A24‘L»ncast»r Firming, Saturday, April 2, 1994
Conservation Learned
At Early Age
(Continued from Pag* A 1)
Teresa said her sons already
accompany their father and grand
father on several tasks on the farm.
It was early on, too, that David
remembers learning a lot about
how to work the Lykens Valley
farm including the ever
cssential conservation practices
that not only contribute to farm
productivity but enhance the rural
environment.
For education tand compliance
with conservation techniques early
on, the Feidts were recently hon
ored as the Dauphin County Con
servation Farmers of the Year.
Eugene’s father, Floyd, signed
up with the district in 19SS. Con
servation practices were installed
in the years since, and additional
improvements were made after
Eugene purchased the farm in
1986.
Eugene said the farm tills about
David Feldt shovels grain into a wagon for his son, Nicho
las, to feed the cows.
Eugene Feldt begins milking. Notice the use of extensive
newspaper bedding for cow comfort.
2SO acres altogether, spread over
two separate farms and including
rented acres. The Feidts plant
about 130 acres of com and 80
acres of alfalfa, in addition to
about 30 acres of barley. They
maintain about 7S acres of wood
land and 10 acres of pasture.
The Feidts take care of about 80
milking cows, about 75 percent of
which are registered and the
remainder grade. They maintain
the same number of replacement
stock. Milking is from tiestall to
pipeline, and they are signed up
with the Atlantic Dairy
Cooperative.
“I feel that strip and contour
farming is beneficial in controlling
erosion, along with no-till and
minimum-till,” said Eugene.
“Our manure storage is saving us
on use of fertilizer.”
David said that contour acreage
equals about 100 acres, with
For education and compliance with conservation techniques early on, the Feidts
were recently honored as the Dauphin County Conservation Farmers of the Year.
From left, David: Teresa (holding Nicholas, 1V4); Deloris (holding Jordan, 3 1 /*); and
Eugene Feidt.
another ISO acres in strip crop
ping. In the Lykens Valley, there
are a great deal of hilly areas, and
drainage and handling the water
are special challenges.
But those challenges were met
years ago with the installation of
about 2,500 feet of tile drainage. A
drainage basin was installed last
fall. “Water maintenance” is
often the key to successful conser
vation farming techniques, and
using this system, the water does
not wash away soil. The sites hold
water for slow emptying into the
Wiconisco Creek, which drains
into the Susquehanna River.
Dealing with the qualities of the
land and the soil is a challenge, too,
considering the characteristics of
the shale/slate soil, what soil
experts call a Calvin-Lechhill
shaley/silt loam. But the drainage
site has worked well since its
installation, even despite the heavy
snow melt from the harsh winter
season, according to David.
The Dauphin County Conserva
tion District helped the Fcidls sign
up for cost sharing with the Chesa
peake Bay program to install a
manure storage structure. The cir
cular concrete structure, which
holds 350,000 gallons and is emp
tied twice a year, was installed in
the fall of 1990.
One of the challenges that far
mers in the areas face in the com
ing years, according to Deloris, is
the problems with manure applica
tion. Even last summer, some
“hot" manure was applied on a
particularly muggy day. according
to Eugene. Oftentimes the Feidts
wonder if urban encroachment
Md. To Host Game Bird Seminar
COLLEGE PARK, Md.
Game bird breeders throughout
the Mid-Atlantic area are invited
to attend a Saturday seminar on
biosecurity and disease
prevention.
The all-day event is scheduled
April 9 at the Maryland Depart
ment of Agriculture headquarters
building on the northwest edge of
historic Annapolis, Md.
Sponsoring organizations
include the Maryland Department
of Agriculture and the Mid-
Atlantic Cooperative Extension
Poultry Health & Management
Unit (MACE), an amalgamation
of avian health professionals asso
ciated with land-grant universities
in New York, New Jersey, Pen
. Jordy Fekft, 3Vi, has ieamstf how to clean the manure
from the floor of the tie stall bam.
“other laws and,rulcs” farmers are
won t affect some of the things becoming subject to.
they do on the farm in the future. But whatever the case may be,
Teresa said that, perhaps, the Feidts are confident that the
spreading manure will be more of a generation to take over the farm in
“hassle” for farmers in the com- the years to come will have plenty
ing years. Delons said that farmers of education and experience to
will have to somehow try to get by help them with their decision
considering all the DER and making.
nsylvania, Delaware, Maryland,
Virginia and West Virginia, state
departments of agriculture in four
states, and the U.S. Department of
Agriculture.
Financial support is being fum-
ished by feed supplies and the
Delmarva Poultry Industry, Inc.
Donors will be recognized at the
conference. Registration begins at
' 8:30 a.m„ and the program runs
from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Noon
lunch will be provided.
Free handout packets will
include medication and soil treat
ment-guides for game bird opera
tors, “a ‘Twenty Questions” sheet,
and a “Good Neighbors” bro
chure, just published by MACE,
that presents a detailed health
program for specialty flocks.
Roger E. Olson, program coor
dinator, notes that the seminar is
the first of its kind ever held in the
Northeast and possibly in the
nation. Olson is assistant state vet-
erinarian for Maryland and assis
tant chief of the MDA’s Animal
Health section. He notes that game
bird breeders are becoming aware
of the need for biosecurity prac
tices to ward off avian disease
problems that threaten their
operations.
Program topics will include
avian influenza, Newcastle, and
other diseases; laboratory diagno
sis; biosecurity, nutrition, and
other aspects of avian health
management.