Tbe f Dairy Business • Newton Bair t Soil program underway The first round of bidding for ceptable. After all, that is the key entry into the Conservation to your decision on whether to Reserve Program is now past, participate or not. We’ll all be watching the papers There will be later opportunities for reports on how the program has to submit bids, and so give you been received, and for hints as to more of a chance to assess the the level of bids that were ac- situation. I believe that everyone 9>£M Hol)s£ AND SALES DAYS WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY AND FRIDAY APRIE2, 3AND4 Look for full details in next weeks issue! HENRY S. LAPP r * Box 175, R.D. 1 (Cains) Gap, PA 17527 Systems (717)442-8134 Glencoe* Stretched Soil Saver models • For highest yielding fields with heavier stu and more residue • In just one pass, it chops, slices, digs, churns and blends soil and crop residue into a uniform ridged surface that resists wind and water erosion • Deeper 4-bar frame with 3 ranks of shanks provides additional trash flow clearance • 5 year limited warranty on both mam frame and shanks • Available in cutting widths from B'9" to 16'3" See your Glencoe Dealer today! Distributed By HAMILTON EQUIPMENT, INC. 567 South Reading Road P.O. Box 478 Kphrata, PA 17522 Telephone (717) 733-7951 Please Contact Us For Your Nearest Dealer should at least study the effect of a bid on your operation. Whether you are serious about it or not, it will be a good exercise in economics. And it might even open up a new vision of how you might help save some soil for future generations, at no cost to you. Don’t be fooled by the over simplification of the rules. A per acre bid based on rent that you are currently paying for land can be misleading. Much rental land in Southeastern Pennsylvania is actually overpriced for Agriculture. I find it hard to justify paying $125 an acre for corn land, even for good limestone soil. Even $45 for rolling, shaley or sandy soil is hard to justify at present grain prices. To arrive at a fair and profitable price per acre for a Conservation bid, considerable pencil work is necessary. In the first place, Class II and 111 and IV Soil Capability Classes are our commonly farmed soils. Any classes higher than these are not commonly farmed m this ncker stal ible, tl area. They usually are too steep, rocky or thin to even plow up for farm crops. Anyone in his right mind wouldn’t consider it in the first place. But don’t assume that those Class I, 11, and 111 soils aren’t going to qualify. Too much of what we consider our best farmland is washing down the Susquehanna at a furious rate. Since those steep and stony soils are also eligible for the program, _they should be considered first. "They are not usually profitable to farm anyway, so even a very conservative bid for taking them out of production will benefit you and all mankind. Covering them with grass and trees will be a blessing for years to come. What about those fairly level fields that have been farmed for many years? Or those rolling hills that used to produce 80 bushels of corn, when the mules could still jump over the gullies? Have you noticed that the sod strip your father left stand m the bottom is now fifty feed wider than it was a tew years back? Or maybe it has turned into two or more gullys, separated by the original strip. In many of those fields that we consider fairly easy fields to farm, the soil is still moving down hill faster than you think. If it were not for tons of chemicals added each year, the present crops would be mighty poor. Every farmer in Pennsylvania Holstein breeders plan meeting The Central Jersey Holstein report of the association president, Association will hold its annual Bernard Beatty, Bethlehem dinner dance and meeting on Township, will take place during Saturday, April 5, at the Ringoes the music intermissions. Fire House. Social hour is set for “It will be a fun evening, with 6:45 p.m. and dinner to follow at good food, music, and fellowship,” 7:15, report Bill & Natalie Teets, ,says Mrs. Teets. All members and Clinton Township, co-chairmen for friends of the association are the event. encouraged to attend. Tickets are Dinner menu includes roast beef $l6 each for dinner and dance, and roast ham served family style. They are available from dinner Dancing to the music of Les committee members, directors, Parson’s Band has been arranged and in the Hunterdon County by the dinner-dance committee, Cooperative Extension office, and will continue to 12:30. Extension Center, Flemington. Brief items of business, in- Ticket sale deadline is Wed cluding election of directors and a nesday, March 26. CAU US FOR FREE ESTIMATES on TOP QUALITY BARN SPRAY & BRUSH PAINITING - Try Our New Concept In Penetration And Adhesion. In 1985 To earn a dollar give a dollars worth of service and work Pay only $750 for the best kind of barn painting on an average barn if you pay more you paid too much Being self employed enables me to take the time to properly apply my barn paint S sealer at prices below suggested retail cost Proper application requires adjusting the viscosity of the paint to attain the best penetration and adhesion thereby assuring you an excellent paint job I will share helpful guidelines on roof maintenance of steel roofs by brushing on at primetime The farmers in Lancaster Co. are lucky because of the amount, of competition in barn painting Check with us for the best deal! PHARES S. HURST Years of experience plus self RD I, Box 503, Narvon, PA 17555 employment gives you quality 215-445-6186 work for less expense. STOLTZFUS BUILDERS Honey Brook, PA We Specialize In Pole And Frame Buildings CALL US FOR AN ESTIMATE (215) 273-3495 Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 22,1986-A39 should seriously consider putting at least some of their poorest land in the Conservation Reserve. If everyone would apply the simplest economics of profitability to these soils, they would invariably find that most gram crops could be purchased cheaper than they can be grown on such land. The savings in time and energy alone would make it worthwhile to put it in grass or trees for a long term. So if you have missed the first deadline for sign up, you still have time to sharpen the pencil for a later signup. Here are some things to consider: • Present per acre cost of growing a crop. • Your net profit over direct costs. • Total acreage considered for entry in Reserve. • Added costs of establishing cover crops. • Annual upkeep costs. • Reduced machinery ownership costs. • Savings in labor, seed, fer tilizer, etc. The total annual reduction in income divided by the number of acres involved will give the minimum bid per acre, to equate the Conservation Program with continued production. Use the worksheet provided by ASCS, or better yet, use a computer spreadsheet to figure your bid. Above all, don’t guess, use ac curate figures, and add a little margin for safety. BRINING (215) 273-3456
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