820-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 16, 1993
NORCROSS, Ga. Now is
the time to begin planning for next
year’s fertility management deci
sions. Review the 1992 season,
production records, and most
recent soil tests. Re-evaluate yield
goals for 1993 and plan fertility
applications according to pro
jected needs.
High yields mean high removal
rates. Many farmers were pleas
antly surprised in 1992 with high
er than expected yields. Fertilizer
dealers and extension offices can
Farmers Can Flourish
HUNTINGDON
Co.) Farmers in some U.S. lo
cations can continue to make a
profit even if the greenhouse ef
fect warms the climate, although
they may have to change crop mix
and techniques, according to a
Cornell University study.
Harry Kaiser, a Cornell as
sociate professor of agricultural
economics, said his study differs
from much of the previous work in
this area in that his computer mod
els track a gradual, decade-by
dccade change in climate and give
farmers the opportunity to respond
with later-maturing crop varieties.
A number of previous studies
have looked at a one-time doub
ling of greenhouse gas levels.
“Farm adaptability is crucial in
determining the agronomic impli
cations of climate change,” he
said. “Models that don’t allow for
such adaptability show corn yields
declining substantially after the
year 2000. Our results show that
com yields can be as high as 90 to
95 percent of current levels if
farmers can choose later-matur
ing, higher-yielding varieties.”
Additionally, according to Kaiser,
BREAKING MILK RECORDS!
Lancaster Farming Carries
DHIA Reports Each Month!
CONTACT US
For
• DOUBLE CHAIN PIT
ELEVATORS
HYD. TILT AVAILABLE
• COMPACT ROTO BEATERS
• WISCONSIN & ALLIS
CHALMER POWER UNITS
• HAND-O-MATIC BULK
FEEDERS
• COMBINATION MOWER
AND CRIMPER UNITS
• 455 AND 456 MOWERS
• NEW IDEA CRUSHERS
• LARGE SHOP LATHE
40 TON PUNCH PRESS
• CRIMPING ROLLS TO FIT
YOUR NEW IDEA CRUSHER
SMUCKER
WELDING & MANUFACTURING
2110 Rockvala Road, Lane., PA 17602
Plan For Next Year’s Fertility Decisions
provide tables to help estimate
nutrients removed in harvested
crops. Plans for 1993 fertilizer
applications should include
replacing nutrients removed in
1992 yields.
High yielding crops under
favorable weather conditions tend
to remove nutrients from deeper in
the soil profile. Dry spring and
early summer conditions in 1992
in many areas encouraged deep
rooting of crops. It also meant less
compaction to restrict root
growth. The result was subsoil
In
Warmer World
agricultural scientists may de
velop new varieties with enhanced
yield.
Kaiser examined two climate
change scenarios, both of which
have some likelihood, according
to widely used models. One is
armer by 2.2 degrees Celsius in
the year 2070 and 10 percent wet
ter. A more severe scenario in
creases temperature by 4.2 de
grees and diminishes precipitation
by 20 percent.
A warmer and welter climate
docs not harm farmers in southern
Minnesota, which has some of the
country’s best farmland. Corn
yields decline by 10 percent from
current levels, while yields of soy
bean and sorghum increase. Even
under the hotter and drier sce
nario, com yields fall just slightly
more to 86 percent. “Farmers are
not worse off,” Kaiser said. “They
can maintain profitability by ad
justing their crop mix.”
The mild scenario also is kind
to Nebraska farmers. Winter
wheat yields could increase by as
much as 2$ percent, while com
declines slightly to 95 percent of
current levels. Under the more sc-
“mining.”
Nutrient removal from deeper
in the profile is not detected with
normal soil testing. Soil tests may
actually show increased nutrient
levels in the upper part of the soil
profile as plant residues decom
pose and release nutrients on the
surface. Subsoil “mining” and
nutrient accumulation at the sur
face do not reduce the need to
replace nutrients removed by
crops.
If 1992 fertilizer applications
included amounts intended to
vere scenario, yields of com, soy
beans, and wheat drop substan
tially, but Kaiser pointed out that
Nebraska farmers could offset
those predicted effects by expand
ing their use of irrigation.
Kaiser, who plans to extend his
studies to farms m Illinois, Ohio,
and the Southeast, discounted any
fertilizer effect from high levels of
atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Some studies have proposed that
plants would benefit by exposure
to more carbon dioxide, but recent
research has cast doubt on this
view.
Jon Erickson, a Cornel graduate
student in resource economics, ar
gued m a recent Cornell staff pap
er that “Relying on carbon dioxide
from industrialization to fertilize
the world’s agriculture is analog
ous to relying on your car’s ex
haust to fertilize your home gar
den.”
Water supply, along with lim
ited nutrients and atmospheric
pollution, arc widely recognized
as the chief limiting factors in crop
production worldwide, he said.
Some climate change scenarios
predict drier climates or suggest
higher variability, with frequent
swings between droughts and
floods. Under such conditions,
more carbon dioxide in the atmos
phere would not increase plant
yields.
• Agricultural • Commercial • Residential
• Retaining Walls • Bunker Silos • Manure Storage, Etc.
LET OUR EXPERIENCE WORK FOR YOU
ESTABLISHED SINCE 1979!
WE ORIGINATED THE CONCRETE SYSTEM!
Sizes And Layouts
To Your Specifications
We Work Hard
For Customer
Satisfaction!
meet the needs of the 1993 crop,
high yields may have cut short the
supply left for next year. Recalcu
late needs and apply supplemental
fertilizer if expected carryover
will not meet the projected needs
for next year.
Dry spring and early summer
reduced leaching and denitrifica
tion losses of nitrogen. Higher
yields were attainable in 1992
with lower rates of nitrogen than
usually expected. This does not
mean rates for 1993 should auto
matically be cut. Remember that
winter and spring rainfall and
temperatures should be consid
ered in estimating nitrogen which
will remain in the soil over winter.
Also remember that high yields in
1992 did remove more nitrogen in
the harvested crop.
Not all farmers harvested high
yields in 1992. They may have
more potential nutrient carryover
for 1993, but shouldn’t expect
large soil test increases for the
extra carryover. Generally, for
common silty clay loam soils, the
soil potassium test will increase
about one pound per acre for each
4 pounds of potash carryover; the
phosphorus (P-1) test will increase
about one pound per acre for each
9 pounds of phosphate carryover.
LEBANON (Lebanon Co.)
In a few hours, you can create a
flattering swimsuit without break
ing the budget. Attend the Swim
suit Workshop at Lebanon Valley
Agricultural Center Saturday, May
1, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. You
will leant every step of construc
tion as you sew the suit in class.
The class is taught on a conven
tional machine with serger adapta
tions given. Guidance will be pro
vided for buying fabric and pat
terns. A class supply list will be
sent upon registration. To register,
send $l4 for members, $l7 for
non-members to Lebanon Co.
Sewing Guild, 75 Rocherty Rd.,
Lebanon. PA 17042. For more
Commodity Bins And Trench Silos
Authorized Dealer For
KEYSTONE
CONCRETE PRODUCTS
• Hog. & • Trench
Cattle Silo
Slats Walls
• H-Bunks • J-Bunks
Swim Suit Workshop
Best advice is to plan normal
application rates for the 1993
crop. Remember that carryover
phosphorus and potassium will
contribute to building soil tests
and will be accounted for in the
next round of soil testing.
Don’t overreact to low crop
prices. Unfortunately, high crop
yields over large production areas
can result in lower market prices.
That does not justify cutting back
on basic inputs such as fertilizer.
Over a wide range of fertilizer and
crop prices, the optimum rate of
fertilizer for maximum economic
yield production does not change.
Plan for normal applications for
the 1993 crop, regardless of the
prices. When crop prices are low,
there is an even stronger incentive
to increase yield levels to opti
mum so that fixed costs can be
distributed over more units of
yield and profits can be increased.
We cannot predict the 1993
growing season. This year brought
many surprises. Consider the
points above as you plan for the
coming season. Most important—
plan for a good year! That will
insure the system will be in place
to support a good crop, and the
resources will also be available to
reduce stress should the season be
less than ideal.
information, call Linda at (717)
274-1197. }
PANTS WORKSHOP
LEBANON (Lebanon Co.)
Getting pants to fit can be frustrat
ing. Learn how to choose the right
size pattern and alter it according
to your body shape at a Pants
* Workshop sponsored by Lebahon
Co. Sewing Guild. Choose one of
two workshops to be held at the
Quality Inn, 625 Quentin Rd„
Lebanon, on Thursday, January
21, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. of 7-9
p.m. To register, send $B, if mem
ber, $lO, if non-member, to Leba
non County Sewing Guild, 75
Rocherty Rd., Lebanon, PA 17042
or call (717) 274-1197.
INC.
430 Concrete Ave., Leola, PA
717-656-2016