Lancaster farming. (Lancaster, Pa., etc.) 1955-current, May 23, 1998, Image 1

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    056034 823 P 4 ****•*—— ** 3 - OX6IT l 6floZ
ES
PARK p A i 6802
i _ -
V 01.43 No. 29
Farm And Home Scholarships
Offer Tickets To Success
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Farming Staff
LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.)
A scholarship for Adriana Gali
jasevic is a passport to a dream
come true from a journey begun
while growing up in war-tom
Bosnia.
To survive the horrors of tilling,
of hearing that her parents were
dead, and of being responsible for a
brother seven years younger,
Adriana poured herself into her
studies and art to ease the pain.
“Only when I was drawing could
I escape from everything,“ the
18-year-old said of her traumatic
life between the ages of 12 to 14
years.
With Adriana, seven other stu
dents also received $1,400 each
from the Lancaster County Farm
and Home Foundation, Tuesday
evening. While their stories aren’t
as dramatic as Adriana’s, the scho
larships are a testimony to their
achievements and a ticket to a suc
cessful career.
Mild Wittier, Wet Spring Challenges Crop Protection'Strategies
VERNON ACHENBACH JR.
Lancaster Fanning Stall
NORTH CORNWALL (Leba
non Co.) Weeks of wet weath
er and inches of excessive rainfall
following a veiy mild winter have
combined to challenge pest control
strategies of farmers throughout
the southeastern and southcentral
Conservation Farmer Of Year Understands Season’s Challenges
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Fanning Staff
EL VERSON (Chester Co.)
An early flush of weeds, brought
Bill Beam has directed a strong no-tlll program on conserved land. He was honored
Thursday evening with the Conservation Farmer of the Year Award at a special cere
mony honoring those who have served the district. Photo by Andy Andnwo
Four Sections
College costs arc out of reach for
many students. Reports reveal that
costs have risen 91 percent for pri
vate colleges and 82 percent for
public institutions within the past
10 years.
Many promising students can
not fulfill their potential without
scholarships. Traditionally, the
Farm and Home scholarships are
among the first to be awarded, and
the recipients of these are eagerly
awaiting notification of additional
awards.
Students selected for the Farm
and Home Foundation Scholar
ships, which from its installment
has awarded 376 students totalling
$297,300, must be county high
school seniors pursuing a degree in
an ag-related or consumer science
field.
After graduation from Hemp
field High School, Adriana plans to
study fashion design at Drexel Uni
versity. “When I was little, I cut out
paper dolls and dresses, then I
(Turn to Pago A 26)
regions of Pennsylvania.
Some weeds began appearing in
fields in January during a very
mild spell, and a warm and wet late
winter and early spring helped
boost the growth of weeds and
insects beyond normal.
This is not conjecture.
Growing degree days are a mea
Chester Conservation District Celebrates 50th
on by early unseasonably warm
weather, plenty of rain, and a hot
spring, can create severe chal
lenges for crop growers.
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 23, 1998
In the final week of her reign as Berks County Dairy Princess Erica Davis, 18, is
shown with Macey, a 6-year-old Excellent-92-2E registered Holstein. With Erica are
her parents, Luther and Teresa Davis, and siblings. Gregory, 15; Aaron, 9; and Jillian,
5. Turn to page B 6 to read about Daview Farm, where cows, dairy promotion, and
Children thrive. Photo by Lou Ann Good
sure of duration of temperatures
above a threshold for plant or
insect growth.
A formula is used to calculate
the degree days, but essentially,
the numbers reflect the amount of
growing energy available to a spe
cies over time.
For most agricultural uses, 50
Late last week. Bill Beam, who
manages about 1,700 acres of
cropland within a 15-mile stretch
from Elverson to Downingtown,
$29.50 Per Year
degrees is considered the
threshold. When temperatures get
above 50 degrees, start counting.
(Of course ground temperatures
and sunlight also arc key to plant
growth and are incorporated in
growing degree day keeping.)
On Monday, Lebanon County
Extension Agronomy Agent
was out with the 60-foot spray
wagon, spreading Roundup.
The list of troublesome, noxious
weeds can make the “weeds of dis
honor” on any crop producer’s list*
Canada thistle, dandelions, wild
onion, and foxtail and other gras
ses. Beam decided to bring out the
spray boom and take care of the
problem first—all the while hop
ing it would stay dry long enough
to finish corn and soybean
planting.
Beam noted that most land he
manages is under lease—he owns
only a share of the home farm. The
Chester County farmer uses most
ly no-till methods to ensure soil
retention. On one farm owned by
Jim and Bill Moore, Elverson, and
leased by Beam, contours were
designed by the old Soil Conserva
tion Service (now called the Natur
al Resources Conservation Ser
vice) and have been no-tilled for
the past four years.
Beam ignores the Canada thistle
making a strong push in the field
that is being rotated into Roundup
Ready soybeans. Beam is anxious
to complete planting of 70 acres of
beans.
Weeds aren’t the only chal-
600 Per Copy
Delbert Voight reported that, as of
May 17, the Lebanon area accu
mulated about 523 heat units, com
pared to 354 last year.
That difference translates into
about 16 days accumulation ahead
of schedule.
From his perspective, delays in
(Turn to Pag* A 22)
lenge. There is the problem of deer
damage and deer certainly
enjoy soybeans. And to top it off,
geese that inhabit the Marsh Creek
area, which borders farmland
south of Elverson, pull out the
plants and eat the wheat and small
grains.
Despite all these challenges.
Beam has directed a strong no-till
program that takes more manage
ment, that involves a lot more anti-
(Turn to Pag* A3O)
Office Closed
Memorial Day
Our office will be closed
Monday, May 25, to observe
Memorial Day, but will open
again for business at 8 a.m.
Tuesday. If you have a news
stoiy or an advertising mes
sage to be placed in this spe
cial June Dairy Month issue,
other than Monday, contact
our office any day, 8 a.m. to S
p.tn. Our phone number is
(717) 626-1164. Our fax is
(717) 733-6058.