A2B-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 22, 1987 Ecologically Safe Farming Methods A former Pennsylvania Secret ary of Agriculture told a hearing of the PA Governor’s Energy Office this week that in less than 50 years, the world could find itself faced with “depleted soils, depleted energy sources, and impoverished farmers (who are) unable to cope with a world out-populating its ability to feed its people.” James McHale, pointed out that agriculture is one of the largest users of non-renewable energy, one of which is nitrogen fertilizer 1987 Pennsylvania Holstein Show The Pennsylvania Hdlstein Association’s Fall Championship Show is set for Friday, September 11,1987 beginning at 9:00 a.m. at the Agricultural Arena on the Penn Sate University Campus. The judge for the top Holstein Show in the state will be BJ. Powell, Hols tein breeder from Pennville, Indiana. This year the Fall Champion ship Show takes on added meaning. as points accumulated at the State Spring Show, Regional Champ ionship shows and the Fall Show will be tallied to select All- Pennsylvania winners for 1987. The All-Pennsylvania Reserve and Honorable Mention animals will be paraded immediately after the Fall Show is completed. Also during the show, the Key stone Three-Year-Old Futurity banner will be awarded to the top animal entered in the Futurity How can you raise healthier calves? 'fiberdome. CALFhutches are your answer Raising calves is a tricky busmessr That’s why modern calf raisers are going to individual hutches ...to help save more calves by cutting down on pneumonia, scours and hoof problems. Properly made hutches help eliminate the dampness, crowding and poor ventilation that plague many calf barns. You can be assured of this kind of healthier environment with Fiberdome CALFhutches Their unique one-piece construction of heavy gauge fiber glass makes them weather-proof, so they will last indefinitely with normal care. No joints for moisture and bacteria to creep through. A white gel-coat finish keeps them cool in summer When not in use, stakes can be removed and strong U-bolts on top let you conveniently pick units up to clean or stack for compact storage. Tlberdome i«cr> po t'M requires 40,000 cubic feet of natur al gas to produce one ton of ammo nium based nitrogen fertilizer. “In addition, pesticies are petroleum based,” McHale said “the United States, with only 5% of the world’s oil reserves, cannot indefinitely supply energy inputs to an “ener gy greedy” type of agriculture.” He urged the Governor to form an inner departmental council made up of the Department of Agricul ture, Department of Environmen tal resources, and others to be Class in 1984. The winner of this class will also receive a cash award totaling one half of the entry fees paid into the Futurity. Holstein exhibitors are reminded that show entries are due by August 24, 1987. Make plans now to be in State College on September 11 to observe some of Pennsylvania’s finest cattle. More information on the show can be obtained by con tacting the Pennsylvania Holstein Association, 839 Benner Pike, State College, PA 16801. P 0 BoxJl Lake Mills Wl 53551 (414) 648-8376 chaired by the Pennsylvania Ener gy Office to start gathering data to formulate a low energy, low cost, ecologically safe, substainable agricultural policy and program for future generations of Pennsyl vanians. Legislation has passed or is pending in approximately 20 states to ban certain chemicals that are getting into the water and food supply and to develop a low energy sustainable agricultural program. It’s time that Pennsylva nia at least play “catch up” and become aware of the wasted ener gy going into agriculute that is causing the environmental prob lems in our area, particularly the nitrate and phosphorus problems of the Chesapeake Bay. ‘ ‘To date, 5227 million has been spent by five governments to clean up the Bay, and the millions spent on the nitrate and phosphorus problems associated with agricul ture has been wasted by coming up with the wrong conculsions,” McHale said. “They have successfully con vinced themselves, the fanners, and the public that the problem is the excessive amounts of manure produced in Lancaster and sur rounding counties that is being spread on the farmland, and in turn reaches the Bay. In fact however, EASY ADAMAMUTVs On chooM from our «Mt adectton <rf <*•> ttfim. 5-YEAR WARRANTY: Oan gtvee you * 5-ye»r warranty on auger and trough. TMra doeen’t fci fact, their deaten derive • large percentage of their Income from parti aaice. Our* don't. MICROPROCESSOR CONTROL: Our control lets you program feeding time to the second, to match the exact time of one circuit. Control number of feedings, time pi each feeding - also 10-second “Stimula tion Cycles” between feedings, to minimize separation, and improve your birds' feed intake Mf SIMPLE OPERATION “Push-pull” Power Units with or v 2 HP motor are located in a cage, have hardened steel gears for trouble-free operation FLYWAY BUSINESS PARK/139A West Airport Rd., Lititz, PA 17543 Experts in poultry feeding. Cage Systems Specialists. * For more Needed, McHale Says the nitrate and phosphorus prob lems in the Bay are the result of excessive use of chemical fertiliz ers leaching from the farmlands. Manure is biodegradable and decomposes readily into a living soil, and supplies nutrients for most crop needs when the soil is healthy and alive with biological life that attacks the manure compo nents and integrates them into the soil structure. “Manure, when properly man aged, is organic fertilizer which is best for soil regeneration. Manure is not the problem. It is the exces sive use of additional chemical fer tilizer used in addition to or in lieu of manure that is applied to central Pennsylvania soils. The souce of the problem is officially docu mented in the last annual report available from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (Fertil izer Usage in Pennsylvania July 1, 1984 to June 30. 1985.) 31.3% of the total fertilizer and 34.5% of the total nitrogen applied in the entire state of Pennsylvania was applied to the farmalnd in the four county area of Lancaster, York, Berks, and Chester counties and therein lies the problem of cleaning up the nitrates and phosphorus in the Bay. Going one step further, 13.2% of the total fertilizer and 15.1 %of the BILLED-OUT FEED: Our auger acts as L a grid to prevent birds from raking, piling. and throwing out feed, neither chain or ’ disk systems prevent feed waste -< COST SAVINGS* Ours saves vast ' amounts of osts since it’s easier to propel and runs only half as long as theirs LOW MAINTENANCE With our 5-year m warranty on auger and 20 ga trough (one competitor has only 22 ga ) - plus no comer wheel mechanisms to wear out- ours saves you maintenance costs information call: (717) 569-2702 total chemical nitrogen fertilizer applied in the entire state was applied to Lancaster county soils which highlights the real source of the problem. “In addition to the millions of tons of unneeded fertilizer that are being poured on America’s farm lands, 1.7 billion pounds of pesti cides are being poured into our environment each year in the form of 600 generic chemicals that are used in the formulation fo 38,000 brand name pesticides. “In 1977, American agriculture poured herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides on the land at the rate of five pounds for every fJ.S. resi dent. By 1981, wc were pouring those killers on at the rate of seven pounds for every man, woman and child. Since 1981 the rate of appli cation has approximately doubled.” “The American people are say ing; We have been poisoned enough from chemicals and nitro gen fertilizer that is ending up in our water supply. I would urge the Governor and the legislature of Pennsylvania to develop a low cost, low energy, ecologically safe sustainable program for Pennsyl vania Agriculture similar to those programs that are already in place in a number of states.” 1 » / , :lx:,imi \'u HM3RADINC OF FEED: Our auger traveb at M FPM t •obkde are Hmilad hoar rating - . lead from chain hcdcra, earning uneven nutrition. REMIXING FEED; Our auger slowly revolver, remixing old and J new feed; thelre leaves most old feed to get stale. ♦ . /
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers