A2B-L«nc*t-ter Farming, Saturday, April 1, 2000
Lancaster District Awards ‘Standout’ Conservation Efforts
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff
NEW HOLLAND (Lancaster
Co.) Conservation farms
should stand out.
In the case of Jack and Donna
Coleman’s Cherry-Crest Dairy
Farm in Paradise, their Amaz
ing Maize Maze welcomed more
than 50,000 people during the
past year’s hot, dry summer.
Even more amazing, from an
airplane, the farm stood out. Ob
servers from the air could easily
identify the distinctive Ameri
can flag created with 14,000 red,
white, and blue petunias.
“At the top of the flag, it’s
easy to see this is a conservation
farm,” said Gerald Heistand, di
rector of agricultural operations
for the Lancaster Conservation
District.
The theme for the maze itself
was the “Land of Liberty,” in
the shape of Pennsylvania,
comprising four stars and a
huge Liberty Bell in the center.
The Colemans were a stand
out last week when they were
honored with the Outstanding
Cooperator of the Year Award
by the Lancaster County Con
servation District.
More than 200 attended the
district banquet last week at
Yoder’s Restaurant in New Hol
land.
The Colemans “are true
farmers with a heart for milking
cows and raising crops,” said
Heistand, who, with a slide show
presentation, spoke about the
work of the farm.
Jack Coleman began crop
farming in New Jersey and
started dairy farming when he
moved to Lancaster County in
1987. His expertise in growing
crops is evidenced by standout
corn yields in the Pennsylvania
Five-Acre Corn club. According
to Heistand, in 1996 Coleman
was the first in the state to have
the highest three-year corn yield
average at more than 213 bush
els per acre.
Cherry-Crest Dairy Farm
consists of 70 milking cows on
DHIA, which raises 250,000
boilers per year, and 175 acres
(113 owned) of land on which to
grow the crops.
Coleman grows 70 acres of
corn, 50 acres of soybeans, 40
acres of hay, 20 acres of barley
and other crops, 10 acres in pas
ture, and five acres for the farm
stead.
Industry awards were presented at the conservation district banquet. From left, Mike
Mountz, Cloister Car Wash and Lube, Building Industry Conservation Award; and Chris
Sigmund, Bill Rogers, and Mike Brubaker, Brubaker Agronomic Consulting Service,
Conservation Promotion Award winners.
Growing good crops requires
a standout management plan. A
rye cover crop is planted with
appropriate amounts of dairy or
poultry manure applied to the
land, Heistand noted. “Jack is a
real manager of nutrients, and
does not allow any field to be left
bare over the winter,” according
to Heistand.
Chiseling the rye down allows
it to slowly release the nutrients
as it decomposes, so the newly
growing corn plant can use the
nutrients.
When the fields are wet,
“Jack is often the last one in the
field,” Heistand said. Jack
“works closely with his agrono
mist and does not add commer
cial fertilizer other than
micronutrients.”
The farmhouse and barn were
built in 1774 by Phillip Feree, a
Conestoga Wagon maker. The
farm has been improved since.
Contours were put on the farm
in 1958. In 1987, Coleman
signed as a cooperator with the
district to install a manure han
dling system with the aid of the
Chesapeake Bay Program.
The watershed on the north
side of the railroad has about 70
acres requiring surface water
control. A waterway and basin
with 1,000 feet of pipe were
added to provide that control.
In 1997, 3,200 feet of terraces
and 1,810 feet of pipe were in
stalled with the aid of the Envi
ronmental Quality Incentive
Program. Coleman did much of
the pipework himself after pur
chasing his own backhoe.
Hosea Latshaw, NRCS,
was presented with the
Conservation Agency Ser
vice Award.
Educational winners at the conservation banquet. From left, Bob Good, Youth Conser
vation School Award; Dewey Null, Paradise Sportsmen’s Association, Watershed
Award; and Jim and Lee Amigh, Educator of the Year Award.
Coleman “has a philosophy
that you are never finished with
your farm’s conservation pro
gram,” Heistand noted. “Flo
wers now grow on the steep
slopes that used to grow corn!”
The Colemans provide tours
of the farm. And the people on
the tour “learn about where
milk comes from,” said Hei
stand. ‘lt’s a true operating
dairy farm.”
The Colemans are active in
their community and support
agriculture. They have com
pleted Ag in the Classroom pres
entations and they educate the
many tourists that come to their
farm. Nonprofit organizations
are allowed to have a food stand
at the maze at no costs.
The farm, with pick-your
own mums, popcorn, or pump
kins, allows the Colemans to
educate the consumer and pro
vide “a positive image for Lan
caster County agriculture,”
Heistand noted.
“Even the hay (fields are)
placed on contour,” Heistand
said.
Donna Coleman noted this
year’s theme for the maze will be
Lucy and Roman Stoltzfoos were honored with a Soil
Stewardship Award last week at the Lancaster County
Conservation District banquet.
“Lost In Space” with a solar
system theme.
Other awards were presented
at the banquet.
Soil Stewardship Award
The Soil Stewardship Award
for 2000 was presented to Spring
Wood Farm, operated by the
Roman Stoltzfoos in Christiana,
eastern Lancaster County.
The farm, a standout inten
sive grazing operation in the
county, is a grass-based seasonal
organic dairy that grows 9,000
organic turkeys, also seasonally,
according to Kevin Seibert, nu
trient management specialist
with the district. All the owned
acres 150 and rented acre
age 100 are in intensively
managed grass. One-hundred
cows are milked on a mostly sea
sonal basis.
The family includes Roman,
wife Lucy, and nine children:
Dwight, 20; Hilda, 18; Delmar,
14; Charlene, 12; Clifford;
Joshua, 8; Caleb, 6; Althea, 4;
and Raphael, 1.
Conservation and water qual
ity practices include stream
bank fencing, stabilized with
crossings, conversion of all
ground into grass, and compost
ing collected manure into high
quality compost for retail and
wholesale sales.
The 250-acre farm has been in
the family for three generations.
The farm was purchased in 1944
by Roman’s grandfather and
then passed to his father.
Roman’s father recognized the
importance of conservation
practices, including terraces.
Roman continues conserva
tion work with best manage
ment practices such as barnyard
runoff controls, stream bank
fencing, composting, and con
verting tilled land into sod,
Seibert noted.
All acres farmed are in inten
sively managed grass. The ter
races installed long ago are
covered with sod.
The dairy herd numbers 100
(Turn to Page A3l)