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V 01.45 No. 36
Tree Growers See New Soil Prep Methods
EVERETT NEWSWANGER
Editor
POTTSTOWN (Chester Co.)
- In the scenic forested hills east
of Elverson, nearly 100 tree
farmers, agribusiness represent
atives, and extension educators
gathered Tuesday afternoon for
the Southeast Regional Christ
mas Tree Growers meeting.
At the Christmas tree growers educational meeting, Dr.
Larry Kuhns, Penn State professor, ornamental horticul
ture, demonstrates how to calibrate a sprayer. The event
was held at the Westlake Tree Farm in Chester County.
Photo by Everett Newswanger, editor
‘Beef Made Easy’Brings Convenience To The Case For Today’s Consumers
MICHELLE RANCK
Lancaster Farming Staff
MIDDLETOWN (Dauphin
Co.) It happens every day. A
customer wheels the shopping
cart to the meat case, looks
bleakly at the sea of red before
them, attempts to decipher |he
difference between cuts and how
to cook them, and finally heads
off to find frozen pizza for
dinner.
Beekeeping has brought sweet success to Renee Blatt,
who reigns as Pennsylvania Honey Queen and owns six
hives. Turn to page B 2 to read more about this enterpris
ing teen-ager who is involved in many facets of agriculture
on her family’s Lebanon County farm.
Photo by Lou Ann Good
Four Sections
Westlake Tree Farms along
North Hill Camp Road and the
department of horticulture at
Penn State represented by
George Perry, Jr., multi-county
extension horticulture agent
based in Schuylkill County,
hosted the meeting. Credits
needed to update grower’s pesti
cide license were given.
Fortunately for today’s con
sumers, however, the new “Beef
Made Easy” program will make
meat buying and preparing
more straightforward.
The program rearranges the
meat case by cooking method.
Each section includes color
coded labels for steaks for grill
ing, marinating, sauteing,
braising, stewing, and stir
frying, besides pot roasts, oven
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 8, 2000
The program featured some
of the new practices Westlake
has incorporated into their oper
ation to better prepare the soil
for tree planting. “If the soil is
not prepared correctly, if it is
not right, you may as well not
put the trees in the ground,”
Gary Westlake owner said.
“Since we deal with a long-term
crop we need to prepare the soil
to accommodate this. We like to
start with a clean field. And you
need to deal with areas that lack
percolation even on the top of
the hill.”
For Westlake a new “spader”
machine imported from Holland
is the answer. The demonstra
tion of the machine showed how
it is used as both a primary and
a secondary vehicle to prepare
the soil. The 16-inch deep soil
preparation action allows for a
one-pass process. In addition,
the tree farm is experimenting
with buckwheat planted in
summer and spaded down with
the new machine in the fall. The
green growth expected to be 2-
feet tall at the time it is incorpo
rated into the soil will help
prevent soil erosion and add the
herbicidal characteristic
buckwheat is reported to have.
“We have been farming a hor
ticultural crop with agronomic
methods,” Westlake said.
“Augers have been used to dig
(Turn to Pago A 36)
roasts, and ground beef. Corre
sponding rail strips, case divid
ers, and color-coded pictures
help to separate the cuts. The
peel-off label also features cook
The extra rainfall this year has the countryside looking growthy. According the Penn
sylvania Agricultural Statistics Service, pastures are growing well and providing good
feed for the graziers. But the same weather made haymaking difficult to get it into the
barn without getting wet. The corn is growing well, although some low-lying areas are
overly moist. Barley harvest is well under way. The wheat heads are bending down with
grain. Here, this Lancaster County farmer provides a scenic view with shocks of wheat
waiting for thrashing day. The photo was taken by Everett Newswanger, editor, this
week along Hollander Road near Zeltenriech Church.
Horse Progress Days Photo Report
Horse Progress Days, a takeoff on Ag Progress Days
each summer at Rocksprlng, was conducted last week at
Kinzers in Lancaster County. This event, which draws in
ternational visitors, is proof of the strong revival otf small
farm enterprises where old-fashioned ways to farm have
become new. See a photo essay of the event on pages
A2O-21. Photos by Everett Newswanger, editor
ing and freezing instructions. In
addition customers can find
both recipes and colorful bro
chures which explain the pro
gram in some meat cases.
Lancaster County Harvest Scene
$32.00 Per Year
“The program is meant to
help to build the category of con
venience beef,” said Carrie
Bomgardner, Pa. Beef Council
(Turn to Pago A2B)
600 Per Copy