Dauphin Conservation Farmer Believes In Looking Closely At Soil Particulars ANDY ANDREWS Lancaster Farming Staff LYKENS (Dauphin Co.) —For conservation fanner Gerald Wiest soil sampling on his farm started about 1969 culminating in rec i®v jnservation jrmer ir,receni .acircular concrete manurage storage structure to replace an okf concrete-llned timber facility on his farm. Invest to Futures Ralph & Betty’s son Dave could be a Great Grandfather before the warranties expire on this MORTON BUILDING $35,995* 60’x15’x105’ Machine Storage Building 1 • 24'xlS' AJumaStaal® DouMa End Door 1 • 30'xlS' AlumaStaal® Ooublo Sldo Door 1 • Wolkdoor w/9-llta Glaaa* 1 • 4*x3’ Wlta Window w/Shuttara Two Foot Endwall Ovirhangi Attractiva A Protactiva Extarfor Walnaeot Ona Foot SMawall Vantad Ovarhanga Intarior Protactiva Linar Contlnuouaty Vantad RMga Guttara and Downapouta Fraa Waathar Vana KYNAR 500® A 4 mil Plaatlaol 20 yr. Warranty Paint Syatama <H A 7QO* * All warranties Include materials S labor. All taxes Included. All delivery charges mil I M KWII Included. Builder's Bisk Insurance also Included. ® J Building must be erected within 40 miles of a Morton Buildings'* sales office. . , , C 'fX' C Customer must provide a level building site and participate in the three-step payment plan. ( W& rUWC PCCTt DUlldtTlJJ tflC Offer expires April! 5, 1992 r ■ , family farm for aeneratwits! 800-447-7436 Local Representatives J&*MORTON 3368 York Rd. P.O. Box 126, Gettysburg, PA 17325 Phillipsburg, NJ 08865 717/624-3331 908/454-7900 ognition as Conservation Farmer of the Year last week by the county district Wiest maintains about SO sows on his farrow-to-finish farm and manages about 300 acres. He said conservation work has always been an important part of his life, ever since he helped farm with his father, Woodrow Wiest a hog and beef farmer in the Lykens area. Gerald Wiest obtained his first 48’xl2’x60’ Machine Storage Building 1 • 24'x13', 6” Doubla End Door 1 ■ Walkdoor Guttara and Oownapouta Fret Waather Van* Whlta Polyaalar Palntad Sldawalls & Roof, w/KYNAR 500® Color Trim Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 21, 1992-Al9 iployL terraces, and grass waterways, such as this one, on his farm. soil sample in 1969. “I’ve been of lime. In a recent interview, soil sampling ever since,” he said. Wiest pointed out that soil sam- The soil sample taken 23 years pling wasn’t new then farmers ago was part of an ASCS cost- had been using it for years. But the share program for the application importance of analyzing the nutri ents of the farmland was in Wiest’s operations because he believes in the importance of keeping and maintaining good soil conditions. Soil conditions “I was always amazed at how many farmers, large operators and small, fell into the rut of the traditional, ‘well, if we’re planting small grains, we use so many hundred pounds of a certain analysis fertilizer,”’ said Wiest, “regardless of what manure was applied or what the soil condi tions really were.” Wiest said that his degree in biology from Mansfield University (Tioga County) helped him understand the interrelationships between soil fertility, yield, and the importance of conser vation practices. Also, after the floods caused by Hurricane Agnes in 1972, Wiest worked for the Soil Conservation Service restoring streams, which helped him gain hands-on knowledge about conservation practices. “My background in the sciences told me that things should be more accurate than that thcre’re ways to keep a closer tab on the particu lars, especially the nutrients, to get a good balance, to get a good crop,” he said. On the farm based northwest of Lykcns, Wiest owns about 57 acres and rents an additonal 250 acres. He markets about 200 tons of hay per year. Last year, Wiest managed about 120 acres of com, 50 acres of soybeans, 50 of wheat, 40 of barley, 30 of alfalfa, and 50 of timothy hay. He grows most of the crops necessary for the 50 sow farrow-to-finish (he markets about 350-400 fin ished hogs to Hatfield Meats, and another 300 or so he sells to growers). Fit into rotation He grows wheat and barley to fit into the rota tion for com weed control, and barley is fed to the gestating sows. The remainder of the crops are sold on the cash market He said the soil conditions on his acreage are good for most crops. The land is Calvin-Leckhill based, which includes deep, well-drained soils. Because of the existing shale conditions, nutrient control is top priority, and there are many prac tices Wiest uses to maintain water control and stop nutrient and soil runoff. Wiest employs the use of strip crops, contour strip crops, terraces, grass waterways, stone lined waterways, water control structures (such as drop inlets and underground tiles), and he uses no-till and conservation tillage in designated areas. Manure is applied to fields depending entirely on nutrient needs, according to soil tests. “I’ve just always done that,” he said. “If it meant hauling (manure) six miles, that’s where it went”
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