A2B-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Octobar 28, 1995 Like A House, Farmland Requires Maintenance ANDY ANDREWS Lancaster Fanning Stair ST. THOMAS (Franklin Co.) Ken Myen remembers when, exactly two yean ago, he spent endless hours restoring his term’s homestead, originally constructed in 1809. Myen can remember the count less hours of sandblasting and cleaning away the old white paint to restore the original brick surface OT the house. The land, according to the dairy man, is much the same as a house “There’s always maintenance to it,” he said especially when taking on additional responsibilities. Some of those responsibilities include long-standing conserva tion work dating back to when Myers purchased the term in 1972. They include literally miles of underground drainage tiles for his fields, tod waterways, runoff catch basins, and a huge concrete man ure storage structure. The Myerses were honored for conservation stewardship with the Pennsylvania Chesapeake Bay Clean Water Farm Award, pre sented at the quarterly meeting of the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts (PACD) in July. Myn-Brek Firm, operated by Ken and Martha Myers and family, became the Franklin County Con servation Farm of the Year in 1980. In the years before and since, the Myerses have done extensive conservation work on their farm to retain the precious soil and to improve the quality of water that enters and leaves their farm. The Clean Water Award, according to Ken Myers, wasn’t awarded to the family for “one thing we did,” he said, but “sever al things we had done over the yean.’’ After purchasing the dairy from his brother-in-law in 1972, Ken quickly signed up with the Franklin Conservation District “When we moved here, this whole area was just pastureland,” he said. “Now we farm a lot of it. So we had to do work.’’ When he signed up, he fanned about 164 acres. Today he farms •v. i Myers and family, heFrank lln jnty Conservation Farm of tha Yaar In 1980. In tha years before and since, the brick ''°* « bi * ■—* -- isns about 400 acres, 240 of which are tillable. The additional 160 acres included rented land on two other farms, one east and one west of the original term. The Weikert soil on which Myen depends for his livelihood is often very droughty, ft is a combi nation of shale and slate that makes management of water that much harder. A real worry is when it rains a lot, because of erosion concerns. After purchasing the farm, Myers re-evaluated die use of strip crops and started installing con tours. He said- some farmers “despise” contour stripping because “you’re going around a hill and you always end up with little short point rows they just despise that” But if a three-inch rain falls, according to the dairy man, the soil is retained. While growing up on a term, Myers said he was used to worldqg limestone fields, which are often “nice and level.” But working with the “slatelike” soil of the Cumberland Valley has Myen think “in smaller terms. “If you don’t, you get a heavy rain and it just washes the soil away,” he said. One of the largest projects Myen faced was installing the underground drainage systems, including about three to four miles of tiles. The drainage systems cov er about 164 acres. Also, installing sod waterways was important. “There was aditch on the farm that you could actually pull a (pickup) through and you’d never have seen it,” he said. The area was smoothed down and graded off. “That was a major undertaking; that was a big deal." he said. A sod waterway measur ing 1,200 feet was die largest installed. To Myen. installing the grass buffer zones on the roadway helped to retain soil. “I don’t like farming right to the edge of the road,’ ’ he said. He said he concentrates mostly on the soil upslope, which, before the buffer zone, could easily run off in to the crcck. (Turn to Page A 29) < * \ * Farmland, according to dairyman Kan Myart, is much tha aama as a housa “Thsrs’s always malntananea to H,” ha said especially whan taking on'addltional responsibilities. Tha Myerses were honored for conservation stewardship with the Pennsylvania Chesapsake Bay Clean Water Farm Award, presented at the quarterly meeting of the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts (PACD) In July. put ig y from. . brother-in-law In 1972, Ken quickly signed up with the Franklin Conservation District. “When we moved here, this whole area was Just pastureland," he said. “Now we farm a lot of It. So we had to do work.” When he signed up, he farmed about 164 acres. Today he farms about 400 acres, 240 of which are tillable. The additional 160 acres Included rented land'on two other farms, one east and one west of the original farm. » *S. *&> , i ' * V >v k ' # *V < <■ f > * , \ ; ' %> *. “ . iv®'” ’/■.‘a.-> 1 ” Si $V - iri V tf-‘ f,*', > :|;- >.;Y.■./* ‘ ? *r* < ‘iS s * * * *'<**#* , 4 ' K*
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