Farmers Are Environmentalists Fanners have been environ mentalists long before the envir onmental movement became popular. Good fanners are good ste wards of the land. It is simply good business! No farmer in his right mind wants to pay a big price for farm land and spend a lot of money on lime, fertilizer, seed and pesti cides, only to watch his invest ments wash away because of poor conservation practices. He wants to build up the soil so he can obtain good crop yields while also protecting the environment Sometimes we fail to appreciate all the things farmers are doing to help protect the environment we all share. Perhaps they have become such a routine part of good farm management practices that we tend to take diem for granted. Soil Conservation For decades, farmers have been planting crops in contour strips, alternating row crops with sod crops. Steeper slopes have been terraced and runoff water has been diverted into sod waterways to prevent the formation of deep gullies. Cover crops, planted after FOR DOUBU-CROP SOYBEANS TUBE'S ONLY ONE LEADER OF IKE PACK. PURSUIT* herbicide is today’s best tool for double-crop beans. It not only delivers the highest degree of overall weed control, it’s also the only postemergence product that combines contact and residual activity to give you superior control of more than 40 tough-to-control grasses and broadleaf weeds. Including velvet leaf, foxtails, cocklebur, pig weeds, nightshades, common ragweed, giant ragweed, sun flower, shattercane and seedling Johnsongrass. Without causing crop injury. And because of its 1 ,111111 11,11 ■w mi H'l‘l‘l mr I” 1 ' 11 ' 'Ti"i' t > 'i ' 1 1 ■ 1 ] " ,t ' 11 1 T."V 'i -‘ffli, , 1 til ,w,,i H, jv-",M( ■,!.;•■(• • { . P^r ; 1 «3#a. awl II Glenn's Udderings By Glenn A. Shirk Lancaster Extension Dairy Agent harvest, help prevent soil tosses and reduce the leaching of soil nit rogen. They are also a source of early spring forage, a green man ure crop to incorporate into the soil, or a crop that can be harvested for grain and straw. Some steeper slopes are planted to permanent hay or pasture thus reducing the need for tillage on these highly credible soils. There has also been increased usage of no-till and minimum-till tech niques. Besides reducing soil tos ses, these practices also reduce the use of petroleum fuels. Fewer Chemicals More and more fanners are looking for non-chemical ways to control pests. Thanks to bio technology and genetic advance ments. they now have a greater array of insect and disease tolerant crops to choose from. Insecticides are being replaced with helpful parasites, bacteria, fungi, traps, etc. Rotation of crops helps to reduce problems associated with insects, diseases and weeds. Wide rows have been replaced with narrow rows, which produces a thick shade canopy more quickly and provides better weed control. The shade canopy also reduces surface evaporation of soil moisture. More and more fields are being Now Available in 10A Eco Pak’s , l.rsnli* i I r I ,! , I]'! It, 'ili I HBRI/ijV kanf.i ;i 1 I 111 H', Hl] tested and scouted by crop consul tants on a regular basis, and the reckless use of fertilizers and chemicals is being replaced by best management practices. Soils and manures are being analyzed for nutrient content and applied in accordance with crops’ needs. Nitrogen tests are run on con fields when corn' is about knee high to more accurately determine nitrogen levels in the soil so proper amounts can be sidedressed for more efficient use by the crop. Similarly, fields ate monitored for insect, disease and weed pres sures, and chemicals are recom mended only when these pests reach threshold levels, or when other means fail. Nutrient Management Soil testing and manure anal yses, as discussed above, help reduce excess applications of nutrients. To avoid excess appli cations of manure, many farmers are exporting manure to other farms that need it, or arc process ing it and selling it as compost or as a soil amendment. Nutrient management plans arc being developed for many farms to save as a guide for applying manure and fertilizers in a safe, responsible and efficient manner. Alfalfa, planted after corn, helps to reduce phosphorus and potash levels that have built up in the soil during the com phase of the rotation. Where more nitrogen is needed, legumes such as beans, alfalfa and clover are planted to fix atmospheric nitrogen, thus reducing the reliance upon chemi cal fertilizer. Conversely, if soil nitrogen levels are high, annual crops such as grasses, com and sorghum are planted to utilize the nitrogen and to help prevent it from leaching into the water table. Long-term manure storages are being built on many farms for sev eral reasons. It eliminates the need for daily hauling, thus enabling farmers to apply manure when soils are “fit” and closer to the advanced chemistry and low rates of application, PURSUIT offers a responsible choice for the environment. That’s the kind of leadership everyone can respect. And reason enough to try PURSUIT. See us soon. AgriGenter/Jk MnttoMllmi • SwvlM • Imrin—ntol WoopomfellHy Alwiyi Mi mi fellow laM iincliaa CMhlly. Tufemwk. Amlm CjbomW CcojmyC 199 * ,(• 1 11 1" '!• !p kIA tl, Jlfi l<! J| -i ,•' till I, i« A ill, '1 .i f| 1 lah 1 ' ■' ■ '}' ' i,n i' ' M 1 il |ljLk[ ,|| t l i| Wjt' I '' 'tli' IhM'i l )' i! Your Cyanamid Hep* •'ill 1 r 1 i fiTi!T i ft*! 'mi Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 30, 1994-A25 time crops can utilize it efficient ly. This, coupled with quick incor poration. reduces nutrient loss and soil compaction. Farmers are concerned about the quality of water their family, their hods and their flocks drink. Thus, it is desirable for them to protect their wells and streams. The above practices help them accomplish this. In doing so, it also helps to keep our rivers and bays cleaner. Our forefathers built barns close to streams and close to sour ces of water that fed their shallow, hand dug wells and their spring houses. Since then, the number of animal units on these farms has increased many fold! This high animal density on sensitive sites presents some farmers with seri ous nutrient management challenges. Many of these farmers are fenc ing livestock out of streams. They are replacing their dirt barnyards and exercise lots with concrete barnyards and sodded sacrifice lots. Some have gone to total con finement of the herd, or have built new facilities in less sensitive areas. Recycling Wastes Fanners are great recyclers! Many of the feeds they use are recycled wastes that, if not fed, would be filling up our land fills. Examples include soybean oil meal, cotton seed, canola, beet pulp, brewers grains, distillers grains, bakery wastes, cannery wastes, candies, etc. More recently, newspapers and old phone books have been ending up under cows as bedding. Leaves are being applied to fields or used as a source of carbon for compost ing manure. For decades, they have been using crop residues as bedding, and recycling it back to the field as manure. Energy Conservation Milk is warm when excreted from the cow. but it must be cooled down quickly to a tempera II WEE OUR NEW EFFICIENT EPA WOOD STOVES ■! ' i 1 turc of less than 40 degrees for safe keeping. A lot of heat is dri ven off during this cooling pro cess. Farmers are using heat exchangers to help capture this heat so they can use it to heat water, their milk houses and their milking parlors. Many farmers are harvesting their grain at higher moisture levels and ensiling it as high mois ture grain. In addition to reducing field losses, this technique elimi nates the need for artificial drying and the use of electricity and petroleum-based fuels. To remain healthy and to attain efficient levels of production, ani mals need fresh, clean air, and they need to be comfortable. To accomplish this, farmers have relied heavily on fans. In recent years, many fanners are relying more heavily upon natural ventilation, thus reducing their reliance upon electricity. Farmers who rely heavily upon horses and mules and diesel pow ered generators have less need for petroleum-based fuels and electricity. On some farms, methane gas from manure is being captured and utilized for generating heat and electricity. Attempts are being made to adapt methane generation to smaller farms. If accomplished, it may reduce methane emissions into the atmosphere. Improved animal nutrition and balanced rations also helps to reduce methane production by ruminant animals. Many farmers are active envir onmentalists. As you can see from the examples just cited, they have accomplished much. They need to be commended for their accom plishments. However, the job is not yet done, and probably never will be done as we continue in our attempts to make our communities a better place to live. It is a respon sibility we all share. Breathe Clean, Cool Powered Air Combined respira tory, head, eye and face protection creates a personal mini-environment of dean air for you to work. You can do more work in less time because you take fewer breaks. By increasing productivity you mention comfort! 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