m
Tim Fritz
PFGC President
Spring is just breaking as
! write this message. We
lad a cold, wet fall followed
ly a tough winter but
flings are finally looking
ike spring. Just about ev
jryone is looking forward to
Timothy Producers:
Check For Mites
Paul H. Craig
Dauphin Co. Crop Agent
Less than four years since
f|rst being identified in Penn
fylvania, nearly every timothy
bay producer in Pennsylvania
has heard of the timothy mite
and the problems that this
pest can cause for timothy hay
producers.
First identified in the spring
of 2000 in southcentral Penn
sylvania, the mite, actually re
ferred to as the cereal rust
mite, has spread across the
state and has been noted in
Delaware, Maryland and New
(Turn to Page E 9)
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Compiles Resource List For Farmers
DAVE LEFEVER
Lancaster Farming Staff
HARRISBURG (Dau
phin Co.) Be sure to see
the Chesapeake Bay Foun
dation’s comprehensive
guide of conservation re
sources for farmers and
landowners in the center
spread of this Foraging
Around issue.
The newly-released
Guide to Conservation
Funding Programs in
Pennsylvania is a cross-re
ferencing field guide identi
fying conservation practices
appropriate for farms,
along with available finan
cial support.
David Wise, scientist
with the Chesapeake Bay
Foundation (CBF) office in
Harrisburg, said farmers
and landowners can benefit
tremendously from having
the various agencies and
programs pooled together
in one list.
beautiful green fields.
These bright green fields
are more than beauty, how
ever. They have the poten
tial to convert sunlight into
high quality forage which
ruminants convert into
(Turn to Page E 3)
Mite-infested timothy
showing classical
draughted appearance.
“It’s become pretty clear
that there’s an enormous
variety of funding re
sources out there,” Wise
said.
He said CBF first recog
nized the need for such a
project in 1997 when it be
came evident that many
farmers and landowners
were faced with a wide
array of conservation sup
port options from federal,
state, and local programs.
As an agency with a
focus on water quality,
helping farmers with good
land management, and
partnering with a wide
range of agencies, Wise
said the CBF was in an
ideal position to compile
the guide.
“We recognized the need
and had the ability to re
spond,” Wise said.
The guide was first re
leased earlier this year and
was recently updated. For
more information, call CBF
at (717) 234-5550.
ntist - Toward A Sounder Grassland Program '
Frank Stoltzfus with some of the Masonic Homes’ beef herd on recently
established pasture part of the purebred Shorthorn operation’s new commit
ment to grazing. Photo by Dave Lefever
More Grass In Store For
Masonic Homes' Shorthorns
DAVE LEFEVER
Lancaster Farming Staff
ELIZABETHTOWN (Lan
caster Co.) The farm at Ma
sonic Homes has an impres
sive herd of purebred
Shorthorn beef cattle, grazing
the hills of a unique property.
The Masonic Homes com
munity and farm, founded in
1910, is situated on 1,400
acres just on the edge of Eliza
bethtown. About 1,500 resi
dents, including 40 school
aged children, live there.
Owned and operated by the
Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania,
Masonic Homes offers health
Northeast:
Irish Brothers Suggest Combined Approach
DAVE LEFEVER
Lancaster Farming Staff
GRANTVILLE (Dauphin
Co.) An abundance of high
quality land and good access
to reasonably-priced silages
and concentrate feeds suggest
that pasture-based systems
have a “bright and profitable”
future in the Northeast,
according to Tom and Dr.
John Roche.
The Irish brothers spoke at
the annual PFGC conference,
which took place in early
March at the Grantville Holi
day Inn.
jSi v*' 4 Jfv 4
care, assisted living, residen
tial living, and retirement ac
comodations adjacent to its
working livestock farm, or
chard, and farmer’s market.
Since the Masonic Homes
Holstein dairy herd was sold
last December, farm supervi
sor Frank Stoltzfus said he
has more time to focus on the
150 head of Shorthorn cattle.
Part of his attention is cen
tered on switching to a more
grass-based system.
Stoltzfus has managed the
farm since 1985, including the
Shorthorn herd first estab
lished by Gerald Tracy, Ma-
‘Huge Potential' For Grazing
The brothers grew up on a
dairy farm in the southern
part of Ireland, and Tom con
tinues to manage the family’s
grass-based dairy farm there.
The Roches also run a dairy
farm in New Zealand, where
Pennsylvania Forage & Grassland Council
Newsletter - Section E - April 19, 2003
J-i |l nisi| < v.
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sonic Homes environmental
services and land manage
ment director.
Performance has been the
focus of the beef breeding pro
gram here for more than 20
years. This work recently
earned the farm the 2002 Seed
Stock Breeder of the Year
award from the Pennsylvania
Cattlemen’s Association.
Stoltzfus is in the process of
changing a sizeable portion of
the farm’s cropland into per
manent grazing paddocks for
the beef herd. So far, about 60
acres have been seeded and
(Turn to Page E 2)
John is employed as a nutri
tional scientist.
Two years ago, the brothers
visited several farms in Penn
sylvania, Maryland, and New
(Turn to Page E 4)