A2B-Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, March 3,2001
Grass-Based Systems
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miles), Kelsey said that ag secur
ity areas make up only 5,045
square miles. Only 213 square
miles, as of May 18, 1999, was
preserved in the state through
ag casements.
“There’s a huge amount of
land still not in ag security or
easement programs,” he said.
The reality: it is impossible to
purchase development rights for
all farmers in Pennsylvania.
The key questions remain: if
farming support structures also
disappear, including machinery,
parts, feed, milk hauler, and
other processing industries, “the
farmer’s not going to survive
very well.”
Survey participants noted
that they depend on support sys
tems in the county. Seventy-four
percent purchase their feed in
the county, 85 percent purchase
their petroleum products, and
61 percent purchase their farm
machinery in the county.
From December ’B9 to De
cember ’92, the 10 leading ag
producing counties in the
southeast made up the greater
percentage of ag casement sales.
That changed from after ’92
until ’9B, when the easement
purchased became more widely
scattered throughout the state.
There’s been strong public
support for the bound referen
dum in 1987, which established
financing for the statewide ease
ment program. About 70 percent
of voters, farm and nonfarm,
said “yes” to the program.
Speakers at the Pennsylvania Grazing and Forage Con
ference Wednesday included, from left, Greg Coumo,
forage agronomist, University of Minnesota and Ben Bart
lett, DVM, Michigan State University.
Award winners and presenter at the grazing conference. From left, Ed Koncle, outgo
ing PFGC president; Duane Pysher, PFGC president, with the extension award; Jana
Malot, accepting an outstanding pasture producer award for Ed and Sandy Swope,
Fulton County; Dave Hartman, accepting for Jeff and Don Byerly, Union County, out
standing pasture producers; and Dean Madigan, Bradford County, outstanding pasture
During a workshop con
ducted by Kelsey Wednesday af
ternoon, participants voiced
their concerns. Many agreed
that grazing can be useful in
showing how economically
viable and environmentally
friendly grass-based manage
ment systems can be to improve
public perception about the im
portance of farming and pre
serve farming as a way of life.
Investment
And Knowledge
New Zealand grass-based
producers are successful because
by making an investment in
good fencing, “they put in less
money toward labor,” said Ben
Bartlett, DVM, Michigan State
University.
Bartlett spoke about tours of
seven different countries, in
cluding Ontario, Canada; Ar
gentina; Holland; England;
Ireland; New Zealand; and
western Australia.
Producers who were most suc
cessful make the investment in
high quality systems and com
pletely understand their feed
quality and amount of feed
stocks throughout the year.
Producers should know yields
as a percentage of dry matter
per acre. One farmer, noted
Bartlett, “knew this off the top
of his head.”
Ninety percent of the pasture
quality will be “due to your
management,” he said, “It’s a
mirror of your management.”
Greg Coumo, forage agrono-
Tim Kelsey, assistant professor of ag economics at Penn State, standing at left, re
views questions and concerns about ag preservation during a workshop at the grazing
and forage conference.
mist with the University of Min
nesota, spoke about ways to get
more energy and durability out
of forages. One way is through
Kura clover, which is long
lasting in the field.
The key is to obtain the right
mix of grass and legumes for
“production and persistence,”
he said.
One study by the university
indicated that alfalfa, over the
long run, provided more forage
than a control planting, and
stood up to a grazier mix and a
red clover/birdsfoot trefoil test
planting.
Keys to success are to manage
competition, obtain good seed
to-soil contact, moisture, and
correct rotational grazing. Fer
tilization is critical on low pH
soils.
Forage yield was best and
harvest was higher when graz
ing was done only to 6-8 inches
residue, and dropped off consid
erably when grazing too close, to
2-4 inches of residue.
Awards
Several awards were pre
sented during the evening ban
quet Wednesday.
They are:
• PFGC Special Award. This
was presented to Mike Gal
braith, Roaring Spring, district
manger of Cargill Animal Nutri
tion. The award is presented to
an individual or company that
has made a major contribution
to the PFGC.
• Extension/Teaching
Award: This was presented to
Duane Pysher, pasture resource
specialist with the USDA Natu
ral Resources and Conservation
District (NRCS).
The PFGC Special Award was presented to Mike Gal
braith, right, Roaring Spring, district manager of Cargill
Animal Nutrition.
• Conservation Farmer County Grazing Network; Ed
Award: Presented to Bob and and Sandy Swope, Morotai
Kate Boyce, Carlisle. They were Farm, Fulton County; and Jeff
honored for their close attention and Don Byerly, who manage a
to soil conservation practices 60-acre intensive grazing opera
while developing a 70-head ting in Union County.
Angus cow/calf through finish- Profiles of the award winners
ing operation. we re published in Foraging
• Outstanding Pasture Pro- Around, a section of Lancaster
ducer awards were presented to Farming, on Feb. 10.
Dean Madigan, Bradford
Ed Koncle, left, welcomes new PFGC president, Duane
Pysher, grassland management specialist, NRCS.
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