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Vol. 42 NO. 38
When urbanization encroached on the Smith famlly’e New Jersey farm, they reluc
tantly sold It and bought one In Relnholds. Turn to B 2 to reed how the Smith family
found success at King and Queen Farm, about their daughter Elizabeth, who is Lan
caster County dairy princess, and sons Brian, right, and Andy. Photo by Lou Ann Good.
State Ag Secretary Hayes Issues Order
Five More Flocks Have Avian Influenza,
Poultry Shows Canceled
HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.)
—As an added measure to slop the
spread of avian influenza. Agricul
ture Secretary Samuel E. Hayes Jr.
issued an order Thursday, cancel
ing live poultry exhibits at agricul
tural fairs in nine counties for the
remainder of 1997. Counties
included in the order are Berks.
Chester. Cumberland, Dauphin,
Lancaster, Lebanon, Montgomery,
Schuylkill and York.
“TTiis is a precaution we believe
is necessary to prevent any possi
ble spread of the H7N2 virus,”
Hayes said. u We will make sure
that those fain which cancel live
poultry exhibits are still eligible
for reimbursement for exhibit
costs.”
Also. Hayes confirmed that an
additional five flocks, comprised
of approximately 730,000 birds,
have been found to be positive for
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UN IV PARK PA 16802
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the avian influenza virus through
active surveillance. One flock is
being maintained as a study flock
to try to gain additional informa
tion on the avian influenza. So far,
over 1 million laying hens have
been depopulated in Lancaster and
Lebanon counties.
A quarantine to stop the spread
of avian influenza was placed on a
75-square-milc area of northwest
ern Lancaster County on May 16.
Hayessaid he is working closely
with Pennsylvania U.S. Sens. Rick
Santorum and Aden Specter to
encourage the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) to allow the
development of a protective vac
cine. Nearly 4 million doses of the
vaccine are currently being deve
loped and stockpiled for possible
uses if the virus continues to
spread.
An influenza risk-assessment
Lancaster Firming, Saturday, July 26, 1997
team from the USDA is in Pen
nsylvania this week, meeting with
state Agriculture Department and
poultry industry leaders to deter
mine a future course of action.
This is a first step in providing the
necessary background should the
request be made to use the vaccine.
While there is no threat to
human health, the quarantine in
Lancaster County will continue.
On June 18. Gov. Tom Ridge
signed into law a bill to appropriate
$5 million to provide financial
assistance to Lancaster and Leba
non county poultry producers
affected by die outbreak.
The poultry industry makes a
$563 million contribution to the
Commonwealth’s economy. Of
die 25 million chickens in the
Commonwealth, 17 million are in
Lancaster County.
, Growing Com
By Degree (Days)
VERNON ACHENBACH JR.
Lancaster Farming Staff
LEBANON (Lebanon
Co.) “Growing degree days”
are more and more becoming part
of the mainstream fanning voca
bulary and Lebanon County agro
nomy Extension Agent Delbert
Voight said that those who aren’t
using the measurement tool to help
with crop management are missing
out.
Com is king in Lebanon Coun
ty, Voight said recently, referring
to results of data he collected this
past year from 270 fields in the
county.
He did the survey to establish
existing planting patterns and
weed problems (pcrrenials are the
main problem with thistle heading
the list) so as to have a base from
which to work to help provide
growers with research-based infor
mation for bettering their
Clover Grand Champion
At Lancaster Holstein Show
EVERETT NEWSWANGER
Managing Editor
QUARRYVILLE (Lancaster
Co.) - Silvermine Holstcins, Wil
low Street, owned by the Thomas
family look top honors at the Lan
caster County Holstein show with
the grand, reserve grand, and
reserve junior champions. Donegal
Creek farm, Columbia owned by
the Joe Wivell family was premier
breeder, and Wengdale Farm,
Quairyville, owned by the Bob
Wenger family was premier
exhibitor.
The stylish C Wridale Broker
Clover, topped the senior three
year-old class for Sandra Thomas
and went on to be the grand champ
ion of the show. The Broker
daughter out of Jaclean Jet Cakp is
working on 30,000 m l.lliOf
I.OOOp. The reserve grand champ
ion was the senior two-year-old,
MVF Raider Desaray.
Ag Progress Days Coming
The time for the annual Ag Progress Days, sponsored by Penn State’s
College of Agriculture Sciences at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural
Research Center at Rock Springs, is fast approaching. Scheduled for
August 12 to 14. the show includes more than 300 commercial exhibi
tors and research and education programs that address issues of interest
to every farmer. Lancaster Farming’s August 9 issue will pay special
tribute to this event with field maps, schedules of events, new areas of
interest, and messages from our advertisers. To have your advertising
included in this issue, call us anytime during office hours Monday
through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p,m. at (717) 394-3047 or (717) 626-1164.
Dairy Of Distinction Section
In a special section this week, we honor the new Pennsylvania win
ners of the Dairy of Distinction awards. Look for photographs of each
farm, information about how to obtain the distinction for your farm next
year, and messages from our advertisers. We congratulate all the
winners.
$28.50 Per Year
production.
But knowing, as he already
guessed from observation, that
com is king in Lebanon County, he
also knew that the fanners have a
valuable tool available to them that
not many use or of which they
might not be aware.
Com is a crop for which “grow
ing degree days (ODD)” work
well, he said.
Voight said earlier this year that
farmers, especially dairy produc
ers who raise most of their own
feed, would probably do well to
learn about and use ODD as a man
agement tool.
Growing degree days is a mea
surement of the energy usable by a
specific variety of plant. Correla
tions between plant growth stages
and the amount of calcualted GGD
is established through research.
Most of the com seed compa-
(Turn to Pago A2O)
The junior champion for both
the open and youth shows was
Howcrest Mandel Charlysc, the
homebred fall calf shown by Lind
sey Howard, Willow Street The
reserve junior champion in the
open show was Silvermine Mandel
Raye, the winter yearling shown by
Austin Thomas. And die reserve
junior champion of the youth show
was Hilltop-Heritage Star Lizzy, a
spring yearling shown by Crystal
Brubaker, Ml Joy.
The grand champion of the
youth Show was Welk-Acers Raid
er Mandy, the junior three-year-old
entry of Andy Welk. Randy Wen
ger had the reserve grand champ
ion of the youth show with Wcng
dales Horace Honey.
While the number of entries was
down this year. Judge Steve Wood,
an Adams County Holstein breed
(Turn to Pago A 26)
601 Par Copy