1
2-Foraging Around, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 21,2001
Crownvetch Industry
(Continued from Page 1)
vetch.”
The field on the Gift Farm in Vir
ginville became known as, in seed
research industry terms, the “breed
ers’ source.” Penn State researchers
planted these seeds to form the
foundation fields. The seed from the
foundation fields was planted on
fields to produce certified seed,
which became available to the
public.
Grau Sr. bought a farm between
Pine Grove Mills and State College
in the late ’3os. It’s here that his son
continues the business of growing
and marketing crownvetch.
“We have 60 acres of crownvetch
producing acres here, but Pennsyl
vania is a poor place to produce
seed. Crownvetch grows well here,
but the summers are too humid,
cloudy, and rainy for producing
seed. You need to shut the water off
when the plants blossom. Most of
our seed is produced out west under
irrigation, where we can control the
moistufe.”
Grau purchased a farm in Colo
rado in 1977. He sells his crown
vetch seed to seed companies
wholesale. He doesn’t even sell di
rectly to the Department of Trans
portation (DOT).
“The ’6os, when the interstate
system was being built, was the
boom time for crownvetch. There
were hundreds of growers in the
United States and dozens in Penn
sylvania. Everyone was making
money. We used to think we’d live
or die by DOT. It’s still in demand
by DOTs as a landscaping cover
plant, but now seed companies sell
much of it in one-pound packs as a
Name
Address
Count'
Phone
Occupation (check one)
Farmer
Industry
Scientist/Educator
Membership Classification
(check one)
Individual or Youth Group ($2O)
Individual - 5 years ($9O)
Scientific/Professional Society ($2O)
Supporting Organization (Industry) ($75 or more)
Life memberships of $l5O per member will be accepted until Dec. 31,2001
Make check payable to Pennsylvania Forage and Grassland Council.
Detach this application and mail along with your check to Richard Hann. Execu
tive Director, PFGC, P.O. Box 355, Hcrshcy, PA 17033.
low maintenance, aesthetic, effec
tive, and permanent ground cover.
It’s a true perennial. We have fields
here in Pine Grove Mills that were
planted in the ’4os and are still
thriving. They’ve never been re
planted.”
Crownvetch grows to about two
feet high. The thick cover above
ground forms excellent erosion pro
tection while the massive root
system holds soil in place and in
creases soil tilth. The beneficial bac
teria associated with the roots
produce the nitrogen in a form
available to the plants such as
corn, suggested Grau.
“The advantage of planting no
till corn in crownvetch goes beyond
the measurable. There’s maybe 50
pounds of nitrogen per acre you
don’t have to buy,” Grau said.
“When you get a canopy of corn, the
crownvetch is not in competition
with the corn.”
Grau suggests planting the
crownvetch and corn at the same
time. Then, no-till the corn into the
crownvetch the following years and
manage the corn appropriately, get
ting careful advice on herbicides. It
takes about two years to form a
good stand of crownvetch.
“Planting corn into crownvetch
has been around since the 19705. Dr.
Nathan L. Hartwig, now retired
from Penn State, spent his career
perfecting it. It’s a very successful
program. It just hasn’t caught on.”
Because crownvetch has been
commercially available for 50 years,
it has proven itself as an excellent
heat-, cold-, and drought-resistant,
soil-building, and erosion-control
ground cover. As for the future,
Grau knows crownvetch is here to
stay.
Membership Application
2001
Demonstrations at Ag Progress Days show the soil-building ad
vantages of planting crownvetch with com.
It took only three seconds for crownvetch-covered soil to absorb
water. The bare no-till soil absorbed the same amount of water In
80 seconds.
PFGC Accepts Memberships
HERSHEY (Dauphin Co.)
Pennsylvania Forage and Grassland
Council (PFGC) has announced
membership rates for 2001.
The Council, with your member
ship and support, can accomplish
much toward a better forage indus
try, environment, and community.
It’s a big challenge and the PFGC
needs your help. By becoming a
member now, PFGC can serve an
even more active role in support of
the forage industry.
The PFGC, formed in 1960, is
made up of individuals and organ
izations that are interested in forage
and grassland-based agriculture.
The PFGC is dedicated to the pro
duction and utilization of quality
PHONE; 717-626-1164 or 717-394-3047
FAX 717-733-6058
Mon., Tues... Wed.. FH. 8 AM to 5 PM; Thurs. 7 AM to 5 PM
forage and grassland.
The PFGC works in a variety of
ways to promote the industry,
through publication of Pennsylva
nia Forage and Grassland News,
through the publication of Foraging
Around, and sponsoring individual
workshops, training events, field
days, Ag Progress Days, leadership,
and other activities.
Every member receives the Penn
sylvania Forage and Grassland
News, the Hay and Forage Grower
magazine, and a PFGC membership
directory.
So to become part of a growing in
dustry, use this membership form
included here to sign up now.