Wintry Weather May Damage Trees
Ranee Scott Harmon
Penn State
Forest Resources Extension
From the mix of snow and
freezing rain that blanketed jack
o-lanterns in October to the Pres
idents’ Day blizzard, trees have
been under assault this winter
season.
The weight of snow and ice
can cause branches and even the
main stems of trees to bend,
twist, or break. The October
Agri-Education Seminar To Address
Challenging Climate In Agriculture
LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.)
“Unusual Times, Unusual Ac
tions” reflects the nature of the
agricultural industry in Pennsyl
vania over the last 12 months. It
will also be the theme for First
Union’s 22nd Annual Agri-Edu
cation Seminar to take place on
Thursday, Feb. 27 at the Farm
and Home Center in Lancaster
from 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
“It is common for some agri
cultural commodities to have a
bad year while others do well,”
said Damn E. Boyd, senior vice
president and director of agri-fi
nance at First Union. “But in
2002, farmers of dairy, livestock,
and poultry suffered price hits,
while in the same year, growers
were deeding with drought condi
tions. That’s why we’ve assem
bled the very best minds in the
fields of agricultural policy, busi
ness practices and the financial
environment to share their
unique insights with the nearly
400 attendees of this annual
event.”
Featured speakers will include
Robert D. Steele, Dean in the
College of Agricultural Sciences,
Penn State, addressing the theme
“Unusual Times, Unusual Ac
tions;” Ronald J. Hanson, the
Neal E. Harlan Professor of Agri
business at University of Nebras
ka speaking on “Keeping A Posi
tive Focus on Family Farming;”
and Jay H. Bryson, Ph.D., vice
president and global economist
for Wachovia Securities pres
enting “The U.S. Economic Out
look.”
services to 20 million retail, bro
kerage and corporate customers
throughout the East Coast and
the nation.
The company operates full
service banking offices under the
First Union and Wachovia
names in 11 East Coast states
and Washington, D.C., and offers
full-service brokerage with offices
in 49 states and global services
through more than 30 interna
tional offices. Online banking
and brokerage products and serv
ices are available through wacho-
Providing his insights on the via.com.
We offer the following services for the most complete pest control
possible. Whether your need is to control pests, eliminate harmful
CP bacteria, or encourage beneficial insects, we have the tools to help you.
storm was especially damaging
because the leaves on many trees
had not yet fallen, and the re
maining leaves provided addi
tional surfaces for snow and
freezing rain to cling to.
Homeowners and forest land
owners can take steps to help
trees and woodlands recover
from winter storms. Before as
sessing damage, it is important to
first consider safety. Avoid ven
turing into a woodlot on windy
business of farming, David M.
Kohl, professor of agricultural
economics and small business
management at Virginia Poly
technical institute will discuss
“Actions Louder Than Words:
An Internal and External Look.”
Pennsylvania Dairy Princess,
Raechel Kilgore, will share her
observations on “Youth and the
Future of Agriculture.”
John Blanchfield, director of
the Center for Agricultural and
Rural Banking at the American
Bankers Association will share
his thoughts on “The Usual and
Unusual from Washington,
D.C.;” and H. Louis Moore along
with Kenneth W. Bailey will pre
dict “Reactions to Current Ag
Market Forces.”
Wachovia Corporation (NY
SE:WB), created through the
September 1, 2001, merger of
First Union and Wachovia, had
assets of $334 billion and stock
holder’s equity of $32 billion,
Sept. 30, 2002. Wachovia is a
leading provider of financial
Farm Services S
&M
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il: cnoflies@paonline.com
• Fumigation
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days after a storm. Be alert for
large leaning trees and branches.
Keep in mind that hanging
branches can be especially haz
ardous.
Due to greater exposure to the
weather, trees near roads or other
open areas often suffer more
damage than trees in the interior
of the forest, so the actual dam
age may look worse from a trail
or road than it actually is. A good
way to judge whether a tree will
survive storm damage is to look
at the upper branches. If less
than 50 percent of the crown is
damaged, the tree has a good
chance of survival; however, de
pending on the extent of the
damage, the tree’s growth may
slow down while it recovers. If
between 50 percent and 75 per
cent of the crown is damaged, the
tree miay survive; however, its
wounds may provide entryways
for damaging insects and dis
eases, especially if large tops or
large lower branches break or if
extensive areas of bark tear. If
more than 75 percent of the
crown is damaged, the tree has a
low chance of survival.
USDA Slates
Disaster Aid
For Greene,
Fayette Counties
CAMP HILL (Cumberland Co).
At Pennsylvania Farm Bureau’s
urging and the support of several
members of Pennsylvania’s Congres
sional dele
gation, the USDA has now included
Greene and Fayette counties in the
list of eligible counties for disaster as
sistance. The counties were uninten
tionally excluded when the original
paperwork was filed within the agen
cy.
The sign-up period for disaster aid
in these counties began Feb. 18 and
will continue through Mar. 24,
according to the information pro
vided by Congressional offices.
USDA’s disaster relief program for
livestock, the Livestock Compensa
tion Program (LCP) was implement
ed to provide aid to counties that
were hard-hit by the 2002 drought.
Elizabethtown • Pennsylvania
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Homeowners can consult
trained arborists who can evalu
ate damage, remove dangerous
trees and branches, and correctly
prune trees to help them survive.
Private forest landowners can
consult natural resource profes
sionals to assess damage to their
woodland, mitigate dangerous
conditions, and recommend ap
propriate management practices.
While storms do damage and
kill trees, most trees are resilient
and survive even severe winter
weather. Storms are one way that
forests naturally thin themselves
with time. When storms and
other natural and human-caused
processes open holes in the forest
canopy, more sunlight is able to
reach the forest floor. The sun
light leads to the growth of small
trees, shrubs, wildflowers, and
other plants near the ground.
This lush growth provides food
within reach of many wildlife
species. Moreover, different spe
cies of trees thrive in these sunny
gaps than under the shade of ma
ture trees, so the diversity of trees
and wildlife habitat increases as
small disturbances occur across
the landscape.
Branches that fall to the
ground after storms provide ten
Harvesting Quality Hay,
Crop Insurance Workshop Set
BELLE VERNON (Wash
ington Co.) Penn State Co
operative Extension, in coop
eration with John Marchezak,
a Washington county dairy
man, will sponsor a Harvest
ing Quality Hay and Crop In
surance Workshop for
interested farmers at 10:00
a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 26, here
at the Holiday Inn.
Featured speaker will be
Bernard Adam, an interna
tionally recognized Canadian
farmer and inventor. Adam
will present a workshop on
harvesting high quality hay
and haylage. Adam will focus
on how farmers can get more
hay or haylage from their
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And
Dryersla Felwuary
f
FARM & HOME CENTER
464-3321 or 800-732-0053
www.aceretailer.com/emherr
Herrville Rd. & Rt 272 South
2 1/2 Miles South of,Willow Valley .Square, ~, sat.
11 * I,J Responsible £or Typographical Errors /■3b'»ni*i*Cto (frrt
A?**.
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 22, 2003-A29
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der twigs, buds, and winter fruits
that are within reach of small
mammals, which in turn serve as
prey for predators such as foxes,
weasels, and birds of prey. Dam
aged areas of trees often lead to
decay, which in time produce
cavities that can serve as homes
for wood ducks, bluebirds, wood
peckers, owls, chickadees, squir
rels, raccoons, bats, mice and
many other animals.
Trees and large woody
branches that fall to the ground
provide cover, foraging habitat,
thermal protection, and nesting
sites for salamanders and small
mammals. Twenty-three species
of amphibians and reptiles take
refuge in decaying wood in the
northeastern United States, in
cluding box turtles, salamanders,
and snakes.
The Pennsylvania Forest Stew
ardship Program provides many
publications about Pennsylva
nia’s privately owned forestlands.
For a list of free publications, call
(800) 235-WISE (toll-free) or
contact the Forest Stewardship
Program, Forest Resources Ex
tension, The Pennsylvania State
University, 7 Ferguson Building,
University Park, PA 16802,
RNRext@psu.edu.
existing fields. He also will ex
plain the benefits of one of his
inventions, the Techno-Bale®
round bale transporter.
Don Fretts, cooperative ex
tension agent, will present
what field crop insurance op
tions still remain for the 2003
crop year. He will focus on
basic coverage, crop revenue
coverage, and multiperil crop
insurance.
Lunch is being provided.
Reservations are requested,
and should be made with the
Washington (724) 228-6881 or
Fayette (724) 438-0111 county
cooperative extension offices
by Monday, Feb. 24.
SfUg
Mon -Fn
6'30 am-8 00 pm