STATE COLLEGE (Centre Co.) Compost ‘king’ Will Brinton will be one of several out standing speakers who will address issues of soil health at the Pennsylvania Association for Sus tainable Agriculture’s Farming for a Greener Future Conference Feb. 3-4 in State College. Brinton, a native of southeast ern Pennsylvania is founder and president of Woods End Research Laboratory, Inc. in Mt. Vernon, Maine. Brinton has been research ing compost biology at Woods End for 20 years and has devel oped innovative approaches to low-cost methods of on-farm com posting. Brinton has worked with farm ers throughout the Northeast in Dairy UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre Co.) Milk producers can now register for Penn State’s popular Dairy Nutrition Workshops, sche duled for February 2, 9. and 16. The workshops will once again be offered via satellite across Penn sylvania and in selected locations in several neighboring slates. This is the second year for these highly successful workshops, attended by more than 500 people last year. This year’s sessions expected to reach nearly 700 far mers at about 40 locations in eight states will take participants via satellite through a feed mill, on farm tours, and even inside the rumen of a dairy cow. The workshops will combine local hands-on activities con ducted by extension agents and interaction with Penn State faculty via satellite at locations in Con necticut, Illinois, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Sessions will feature video seg ments, exercises on balancing rations, and discussions on nutrition-related topics by county agents, plus a question-and Pi. ROHRER & BRO, INC. Smoketown, PA AgriPro* is a Registered Trademark of AGRIPRO SEEDS, INC., P. O. Box 2962, Mission KS 66201 Soil Health Topics At PASA Conference developing low-tech composting methods as a tool for improving soil health, water quality, and farm nutrient management. His exper tise has been called on for a wide range of projects. He was recently asked by Prince Charles to serve on a committee which is monitor ing the United Kingdom’s progress in recycling and com posting. He is also acting as an advisor on composting to the European Community. Three different workshops focusing on compost will be fea tured at the conference. Brinton will discuss properties of compost extracts suppressing plant dis eases. In a second workshop, Brin ton and Penn State agronomist Dr. Doug Beegle will discuss their Workshops Set answer period featuring special ists in dairy cattle nutrition, agro nomy, and agricultural engineering. Satellite lectures by Penn State Dairy and Animal Science faculty members Larry Muller, Dick Adams. Gabrielia Varga, and Jud Heinrichs will focus on feeding and managing cows in early and mid-lactation, dry cows, and heif ers, with emphasis on trou bleshooting metabolic problems. Lisa Holden will look at basic pas ture usage, and Virginia Ishler will discuss how to determine dry mat ter content of forages. Agricultur al engineer Dennis Buckmaster will showcase Penn Stale’s new forage-particle-size separator. This equipment will provide better analysis of silages and total mixed rations. Agronomist Marvin Hall will talk about the proper method for sampling pasture for nutrient analysis, and Maurice Eastridge of The Ohio State University will present a segment on fat feeding for early lactation dairy cows. Participants also will visit a dairy farm via satellite, where Jud Heinrichs will interview the pro- PH. 717-299-2571 research findings of field studies on the release of nitrogen from compost and manures for crop production. The economics of on farm composting, based on farm case studies, will be the focus of a third session by Brinton, Cary Oshins of the Rodale Institute, and Larry Martick from the Adams County Conservation District. In other soil health workshops: Dr. Dan Skow, DVM, will be speaking on “The Connections Between Soil and Animal Health,” a topic on which he has done pio neering research. Skow is co owner of International Ag Labs, Inc. in Fairmont, Minn., as well as a practicing veterinarian. Skow formed International Ag Labs (lAL) with farmer Wendell Owens ducer and take participants into the milkhouse and feed room. After looking at the body condi tion of several cows, Heinrichs and the producer will anaylze rations being used and trou bleshoot to improve the herd’s overall nutrition. Back in the classroom, workshop participants will begin working with specific forage and grain samples to deter mine the best approaches to balancing protein and carbohy drate fractions of the diet For this exercise, they will use a forage analysis based on a sample they brought to the workshop the first week. Workshops will start at 9:30 a.m. and end at 3 p.m„ with an hour for lunch. The $3O registra tion fee includes the cost of a for age sample analysis. An addition al charge will be made if meals are provided, but this will vary across sites. To register or for more infor mation, contact the extension office in your county. 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Among other things, Skow has found connec tions between food animal con sumption soils, animal perfor mance, human health, and crop storage. The work of lAL counters the assumption that highest yields are always optimum, especially when nutrients are sacrificed and soil is depleted. Drawing on her research and extensive experience working with farmers. Dr. Marianne Sar rantonio will be leading a work shop “Matching Cover Crops to Niches in Cropping Systems." Sarrantonio is assistant profes sor of agroecology at Slippery Rock University. She has done ADC Reports Strong (Continued from Pago A 34) Dever said that members have to start thinking about milk less as a fluid commodity, and more as an ingredient He said the coopera tive’s Mt Holly butter facility is part of that After discussing some of the possibilities with the new political scene on the dairy industry, Dever said, “We believe there will be a support program. A minimum safety net is likely, but (not an income guarantee).” The outlook for the cooperative with its physical and marketing position, and its relationship with other cooperatives, should be good, as long as quality is stressed and research and product develop ment continue to find more markets. “The key is aggressive market ing and new products,” Dover said. Several speakers referred to quality production and according to Dever, quality is to be stressed. EQUIPMENT MFG. BY RAIN-FLO IRR. UncMUr Fuming, S«turtt«y, Jtnuwy -21, <f»-A3B very “farmer-friendly” research on cover crops for 18 years, pri marily in the Northeast, and has experience in Latin America, Asia, and Africa as well. “The Role of Organic Amend ments in Soil Health” will be dis cussed by Dr. Laurie Drinkwater, a soil scientist at the Rodale Insti tute. Drinkwater has conducted research on the role of green manures and composts in improv ing soils in California and Penn sylvania. Farming for a Greener Future is the Fourth Annual Conference of the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA). The conference will be held at the Nittany Lion Inn in State College. Registration information can be requested from PASA at (814) 349-9856. especially in today’s market place. “In any industry today, you have to put out a quality product and have an efficient organization.” He said that if. through member neglect the cooperative loses a quality rating it means a loss of a significant amount of money. In other business, Herbert and Teresa Graybill were presented with a plaque honoring die family for SO years membership in ADC. Herbert said his hither John Gray bill started with the cooperative and “when I took over (die farm) he was with Atlantic and my father said he had many pleasant years with Atlantic. I hope we can have 50 more.” Receiving 2S-year membership awards were C. Nevin and A. Ruth Hershey, and Ray and Reba Ranch. In other awards, Akers and J. Carl and Doris Zander received recognition for making quality premium standards for 12 straight months. In an election of officers, because of the expanded membership due to the Hershey con tract situation, the num ber of those nominated to be a delegate was suf ficient to fill the posi tions, and no other nom inations were made from the floor. In the Strasburg/ Paradise Local, Allan Rohrer was elected its president, C. Nevin Her shey its vice president, and Marlin Beiler as its secretary/treasurer. Delegates for the loc al include Jack Cole- man, Dale Hershey, Tom Lapp, and Robert Ranck. Alternates are Kenneth Beiler, Roy C. Neff, Donald Ranck, and Parke Ranck Jr. In the Quarryville 'Local, Lloyd Welk was elected president, Scott Mull vice president, and Herb Graybill its secretary/treas urer. Delegates are Randy Clark, Willie Frey, Herb Graybill, R. Charles Groff, James Krantz, Robert Kreider, Phil Rutt, and Lloyd Welk. Alternates are Dave Delong, Ed Harnish, James Kreider, Timothy Metzler, Scott Mull, Lloyd Sensehig, and
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