16802
546 17 Q62896
Vol. 47 No. 26
WiRNBtSVNti (Nki Co.) -< With raemt warm weather, pastures
are groaning up nicely, hteiudlng this 3-acre paddock of orchardgrasS,
fescue, ryegrass, clover, add alfaffa on the farm of Forrest Strieker.
Strieker manages an 83-cow herd of Holstein, Jersey, and Jersey-Hol
stein crossbreds and farms with wife Barbara end two sons, Greg, 18,
and Jeff, 18. Strieker’s organic dairy herd’s milk is shipped to Horizon
Organic.
According to the Pennsylvania Agricultural Statistics Service, for the
week ending April 21, unseasonably warm temperatures coupled with
precipitation resulted in coneiderabte improvement in pasture and wheat
crop conditions. The warm temperatures helped to establish 4.1 days
suitable for fieldwork. Soil moisture was rated 2 percent very short, 19
percent short, 66 percent adequate, and 13 percent surplus. Principal
farm activities. Included spring plowing# planting oats and alfalfa, fixing
Pictured are students from the Conococheague FFA chapter of James Buchanan High
School, Mercersburg. A nine-member dairy Judging team recently took first place out of
412 FFA chapters from across the country in Hoard’s Dairyman magazine’s annual cow
Judging contest. See story on page A3B.
www.lancastertarming.com
Four Sections
Saturday, April 27,2002
fences, machinery maintenance, cleaning bams, spreading lime and fer
tilizer, hauling and spreading manure, pruning fruit trees, and sprayin#
herbicides and pesticides.
Spring plowing was 57 percent complete, 34 percent more than the
previous year and 13 percent more than the 5-year average. The show
ers and extremely warm temperatures helped to improve pastures. Only
nine percent of the pastureland was rated poor to very poor, down 11
percent; 77 percent fair to good; and 14 percent excellent, up 11 per
cent from the previous week. According to the Pennsylvania Capitol Re
gion Crop Report, begin grazing short stature grasses (bluegrass) after
five inches of growth, tall grass (orchardgrass, bromegrass, etc.) after 10
inches of growth, and warm season grasses (switchgrass) after 18 inch
es of growth, to manage forage supply, weed growth, and stand longevi
ty. Photo by Andy Andrews, editor
New Trust Director Brings
Vision To Farmland Preservation
DAVE LEFEVER
Lancaster Farming Staff
LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.)
When Tom Stouffer an
nounced he was leaving his posi
tion as executive director of the
Heidi Schellenger, new executive director at the Lan
caster Farmland Trust, combines administrative duties
with farm visits. Photo by Dave Lefever
$34.00 Per Year
Lancaster Farmland Trust, Heidi
Schellenger didn’t exactly jump
at the chance.
She was already working with
(Turn to Page A 32)
75$ Per Copy