Hess, Welliver Receive Awards At
BY HELEN KELCHNER
Colombia County Correspondent
BLOOMSBURG - The 20th
Columbia County Agricultural
Banquet was held March 10 at
Columbia-Montour Vocational
Technical School.
Highlight of the evening was the
presentation of two awards;
William Hess of Stillwater
received the R.J. Campbell color
aerial photo for Cooperator of the
Year, and Franklin Welliver,
operating under Welliver Brothers
and sons of Bloomsburg R.D. 5,
received Conservationist of the
Year.
Bill Hess has made facilities on
his Benton Township farm
available for demonstration
projects for both Columbia County
and Penn State University.
Hess built one of the first “free
stall” dairy barns in the county,
where educational meetings for
farmers and young people in
terested in agriculture have been
conducted. His farm offers a fine
dairy housing plan and general
operation.
Grain fields on the Hess farm
were one of the sites where a
successful effort to establish a
biological control for Cereal Leaf
Beetle was conducted. This ex
CONGRATULATIONS
Marvin &
Shirley Herr
Top 1986 DHIA Jersey Herd
in Lancaster County
Skip Brackbill, Farm Consultant from Hess Mills presents a plaque
to Marvin and Shirley Herr of Herracres Farm for outstanding
herd production. The Herr’s work with Skip using Purina Hi-0
Top Feed 37 and attained a 1986 DHIA RHA of 14,222 pounds of
milk and 666 pounds of fat on their Top Jersey herd. Current
production is running at 14,600 pounds of milk and 671 pounds
of fat, which is a commendable increase for the first two months
of 1987.
Contact Your Farm Consultant For More Information
kssMus
sa.nEEKa
®
6 S. Vintage Rd. Rt. 82
Paradise. PA 17562 Unionville, PA 18375
(717)442-4183 (215)347-2377
(717)768-3301
ij Registered trademark of Ralston Purina Company
pertinent is meant to establish a
non-chemical control of the pest.
Working with Penn State
researchers, Bill provided
facilities in his alfalfa fields to
perfect the integrated Pest Control
of the Potato Leaf Hopper which
attacks alfalfa.
Dairy Cattle Identification and
Reproductive Management were
other research and demonstration
projects that he was a part of.
Hess is active on various county
agriculture boards and generously
contributes his time to school,
community and church boards.
Franklin Welliver received the
conservation award on behalf of
Welliver Brothers and Sons for the
extensive conservation program
this 2,500-acre operation has
employed since 1950. Rough
estimates place conservation
figures at between 5,000 and 6,000
feet of waterways, more than
17.000 feet of drainage tile, over
20.000 feet of diversions, and more
than 343 feet of strips.
Wellivers own and rent multiple
farms in the district. They divert
poor land on their owned land and
on rented land as well. They own
necessary equipment to do their
own conservation work. One
outstanding operation was the
removal of a railroad bed and
installation of drainage in that
area of their acreage.
In addition to the awards, farm
ers received information about
work done by Penn State in this
area. By way of “Extension Up
date” a few interesting facts on
crop cost were given.
Several farmers participated in
a corn and alfalfa production cost
survey. In 1986, the average cost of
producing an acre of corn was
$200.57. Variable costs accounted
for $l3l of this while fixed costs,
such as land and depreciation,
accounted for $7O.
A fanner paid $134.62 to
establish an acre of alfalfa and the
annual cost of maintaining and
harvesting that acre was $2BB. The
better growers were getting more
than 5% tons of hay per acre.
The Agricultural Banquet was
hosted by members of the
Columbia County boards of
Cooperative Extension Asso.,
Agricultural Stabilization and
Conservation Service, F.H.A. and
the Conservation District.
The banquet was attended by
about 300 people. Food preparation
students of Columbia-Montour Vo
Tech School prepared the dinner.
The Townhill Singers, a group of
>*i3r
s
. ity received the
Cooperator of the Year award at the Agricultural Banquet
March 10. Chuck Gale, Columbia County Extension director,
presented the award.
young people under the direction of
Julie Leteer and Harold Yaple,
presented a program of music
NC+Hybrids Congratulates
Gerald Shoop
Gerald Shoop of Milton has placed first in the 1986-87
Pennsylvania 25 Acre Machine Harvest National Com
Growers Shelled Com Contest with a certified yield of
196.38 bushels.
Shoop planted NC+ Hybrids #6BBl seed to produce a yield
that is expected to place in the top 10 non-irrigated fields
nationally.
Shoop has been using NC+ Hybrids for several years and
purchases his seed through Sam Knouse at Richfield, Pa.
IT NC + HYBRIDS
\ District Sales Manager, Barry L. Hoke
A/s*\ RD #6, Box 456, Manheim, PA 17545
M/rCn (717) 665-2009 - Home Phone
(717) 665-9347 - Answering Service
Lancaster Famine, Saturday, March 14,1M7-Al9
geared to the spiritual needs as
well as the entertainment pleasure
of the agricultural community.
(MB
LANCASTER
FARMING
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