Paul.seated, andsOrtfimest Maat check crop production
records at their farm kitchen table. The Masts achieved a
goal of more than 200 bushels of corn per acre In the Nation
al Com Growers contest in the Irrigated division.
tatt-tk
Farm Calendar
Moiul.in , hinu.ii \ 1
Jcffcrson/Clearficld Dairy/Crops
Day, Ramada Inn, Dußois, 9
Pennsylvania Com Conference,
Lancaster Host Resort,
Lancaster.
1994 Delaware Agricultural Out
look Conference For Grain Pro
ducers, Sheraton Inn, Dover,
Del.
1 Moikl.h, K lii ii,ii \ 7
Integrated Crop Production Work
ship, Schuylkill Campus,
Schuylkill Haven, continues
Feb. 14 and 21.
Blair/Hunlingdon Crops Day, Fire
Hall, Alexandria, 9:30 a.m.-3
p.m.
Adams County Crops and Soils
Day, Extension Office, 9:30
Lancaster County Crops and Soils
Day, Farm and Home Center, 9
Cumberland County Crops Day,
Walnut Bottom Fire Hall, Wal
nut Bottom, 8:30 a.m.-2:30
p.m.
PENNSYLVANIA MASTER CORN GROWERS ASSOC., INC.
Si *>*•
» *
Franklin County Crops and Soil
Day, Lemasters Community
Com Production Satellite Confer
ence, Lancaster County and
Delmarva Corn and Soybean
Technology Conference,
Wicomico Youth and Civic
Center. Salisbury. Md.
Ihursdax, l i‘l)iuar\ 17
Cecil County, Md. Agronomy
Day, Calvert Grange, Calvert,
Md
SiiihLin, I tlnii.ii N 27
NCGA Com Classic, Denver,
Colo., thru March 1.
Tri-County Soybean and Small
Grain meeting, Shippensburg,
Schuylkill County Crops Clinic,
Schuylkill Campus, Schuylkill
Haven.
\\ ('(lncsd.n , M.ii eh Id
Three-County Agronomy School,
Gratz Fire Hall, Gratz.
Corn Talk, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 29,1994
These Com Growers Reach
200 Bushels In National Corn Contest
EVERETT NEWSWANGER
Managing Editor
MORGANTOWN (Berks Co.)
When you grow more than 200
bushels of com per acre, you have a
good year. That’s what Paul and
son Ernest Mast did this year in the
National Com Growers contest in
the irrigated division. But they
don’t look at themselves as profes
sional com growers. In fact, they
are probably more well known for
their potatoes.
“We like to get things done on
time,” Paul said. “We think that’s
important. Every day your are late
in planting, you loose a little pro
duction. It costs as much to plant or
harvest late as it does to do it on
time. In fact, for harvest, it costs
more. We would even hire extra
help to get it done on time if we had
to.”
Ernest thinks another reason for
good production is the rotation of
crops. They never plant com on
com because potatoes and wheat
are also in their crop rotation.
Sometimes they plant soybeans to
Here we arc at mid-winter
already. We’ve had our share
of frozen precipitation. As I
gaze across the fields and
farms down the valley, I stand
in amazement that an area
looking so desolate yet
enchanting in winter is so pro
ductive and scenic by summer.
I am in awe at the creative
works of our great God.
With the Farm Show behind
us, we now turn to winter
chores such as fixing, main
taining, or rebuilding equip
ment, and to winter meetings
with topics covering most
every enterprise or activity
with which we are involved in
the field of agriculture or ag
business. We use winter meet
ings to fine-tune management,
to assess quality control, to
gain exposure to new emerging
technologies.
It is the lime of year to ask
the “what if’s” and to make
projections for the coming
year, and to visit with friends
and acquaintances (this is the
best part).
We find ourselves rehashing
the figures that lead us to the
bottom line. Can I reduce input
increase the fertility of the soil.
With good soil fertility and
enough water, the Masts believe
you can plant heavy populations.
They average about 30,000 to
32,000 plants per acre.
The Masts have irrigation equip
ment for their potatoes so they also
use it on their com. But the invest
ment would be too great for only
com. “If you invest in equipment
you need to use it,” Paul said. “I
don’t know if I would do it just for
com, but you must irrigate the
higher risk crops like potatoes. I
believe the quality of the crop
improves with irrigation because
the crop matures at the right time.”
With 200 steers on feed, 30 acres
of com is put into the silos. Wheat
is stored until com harvest, then
sold to make room for the com.
The com is then stored unto mid
winter when the price is usually
stronger.
The Masts also grow some
pumpkins and have four acres of
YLVANIA MASTER
»RN GROWERS
SSOCIATION
President’s Message
H. Grant Troop
President. PMCGA
costs? And can I increase out
put? Arc two often asked and
always linked questions as we
strive for maximum economic
yield which translates into
maximum economic return if
we do a good job of marketing.
We would also like to
announce our new Member
ship Incentive Plan. Any com
grower who plants five or more
acres of com is eligible for a
free bag of seed com with the
purchase of a three-year mem
bership in PMCGA/NCGA,
new or renewal.
Soil
Theme
LANCASTER (Lancaster
Co.) Managing and correct
ing soil compaction will be one
of the topics addressed at this
year’s Pennsylvania Com Con
ference, scheduled for Feb. 4 at
the Lancaster Host Resort.
Randall Reeder, extension ag
engineer at Ohio State Univer
sity, will address this topic for
Pennsylvania growers who
often are forced to deal with
compaction as a result of late
strawberries they sell retail from a
roadside market along Route 23.
The farm house dates back to
1767 when settlers of Welsh back
ground settled in the area known as
the Welsh mountains. An antique
corner cupboard and fireplace
mantel are displayed in the Metro
polian museum of art in New York
City. These priceless treasures
were sold out of the house during
the Great Depression to a local
antique dealer to raise money to
buy mules so the farming operation
could continue. Jacob Mast, Paul’s
father, needed the money at the
time. Times were hard and you did
anything you could do to keep
going.
As for the controversy of agri
culture against the environment,
Paul believes agriculture is good
for the environment This is espe
cially evident if you are hungry.
“It’s tough to eat a tree,” he said.
“And chemicals cost so much, you
can’t afford to use more than
necessary. Environmentalists
should know this.”
Response from seed com
companies has been over
whelming, and a list of partici
pating companies will be
included on the application
form so you can choose the
brand you would like to try.
The theme for the PMCGA
Membership Incentive Prog
ram is “Try Something New,”
and we hope you do.. We are
working hard to increase our
membership and the value of
your memberships has never
been greater. Sign-ups for this
(Turn to Page 3)
Compaction
Of
Conference
season harvesting or manure
hauling.
According to Reeder, heavy
loads of 10 to 20 tons per axle
can have different effects
depending on soil moisture, soil
type, tire pressure, and other
factors. His research shows that
compaction may have no effect
on yields or can cost as much as
100 dollars per acre.
Low pressure tires, subsoil
(Turn to Pago 4)