Lancaster farming. (Lancaster, Pa., etc.) 1955-current, July 26, 1997, Image 31

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    Tall, Presidential Tasks
(Continued from Pago A2B)
main farm. “I have a Black Angus
herd down there” and then he
chuckles one of the herd is red.
“They (officials) said some
thing to md, but I said, ‘Hey, I
toed the cows to a black bull’ but I
think there’s a red factor in one of
the cows. There is a Red Angus,”
he explained.
He has 37 head of Black Angus
in the herd.
Wilbur goes on to explain that
the farms are numbered one. two
and three. “Farm one is where Ike
lived it is bounded by Red
Rock Road, Pump Station Road,
Millerstown Road, and Old Route
IS. Farm two is right beside the
first one and then the third one.
They’re all in a line.” he said.
He has some of his 240 head of
cattle in four different pastures on
the Eisenhower Farms.
The partnership that includes
his sons has about 80 milk cows.
Replacement heifers and a couple
Holstein steers and 34 calves, in
addition to the Black Angus.
Wilbur notes that anyone want
ing a good view of the farms can
get it from the tower on the battle
field. “Everything is strip farm
ing.” he said of the farms’ fields.
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But that’s not all the land the
Martins farm. They also rent land
from several other properties so
that with their oWn farm and the
Eisenhower Farms they operate on
804 acres.
They plant soybeans, corn,
wheat, hay, and oats which in
most cases is fed back to their
animals.
He said he must send copies of
soil tests to the Department of
Interior “so that they can see that
we’re keeping up our end of the
deal.”
As Ike wanted to “leave the
place better than I found it.” The
Martins too are interested in pro
tecting the land.
They built a free-stall bam and
every day thley hauled manure to
the fields. But when the snow got
too deep they started putting it our
behind the bam and depending on
weather conditions sometimes
they ended up with a two-foot hole
in die ground.
Then the Martins signed up for
Chesapeake Bay Program assis
tance in May of 1992. They were
looking for the technical and
financial assistance in planning
and constructing a manure storage
pit
“We realized we had a problem
with stacking manure and milk
house waste, not to mention the
runoff,” Wilbur said.
Sam remembers looking at vari
ous options and touring different
types of pits.
The pit they built looks like
concrete. Wilbur said, “And we
really like it. When it gets full we
empty it and when it rains it
washes the sides and it looks
clean. It’s beat three years and
we’re really tickled with it.
“We try to get the manure into
the ground 12 hours after we haul
it. In fact I follow the manure
truck, when he’s spreading it. We
have someone come and do that,”
Wilbur said.
Wilbur added that he grew up
on a farm and started farming
intensively at the age- of 16. He
remembers that conservation was
something that they just did.
“When I bought this farm I just
did what my father taught us,” he
said.
“You want to do something
difficult, try farming across com
rows on the contour while sitting
on a steel seat of an old M Far
mall. That’s conservation.” Wil
bur said with a laugh.
When they entered the Bay Pro
gram, the Martins didn’t have to
If so, Telmark offers
Ken Doug Paul Andrew Elizabeth
Darlington Snee Shipper McLean Anderson
717-733-3532 412-627-5941 302-456-1931 410-827-5052 410-651-4128
Mike Dixon
814-684-5707
In the Northeast, PA, KY, Ml, VA, OH, WV, IN, WI, IL, NC, SC, AL, GA, TN, MN, MO and IA Min lease *5,000
-■ - son, David Martin, and Wilbur Martin dis>
cuss farming at Martin Acres.
make many changes in the fields “We*ve gotten farms offered to
because they were already doing it us because the owners saw how
right. we treat the ground,” Sam said.
Because of drought conditions, the field day, scheduled
for Middletown, DE, by Brubaker Agronomic Consulting
Service on July 29 has been canceled. The September 4 field
day in Lancaster will proceed as scheduled.
• Minimal down payment
• Length of term to fit vour cash flow
• Payments due when vou want
• Lease payments are Guaranteed in writing to
be tax deductible as an operating expense
Fred Dixon
412-346-3455
&
Teimarklnc.
Field Day Cancelled
Ltsa Francisco Sonnen
717-866-9217
www.telmark.com
800-451-3322
Mike Fullam
717-966-9202
Frank Hunter
716-595-3954