Page B—Com Talk, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 10,1996 Between The Rows (Continued from Pago 2) Erg-related sites, including many commercial firms. Access to the WWW requires a PC with a relatively fast mod em (14.4 kbps) and an account with an access provider. Many computer network services such as America Online, Pro digy, and CompuServe offer Internet access. You can also use the Internet to communi cate and send messages back and forth, provided you have a mail address. Last week, someone elec tronically mailed a multico lored field map of organic mat ter variation to me. Technology is also coming fast in the areas of sensor tech nology and variable rate appli cation technology (VRT). At the American Society of Agro nomy Meetings this fall, a USDA researcher reviewed research that is being done in the area of sensors mounted on farm equipment. These included crop sensors to mea sure chlorophyll, moisture, yield and populations, soil sen sors to monitor moisture, organic matter, and nitrate, pest sensors to monitor weed popu lations and ID, and equipment sensors to measure flow rates, ground speed, and draft force. Many of these are under com mercialization already. Variable rate seed, fertilizer and pesticide application equipment is already available. At the National Com Growers Com Gassic last year. I visited with vendors who were selling planter attachments that would vary seed drop depending on Pa. Master Corn LIME • Dump Truck Loads • Spreaders Available Rohrer’s Quality Hi-Cal Damp Lime 92% CCE Calcium Oxide 43% ENP 69 Magnesium Oxide 6% 55% passing 100 mesh 65% passing 60 mesh 98% passing 20 mesh NOW ONLY $ 5 50 Per Ton (Picked Up) SR) Lititz, PA • (717) 626-9760 j STONE & READY-MIX CONCRETE * Registered with PA Department of Agriculture input from a previously gener ated field map. One challenge to this technology is under standing what the critical fac tors are to measure to use as a basis for the rate adjustment Agronomists are finding this is not as clear-cut as they once thought. Another challenge is cost. One vendor told me a VRT fer tilizer spreader system could cost a dealership $250,000. To recover that kind of investment, that piece of equipment needs to be providing some type of tangible benefit. In addition to all of these innovations, we have a spec trum of new crop input pro ducts that look exciting. These include Bt com. herbicide resis tant corns, a new N fertilizer additive, and several new herbi cides and two new granular insecticides. In addition, nearly every farm magazine this winter has had an article on narrow row com, a topic we’ve been researching for several years. Unfortunately, space does not allow me to cover all of these innovations but several of them I consider real breakthroughs. We know that all of these technologies may not find their place to production systems here in our state, but our chal lenge is to carefully consider some of them and select the most effective pieces. Let’s do our homework well and make the right decisions on this new technology and avoid the costly leam-by-experience method. Growers Association Growers Pick Responsive Ears ST. LOUIS, Mo.—lf Bill Northey had stuck to his plan, the National Com Growers Association (NCGA) would have a different president this year. Northey, 36, grew up on a farm in an area with deep fami ly roots. His father and grand parents farmed. They sowed the seeds for a third generation, but until his junior year of col lege Northey had other career goals. “I always knew I wanted to go into agriculture, but not necessarily fanning,” the lowa native said. “In college I thought I’d go into farm man agement. Then my grandpa mentioned the possibility of coming back. It made sense.” The transition worked for both. Northey could join an established operation. His grandfather could pass on his life’s work. Northey, his wife, Cindy, a part-time nurse, and their three daughters farm 800 acres near Spirit Lake in north central lowa. They live in the home his grandparents built in 1950. “It was a good chance for me. For the next six to seven years he was around,” Northey said. “I got to spend time with him and learn some of his philosophy.” Fortunately for the NCGA, influence came from both sides The "Smart" Dryer ‘H£rSH€V iflta EQUIPMENT CO. mm tpmjk miwo of the family. Northey’s mater nal grandfather was a past pres ident of the lowa Farm Bureau. “Grandpa Hill gave me the interest in history and under standing of agriculture—how big it is, how important it is, and that things don’t just hap pen,” Northey said. “You could see the impact individu als and organizations had.” History is important to Northey. Not only does he find it fascinating—his favorite books tend to be biographies or accounts of agriculture’s past—but he also finds it useful in coping with today’s issues. Natural curiosity also works for Northey. When he first got involved with the lowa Com Growers Association, he delved into environmental issues. That led to ethanol, an on-going battle that requires in-depth understanding of highly technical issues and history. “I really believe things are at a changing point for growers," Northey said. “We are making change with farm policy, and then we have com genetics that will challenge us with more com production and probably contracting in corn that’s focused toward end uses.” Growers, Northey said, must look at these developments and figure out how they impact farming operations. The asso ciation must determine how to help farmers cope with the technology. One area where NCGA can assist is helping farmers grasp the new computer-based con cept hitting farms. Global Posi tioning Systems, for example, will be commonplace in just a few years, Northey predicted. “I think we’re on the front edge of a lot of that, and 10 years from now there will be some real substantive changes,” he said. “We can’t Let Us Help You Make The "Smart" Choice For Grain Drying. Airstream's patent pending Electronic Monitoring Control System offers computerized monitoring and control of all dryer functions •Eliminates troublesome timers and mechanical controls •Provides instant dryer information on a large liquid crystal display •Memory features maintain a history of past dryer operation, dryer throughput and dryer service •Simplifies dryer operation, while enhancing safety It’s really smart A Division of SYCAMORE INO. PARK 255 PLANE TREE DRIVE LANCASTER, PA 17603 (717) 393-5807 1-800-432-09 M just sit back and see what hap pens to us and our association.” Sitting back is something you won’t see Northey doing, at least in the near term. His personal goal as president is to take time to hear everyone’s opinions. If time spent on the phone is any indication, he’s meeting that goal. During harvest, Northey drove his combine down the rows, left hand on the wheel and right hand holding a cellular phone. During his first months in office Northey traveled to Washington. D.C. several times. The budget reconcilia tion was looming, and the opposition was waging a war against the ethanol. A patient wife and devoted part-time employee kept the wheels turn ing at home. Northey thrives on this type of action. But he misses spend ing more time with his wife and girls. His girls, though, like having a father in the limelight. When the Des Moines Register published an article featuring him and National Com De velopment Foundation Presi dent Everett Nordine recently, all three had to have their own copy. For the next year, Northey must sacrifice some of that pre cious family time for the NCGA. In the end, he doubts he’ll have any more impact on the organization than most. But as president, that’s not his job. “The goal isn’t to leave your fingerprints all over the associ ation, but to make sure it’s doing what com growers want done,” he said. “Certainly as president you have some opportunity to make your own impact, but in certain ways you are more limited. Your role is to facilitate what needs to be done and to a spokesperson for the organization, not for yourself.” Hi i il AV Ml I H 0s»». The computerized dleplay of Airatream'a Electronic Monitoring Control System Route 30 West at the Centerville Exit.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers