Fannlnfl. Saturday, May 31,1997
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Fanning Staff
NEW HOLLAND (Lancaster
Co.) Sixteen yean ago, when
Don Weaver’s daughter Heidi was
bom, the family knew something
was wrong.
Heidi came into the world suf
fering from brain damage. The
cause? Nobody knew.
As a result, Heidi, a diagnosed
autistic child, grew up with special
needs. The family, including
Don’s wife, Linda, aqd the others
in the dairy partnership, including
Don’s brother Nelson and his wife,
Joyce, tried to reason what could
have caused the problem.
They had no answers.
Don said his doctor suggested
that maybe something was wrong
with the water.
Don decided to have the water
tested.
That’s when they knew they
were onto something.
While the Environmental Pro
tection Agency (EPA) allows
almost 10 parts per million of
nitrates, the water was testing five
times that amount. Don suspected
that his wife, Linda, was drinking
their nitrate-contaminated well wa
ter at conception. He had won
dered for years why he was having
health problems with the herd
including downed cattle. As a
Shallow tillage using a rotary hoe Is used to keep organic matter close to the soil
surface. Biological breakdown of manure In the soil, as well as In the liquid manure
Itself, is used.
High Nitrates In Water, Poor Soil Conditions
Lead To Changes At Weaver Farm
result, a new well was dug. In addi
tion. Don took his family off of the
well and gave them bottled water
to drink.
liLthe years since, Don and his
brother Nelson completely
rethought and reorganized their
farming operation. They switched
to a more strict crop rotation. They
stopped applying manure where
possible and began shipping it to
other Cairns. They used soil micro
bial additives.
They claim their strategies
worked.
“We’re not saying we fixed that
water,” said Don during a tour at
his farm last week. “Maybe all of
us in our community fixed it”
Don and Nelson attribute a great
deal of improvements made to the
care of the soil to improved crop
yields, better herd health, and fam
ily peace of mind.
Don and his brother and families
combined make up Weaver Home
stead Farm located northwest of
New Holland. After time away
from the farm, Don said he
returned to the dairy in 1980 after
he realized that life was “not
necessarily greener elsewhere,” he
said.
Don and Nelson spoke last week
at a tour conducted by Rodale
Institute and sponsored by funds
from the USDA Sustainable Agri-
Nelson Weaver works the fields with a rotary hoe.
culture Research and Education
(SAKE) program. About 34 exten
sion members and agri-industry
representatives from six states
attended.
In 1980, the Weaver Homestead
Farm was made part of a partner
ship with the Weaver brothers and
their families. It consists of 110
acres (about 9S tillable) and about
100 dairy cows (80 milking).
Homestead Nutrition Inc, a busi
ness managed by Don, is also part
of the partnership.
The Weaver Homestead has
been in the family for nine genera
tions. Don said it is part of a
3,000-acre land grant from Wil
liam Penn in 1721 to three Weaver
brothers from Germany.
“We were given the soil and
land to treasure and care for,” said
Don at the tour.
The farm was purchased by the
partnership from Don’s father,
John, in 1980, when John retired.
The farm has been a dairy for quite
some time.
The herd size has stayed the
same since 1980. The Weavers
farm 100 acres and have 200 head,
including dry and milking cows
and calves.
Don spoke about the “journey”
the farm took after high water
nitrates played a role in the chal
lenges Heidi faces and the prob-
Don Weaver, right, and his brother Nelson and families
combined make up Weaver Homestead Farm located north
of New Holland. After time away from the farm, Don
said he returned to the dairy In 1980 after he realized that life
was “not necessarily greener elsewhere,” he said.
lems with dairy herd health.
The journey has not only
•involved a diverse crop rotation of
three years alfalfa followed by
com silage followed by a rye cover
crop, then into soybeans and final
ly to high moisture shelled com.
Shallow tillage using a rotary hoe
is used to keep organic matter
close to the soil surface. Biological
breakdown of manure in the soil,
as well as in the liquid manure
itself, is used.
In addition, herbicide and insec
. ticide use has been cut back. Don
said the farm managers are “will
ing to live with a few weeds” to
control costs.
On the alfalfa fields, manure is
applied in the fall at 6,500-9,500
gallons per acre. At the time, the
soil microbial product is added,
and the ground is moldboard
plowed. Alfalfa is spring-seeded at
20 pounds per acre. No pesticides
are used.
On the com fields, the microbial
product is applied to the soil in the
fall. Manure is applied in the
spring at 6,500 gallons per are.
After the manure dries, a is
chiseled 5-6 inches deep. No pesti
cides are applied. Tlje rotary hoe is
used 5- 7 days after planting and
again one week later. Cultivation
is used twice along with some spot
spraying where necessary.
Rye is planted after silage com
and prior to soybeans.
Manure is applied at 7,000 gal
lons per acre. The soil microbial
product is applied in the fall. A
chisel or disc is used to prepare the
ground and the rye is drilled in.
The crop is harvested as ryelage.
On soybean ground, a mold
board plow or offset disc is used.
Com planting is on 30-inch rows.
A rotary hoe and cultivator are
each used twice.
Nelson said a recent manure
analyses indicated there is close to
40 units of nitrogen per 1,000
gallons.
“Manure is a bonus but it’s also
a negative,” said Don Weaver. “On
our farm, it’s a problem to know
how to manage it We just get too
much. We get neighbors to do the
hauling.”
What he recommends to his
clients is the “best thing you can do
is put mattresses in” for cow com
fort, he noted. “I’ve heard guys
say, take my mixer. I’ll keep my
mats.” Don said that the best cow
comfort doesn’t come from the
regular rubber stall mats, but
“mattresses."
Overall, the use of more length
of forage together with a special
cow TMR program has garnered
the grade Holstein herd an average
0f21,847 pounds of milk on DHIA
at 77S pounds of fat and 695
pounds of protein. Milking is from
a tiestall to a pipeline twice a day.
The Weavers are cooperators with
Land O’ Lakes.
As for the improvements, Don is
uncertain of the results.
“We don’t know if we did this
and the water is better,” he said.
“We really don’t know how the
problems happened.” But, he
noted, many farmers are using
these practices and all may have
contributed to the improvements.