Corn Grower Presiden EVERETT NEWSWANGER Managing Editor QUARRYVILLE (Lancaster Co.) —“If weeds arc not con trolled, you are going to get a greatly reduced crop. The most single limiting factor in com production is water, and weeds take it.” The author of this quote. Grant Troop, president, Pen nsylvania Master Com Grow ers, knows how to grow a good crop of com. But he is also very sensitive to the environmental health of his land. “Weed control depends on chemicals,” Troop said. “But with what EPA has done in the last 20 years, a lot of safety has been insured to the environ ment. The chemicals that are dangerous are not on the market UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre Co.) —This year will certainly go down as the “talc of two seasons” for com pro ducers in Pennsylvania. On one hand, those in south ern counties had generally excellent growing conditions and very good yields. For those in central to northern counties, a short cool season magnified any management mistakes and reduced yields and grain quality. There’s something to be learned from both seasons. In the southern areas, the record yields reflected the use Lancaster Farming Official Corn Talk Publication With this issue of Com Talk. Lancaster Fanning becomes the official publication for the Pennsylvania Master Com Growers’ Association, Inc. (PMCGA). Officials of the com growers recen tly asked Lancaster Farming to publish their quarterly newslet ter because of the added exposure their Com Talk section will receive from Lancaster Farming readers, members and non members alike. “We’re excited about this new arrangement with Lancaster Farming and appreciate their support of the project,” said Grant Troop, PMCGA president Three more issues of Com Talk arc planned for 1993 —spring, summer and fall, with April 17 as the next issue date. Each issue will contain useful grower information, interviews with com growers, association news from both the state and national asso ciations, and messages from advertisers. PENNSYLVANIA MASTER CORN GROWERS ASSOC., INC. anymore. Many of the earlier chemicals I didn’t use anyway because of the suspicion of dan ger. I use all the safeguards and recommendations on the label, and I feel I’m doing a safe job of farming. It works for me.” Troop graduated from Penn State with a degree in agronomy in 1973 and immediately started to work the family farm west of Georgetown. Before his time’, the farm was a concentrated livestock operation, and there were only four large fields on the farm. These fields contained “gullies deep enough to bury a car in them.” But strip and con tour farming were initiated and developed in the ‘6os. Now the land is in 21 small fields and can be called a model conservation (Turn to Page 7) YLVANIA MASTER /RN GROWERS ASSOCIATION ween The Rows Dr. Greg Roth Penn State Agronomy- Assistant Professor of continually improving man agement and hybrids combined with a reasonably good season. Another factor that contributed to the high yields was cooler than normal temperatures. While it’s tree that com grows well on hot summer nights, these high temperatures also cause the plants to “bum off’ more of the sugars produced by photosynthesis during the day. Cool temperatures reduce this process, known as dark respiration, and these sugars eventually contribute to higher yields. (Turn to Page 3) Corn Talk, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 13, 1993 Has Model Conservation Farm Grant Troop, president, Pennsylvania Master Corn Growers, believes you can grow a good corn crop and still be sensitive to the environmental health of the land. Photo by Everett Newswanger, managing editor. Farm Calendar Moiul;i>, I el)ru;ii \ 15 Penn State Crop Production Satellite Seminar, Grain Crops, contact your local extension office. TMM luos<l;n, l Vl>ni;u \ 16 Ag Information Series, Produc ing Quality Com Silage and Troubleshooting Com Pro duction Problems, Unilec Building, Dußois, 7:30 p,m.-9:30 p.m. S»»du\, February 21 NCGA Com Classic, San Anto- Lebanon Valley Expo i,ge. Animal National Confer ence, Syracuse, N.Y., thru Feb. 25. (Turn to Page 3)
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers