AIS-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March IS, 1986
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BY JACK HUBLEY
BUCK Pennsylvania’s rivers
and streams are a bargain
basement delivery service,
shipping, on the average, nearly
eight tons of topsoil from every
acre of Keystone State cropland
annually-and doing it free of
charge. But farmers who continue
to donate to this soil movement by
floating their farms down the river
may eventually find themselves up
the creek.
Although estimating the value of
a ton of topsoil isn’t as easy as
computing the value of an acre of
shelled com, the fact is that land
scapers are getting about $lO
a ton for the stuff, delivered. And
that figure fails to take into ac
count the expensive fertilizers,
herbicides and insecticides that
are also lost when another ton of
soil washes down-stream.
Southern Lancaster County
farmer James G. Kreider was one
of the first farmers in his area to
recognize the economic im
portance of keeping his soil on the
farm. In recognition of his soil
conservation efforts, the Lan
caster County Conservation
District will honor Kreider with its
Cooperator of the Year award at
the District’s annual dinner
meeting on Mar. 21.
Jim Kreider and his son Tom, 29,
run Shady Birch Farm, a dairy and
crop operation located in East
Drumore Township not far from
the town of Buck. The operation is
actually made up of three farms
totally 300 acres, with an ad
ditional 100 acres of rented ground.
Jim’s roots run deep in Shady
Birch soil, which is undoubtedly
one reason why keeping his topsoil
intact is so important to him. Bom
in the home farmhouse, Jim
bought the farm from his father in
1953. In 1974, Tom joined his father
in business, following graduation
from Solanco High School.
Since neither father nor son was
interested in milking cows, the
With minimal maintenance, sod waterways remain effective
barriers to soil erosion during periods of heavy rain.
Shady Birch Farm:
well grounded in soil conservation
family struck an agreement with
George Nickle, who owns half of
the 155-cow milking herd and
assumes total responsibility for the
dairy operation. Tom is content to
handle the mechanical and
maintenance end of the business,
because, as he points out,
“Equipment doesn’t talk back.”
Although Jim’s working
relationship with the Conservation
District and the Soil Conservation
Service dates to 1966, it wasn’t
until Tom’s graduation year, in
1974, that the face of Shady Birch
Farm really began to change. At
that time, Jim signed a Long Term
Agreement with the District and
SCS, which entitled him to up to
$3,500 in cost-share benefits an
nually.
Although the project would
entail extensive earth moving as
well as out-of-pocket expense,
Kreider knew he’d be paid back
with interest in the form of long
term yield benefits. Much of his
high quality Chester-type soil was
located on a 6 to 8-percent slope,
and, with no contour strips or
terraces to arrest the flow of
runoff, the foundation of Kreider’s
livelihood was being literally
liquidated by heavy spring and fall
rains.
The Lancaster Soil Conservation
Service office estimates that
Kreider’s cropland was disap
pearing at an average rate of 20 to
24 tons per acre annually. With the
maximum sustainable loss
generally considered to be about
three tons, Shady Birch’s erosion
problem was serious enough to
warrant a major restructuring of
the farm's cropland.
With technical assistance
provided by SCS, 11,500 feet of
cropland terraces were installed,
along with 8,200 feet of sod
diversion terraces to divert water
away from areas vulnerable to
erosion. To handle the flow from
the terraces, 6,450 feet of sod
waterways were built. In addition,
For his efforts to keep topsoil on the farm, James Kreider has been named the
Lancaster County Conservation District's Outstanding Cooperator for 1986.
nearly 5,000 feet of drainage tile
was installed to drain land
saturated by spring seeps and
make it available to crop
production.
By 1980 the farm’s look had
changed significantly. “Before, we
had all straight rows in 100-foot
strips,” says Jim, adding that
some of those strips were plowed in
the same direction as the flow of
runoff, resulting in .considerable
soil loss from heavy rains.
To augment these soil saving
practices, the Kreiders switched to
minimum tillage in the mid-1970’5.
“We were one of the first in the
area to start that, and a lot of guys
laughed,” recalls Tom. “But with
the right planter, it (conservation
tillage) grows the same amount of
com.”
Since putting away their
moldboard plow, the Kreiders
chisel in the spring, then go over
the fields with a disk 6nce or twice
before planting. In the fall, the
stalks are disked down after the
com is shelled.
“When I was younger than Tom,
we used to plow all spring,” says
Jim, adding that the switch to
minimum tillage results in savings
in both manpower and equipment.
Although their fields may not
appear as well manicured at
planting time, Tom points out that
the rougher soil surface helps to
hold the water. “You work the
ground to death, then you get a
downpour and it’s gone.”
Another tool effective in con-
Since installing their 12-by-84 manure storage tank, Tom (left) and Jim Kreider need
to spread manure only twice a year.
taining soil during a downpour is
the roadside buffer strip. Since
much of their road frontage is
vulnerable to washing during
heavy rains, the Kreiders seed
these areas with rye. The rye
performs double duty, keeping,
topsoil intact during the fall,
winter and early spring, and being
harvested for silage before these
areas are replaced with com.
Managing the farm’s manure
output efficiently is just as im
portant as soil and water con
servation to the Kreiders. In 1966,
Jim installed a 35,000-gallon
manure storage tank, one of the
first in the area. Since this dknall
amount of storage space
necessitated mid-winter hauling,
the Kreiders installed a larger urat
in the early 1980’s. Measuring 12
feet deep by 84 feet in diameter,
the concrete tank has a 450,000-
gallon capacity, providing six
months of storage.
Manure from the dairy herd is
initially scraped into the smaller
tank beside the bam, then pumped
underground for a distance of
about 150 feet to the larger unit. By
pumping the manure into the
bottom of the large tank, the crust
on top of the slurry is not distur
bed. This keeps the nitrogen
contained within the tank, says
Tom.
With their new manure holding
facilities, the Kreiders haul
manure only twice a year, once
before com planting time, and
again after silo filling. In order to
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keep the maximum amount of
nutrients on the farm, the manure
is injected into the soil or chiseled
as soon as possible. “We’ve really
helped our fertilizer requirements
since we went to injecting the
liquid,” Tom notes.
According to Jim, nearly all of
the farm’s soil, water and nutrient
management systems have proven
to be virtually maintenance free.
Since the sod waterways are called
upon to handle large quantities of
cftj|rtahd runoff on-occasion, some
maintenance is required when
minor washouts occur, but, with a
little extra care when working the
soil at planting time, the cropland
terraces should remain in place
indefinitely. Once you do it, it’s
always there,” Toifipoints out.
SCS District
Warren Archibald
that many of the country’s®: M
terraces, installed durjni 7
1930’5, are still in place a&gJ*
forming well. .
Cropland terraces, diversioh
terraces, sod waterways and
manure management systems;
assembled into an integrated
program, these practices can save
soil, water, nutrients...and money
Like the value of an acre of topsoil,
the exact figures can prove to be
elusive. But Jim Kreider is one
innovative farmer who’s con
vinced that the economic return is
very real. “I wouldn’t want to go
back to the way it was before...no
way,” he smiles.
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