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Vol. 38 NO. 41
Ag Progress Days were held this week with record crowds on Wednes
day. Various educational presentations and tours along with 300 commer
cial exhibits provided interesting fare for attendees. The annual event has
German Ag Diplomat: German Farmers Want Free Trade
VERNON ACHENBACH, JR.
Lancaster Fanning Staff
ROCKSPRING (Centre
Co.) While visiting Penn State
University’s annual Ag Progress
Days event on Tuesday, Ger
many’s first secretary of agricul
ture to the German Embassy to the
United States said that he wanted
American farmers to know that
German farmers desire free trade.
Hans Christoph von Heyde
Infestation , Environmental Data Essential If Growers Reduce Pesticide Use
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Fanning Staff
ROCKSPRING (Centre Co.)
Fruit growers beware. If you’re
going to cut back on pesticide use
through integrated pest manage
ment (IPM), you better get the
facts about pest infestation, dis
ease thresholds, and weather fac
tors in your orchard.
“The trick is to learn when you,
can allow a little bit of damage on
the leaves and still protect the fruit
and reduce the pesticide levels,"
said Jim Travis, associate profes
sor of plant pathology, during the
tree fruit research tour on Tuesday
morning at Ag Progress Days.
Travis said that fruit growers
should consider scouting not only
for insects and disease occurence
in the crop, but understand that
timing is critical for application.
604 Per Copy
brand, Erst secretary of agriculture
(agricultural attache) at the Ger
man Embassy in Washington
D.C., said that his country’s far
mers want American farmers to
know that they are undergoing
painful cuts in government price
support levels, bringing them in
line with market demand prices
and putting them under financial
strain, similar to what American
counterparts are experiencing, in
Fruit Tree Research At Ag Progress Looks At IPM
As part of their studies, plant
disease and pest experts at Penn
State are looking into what the
threshold levels should be for app
lying fungicides and insecticides.
Also, they are looking at disease
resistant varieties of fruit trees to
see how they hold up in fighting
fungus disease and what kind of
insects they might attract.
In one test, utilizing M-9 dwarf
root stock in an apple orchard with
a hedgerow trellis system, trees
were under attack from an insect
called the spotted tentiform leaf
miner. The 7-year-old trees have
leaves that bear the signature of the
miner, “an insect that makes a
‘mine’ in the leaf,” said Ed Rajot
te, associate professor of entomol
ogy at Penn State.
A small moth lays eggs on the
apple leaf, and a caterpillar
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Augusts, 1993
an attempt to create open and free
trade with the U.S.
Specifically, von Heydebrand
said that he wanted to, “Draw (the)
attention of the U.S. farmer to the
first major reform of (German)
agricultural policy.”
According to von Heydebrand,
a recently approved policy calls for
a 30-percent reduction in all agri
cultural support prices over the
next three years.
emerges. The caterpillar is so
small, said Rajotte, that it’s able to
go “in between the upper and low
er layers of the leaf and makes a
little tunnel inside the leaf.”
The insect specialist said that if
growers have a lot of the leaf min
ers, “it’s going to affect the quality
and the quantity of your crop.”
Growers should not spray for
the miner until there are at least
Ice Cream Churn-Off Brings $3OO Prize
LOU ANN UOOD
Lancaster Fanning Staff
ROCKSPRING (Centre Co.)
Beneath pounding hot sunrays,
Elsie Smith and her clan of nine
churned their way to success with
their homemade ice cream Orange
Side Cream.
For four years, Elsie and her
grandchildren have entered Ag
been located at the research farm since 1968. This scene from on top of the
Harvestore silo gives a feel for how the exhibit area appeared from a birds
eye view. Photo by Vom Achanbach.
He said that reduction comes on
lop of an already existing 30-per
cent reduction in grain support
prices that have occurred since the
mid-1980s. The effect of changes
in grain prices has been felt
throughout the German agricultur
al and food industry, von Heyde
brand said, and the further reduc
tions are also expected to impact
greatly on the nation’s agricultural
industry.
two mines per leaf. In many cases
at the site, only one mine was spot
ted, which is far from the point
where the crop will be harmed,
according to Rajotte.
But pesticide sprays aren’t
always necessary to handle insect
infestation in crops. Hie research
ers are looking at biological con
trols, also, as part of an integrated
pest management package. In one
Progress Day’s Ice Cream Chum-
Off. After a third place standing
last year, the clan churned their
way to the top and $3OO in cash on
Wednesday.
Second-place and $l5O went to
last year’s first-place winner Har
old and Linda Geise of Watson
town for their Very Berry Ice
Cream.
Four Sections
The German agricultural diplo
mat, who was visiting Ag Progress
Days at the invitation of the group
RULE, which stands for Penn
State University’s Pennsylvania
Rural Leadership Program, said
the three-year, 30-percent support
price reduction is to occur with a
first-year, 15-percent reduction
followed by smaller reductions
over the following two years.
(Turn to Pag* A3O)
case, miniature beatles, called
Stethorus punctum, are tested in
eating the European red mite, a
common apple pest.
One of the ways that growers
can reduce the current levels of
fungicides and get control is
through the use of planting
disease-resistant varieties. There
are several under research, which
(Turn to Pag* A2O)
Third-place and $lOO went to
Albert Hack of Berwick. It was the
first time Albert, who milks 65
Guernseys on his 350-acre farm,
entered competition. “I’m always
ihterested in dairy promotion,”
said Albert, who is a former direc
tor of PA Dairy Promotion Board.
Elsie Smith and her grandchil
(Turn to Paga A 34)
119.75 Per Yi