Is Alternative Ag A
DOVER, Del. An explora
tion of the alternative and sustain
able agriculture movements were
one of the topics addressed at Ag
Forum ’92: Opportunities and
Challenges recently at Delaware
Technical and Community Col-
lege in Georgetown.
Alternative and sustainable
agriculture have been buzz words
in the agricultural community for
several years now, but they mean
different things to different people.
Alternative agriculture is generally
thought to mean introducing non
traditional crops into an area or
rinding creative new ways to
market an old product
e MHK. IT DOES ABOOY GOOD.
MIDDLE ATLANTIC MILK MARKETING ASSOCIATION, INC.
MEAT MATTERS MOST
HOME BRED lambs like these have been
winning for me and my buyers in the Mid-
Atlantic area. The LOOK GOOD. They
HANDLE GOOD. They CUT GOOD. My
latest triumph was Grand Champion car
cass at the 1991 Keystone International
Livestock Exposition. Check these stats.
Uw Cm CMtoMln QuaMy Ug Mmy M Mi Crm
Wt Wl (Ml* M M Ey* YM
121
73 LP LP LP 3* .18 3.5 48.9
Contact me for meaty rame,
bred ewea, and club lambs
Robert Dinsmore
5M2 Broad Run Rd.
Joffarson, MD 21755
1-800-331-9122
Evenings 301-371-4483
TRUCKLOAD SALE
BOSS HOG
fHft WOVEN WIRE
\ They're Talking
X, jSMz? About Boss Hog!
The wire with th«
It’» More Than A Sales Gimmick. It’s Proof
That You Are Getting Genuine Boss Hog
Woven Flooring. So Look For The “Bump”
To Be Sure You’re Getting The Best...
Boas Hog Woven Wire!
Tired Of Raplacing Woven Wire...
SEE US NOW! Other Gauge* Aleo Available.
w«aie>ura
24 Htur awvto*
«■ Mlm A PouAry tytfMN ApactaMi 1
FARMER BOY AQ
HotuHCQLHA* mtmrom.** tmr
Sustainable agriculture is slight
ly different. It generally means
adopting production techniques
that will sustain a profitable busi
ness but also put less stress on the
environment.
Ferdinand Wirth, marketing
manager for the department of
agriculture, led a discussion about
efforts to develop alternative agri
culture in Delaware. His talk
focused on the development of
new crops in the area such as sorg
hum and wine grapes.
Dr. Edward R. Jones, a profes
sor in the department of agriculture
and natural resources at Delaware
MOST ECONOMICAL
MOST DURABLE
reduces scours
NON SKID FOOTING
ChMkOurWM-
Houm Mom
Viable Option "" Farming, Saturday, March 7, 1992-A25
State College, discussed the con- the department of agriculture’s
ccpt of sustainable agriculture alternative agricultureAnarketing
how successful that movement has research grants discussed the prob
becn and where it may be headed. lems and successes they had get-
In addition, three recipients of ting their projects off the ground.
Pennsylvania’s first consign
ment sale to raise funds for host
ing a national convention was held
in 1954; the sales date was set for
Good Friday.
“How ignorant we were to set
that day,” Backus related. “Never
again.”
A similar less-than-favorable
buyer turnout occurred the year a
sale was set for the opening day of
deer hunting season-a date picked
by non-hunters.
“Talk about being lonely,”
Backus wryly remembered.
The sales and pedigree special
ist praised Pennsylvania Hols
tein’s Bill Nichol for the foresight
to start the spring calf sales.
TRY NEW LOCK n LOAD.
THE FASTER, SAFER
INSECTICIDE DELIVERY SYSTEM.
Now, you can lock in perfor
mance. \bu can lock in low
cost. And you can lock in
safer handling. With the
LOCK’n LOAD™ closed
handling system, you
can load your insecticide
without direct contact. Each
40-pound com
fills a hopper
in about 60
seconds. No
bags. No dust
No pouring.
Restricted Use Pestic
Always read and folio 1
directions carefully.
®/™ Trademarks, Arm
Cyanamid Company
See Your Agri
or Call Your Cyanamid Rep.
Mike Fleming Jim O’Bryan
717-627-0661 814-667-3648
Backus Highlights Holstein History
(Conttnwd from Pag* A 22)
Though sales offering as many of
ISO head of calves and heifers
were almost unprecedented, they
drew in buyers from across the
country, especially California.
One of those was Amelio Curti,
who Backus cited as a forerunner
and trend setter in buying cattle
using the sire Predicted Difference
as a gauge of pedigree value.
Fighting the scourge of Bangs
disease over the years was a battle
Backus remembers well. He cited
one sale in which a heifer sold for
$l4OO, was then announced as not
having been vaccinated, and then
resold for $7OO.
Scattered through Backus
memories of cattle through their
sales arenas are names that live on
in the famed pedigrees of the
No odor. Reduced risk of
spills. Handling is faster
and safer... for you
and the environment. Both
COUNTER® systemic
insecticide-nematicide and
THIMET® soil and systemic
insecticide are available in
• ’ - evolutionary package,
outstanding com
orm protection
er way. See
s today about
OCK ’n LOAD.
Center Dealer
Other seminar topics included
trucking laws and safety, environ
mental regulation as it affects agri
culture, and aquaculture
opportunities.
Holstein breed: Lucifer, Ivanhoe,
Whirlhill Kingping. Even now, he
noted, five of die top seven Hols
tein bulls have their roots in
Pennsylvania.
“The breed has always
belonged to everyone,” Backus
observed, relating how the bulk of
notable contributions and out
standing cow families have origi
nated in farmer-breeder herds.
“Anyone can breed the greatest
daughter of the greatest sire."
With less than half the cows of
a half-century ago in this country,'
and two-and-one-half times as
many registered ones. Backus pro
claimed that the Golden Age of
registered Holsteins is not some
fading part of history, but today.
cyan amid
tßsSm