E3*taneuter Farming; Saturday, August 13, t9BB - §fam Philosophy * Newton Bair i w „.. j ALASKA- OUR MODERN FRONTIER Only 200 years ago, the Ameri can frontier was the Susquehanna River, in central Pennsylvania. Today the western .boundary stretches to the middle of the Pacif- UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. Intensive orchard systems, cal cium nutrition studies and peach floor management studies are the subjects of an in-depth special research tour of apple and peach production at this year’s Ag Prog ress Days, T ues., August 16 at 1 ;30 p.m. Home gardeners, growers and others interested in growing fruit trees will have a chance to talk with Penn State researchers in the College of Agriculture during the tour at the Rock Springs Agricul tural Research Center. Dr. Loren D. Tukey, professor of pomology, will explain his work with training systems for intensive apple production. He is known for his work with the Penn State low Cumberland County Sets 4-H Swine Roundup Date CARLISLE (Cumberland) The 1988 Cumberland County 4-H Swine Roundup and Sale will be held on Tuesday, August 23, at the Carlisle Livestock Market. The show will start at 9:30 A.M. and the sale at 5:30 P.M. Fitting and showmanship will be evaluated first. A grand and reserve champion hog will then be selected based on type. The 4-H’ers are members of the Central Penn 4-H Swine Club and have been raising the pigs since April. Anyone can buy an animal. This is an excellent opportunity to put some quality pork in your freezer. Arrangements for processing can be made prior to the day of sale. For more information contact Laura Walts at the Cumberland County Extension Office, 1100 Claremont Road, Carlisle, phone 249-7220 or call Robert Finken binder, 4-H Club Leader, at 249-4691. ic Ocean. But the real frontier for Agriculture is in the North country of Alaska. In Alaska the frontier is still unfolding, with a handful of home steaders clearing land, testing new crops, conquering unknown pests, Tour Of Apple And Peach Tree Research Featured. trellis hedgerow system and other training systems, plant growth reg ulators and very dwarfing root stocks for apples. The research on training systems will be of particu lar interest to home gardeners. Dr. Robert M. Crassweller, assistant professor of pomology and extension tree fruit specialist, will discuss a cooperative study by scientists in horticulture and plant pathology. The work deals with the influence of ground covers on peach tree growth, yield and wint er hardiness. Home owners will be interested in seeing the trickle irri gation system researchers use with the peaches. RC FOGGER NOZZLES and adjusting to new climatic pat terns. Made of sturdy stuff, these pioneers are tested to the limits of endurance by a set of conditions imposed by the far north. Only a few will survive and succeed, but they will pave the way for the rest of us. The Matanuska Valley, just north of Anchorage, was first opened in 1934 by a group of farm ers who were settled there as an experiment by the US Govern ment. The soil is fertile and deep, and water is abundant, so it seemed to be an ideal situation for innova tive pioneering. It took seven or eight years of experimenting to find the right combination of crops to fit the market. The advent of World War II created a new demand for fresh vegetables, milk and meat. The pioneering families who were lucky enough to hold on' that long struck it rich. Today, the children of the early families arc cashing in on the pio- John DeLong, a graduate stu dent in plant nutrition, will discuss the influence of boron and calcium on corking and bitter pit in apples. Research suggests that applica tions of boron and calcium may significantly reduce the effects from the diseases. Corking on apples occurs as tiny brown spots and surface indentations. Some times it also appears deep in the flesh of the apple. Bitter pit is a similar disease but it occurs during storage or shortly thereafter, and is mainly a surface disorder. The special lour on Tues., August 16, at 10 a.m. will leave from the com crib behind the red "THE STANDARD OF THE INDUSTRY" HERSHEY EQUIPMENT CO., Inc. 255 PLANE TREE DRIVE LANCASTER, PA 17603 WE ACCEPT VISA OR masTerca CALL TOLL IN PA (1-800-253-9243) ELSEWHERE (1-800-453-92430) FOR POULTRY FEED SUPPLEMENTS us 71b $ ' 201 b 5 ib f w/biotin lb 3 ib 3 ib ex 5 lb toof 3 lb lus 3 lb neer work of their parents. They are growing specialty crops that thrive on the cool temperatures and long hours of summer sunlight. Potatoes, cabbage and other cool crops, squash and then related spe cies, and some of the more cold tolerant fruits are thriving. Howev er, like all metropolitan areas. Anchorage, Alaska, is spreading out into the Matanuska Valley, pricing the land above the reach of farmers. The University of Alaska main tains agricultural research in agro nomy, dairy, and horticulture. Much of the research is geared to the climatic conditions of 20 hours of daylight in summer, a 110 day growing season, cold soil, and very long, cold winters. Short season crops that like long hours of sun and cool temperatures do very well. Some spring grains like bar ley and oats thrive there. Our most familiar forage crops like com and alfalfa cannot be grown. bam at the top of the Ag Progress Days site. Those interested in attending the tour should pick up tickets in advance at the departure site. Other special topic tours are: raspberries on Tues., Aug. 16 at 10 a.m.; water quality on Wed., Aug. 17 at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.; and dairy forage research on Thurs., Aug. 18 at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. These are in addition to the general research bus tours that give an overview of current research in agronomy, horticulture, entomolo gy and plant pathology. Visitors also will be able to tour forest, wildlife and conservation areas. STAINLESS STEEL 717-393-5807 Only sixteen dairy farms remain in Alaska. All of the smaller ones have quit within the last two years. Even though they receive $19.00 per hundred pounds for their milk, there is no profit in it because all of the grain and much of the hay must be trans ported from the “lower 48.” The only economical feed produced there is grass silage, made from timothy, blue grass and spring bar ley. The University herd produc tion is 17,000 pounds per cow, with the cost of production esti mated at $22.00 per hundredweight. A vast area of southeastern Alaska has agricultural potential. Sixty five thousand acres of level, fertile land has been cleared near the town of Delta Junction. Only nine hundred acres arc presently under cultivation, in one family enterprise. The rest is owned by absentee owners, who are holding it in the Conservation Reserve Program. Their major investment is in clearing the land, so they can afford to wait until someone else does the experimenting to find out how to make farming the land pay off. One family is doing just that. With over a million dollars invested, they are growing north ern grasses and grains for seed. They already have developed a large export trade in Nugget blue grass seed, for which they receive a premium price of $lO.OO a pound. Not quite as good as gold, but Nugget is an appropriate name for it. Alaska is a land of rugged beau ty, pristine forests, rugged snow capped mountains, wild braided rivers, and glaciers galore. We should all enjoy this wild, primi tive land while it lasts. The greed for oil, gold, and other treasures, and even agriculture will alter it soon enough. Zs- MODEL 4025 1/3 to 10 GPH Available ile At; ■Aid Distributors 15 Wood Comer Rd Lititz, PA 17543 Phone 717-738-4241 ORDER BY MAIL OR USE OUR TOLL FREE ORDER LINE
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