Eaflt 6—Com Talk, Lincartar Farming, Saturday, March 7,19% Greg Roth Penn State Agronomy Associate Professor Many dairy fanners grow com and alfalfa in rotation. There are many variations on the standard com alfalfa rota tions. however. The length of rotation can vary, some farmers double crop com following alfalfa, and some include nurse crops such as oats of triticale in a com/ alfalfa rotation. We are inter ested in determining the poten tial for shorter com/alfalfa rota tions. This would help to reduce some of the problems asso ciated with com grown in long rotations. (Continued from Pago 1) services every minute. • 12 babies are given to the wrong parents each day. The PMCGA board is look ing into ways to get some cur rent research done by working with extension, chemical, and seed companies. If you have ideas on some research proj ects that you believe would be important to Pennsylvania com growers. let one of your local directors know or myself. Con tact me at Chris Kimmel, R.D. #2 Box 155, Shelocta, PA 15774, (724) 354-2568. free T-SHIRT s WITH EVERY MOTOR PURCHASE NEW / OR USED. Sm Survey Documents Crop Rotation Practices Recently we conducted a survey of 153 dairy producers who manage a total of 38,000 acres of crops in Franklin and Lycoming counties. Our objec tive was to study crop rotation practices of producers in the counties. Our study showed that a sur prising number of growers were using rotations that included three years or less of com. Thirty-nine percent of the growers surveyed indicated they used a 3-year cora/3-year alfalfa rotation of some kind. We also asked the producers what factors they consider in rotating alfalfa back to com: 91 percent indicated they consid ered stand density, 40 percent NNSYLVANIA MASTER GROWERS ASSOCIATION esident's Message Chris Kimmel President, PMCGA For the western Pennsylva nia corn growers, we are in the process of planning a work shop for next December in the Mercer area. If there ate sub jects that you would like to see coveted, or if you know of a good speaker, please let us know. The tegular Pennsylva noia Com/Soybean Conference will still be held next year around February. If you ate a com producer in Pennsylvania and have not yet joined the PMCGA and want to help support your industry, now would be a good time. You will still get a free bag of Motors •Leeson •Baldor -Vanguard •Leland Faraday -Pasco •Leeson & GE Farm Duty Controls •Leeson Pumps •Star •Little Giant •Hayward Pool & Spa Accessories •Bases •Capacitors •Carbon Brushes •Pump Seals •Start Switches ‘Float Switches •Bearings Rewinding •AC & DC Motors •Hermetics •Transformers •Generators Services Electrical Contracting Board Repair •Individual Wiring •Equipment Installation considered stand age. and 23 percent said they considered feed needs. So most growers are making the decision to rotate based on the density of their alfalfa stands. We also found that double cropping com after alfalfa is also relatively popular. About 41 percent of the producers in Franklin County reported that they double-crop com after alfalfa most of the time. In Lycoming County, where the season is a bit shorter, 24 per cent reported double-cropping com after alfalfa most of the time. Alfalfa management prac tices also vary among produc ers. Nurse crops such as oats, seed com with your three-year membership for $75. This will also give you a membership in the National Com Growers Association. You need to support the indus try that you depend on for part of your livelihood! Don’t make other people pay your way! TO •GE •Benshaw •Premier •Brake Kits Congratulations JOE MATEJIK No-Till Non-lrrigated Class lk(0(DIM TMZ MlW§ PENNSYLVANIA MASTER CORN GROWERS ASSOC., INC. field peas, or triticale are popu lar in these areas, with 68 per cent of the Lycoming respon dents and 31 percent of the Franklin County producers reporting the use of a nurse crop. The use of no-dll alfalfa also varied among the counties with 18 percent of the Franklin county daily producers report ing that they used no-till most of the time. In contrast, none of the Lycoming County respon dents reported using no-till most of the time. One factor that is critical in considering shorter rotations is the number of cuttings of alfal fa you harvest in the seeding year. In Franklin County, 75 percent of the producers reported harvesting three (61 percent) or fot f l 4 - FIRST PLACE 1997 PA N.C.G.A. HYTEST 8H4612 211.8486 BU./AC. A HYTEST SEEDS !-800-442-7391 times in the seeding year. In Lycoming County, only 33 per cent reported harvesting three (30 percent) or four (3 percent) times in the seeding year. Our study demonstrates that crop production practices vary somewhat between the two counties and that there does seem to be potential for short rotations in both areas. A significant number of pro ducers arc already using rela tively short rotations. This study- also indicated several barriers to adopting shorter rotations low use of no-till alfalfa, cost of reseeding alfal fa, and only one or two seeding year harvests in some areas. Understanding these factors will help us target our research programs for the future.
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