A32-Lt neuter Fanning, Saturday, December 31,1988
BY CRAIG BINGMAN
Snyder Co. Correspondent
DANVILLE (Northumberland)
In 1936, Donald Corner dared
to try a new conservation measure
called contour strips. Convinced
of their effectiveness as a soil sav
er, Cotner eventually installed
many more strips along with
diversions, terraces, and water
ways on his farm in Northumber
land County. And because of the
“exceptional stewardship of agri
cultural resources” on the Cotner
farms, Donald and Janie Cotner of
Danville were among 10 finalists
in the National Conservation
Farmer of the Year awards prog
ram sponsored by the National
Endowment for Soil and Water
Conservation and funded by the
Dupont Company.
their 50th wed
ding anniversary December 15,1989. They have one son
and six daughters with 16 grandchildren and the first great
grandchild is due any day.
Cotner I
their eggs
; arms employs nine full-time employees and packages and markets all
Don, Cotner farms „ acres , corn, so', is, at
contour stripcropping, terraces, diversions, and waterways.
Saving Soil Makes Dollars And Sense
“My brother worked for SCS
(Soil Conservation Service) in
Clarion County and came home
and helped me install these con
tour strips,” says Cotner. “They
looked crazy in those days, but
they worked.”
The home farm has been in the
family since 1913, and with addi
tional purchases of adjoining
farms, the Comers now own 800
acres and rent 250 acres. Cotner
adds, “I decided early in my career
as a farmer that if I was to be a ste
ward of the soil I would do my
best to care for the soil. It’s just a
common sense approach.”
To dale, Cotner Farms has
installed 11,075 feet of cropland
terraces, 10,250 feet of diversions,
300 feet of sod waterways, a man
ure storage facility, and practices
no-till planting, minimum tillage,
and winter cover cropping, as well
as contour fanning. Since about
90% of the farm is in com, no-till
is practiced extensively. Two
years of no-till is followed by 2
years of minimum till into small
grains.
“We are almost 100 percent no
till com,” adds Comer. “We farm
over 1,000 acres of hills, so we use
no-till, terraces, waterways, and
diversions.”
Minimum till or chisel plowing
is used when small grains are sow
ed. Seeded with the barley or oats
is hairy vetch, a cover crop that
Comer feels is beneficial to him.
The following spring he no-tills
his com into the vetch. In this way
erosion is in check, and an extra
helping of nitrogen is given.
Comer received the Pennsylva
nia Conservation Farmer of the
Year award earlier this year that
made him eligible for the top ten
national finalists. An awards cere
mony was held for the top ten win
ners on October 30 in St. Louis in
conjunction with the annual meet
ing of the American Agricultural
Editors Association.
Though not selected as one of
the three national winners, recent
ly awarded to California, Kansas,
and Virginia fanners, the Comer’s
placing was extremely close. Cor
ner was also eligible in 1983, the
first year of the national award
when he received the Outstanding
Conservation Farmer Award from
the Pennsylvania Association of
Conservation District Directors.
Another part of the Comer farm
g _..js ei
hairy vetch. Beneath him Is one of the many terraces on the
farm.
is their production of eggs. Says
Mrs. Comer, “We package and
market our own eggs. We ship to
Wilkes Barre, Scranton, New
York, New Jersey, and local
hospitals.”
Comer Farms, run in partner
ship with son, Donald, Jr., man
ages 200,000 layers that produce
about 12,000 dozen eggs per day.
The business employs nine full
time workers to assist with the
grinding of feed in their own mill,
egg inspection, packaging, and
delivery of the finished product in
their own trucks.
Don Comer not only practices
conservation, he promotes it. “He
has contributed hundreds of hours
of his time to promote soil and
water conservation in Northum
berland County,” says Bob
Jacobs, District Manager for the
Northumberland County Conser
vation District. “Don saved on the
original steering committee that
formed the Northumberland Con
servation District back in 1934,
and became one of the first farm
ers to sign up a “cooperator” with
Manage Phosphorus
For Long-Term Profits
ATLANTA, GA—Phosphorus
fertilizers are important manage
ment tools for long-term, sus
tained yields and profitability.
Sustained profitability is the real
indicator of good crop manage
ment Superior crop management
requires inputs based on sound
advice and information, followed
by appropriate, timely action.
Phosphorus fertilizer applica
tion methods have received a great
deal of attention as a management
tool. Banding phosphorus either
preplant or at seeding can keep
more phosphorus available longer
and boost yields, especially when
soil test phosphorus is low. But
don’t assume that broadcasting
and incorporating phosphorus is
all wrong. To do so may mean lost
yield—and lost profit opportuni
ties. Broadcast and incorporated
phosphorus can provide the crop’s
needs if it is properly managed. In
fact, recent evidence indicates
greater wheat profits through
higher yields and other cost sav
ings when single large applica
tions of phosphorus are made.
That information relates particu
larly to the calcareous soils of the
Great Plains.
Long-term studies of five to 12
years in Manitoba, Saskatchewan
and Montana show that cereal and
oilseed crops yield about the same
whether phosphorus is supplied
intermittently as a single, large
application or in smaller annual
quantities. Availability of residual
the district in 1944.”
Corner also served on the board
of directors of the conservation
district for 20 years, retiring in
1980.
Corner pioneered the use of no
till fanning in Northumberland
County in 1970. Because of this,
he has volunteered his land for no
till demonstration plots, offered
his buildings for twilight meet
ings, and served on a federal panel
to help other farmers with no-till.
He is also a member of the Colum
bia Crop Management Associa
tion, as well as the Pennsylvania
Farmer’s Association.
The 70-year-old Donald Cotncr
has been successful in the farming
business for over 50 years and is
quite convincing with his philoso
phy. “There’s no question,” stres
ses Corner, “without soil conser
vation we couldn’t survive. It is
more profitable to keep soil on the
farm than to let it wash away.”
Saving soil saves money. Just
ask Donald Cotner about the dol
lars and sense of it. ?
phosphorus in the soil was as great
as that from annual banded appli
cations. Profitability over a 5-year
period was found to be 15 percent
greater for the residual phosphor
us programs Yields were 50 per
cent greater than when no pho
sphorus was applied.
Large broadcast phosphorus
applications establish a supply
equilibrium controlling the
amount of phosphorus available to
the crop. When that phosphorus
application rate is sufficient, the
supply will be sufficient Availa
bility can continue for five or
more years.
On some high-residual phos
phorous soils, yields may be furth
er increased by placing additional
phosphorus with the seed for
quick, early season growth.
Balancing nitrogen nutrition
with phosphorus can increase
yields by 50 percent with dramatic
effects on profitability. Balanced
fertilizer programs are essential.
An essential part of good manage
ment is to assure everything works
together--and at maximum
efficiency. \
Crop yields will usually
increase as high residual pho
sphorus levels develop deeper in
the soil. Phosphorus which
becomes incorporated into soil
organic matter moves into subsur
face horizons. As phosphorus con
tent increases throughout the root
ing volume of the soil, the poten
tial for better yields increases.