016192 1299
PERIOOICAL S DIVISION
PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY
M2O9PATTEE LIBRARY
STATE COLLEGE PA 16o0i IWO_ .
VOL 35 NO. 30
The Beam Farm: 33 Years Of Conservation
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff
ELVERSON (Chester
Co.) Omar Beam is concerned
about the changes. During just the
last 35 years he has lived and
farmed near Elvers on, Beam has
seen an increasing amount of deve
lopment of land in this section of
Chester County.
A few years ago. Beam became
a member of the Chester County
Agriculture Development Coun
cil, and spent time educating peo
ple about the increasing amount of
land being sold to developers and
speculators—which may, accord
ing to Beam, have profound effects
on how we farm.
Beam farms about 6SO acres and
raises 1,100 head of hogs and 300
head of steers in partnership with
his son. Nelson Ray; his associate,
John Wilmer Stoltzfus; and Stolt
zfus’ son, Scott. Beam enjoys the
benefits of a family farm. “We all
farm together, but each one farms
some of the acreage on his own,”
be said.
Beam has been a member of the
Soil Conservation District since
1957. Recently, he was awarded
Cousins Earn Big Bucks For Berries
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Farming Staff
LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.)
“Lode at these berries. What’ll
you bid?” auctioneer Harold Kell
er called out.
Twelve-year-old Joel Leaman
lifted the one-quart box of straw
berries a little higher as the brisk
bidding jumped from $100... $2OO
... $3OO ... $4OO and....
“Smile a little more,” Keller
advised the Lancaster 4-H’er, “you
might get more.”
And Joel did get more for his '
berries that took the grand champ
ion award at the annual 4-H Straw
berry Roundup sponsored by the
Lancaster Rotary Club. He got a
hefty $470 for his box of juicy,
sweet berries.
The highest bidder was Donald
Horn, president of Permfield Cor
poration, a Rohrestown feed
company.
Nsstlod In th# rolling grssn hills of southsm York County nssr Alrvllis, the
WlHlameburg-blue end ivory colored buildings of the Heindeis* dairy complex make a
picturesque color contrast.
50* Per Copy
the Chester County Conservation
Farmer of the Year Award at the
Chester County Crops Day.
Omar Beam has been practicing soil conservation for about 33 years. Using con
tour strips and cover cropping, Beam farms about 650 acres and raises 3,000 head of
hofs-pbr year and 300 steers In partnership with his son Nelson Ray; an associate,
John Wilmer Stoltzfus; and StoßzfUS* son; Scott.
“When I left home this morning,
I told Mrs. Horn to have the short
cake made,” Horn said, “because I
planned to bring home the prize
berries this year.”
Horn, who for several years had
purchased the reserve champion’s
berried, said that he feels strongly
about the importance of supporting
4-H and the farm community.
Joel’s stiffest competition in the
strawberry competition was his
counsin Hans Leaman who took
the reserve championship.
“We’re bom only five days
apart,” Hans, the son of John and
Nancy Leaman of Bird-In-Hand,
said of his cousin;
Although the cousins are good
friends and live within five miles
of each other, they did not visit
each other’s strawberry patch.
Both top winners insisted that
they don’t have a secret for raising
(Turn to Pago A 29)
Heindeis Ready New Dairy Facility
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 9,1990
Practices different
Beam said that conservation
practices are different today than
Cousins Joel Leaman, left, and Hans Leaman, right, took
home a combined total of $570 for 2 quarts of berries In the
annual 4-H Strawberry Roundup sponsored by the Lancas
ter Rotary Club.
20 years ago.
“When I signed up for member
ship in the district, the reason I
JOYCE BUPP
York Co. Correspondent
AIRVILLE (York Co.)
Doing things a "little different’’
has never bothered Horace Hein
dcl.
So when the opportunity arose
about a year ago to build a from-
Ihe-ground-up dairy facility, the
Yorkana fanner broke stride with
industry trends toward rapid-exit
parlors and free-stall housing.
Instead, crews of installers and
earth-moving machines are putting
the finishing touches on a dairying
complex revolving around a state
of-the-art. 200-head, tie-stall bam.
"I want to lode down through
Four Sections
signed up was that I thought I
could try to make the best out of
the the land I could,” he said.
‘‘Not only that, I wanted to save on
a lot of water and a lot of runoff,
which would give me better
crops.”
Beam plants a cover crop of rye
during the winter. When the rye
reaches 10 inches in height, it is
sprayed with herbicide. The rye
acts to keep the soil moist, retains
soil nutrients, and keeps the soil in
overall good condition.
“The secret is to not let the rye
gel more than 10 inches high,” he
said. “If it gets too high, it
becomes matted too much and it
can become a harbor for insects.”
Manure is taken from a holding
pit, tested, and spread before com
is planted in the spring. If neces
sary. Beam adds commercial nitro
(Tum to Pag* AST)
Lancaster Rep
Proposes Egg
Refrigeration Law
VERNON ACHENBACH JR.
Lancaster Farming Staff
EPHRATA (Lancaster Co.)
Lancaster County Rep. Kenneth
Brandt (R) on Monday introduced
legislation before the state House
that would mandate refrigeration
of eggs within less than a day of
hatching.
The proposed law was sent to
the House Agriculture and Rural
Affairs Committee on Wednesday
where action is expected to pro
ceed quickly, according to
Brandt’s aide.
Both Brandt, the chairman of
the Ag and Rural Affairs commit
tee and Samuel Morris (D), vice
chairman, support the bill along
with 27 other co-sponsors.
Currently, eggs are considered
non-perishable foods and are not
required to be refrigerated under
federal law. If passed, the Brandt
bill would change that.
(Turn to Pago A 33)
the bam and see cows tied,” was
Heindcl’s preference.
Heindel, York R 9, has fanned
some 50 years, beginning with five
milk cows of mixed breeds. In the
days when most general farms kept
a family flock of chickens, Heindel
tended upward of 50,000 of all
sizes, many out on range at the
Yorkana farm.
The family, including his late
wife, Thelma, and their 10 child
ren, tended market across the Sus
quehanna River in Columbia dur
ing the 19405. They were the first
to market the once-popular colored
chicks at Easter and the first to
offer pre-cut chicken parts at a
(Turn to Pag* A2O)
$15.00 Per Year
Adds nitrogen