Conservation Farmer
(Continued from Pago A 1)
Conservation District will honor
Woland as the Conservation Far
mer of the Year at the district’s
banquet on April 2.
Woland cares for a home farm
and another rented farm nearby.
Altogether, he manages 115 till
able acres, of which SO are in com,
45 in soybeans, and about 20 acres
in wheat. He follows a com/
soybeans/corn/soybeans/wheat
rotation.
According to records main
tained by the district, on his home
farm, Woland maintains 79.6 acres
in no-till and Tl 2 acres are in con
tour fields. On the rented ground,
32 acres are no-tilled and there is
less than an acre with a waterway.
Other conservation practices
Woland, who has been a member
of the district since 1989, manages
includes 720 feet of tiles and 1.2
acres of grassed waterway.
Woland maintains a rye cover crop
which he chisels into com ground.
What proves particularly chal
lenging are the hills.
“There are hills all over,”
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Woland said at a recent interview
at his farm. “It’s steep.”
There are some fields with a 3-8
percent slope and others with
slopes ranging from 8-15 percent
Woland believes one slope is as
high as 23 percent and he man
ages to get no-till com on it with
some good results.
David owns a combine in part
nership with his brother, Donald,
who works for Metal Industry.
David has been operating the
grain farm all his life, but took over
the operation from his parents.
Elmer and Ethel Woland, in 1977.
He lives at the home farm.
The bum was originally handed
down from Ethel Woland’s
parents, Henry and Sarah Enders.
Long ago, it used to have livestock,
according to Ethel Woland. The
farm was stocked with pigs, cattle,
chickens, even a dozen cows.
But by the late 19605, the cows
were gone, according to David.
For a time, the farm raised hogs
and some cattle until about 1980,
when the Wolands switched to
grain fanning. In that time. David
worked for the Speeces milk bot-
Conventional
• Chip resistant
• Smooth finish stays
cleaner
Using a drill on soma of tha steapar ground proved a challenge. David’s mother
Ethel noted, “I hold my breath —I don’t watch,” she said. Here, Woiand makes adjust*
ments to a soybean drill planter.
tling company nearby.
The biggest problem
encountered in the past
was water collecting in
some poor drainage
areas. Tiles were
installed in 1992 to take
care of the problem,
diverting rain water to
waterways leading to
the Armstrong Creek,
which eventually flows
into the Susquehanna
River.
Contour strips were
installed in 1992 as part
of the conservation
plan. There has been no
continuous com since
the early 1980 s. Woiand
admitted that they
switched to a rotation
because continuous
com didn’t seem to
work it resulted in
“low yields and poor
weed control,” Woiand
said.
The Wolands don’t
use any conventional
Lancaster
The Wolands don’t use any conventional plowing. The
crops grown yield about 120 bushels per acre of corn, 40 of
soybeans, and 55 of wheat, all sold on the open market.
Woland gets ready for another corn planting season.
plowing. The crops
grown yield about 120
bushels per acre of com.
March 21, 1998-A35
40 of soybeans, and 35
of wheat, all sold on the
open market
Last year, despite the
drought Woland had
good com crops, almost
as good as 1996, he
noted. They use no man
ure, but use a 7-21-7
starter on the crops.
The land under con
servation plan is a
Calvin-Leck Hill shaley
silt loam.
Using a drill on some
of the steeper ground
proved a challenge.
David’s mother Ethel
noted, “I hold my breath
I don’t watch,” she
said.
“1 think it’s fun,” said
David with a laugh.
The combine levels
off nicely even with the
drastic slopes. For
Woland, the big chal
lenge is watching for
groundhog holes, which
can be hazardous to any
planter, he noted.
The biggest weather
challenges faced by the
Wolands are those
caused by drought. The
land easily dries out can
have an impact on
yields.
But for the award,
which Woland sees as a
personal honor, Woland
believes it was his work
selling the idea of con
front to Pago A 42)