A26-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 12, 1997
Conservation Expo Helps Make ( One Thing Perfectly Clear *
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff
CHURCHTOWN (Uncaster
Co.) Not all things in life are
free, but this year’s Lancaster
County Conservation Expo could
make you think differently.
The Expo will offer a free water
test for nitrates to those who attend
among many other things to
promote soil stewardship and to
celebrate the heritage of farming.
The fourth annual Expo, held in
conjunction with the Shirktown
Threshing Festival at the Bob
Shirk Farm in Churchtown, is
scheduled Saturday, Aug. 2, from
9 a.m.-3 p.m.
According to Kevin Seibert, dis
trict conservationist and chairman
of the Expo, those who attend the
free outing at Bob Shirk’s farm can
bring along a small sample of tap
water. Seibert suggests that you
allow the tap to run for a minute,
then collect a sample of the water
in a small, clean baby food jar.
Bring the jar to the Expo. A nit
rogen quick test will provide an
indication of whether the water is
low, medium, or high in nitrate
levels and whether more com
plete testing of the water source is
necessary.
Clean water is a focus of the
Expo. The district’s annual report,
titled “Let’s Make One Thing Per
fectly Clear,” indicates that “Lan
caster County owes its economic
strength, splendid landscape, rich
history, and bountiful food to a
thin rich layer of topsoil, adequate
rainfall, and ordinary people who
are wise stewards of these natural
resources in our county.”
Travis Martin, of the Lancaster
County Conservation District,
explained that in the winter edition
of the district newsletter. The Con
servation Crier, a survey was
offered to readers to help deter
mine their environmental con
cerns. There were 100 responses to
the survey. The number one con
cern voiced by readers of the news
letter was water quality.
Groundwater supplies and well
water have a clear, distinct rela
tionship to how well the topsoil is
managed and what practices are
used to maintain it
“Everyone is a stakeholder in
water quality,” said Martin. “Our
county’s going through a transi
tion, and everyone has a responsi
bility for water quality.”
Not only high production far
mers, but other businesses as well
as homeowners involved in lawn
care, people with septic systems,
and many other groups and indivi-
Giving Soil A
COLLEGE PARK. Md.
Bruce R. James, a professor of soil
chemistry at the University of
Maryland, is a man with a
mission.
Dr. James wants the world to
elevate soil to equal partnership
with air and water in the triad of
earth systems that have influenced
our understanding of ecology, cul
ture, religion, agriculture and the
arts throughout history.
He takes great issue with gram
mar textbook authors and other
writers who equate soil with
words like “besmirch,” “dirty"
and “smudge.”
By linking the various soil dis
ciplines more closely with the
iqiiatir and atmospheric sciences,
he feels strongly that the three
major earth systems (water, air
and land) could help us to under
stand ecosystems more clearly and
our relationships to them.
To further these concepts,
.r - j-' » -
duals are responsible for helping to
maintain the county’s water qual
ity. In the survey, other concerns
high on the list included soil ero
sion and farmland conservation.
Soil erosion can be directly
linked to deteriorating water qual
ity. Phosphorous locked up in soil
that has eroded helps form algae
blooms, taking oxygen out of the
water, making water less habitable
for waterlife.
Martin said the emphasis of the
Expo is to show that we all live in
the watersheds outlined on the
map. Those who have responsibili
ty for the land should be aware of
what watershed they live in—and
how to maintain that watershed.
Last year about 500 landowners
attended the Expo at the Threshing
Festival. Old-time threshing
equipment, including steam and
diesel, will again be on display.
For farmers, events include rota
tional grazing, farm equipment
exhibits from steam to diesel,
nutrient management law informa
tion, and conservation practices
for the farm.
For sports enthusiasts, there will
be various group displays featur
ing present and past accomplish
ments in the conservation of the
county’s natural resources, in
addition to stream and wildlife
habitant improvements and a
stream study.
For homeowners, there will be
landscaping, natural lawn care,
and water testing demonstrations.
For children, there will be
games, a stream study, and farm
safety information.
One of the highlights of the
Expo is information on septic sys
tem maintenance. According to
Seibert, many people “don’t know
the proper way to install and main
tain septic systems,” he said.
“They simply don’t know how.”
The Expo will help to change all
that.
The Threshing Festival itself
features plenty of good local food
and charm. The Expo will be held
rain or shine. Admission and park
ing are free.
The Expo, Martin explained, is a
“travelling” type of event, which
will be held in different locations
in the county in following years.
This is the fourth annual festival
and the second time it is scheduled
for the Threshing Festival.
Directions: from Churchtown
on Rt. 23. take Bootjack Road
south, turn left onto Little Hill Rd.
After one mile, turn right onto
Shirktown Road. The Expo is
Vi mile on the left.
Good Name
James last year founded the Inter
national Center for Soil and Socie
ty, with encouragement from the
International Society of Soil Sci
ence, based in Vienna, Austria.
From July 5-7, the center was to
have its inaugural meeting with
high hopes that it will become an
annual worldwide event Up to 50
persons from nine countries were
expected to attend.
During the three-day meeting,
speakers from a wide range of
backgrounds were to guide parti
cipants toward the goal of deve
loping new thinking, understand
ing and appreciation for the role of
soil in the earth’s ecosystem.
For more information, contact
Dr. James by phone at (301)
405-1345, by fax at (301)
314-9041 or by e-mail at
biSQumaiLumdcdn.
Is demonstrated.
Here is a future farmer threshing the wheat with a flayer which has now been
replaced with modern-day harvesters at the Shirktown Threshers Festival.
There is some concern that the
bacteria could be affected by the
use of fungicides with an inocul
ant. But the plants still benefit
from the bacteria.
Making use of seed treatments
really depends on how frequently
soybeans are grown on the land,
and many factors can affect the
viability of material.
To apply the inoculant, many
growers simply use a garbage can
or some other container, poor the
seedin, and mix the material like a
- v.* -A, * 'li \
Chotty Sprenkle, Lancaster Conservation District, background at right, provides
information to families at last year’s Conservation Expo.
Use Of Seed Treatment
;po and Threshers Festival watch as long-ago farm mat
(Continued from Page A1B)
batch of cookies. The seed should
be planted right away. Waiting too
long to Anally get the seeds in the
ground with proper planting depth
and good seed-to-soil contact
could affect the efficiency of the
inoculants.
Inoculants, which are a combi
nation of bacteria and a material to
make them adhere, to the seed,
work on increasing the amount and
mass of the nodules. The nodules
are critical in nitrogen fixation.
Different varieties of soybeans
will also respond in different ways
to inoculant use. More work at
Penn State is under way to study
those differences and other factors
in inoculant use.
And in the end, the weather
plays a vital role in the quality of
stand and yield results. At harvest,
yield information will be gathered
at die Biller test plots to compare
how effective the inoculant treat
meats were.
lery