MO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 20,1990
(Contlnued from Pago A 1)
Reroute section
During school, about 100 FFA
students from Garden Spot,
together with contractors and other
agencies who donated time and
equipment, helped reroute a
350-foot section of the Black
Creek. The creek, which runs
through the Harold Wentzel Farm
in Terre Hill, created erosion prob
lems for the farm.
To help stop streambed erosion,
the creek was literally cut short
rerouted to a 150-foot section
and a farm equipment/cattle cross
ing section was built Shot rock
irregular-size shards of blasted
limestone purchased from Mar
tin’s Limestone was hand
placed by FFA members from Gar
den Spot.
Permanent fencing will be
installed at a later date, according
to Robert Lauffer, ag science
instructor at Garden Spot and advi
But something had to be done about
the erosion problem on the Wentzel
farm, said Lauffer, ‘Tom (Wentzel)
was a graduate of our FFA program
and understood what we were trying
to accomplish and was cooperative.*
sor to the project. Next spring, cnce with the Little Muddy, is all
additional fill, (Inal grading, seed- in the Eastern Lancaster County
ing, and tree planting near the School district,” he said. “So we
creek will complete the project, felt like maybe, if we can do a little
The primary weapon in the bit at a time, over the next X-
Shawn Eberly, Garden Spot senior and FFA BOAC chair
person, stands next to the shot rock placed on the Black
Creek streambed, a major effort of the FFA BOAC Project.
Project advisor Robert Lauffer, right, describes the course of the riprap making up
an equipment crossing at the Black Creek BOAC project. Dr. Phil Ogllne, chairman of
the Garden Spot agrlsclence cluster, crouches at the edge of the railroad ties used for
the cattle crossing.
Garden Spot’s Erosion Control Project
battle for erosion control was
keeping the cattle out using fenc
ing, according to Lauffer. Later on,
willow trees just like the trees
planted 10 years ago on a similar
project on the nearby Hoover Farm
will be planted near the stream
bank to further control erosion.
Erosion problem
“We had finished work on the
upstream side on the Edward
Hoover farm,” said Lauffer. “We
worked there on a BOAC project,
planting trees and various things.”
But something had to be done
about the erosion problem on the
Wentzel farm, said Lauffer. “Tom
(Wentzel) was a graduate of our
FFA program and understood what
we were trying to accomplish and
was cooperative.”
Lauffer said that the location
was important “The Black Creek,
from its headwaters to its conflu-
number of years, we can start hav- donated about $550 for this effort
ing a real impact on that stream.” Using railroad ties for steps, a
The Black Creek is an eventual tri- cattle crossing was erected by the
butary to the Conestoga River, students. The banks were sloped
To help stop streambed erosion , the
creek was literally cut short rer
outed to a 150-foot section and a
farm equipment/cattle crossing section
was built
which eventually connects to the
Chesapeake Bay.
The Lancaster Co. Conservation
District helped fund the project, as
well as the Adult Farmer Program
of Eastern Lancaster County. Don
Robinson, of the Adult Farmer
Program, laid out the channel spe
cifications, slope, drainage, and
other factors. Other agencies that
made contributions include the
Adamstown Rod and Gun Club,
Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the
Penn Dutch Sportsmens’ Associa
tion, and the townships of Breck
nock and East Earl.
In 1986, applications were
placed with the Army Corps of
Engineers, the Department of
Environmental Resources (DER).
and the Pennsylvania Fish Com
mission. Three years later, in
August of 1989, groundbreaking
began.
Field trips
“We went out at different per
iods of the day," said Shawn Eber
ly, a senior, now BOAC chair,
about the start of the project. “We
took field trips out there for our
class time."
Trackhoe equipment funded by
donations by Brubacher Excavat
ing changed the channel course.
After the channel was appropriate
ly filled, Martin’s Limestone
brought shot rock to the site. Using
a skid loader, students moved the
rocks from the pile onto the creek.
There, they hand-placed the rock
along the stream bank.
Permanent fencing to keep
cattle out of Black Creek was
installed on the Ed Hoover side of
the bridge, upstream from the
Wentzel site. The Northeast Lan
caster Co. Rod and Gun Club
and seeded and a temporary fence
was placed around the seeded area
to keep the cattle out.
*The primary weapon is really keep
ing the cattle out,’ said Lauffer.
Hie excavating of the new chan
nel was completed in late October
1989. Riprap was laid for equip
ment crossings adjacent to the
cattle crossing. Special fencing
will be placed on the Wentzel site
at a later date, in addition to fenc
ing to allow the cattle to move to
the other side of the stream at the
crossing.
r
Shelly Ogllne, president of the Grassland FFA and former
chairperson of the project, left, shows the temporary fenc
ing placed along the creek along with Shawn Eberly, current
BOAC chairperson. Permanent fencing will be installed at
the same location next year.
Wheat Reduction Set At 15 Percent
LEESPORT (Berks Co.)—The USDA plans to continue the
U.S. Department of Agriculture Export Enhancement Program in
intends to require a 15 percent 1991 to make sure America wheat
acreage reduction for the 1991 remains competitive in world
wheat crop, according to Donald markets according to Lutz. The
E. Lutz, chairman of the Berks program is available in 41
County Agricultural Stabilization countries,
and Conservation Service Under the 1990 wheat program.
(ASCS). farmers had the option of choos
ing a 5 percent acreage reduction
or the modified acreage reduction
program which enabled them to
increase their wheat plantings.
“Final provisions of the 1991
program will be announced soon
after the 1990 farm bill is
enacted,” the ASCS official said.
"Other provisions of the 1991
wheat program will be announced
as soon as they become available,”
Lutz said. Knowledge of how
much land will be idled will help
producers plan for the coming
year, he said.
Cattle control
The emphasis is being placed on
cattle control, a prime culprit in
stream bank erosion.
“I learned a lot about how
things erode,*’ said Eberly. “j
guess the biggest thing I learned is
how the cows affected the erosion
process and how fast everything
changed in the environment over a
period of time, with the sloping
and the techniques we used.”
“The primary weapon is really
keeping the cattle out.” said Lauf
fcr. “But the grass helps a great
deal.”
“The biggest improvement we
made is to put this permanent fence
across,” said Phil Ogline, chair
man of the Garden Spot agrisci-
ence cluster. “It keeps the cows
out of this stream. I feel that is one
of our major accomplishments.”
Note: Next week Lancaster
Farming looks into what the
Garden Spot BOAC Project will
do for the students and the com
munity. We’ll also profile some
of those involved with the
program.