‘Life Is Good 9 (Continued from Page A 1) Landis is pleased with the results. “This is the first year that we’re seasonal,” he said. “And life is good.” About 100 fanners drove be tween snow-covered fields Mon day to hear grazing topics and view slides of green pastures this week at the two-day Southeast Pennsylvania Grazing Confer ence at the Solanco Fairgrounds here this week. The local group of graziers has been going strong since it first began in 1993, Land is said. This year also featured two large-scale dairy graziers from New York and Wisconsin, an organic hog producer, a soil expert, and guests from as far away as Ontario. At the end of December, Land is’s entire 90-cow mixed-breed herd went into a dry period. The cows had been bred over about an eight-week period early last summer, with the goal of having them all calve this spring as the various grasses and legumes in the pastures are coming into their prime. “Good grass is what makes our milk,” Landis said. “We’re man aging the farm with grass.” Landis uses a combination of perennial and annual forages to maximize production on about 125 acres of pasture paddocks on the rented farm. A large part of his perennial grass is fescue, best known for its ability to stretch the grazing sedson into late fall and early winter. While fescue is not the cows’ top choice for graz ing, Landis said he has been over seeding the paddocks with white clover in the fall, along with fer Pennsylvania Farmets Union Supports Country-Of-Origin Labeling Law BLOOMSBURG Pennsyl vania Farmers Union (PFU) has urged Congress to require a study that would show the true costs and benefits of the country-of origin food labeling law included in the 2002 farm bill. In a letter to Congress this week, PFU and 100 other farm and consumer groups asked House and Senate members to uphold the congressional in tent of the new label ing law despite at tempts to weaken the law in implementa tion. Recently, the USDA released data on the costs of the labeling provision. The groups are concerned the data may be used to under mine support for the mandatory country-of origin labeling law, which is to go in effect by September 2004. The new law directs grocery stores to label fresh meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, and peanuts with the coun try in which it was grown and processed. “USDA’s data fails to include a benefits analysis or recognize existing government regulations and stan dard marketing prac tices that can be used to implement the new law,” said PFU Presi dent Larry Breech. “A true costs and benefits study should be per formed ‘to ensure this tilizer. The clover increases the palatability of the fescue and adds protein to the diet. Landis took replacement heif ers off the farm last year to allow the milking cows maximum feed intake from grazing. “If you’re taking grass away from your milk cows to feed (heifers),” he said, “you’re losing more money than you realize.” One of the keys to profitability on Landis’s operation is its certi fied organic status. Last year, Landis received an average of more than $2l per hundred weight for his milk. That price is practically unaffected by the on going slump in the conventional milk market. Tending the dry herd in the winter is an easy job, according to Landis. “Managing cows in the winter, about all you need is a 4-wheeler and a tractor to haul bales.” The large round bales are rolled out on the paddocks over a wide area to prevent competition. There is little wasted on the dry cows, he said, as their lower nutrional re quirements allow them to be fenced in an area until the hay is cleaned up. For windy winter days and nights, he distributes the hay near a tree-line which serves as a windbreak what Landis calls his “tree-stall” bam. During times of the year when it is necessary to feed hay to the milking cows, he uses feeder wag ons to minimize waste. The only crop Landis harvests mechanically on the farm is wrapped baleage, a job he called “simple.” One person can handle the mowing, raking, and baling. He then hires someone from out program is implemented in a practical way that benefits con sumers and producers. We strongly urge the agriculture sec retary to implement the country of-origin labeling law as directed by Congress.” Breech is encouraging farmers, ranchers, and consumers to ask their elected officials to work Graziers speaking at the Southeast Pennsylvania Grazing Conference this week were, from left, Tom Frantzen, Arden Landis, Charlie Opitz, and Gary Burley. side to do the wrapping. Beside pasture and free-choice, Landis feeds milking cows 8 tolO pounds of grain per day about 70 percent com and 30 percent oats. Minerals are mixed with the grain. While Landis estimated his rolling herd average is at about 12,000 t 013,000 pounds of milk about half to two-thirds the pro duction of an average conven tionally-fed Holstein herd, he be lieves his efficient methods (including a 16-unit New Zea land swing-style parlor), innova tive techniques, and unique mar keting situation add up to a considerably higher profit mar gin. Another perk of running a sea sonal operation is lifestyle flexi bility. For example, Landis re- with USDA to make sure the country-of-origin labeling law is implemented with the original in tent of Congress. Additional in formation and a sample letter is available at National Farmers Union’s Website, www.nfu.org. It's Been a Cold Winter!!! TAKE YOUR CHOICE!!! 1. It’s 1 a.m. in the 9. Trudge to the barn, morning. 10. Everythings okay. 2. It’s very cold outside. -\ -\. You’re now wide 3. It’s very warm in bed. awake. 4. Bessie may or may 12. Trudge back to the not be freshening. house. 5. Get outta bed. 13. Reverse your dress 6. Pull on some duds. ing procedure. 7. Pull on the shoes. 14. Crawl back in bed. 8. Get on a coat. 15. Try to go back to sleep 1. Stay in bed. 4. Click off the remote. 2. Click on the remote. SGo back to sleep. 3. Check on Bessie. "ROSTECH WIRELESS CAMERA SYSTEM" Availbl* At All Our Location! We Ship Parts Daily UPS • 24 Hour Service • On The Farm Route Service jmmmr DAIRY & MILKING Thompson jJ* incorporated SALES & SERVICE MAIN OFFICE 15 Newport Rd., Leola, PA 17540 717-656-3307 . Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 15, 2003-A29 cently took a 12-day vacation. “It’s the first time I’ve done that since I’ve been farming,” he said. ‘Grass farming is more fun than I ever thought it would be,” said the former truck driver who first started farming in 1988. “I’m an information-gatherer. I go home and see if it’s going to work.” Other graziers speaking at the conference were Gary Burley, 500-cow seasonal dairy grazier from Warsaw, N.Y.; Tom Frant zen, who grazes beef and man ages an organic 1,000-hog start to-finish operation in Iowa; and Charlie Opitz, a 1,300-cow dairy grazier from Wisconsin. Opitz’s 3,700-acre operation has been grass-based since the mid-1980s. He shared the unique challenges and advantages of large-scale grazing and shared problem-solving insights that can be applied to a variety of opera tions, including smaller farms. Opitz said he has had a num ber of interesting conversations over the years with graziers from New Zea land and Aus- tralia, countries known for get- OR ting the most out of grass-based livestock systems. Opitz said gra ziers there are curious about what’s happening in this country. “They wonder why the U.S. dairy industry hasn’t figured it out yet,” he said. Jim Martindale, an engineer and soil expert from Indiana, spoke Tuesday about light tillage techniques that help aerate the soil and increase water uptake. He plans to return to the area in late March for more demonstra tions on the topic. The conference was moderated by Roman Stoltzfoos, grass-based organic dairy and poultry pro ducer from the Gap area. Stoltzfoos summed up the speakers’ collective attitude on grazing. “How you think about a prob lem is more important than the amount of money you have to spend on it,” he said. Read more about what’s hap pening in the grazing world in next week’s Foraging Around section. Keep Your Corn Consistently Clean with new Keystone With a variety of soil-applied herbicides available today that control grasses and weeds, it may seem there is htde room for improvement But applicators and growers continue to ask for products that handle easily and give consistent weed control year in and year out That’s why new Keystone* herbicide trom Dow AgroSuences has been developed Keystone is a powerful combination of acetochlor and next generation atrazme that has been proven in field trials to control a wide variety of grasses and broadleaf weeds, including foxtail, barnyardgrass, crabgrass, waterhemp, lambsquarters, pigweed, nightshade, smartweed and more Keystone handles extremely well compared to other soil-applied herbicides due to the combination ot next generation atrazme and a new, ad\ meed surfactant/ additive package that keeps the suspo-emulsion tormul i tion uniform and consistent within the tmk As a result. 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Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers