A36-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 13, 2002 ISoolcs cm 3 magazines of interest to Eancaster readers slifeS _T- ; Peun*ylvani«’i Heartlands | X VokUM If ~M«rc !M«rin ifltt Itoral Pc*pk * ** Vm »«•<%«« « ******** iA* *** 9 *««•*•«**««**«*«*«**««**«***«*»**«**«** ANDY ANDREWS Editor PENNSYLVANIA’S HEART LANDS: 1860s-19605, Voi. 11, More Stories of Its Rural People, by Susan Wert Vogt. Desktop Editing Com pany, 2002, 161 pp., $34. ISBN 0-9708901-1-7 There is something special, something dear, about rural liv ing. Author Vogt captures that belief in this book about Pennsyl vania’s heartlands, the people, events, and places in the Pennsyl vania’s central and southeastern sections. Through a series of The Times (Port Royal) newspaper columns over the years, Vogt has assem bled a great collection of reminis cences, anecdotes, special places and people she’s seen, along with lots of color photos and maps of the places she obviously holds very dear to her heart. Juniata County is especially near and dear, with poems and stories about the special place it is. (This reviewer recently re turned from Atlantic City, N.J., and nothing compares to the beautiful rural environment we call home here in Pennsylvania. When you are away for a time, you certainly miss the pristine, rolling hills; the dapper country side; and the farms and friendly folk that make up home.) Included are tractor and Crop Research To Highlight Penn State Field Day UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre Co.) Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences will reveal the latest advances in farming at its annual Crop Management Field Day, Tuesday, July 23 at the Russell E. Larson Agricultur al Research Center at Rock spring. Research into cultivation techniques, new varieties and pest management systems will be presented by college faculty. “This is an opportunity for crop producers, ag industry folks, and others to see some of the re search under way at the research farm,” said Gregory Roth, associ Pennsylvania HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.) Pennsylvania’s corn and oat stocks on June 1, totaled 25.2 million bushels and 2.0 million bushels, respectively, according to the Pennsylvania Agricultural Statistics Service (PASS). At the thresher shows, with color photos of equipment that stir the heart and mind. Readers will adore this book. To order, call (717) 566-5700 or, for mail orders, send a check or money order for $34 payable to Desktop Editing Company, 1 Scout Lane, RR3, Hummelstown, PA 17036. PORTRAIT OF A BURGER AS A YOUNG CALF: The Story Of One Man, Two Cows, and the Feeding of a Nation, by Peter Love nheim. Crown Publishing/ Harmony/Random House, 2002, 269 pp., $23.00. ISBN 0-609-60591-7 From the git-go, I am warning potential publicity department cover blurb-seekers: this book gives the wrong message. I don’t recommend this book. This book is wrong, wrong, wrong. I dislike this book, and I will tell you why. Actually, I started out to like PORTRAIT. Here was a man, a nonfarmer, who wanted to know what it was really like to raise a bull calf from birth to slaughter. To find out what really goes on at a farm. To see the truth, and nothing but the truth, for himself, and to share that with the non farming readers. But my hopes were dashed against the rocks. ate professor of agronomy in the crop and soil sciences depart ment. “They also can interact with Penn State crop specialists from various departments.” Research will be featured on four one-hour tours running se quentially from 9:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Each tour will be con ducted twice, and individuals will have an opportunity to attend all four tours. The corn research tour will demonstrate hybrid testing for com silage, polymer com seed coatings, twin row com planting techniques, and strategies for Corn Stocks On Farms Down 46 Percent same time last year, com stocks were 44.6 million bushels and oats stocks totaled 2.5 million bushels. Corn stocks on farms totaled 21.0 million bushels, down 46 percent from the 39.0 million Here was a book that could have been shared with delight even with the farm families who want to know about the opera tions of Lawnel Farms in western New York State. Parts of this book delve into personal biogra phy, at times rendering true-life stories about what farming is all about. And yet, in the end ... the end can and should be skipped. Read up to that point. I don’t agree with what Lovenheim decides to do. The message he may pass onto the American public is hor ribly wrong. Most farmers will think it’s wrong. In the end, Lovenheim advo cates vegetarianism. We don’t need meat, he insists, we can live off soybeans. And look what hap pened to Linda McCartney, the deceased wife of the Beatles guy. The same people who wear leath er belts and shoes, I presume. So I want to praise parts of this book (again, parts, are you hear ing me, blurb-takers?), and I can dash this book, in the same re view. Lovenheim could have had us believing, he really could... but no cigar. I don’t agree with what he finally decid es to do in the end. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Horribly wrong. HOMEBUILDING PITFALLS: Insider’s Guide To Getting The Quality New Home You Deserve!, by Lawrence Thomas. New Community Press, 2002, 214 pp., $39.95. ISBN 0-9719550-9-3 Finally, a book I can recom mend. HOMEBUILDING PIT FALLS does just that take you through some of the things you need to know in building and buying a house. This includes watching for sales tricks and de ceptions, making sure the builder evaluating hail damage effects on silage com. The tillage, Bt, and white mold tour will present research on zone till com, Bt com hybrids and their isolines, and white mold and weed management in soy beans. The fertility and soil quality tour will highlight studies on pop-up and alternative starter fertilizers for com on high phos phorus soils, as well as nutrient cycling and crop rotations and soil biological activity. The weed management tour will focus on predicting weed bushels in 2001. Oat stocks, at 1.6 million bushels, were down 20 percent from the 2001 inventory of 2.0 million bushels. Off-farm grain stocks were: corn 4.2 million bushels, down 25 percent from 2001; oats 428 thousand bushels, down seven follows the plans and contract, and all the things that could go wrong in between. Consult this book before you build. To order, contact New Com munity Press, 2692 Madison Road N-l, Number 263, Cincin nati, Ohio 45208, or e-mail New- FARM ANIMALS, Your Guide To Raising Livestock, by Jeanie Peck-Whiting. Fox Mountain Publishing, 2002, 312 pp., $18.95. ISBN 0-9716174-0-6 This straight-up, easygoing ap proach to learning how to raise livestock on the farm is a great tool for the young or beginning farmer and those who want to raise livestock on a small scale, such as for youth shows. FARM ANIMALS shows us why “you don’t have to own a lot of animals to have fun,” as noted on page 39. “If I were going to recommend anything, it would be for you to start slow. Buy one or two animals, see how that goes. If it’s enjoyable and it brings you pleasure or income, then build on it.” The book notes that Jeanie was born and raised in a farm envi ronment. “She learned early on to respect and provide the best care for all animals,” the book notes on page 271. “It has always been her belief that if you take care in the handling and manage ment of your animals, you will be repaid three times over by the en joyment the animals will bring you.” The book delves into the basics of caring for chickens, ducks, rabbits, goats, pigs, and cows. It even has scary farmyard stories, including the mean sow, the sows trampling accidentally on their young, pigs getting out of hand emergence with GDDs, spatial weed management, herbicide screening, and glyphosate and weed shifts. The Larson Agricultural Re search Center is located at Rock spring, nine miles southwest of State College on Rt. 45. The field day is open to the public; regis tration will be $lO and includes lunch. Attendees can reserve a space by calling (814) 865-2543 or by sending e-mail to lacB@psu.edu. The day offers a total of four credits toward Certi fied Crop Advisor (CCA) certifi cation programs for professional agronomists. percent; barley 310 thousand bushels, down 23 percent; wheat 3.9 million bushels, down 36 percent from 6.1 million bushels in 2001; soybeans 1.2 million bushels, up 10 percent from 1.1 million bushels in 2001. (did you know that pigs can eat human beings whole, skin, bones, clothes, and all?), and other strange facts. She even shares her favorite recipes. Contact Fox Mountain Pub lishing, Book Orders Dept., P.O. Box 1516, Tonasket, WA 98855, or on the Web at wwwibxmtn publishing.com. RETRO RIDE, Advertising Art of the American Auto mobile, by Tony Swan. Col lectors Press, 2002, 176 pp., $39.95. ISBN 1 -888054-62-X Want to go back in time? Just peruse this huge, colorful, slick, coffee table-sized book literally jammed with four-color repro ductions of old car ads. We’re talking old car ads, dat ing back to about 1923, and how the major car companies ap proached cars in the beginning as luxury items for the wealthy and famous, to a family vehicle full of fun and the latest technology through the ’sos, on into the jet setting cars of the early ’6os. The book sometimes shows that the more things change, in terms of how auto advertisers think, the more they stay the same Order from Collectors Press, Inc., P.O. Box 230986, Portland, OR 97281, or on the Web at www.collectorspress.com. Manure Application Field Days Slated FLEETWOOD (Berks Co.) Three manure application field days sponsored by Penn State and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture are scheduled the week of July 29. The first is scheduled for Tues day, July 30 and is specifically geared for commercial and pri vate manure applicators. The sec ond and third days are open to all interested parties and are on July 31 and August 1. The first two events will be held at Greater Vi sion Farm in Fleetwood, Berks Co. The third day will be held at the Buser Farm in Yorkana, York Co. The dates will be highlighted by demonstrations and hands-on ac tivities. The agenda includes a phosphorus-index exercise, a soil compaction exercise, a manure application rate exercise, a soil pit demonstration, hand-held GPS exercise, GPS on field equipment demonstration and a variable rate application demonstration. Speakers include local manure haulers, representatives from Penn State Dairy and Animal Sci ence and Agronomy departments; cooperative extension agents; USDA-NRCS representatives; and USDA Ag Research Farm representative. Five continuing education cred its for certified nutrient manage ment specialists will be available for those who attend the meeting. A fee of $lO to cover lunch ex penses will be collected during registration. Participants are asked to bring a calculator. If you have questions, need directions or would like to pre-register please contact Robb Meinen at (814) 865-2987, or rmeinen@das.psu.e du.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers