vLcorntalk
PENNSYLVANIA MASTER COHN GROWERS ASSOC.. INC.
Corn Talk, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 10, 1996
Corn
JOYCE BUPP
York Co.
Correspondent
STEWARTSTOWN (Voile
Co.) —Piles of icy snow still
Unger along the edges of the
rolling fields at Wolf Faims,
west of Stewartstown.
But inside the farni’s offices,
Dan Wolf contemplates the
neon-green commodity price
charts scrolling across a satel
lite monitor and makes plans
for planting com.
Com is king at this southern
York County crop farm, where
Dan Wolf and his brothers
Dave and Steve crop 1,000
acres of the golden grain crop
along with additional acreage
in soybeans, wheat, timothy,
and popcorn.
Wolf, a quiet, well-spoken
farmer who studies his busi
ness intently, is (me of the new
est directors of the Pennsylva
nia Master Corn Growers
Association (PMCGA).
Familiar to many com pro
ducers is the PMCGA’s woik
with monitoring yields across
Pennsylvania and sponsoring
Farm Calendar
Lancaster
Farm and Home Center,
Lancaster.
Washington County Crops
Day, Ramada Inn,
Washington.
Central Jersey Reid Crop meet
ing, Monmouth, N.J., Coun
ty Extension Office, Free-
Shrewsbury Fire Hall
Cor' Cr
Clinic, Mountainview Inn,
Greensbuig.
Vegango County Crops Day,
Venango Extension Center,
Franklin, 7 p.m.-9 p.m.
Central Jersey field crops meet
ing, Hunterdon Extension,
Flemington, 7 p.m.-10 p.m.
Delmarva Com and Soybean
Technology Conference,
Wicomico Youth and Civic
Center. Salisbury, Md., 9:30
Mercer County Crops Day,
Mercer County Career Cen
ter, Mercer.
A Year-Round Business At Wolf Farms
the statewide com yield con-
test. PMCGA also woiks close- Jffk
ly with Penn State in education
and research work toward f
improved yields and cropping
practices.
“The association helps to
promote com through educa
tion and advertising.” Dan
said, adding that the PMOGA’s
efforts are closely related to the
programs and efforts of the
National Com Growers Asso
ciation. “We also work toward
enlightening and educating
elected officials in the best
interests of com growers.”
Promoting new products
made from com is another
focus of the com growers’
association. Ethanol, an alter
native fuel made from com,
continues to grow in volume of
usage across the country. Tax
benefits granted for ethanol
development were a result of
the ongoing efforts of the com
growers’ associations, Wolf
noted.
A number of other corn
based new products include an
(Turn to Pago 3)
fM.I
Franklin/Cumberland Crops,
and Soils meeting, Lemaster
Community Center, Lemas
tcr. 9 a.m.-2:45 o.m. _
Somerset/Cambria Weed
Schuylkill Campus, Schuy
lkill Haven, 7 p.m.-9 p.m„
' also JaA. 29.
Columbia County Ag Confer-
Cambria Extension
Ebensburg.
Agronomy Day, Calvert
Cjranß^feU^jM^jm^^
SSujffiirCcSntyOropsXlin
ic, Schuylkill Campus,
Schuylkill Haven, 9 a.m.-3
n m,
1 hursd;i\, Miirch 7
Fulton County Crops Day,
Three-Countj^Agronomy
School, Community Center,
Benysbuig, 9 a.m.-3;30 p.m.
Lebanon County Weed Man
agement Workshop, Leba
non Extension Office.
Two generations at Wolf Farms attend to business on the family grain oper
ation. From leftare brothers Dave and Dan Wolf and Dan’s son, Justin. Absent
from the photo beesuse he was in the shop getting equipment ready was the
third Wolf brother and partner, Steve.
CARLISLE (Cumberland
Co.) The Pennsylvania
Five-Acre Com Club awards
were presented at the Pennsyl
vania Crops Conference last
week. Greg Roth, Penn State
agronomy associate professor
made the presentations. Roth
said that it is difficult to grow
excellent com yields and noted
the achievements of Ronks
com grower Jack Coleman,
who had yields 0f228.7 bushels
per acre which was second to
the national contest winner by
8/100 of a bushel. “It proves
that some Pennsylvania soils
can rival the best soils in the
Com Belt,” Roth said.
There were 118 fields in the
contest this year. The results are
as follows;
In the three year average
category, shelled grain class,
regular harvest size, first place
went to Herman Manbeck,
Womelsdorf, for an average of
199.8 bushels per acre using
Pioneer 3293 and 3394. Second
place went to Elder Vogel,
Rochester, for 193.6 bushels
per acre using Rinks 4260 and
4446 A. Third went to Mathew
Maximuck, Doylestown, with
191.8 bushels per acre using
Dekalb 623.
ice,
In the three year average,
three-acre-plus harvest size,
first place went to Richard
Krcider, Lebanon, for 185.7
bushels per acre using Pioneer
3394 and 3335. Second place
Five-Acre Awards Presented
At Conference
Cora growers this year, per
haps more than in any recent
years, are facing a literal explo
sion of new technology to con
sider as part of their corn pro
duction enterprise.
Weighing the costs and ben
efits of all of these innovations
will be a challenge, but I am
confident that many of these
new products will find a place
on Pennsylvania farms and
have a considerable impact on
our ability to produce high
yielding crops.
went to Daryl Alger, Palmyra,
for 182.8 bushels per acre using
Pioneer 3293 and 3394. Third
place went to Carl T. Shaffer,
Mifflinville, with a 182.1 per
acre yield using Pioneer 3394
and 3525.
In the three year average,
regular harvest size, first place
went to Thomas Pepper, Can
ton, for a 200.3 bushel per acre
average using Dekalb 646 and
Pioneer 3293. Second place
PENNSYLVANIA
MASTER
ORN GROWERS
ASSOCIATION
Dr. Greg Roth
in State Agronomy
Associate Professor «Er_
between The
NEW TECHNOLOGY
EXPLOSION
went to Sandy Ridge Farms.
Shippenville, fora 182.2 bushel
per acre average using Pioneer
3727 and 3527. Third place
went to Eugene Graham, Cran
berry, for a 175.8 bushel per
acre yield using Pioneer 3394.
In the shelled grain class,
regular harvest size, first place
went to Ed Snook, Jersey
Shore, for a yield of 223.3
bushels per acre using Pioneer
(Turn to Pago 4)
An interesting innovation
that has started showing up on
Pennsylvania farms during the
past two years are combine
yield monitors. Most of the
major equipment manufactur
ers have or will soon have a
yield monitor on the market for
their combines. In addition,
several after market manufac
turers have monitors available.
Most of the folks that I have
talked with who have tried the
yield monitors indicate that
they are impressed with their
accuracy. The monitors are not
(Turn to Pago 2)
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