C2-UncMtar Farming, Saturday, Dacambar 12, 1987 Raver Made BY PAT PURCELL DICKERSON. MD In the 1960’s something good happened to fanning in Montgomery Coun ty, Maryland and pan of that can be credited to land speculators. Hard to believe that those people who usually buy land only to resell for non-agricultural uses and for a pro fit could have a positive effect on farming. However, that good thing might not have happened if Bob Raver had not been in Montgom ery County. Bob Raver joined the Montgom ery County Cooperative Extension team in 1937 as its dairy and agro nomy agent. At that time this thriv ing agricultural area was already feeling the threat of the encroach ing urban sprawl. . In the early sixties in an effort to keep fanners from being forced from their land because of hgh property taxes, a bill was passed to allow farmers to be assessed on the use of their land and noton the val ue of their land in the current mark et This was a substantial tax break for farmers. However, this also opened the door to land speculators who pur chased thousands of acres each year. But in order to pay the lower, preferred tax rate the land had to be farmed. This farmland was rented to neighboring farmers who put much of the rented land in com. “They planted com continously on this land. After three cm- four years of com production the soil becomes extremely poor and crop yield was very low. It was no lon ger fertile ground,” explained Raver. Out of this concern Raver vis ited some research plots in Virgini a where no-till farming was being tested. “While I was down there at a meeting on no-till fanning I met Dick Winner from Chevron. They were the producers of Paraquat. This is a knock-down chemical which made no-till successful. Within two days after spraying it on the plants the foliage turned brown and fell off. This is just what was needed. I invited him to speak to farmers at a meeting in Montgomery County,” explained Raver. No-Till Comes To Montgomery Co. In October of 1968 Wittier spoke to Montgomery County far mers. Although they were open to the idea there was not a no-till planter available yet. After search ing, Bob learned that Allis- Chalmers, who were the first to produce a no-till planter, had one available. By spring of the follow ing year. Bob had nine farmers signed up to put 175 acreas in no till. “We rented the planter from a local dealer and factory people came down and demonstrated it to us and explained the technology behind it Everyone was trading the planter around,** said Raver. “It was difficult that first year to get a good stand. The summer of 1969 was dry, but where it did come up it was beautiful. No-till provides a mulch on the ground that holds the water on the surface and allows it to perculate slowly through the soil. With convention al tilling water just runs right off the top or is lost through vaporiza tion. No-dll held the moisture in the ground.” “We got as good or better yields right off the start.. After that first year there was probably a .half dozen planters .sold. By 1974 we could have rented 20 planters if we would have had them. Farmers Montgomery County The No-Till Farming Forerunner were borrowing planters and plant ing for each other. All planters were busy.” “In four years time 80 percent of the farmland was in no-till and it reached as high as 90 percent. It has dropped back a little, but there is continously 85 percent in no-till in the county today,” said Raver. No-Till Advantages No-till has many advantages over conventional tillage methods. ' With little soil disturbance seeds are planted directly into the soil. There is no plowing and this saves the farmer time and a great deal of money in machinery costs. How ever, probably the most important benefit is in soil conservation. According to Raver, soil erosion in his county was decreased by 90 percent with the no-till methods. Because of this successful intro duction of no-till to Montgomery County farmers, Raver was invited to speak at a no-till convention held in Hawaii. While there he met Harry Young, author of the book “No-Till Tanning”. “Harry was growing soybeans (Turn to Pag* C 3) 1-800-3454546 FOR MORE INFORMATION WRITE OR CALL pa res. call collect (717) 677-6197 No-tillage fanning Is well-adapted for planting on steep, well-drained soils found in these rolling fields In Montgomery County, Maryland. The rye grass planted In the fall creates a lush cover crop amidst the corn stubble. Where the Difference is RELIABILITY I , At GVM, our customer comes first. From prompt delivery to top-notch personnel who take the customer's needs to heart. swivel sump and hopper am BOX 358, EASVTORK STRST BIGLERVIIiE PA 17307 Manufacturers oft GVM Stainless Steel Truck Spreader GVM Boom Systems GVM Lawn Sprayers & Spreaders am IK Nc la: Distributors of: Woconla Blenders & Conveyors Mobility Spreaders A wide variety of Pumps, Meters, Valves, Hose and Couplings No matterwhat your bus iness: custom applico-
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers