokes, another third will be used for fresh food, and the unson am 'ayne plant. remaining third will be kept for seed stock for next spring. White would like to see more acreage devoted to artichokes. “I got markets I can’t fill,” he says. “We need a larger acreage so that some of the market area we can get into on a year around basis.” White’s involvement with ar tichokes began a little more than two years ago in a somewhat unusual manner. “All I did,” he says, “was take a negative and turned it into a positive.” At the time, White who had farmed most of his life, was under contract to grow 20 acres of ar tichokes. White planted the tubers, but before the company was able to buy them back it went bankrupt. White was left with 20 acres of artichokes and no market in sight. So he consulted an agronomist at Penn State University. He discovered he had an excellent livestock food. Additional research led him to leam of the variety of uses of the plant. Then White developed markets for the artichokes and just recently purchased the former Hurr’s Dairy Store in South Williamsport because it had the refrigeration equipment needed to store the tubers. According to White, the building is capable of storing 4 million pounds of artichokes at the required 28 to 30 degrees tem perature required by the tubers. Eventually, White hopes to process other tubers as well. And does White have a favorite way of preparing the artichokes to eat. “I like them raw or hot pickled,” he says. cash crop, silage lis 1 •year-ol Outlook for ’B6: Expenses - and prices - to go lower? ITHACA, NY - The 1986 economic outlook for America’s farmers is not encouraging, despite projections of stable or, in some cases, lower operating ex penses, a Cornell University agricultural economist says. In 1986, farmers will be paying about the same or even less for fuel, fertilizer, feed, and other inputs, but unfortunately they will be receiving lower prices for much of what they produce, predicts George L. Casler, a professor of agricultural economics in the New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell. “Generally, farm expenses will be about the same or a little lower next year, but most farm prices will be lower as well,” Casler said. Casler made his remarks while discussing the 1986 economic outlook for the nation’s farmers during the Agribusiness Outlook Conference held at Cornell recently. The lower prices farmers will receive for their grain and some other products are largely due to an “oversupply” situation, Casler said. American farmers continue a high rate of production in spite of a slow-growing domestic market and increasing foreign com petition. As farmers continue to receive low prices, he said, some step up production to make up for the decreased revenue. That stepped up production, however, makes the oversupply situation even worse. “The 1985 U.S. corn crop is projected at 8.5 billion bushels, but NJ Farm Bureau crowns queen TRENTON - Bonnie Higgins of background, maturity, per- Belle Mead was crowned Queen of sonality, poise and appearance, the New Jersey Farm Bureau The event is sponsored by the during the organization’s recent Karm Bureau Women - s Com . annual convention. mittee The 20-year-old junior at The final judging took place Moravian College in Bethlehem, during New Jersey Farm Pa. is studying journalism and pre- Bureau annual convention, in „ • _ w . Cherry Hill. Acting as judges were She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Karen Kleinschuster, wife of Mrs. Roy Higgins, a livestock and Stephen Kleinschuster, Dean of grain farmer in Somerset County. C ook College; Anaeline McTighe, First Runner-Up in the com- wife of Farm Bureau attorney Art petition was Jeannette Rea of West McTighe, and Charles Simon, Vice Cape May. A student at Rutger’s President of Farm Family In state University, she is studying surance. Acting as master of home economics and hopes to ceremonies during the final pursue a master’s degree and judging was Arthur Jarman of become a county agricultural Monroeville, agent. Jeannette is the daughter of The Queen will receive an all- Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Rae, who expenses-paid trip to the American produce lima beans, field corn and Farm Bureau Federation annual . . . _ convention in Atlanta, Ga. in Bonnie was selected as Queen JanU ary, and a bracelet with an from among seven contestants who engraved charm were judged on their farm Vi-: * son Dusty sort artichokes on the conveyor at the the market for the following year is expected to be only seven billion bushels,” Casler said. That projected surplus of 1.5 billion bushels will create more downward pressure on com prices, and it also will increase storage costs for farmers and government agencies that will store the surplus corn. Previewing the 1986 farm ex penses and income prospects, Casler said that the costs of feed and fuel should be down slightly, while interest rates and prices of chemicals, pesticides, and machinery will “essentially be unchanged.” “That won’t help things, however. I don’t think the cost side, except for the interest rates, worries farmers today,” Casler said. “It’s the income side that worries them, and farm income, especially from grain, won’t be good.” Some gram farmers will be helped b.v tedeial price suppoits, tv Inch in some cases make up the difference between the market price and the target prices for farm products. In the short run, low grain and feed prices will reduce the operating costs of the livestock farmers, but, in the end, they too will face the same price squeeze as the gram farmers do, Casler pointed out. “Livestock feed prices will be lower in 1986,” Casler predicted. “Some improvement in hog and beef prices is expected in 1986, but profits from these products will be small at best.”
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