PASA Producer-Only
Farmers * Market Debuts
(Continued from Page A2O)
home to your family,” said Bow
ser.
Standing front of a Pennsylva
nia Produce - Simply Delicious
banner. Secretary Hayes reminded
those in attendance of the import
ance of supporting Pennsylvania
farmers and the impact of the
“Simply Delicious” Program.
“Our men and women involved in
agriculture work hard to bring the
highest quality, safest food supply
to your table. Markets such as
Broad Street allow consumers to
show their support for Pennsylva
nia agriculture by buying fresh
Drought Conditions, Again!
Virginia Ishler
Penn State
Dept. Of Dairy
And Animal Science
It seems every summer the Northeast is
dealing with extremely hot weather and mini
mal amounts of rain. The best most producers
can hope for is thundershowers that hit at stra
tegic times.
This “hit and miss” type of precipitation
leaves the crops in some areas in pretty good
shape and others in fairly poor condition.
Now is the time to evaluate inventories on
first- and second-cutting haycrops and the
condition of the com standing in the field.
Based on an individual farm’s outlook,
planning for this winter’s feeding program is
none too early. To take control over what “mo
ther nature” dishes out requires thinking and
planning ahead.
• The grain futures right now ate predicting
relatively low com and soybeans prices. If for
age inventory appears questionable, using all
com for silage and possibly soybeans for sil
age can be an alternative. Purchasing grains is
usually much easier than buying silage.
• Purchasing hay is another alternative. If
forage inventories arc questionable, now is the
time to look at what bay prices are doing and
possibly locking in hay for a period of time.
The U.S. hay inventory was reported on May 1
by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to be up
14 percent from the previous year. The U.S.
average hay prices for the middle of May were
down 11 percent from last year. In the North
east, New York and Pennsylvania have re
bounded from near record low inventories
from last year with reported increases of 26
percent and 62 percent, respectively. Supplies
and prices for both locally grown hay and
Western hay could make this a viable option to
help extend forage inventories.
• There are more and more producers spe
cializing in a certain aspect of dairying, such
as heifer raising and crop farming. These pro
ducers offer an opportunity to sell various sil
ages, hays, and even total mixed rations. If
these specialized producers are in close pro
ximity to an individual’s farm, they can pro
vide feed that b reasonably priced. Options
available include buying the crop right out ol
the field and ensiling it or having the feed de
livered on a regular basis. Three days is about
the limit for storing silage outside of the silc
without much heating occurring. This could be
extended by a day during the colder winter
months.
• During times of forage shortages, rations
can be adjusted to include more high-roughage
feeds such as straw, or including more by
products into the ration. It is critical to work
with a nutritionist during this time to ensure a
proper balance of particle size and fiber and
nonfiber carbohydrates.
There are many resources available to start
checking into what options are viable. A nutri
tionist, consultant, and extension agent can
help evaluate what alternatives may work for
an individual.
Penn State's Department of
Dairy and Animal Science web
page http://www-das.cas.psu.edu/
den/ has several new publications to help an-
produce grown only a tew miles
away. This market is the first in
the state to make a commitment to
both the farmers and consumers
that the produce you are buying
was grown on farms in this region.
PASA is to be commended for
that”
PASA formed the farmers’
market at Broad Street Market to
test their new producer-only
guidelines. The PASA guidelines
stipulate that producers may only
sell products grown or produced
themselves.
PASA has undertaken this pro
gram to provide assurance to the
Planning Around
swer questions. One of the new fact sheets,
“Drought-Related Issues In Dairy Cattle Nu
trition,” can be found under the forage section
of the web site.
vpmfy r fsdss 7* 7- if
GA2NPRO flivayoßr hdfos better
growth, performance and profitability
on any high-fiber diet.
• GAINPRO Is now approved for noh-loctating dairy heifers
• Works in all types of pasture ordrylot conditions
• Improves gain on silage, haylage and pasture pm
• Makes least-cost rations, even poor quality pasture grosses, payoff in heifer gain
• It's safe to cattle, curd unlike ionophores, is m|htoxic to horses
• Available as range cubes, top dress pellets, feed supplements, complete
feeds or mineral formulations
i*
r < k* *
Hoechst Roussel Vet
©1999 HR Vet
GAINPRO® is a registered trademark of Hoechst AG
consumer that they are indeed
buying directly from the farm and
to safeguard producers from com
peting with cheap produce
brought in from other parts of the
country or world. After the guide
lines are tested, evaluated, and re
vised at the end of this season,
PASA and participating producers
hope to encourage more farmers’
markets in Pennsylvania to adopt
these guidelines.
For more information on
PASA’s Producer-Only Guide
lines, contact Kristen Markley at
(814) 349-9856.
For the name of your nearest GAINPRO feed dealer, Ja|jr
contact John McFadden
1-800-272-4774 (voice mail *0919) or 1-800-659-4790
At the opening of the farmers’ market, from left, Wanda
8001, Brlna Patch Organic Farms market member; State
Rep. Ron Buxton; Sam Hayes; Tim Bowser, executive
director RASA; and Mark Bradford, Broad Street Market.
Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, July 31, 1999-A2l
- -, /v. -^v
■; r '
r *
if**'
•V f Ys*'
/X •' v o*
GAINPRO
(bambermycms)