A26-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 20, 2003 Farm Calendar * *s- (Continued from Page A 10) Happy New Year! Lancaster Farming office closed. 1 ancaster Y outh Dairy Day (ages 8-18), Lancaster Farm and Home Center, Lancaster 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.. (717) 394-6851. AFBF (Faim Bureau) Con\ention, Hawaii, thru Jan. 17. Ice Cream Short Course, Nittany Lion Inn. University Park, thru Jan. 10, (814)863-2959. Mil* El Maryland Dairy Meeting, Chester town Fire Hall, 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m., (410) 778-1661. EE»EI National Potato Council Conven tion, Cancun, Mexico, thru Jan. 10. Challenge of Overabundant Deer in Pa. Conference, Harrisburg Marriott, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Md. Meeting on Johne’s Disease, Mountain Gate Family Restau rant, Thurmont, Md., 9:30 a.m.- 2:30 p.m., (301)631-3576. Pruning Workshop, Manatawny Creek Vineyard, Douglassville, 9 a.m.-noon, (717) 394-6851. New York AGRLite Meeting on Grapes, Montour Falls Rural Urban Center, Cornell Universi ty, (607) 255-368J8. “Tilling the Soil of Opportunity” Course, University of Vermont Extension Office, St. Albans, Vt., 6 p.m.-9 p.m., every Wed. evening through March 31, (802) 656-0233. National No Tillage Conference, Des Moines, lowa, through Jan. 10. Meeting on Johne’s Disease, Car roll County Ag Center, West minster, Md., 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., (410) 386-2760. Ohio Cow Calf Management Meet ings, Highland County Training and Employment Center. Hills boro, even Wednesday begin ning Jan 7. and at the Fairfield County Ag Center, I ancaster, Ohio, every Thursday beginning Jan. 8, 7 p.m.-9:45 p.m., (937) 393-1918. YEAR END SALE! December 26-31,2003 10% Off Tarp Straps & ALL Tarps Tarp Straps are MADE IN USA •kick PLUS *** Take An Additional 10% Off Cash & Carry Tarps include Blue, White, Forest Green, Silver&Black Black Stallion, Canvas & Hay Covers In Sizes From 6'xB' up to 50'xlOO' CtL«¥e Blowout I Regular SALE’ GLIOOL Blue Latex Dipped String Knit $9 95dz $6 95dz GL2190 Brown Jersey W/Plastic Dots $l3 85dz $9 95dz GL9920 Leather Palm Work Glove $l6 95dz $l4 95dz GL9SO Brown Jersey Glove $9 95dz $6 95dz All Disposable Gloves 10% OFF s!Lxr Youngstown High Dexterity Cloves Absorbing 25A) OFF JP™ 1 ™" 9 dove M,cro Fleece Take An Additional 10% Off Cash & Carry " ■ ( • I Mid-Atlantic Land Use And Co\er Conference. Towson University, Maryland New York AGRLite Meetings on Greenhouse Fruits and Vege tables, Riverhead, Suffolk Co operative Fxtension, Cornell University, (607) 255-3688. Maryland Grain Marketing Meet ing, Dutch Family Restaurant, Millington, 7:30 a.m. Md. Meeting on Johne’s Disease, Pleasant Valley Community Center, Oakland, 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., (301) 334-6960. 4-H Open House, Farm and Home Center, Lancaster, 6:30 p.m - 8:30 p.m., (717) 394-6851. Introduction to Horticulture New Farmer Workshop. Crandall Public Library, Glens Falls, N.Y., 7 p.m.-9 p.m. Greenspare Alliance of S.E. Pa. Conference on Creating Vision of Open Space, Connelly Cen ter, Villanova University, 8:30 a.m.-l p.m., (215) 563-0250, ext. 109. Living on a Few Acres Classes, Montgomery County 4-H Cen ter, Collegeville, 6:45 p.m.-9 p.m., Thursday evenings thru Feb. 19, (610)489-4315. Friday, January 9 Pa. Farm Show Dinner, Farm Show Banquet Room, 6 p.m., (717) 787-1627. Southeast Regional Fruit and Veg etable Conference, thru Jan. 11, Savannah International Trade and Convention Center, (877) 99GFVGA. New York Small Farms program, Tilling the Soil of Opportunity, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Fridays, Jan. 9, 16,23, 30; Feb. 6. Md. Meeting on Johne’s Disease, Maugansville Rurban Building, 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., (301) 791-1304. Saturday, January 10 Pa. Farm Show, Farm Show Com plex, Harrisburg, thru Jan. 17. Georgia, South Carolina Wine Grape Conference, Savannah International Trade Center, Sa vannah, Ga., (229) 386-3410. Pa. Angus Association Annual Membership Banquet, Holiday Inn, Grantville, 6:30 p.m., (717) 354.7477. Annual Festival of Trees, Ag Arena, Universitv Park, thru Jan. 14,(814)237-7717. Lehigh Valley Horse Council Meet ing, American Legion Post 367, Fullerton, 7.30 p.m., (610) 759-7985. Pa. Simmental Association Annual Meeting, VFW, Harrisburg. Mueller: Eastern Dairies Can Compete With Calif. WESTMINSTER, Md. In 1978, George Mueller took a trip with his county extension service to dairy farms in Arizona and California. It was a jolting expe rience. “The simplicity of their system was a shock,” Mueller said. He returned to his farm in Clifton Springs. N.Y. with a goal of implementing some of the con cepts he saw out west. Twenty five years later, Mueller has a lot of stories to tell about his experi ences streamlining his dairy oper ation. Mueller was keynote speaker at the Maryland Dairy Industry Association annual meeting in Westminster Tuesday. His theme was “The Secret To Profitable Dairy Farming In the East: Keep It Simple!” He is founder and senior partner at Willow Bend Farm, a 2,200-acre dairy farm with 1,200 cows. Originally from the city, Muel ler was married 44 years ago to his wife, Mary Lue, who was with him during his presentation. She was raised on a farm. “I came out of the city and married a farmer’s daughter, and that was the best move I ever made,” Mueller said. Mueller, who partners with his son, believes that at least some of the same principles used on west ern dairies can apply to opera tions in the east. While a recent article in a na tional dairy publication claims that western dairies are produc ing milk for about $6 per hun dredweight less than eastern dairies, Mueller believes that we have some advantages that “Cali fornia would die for.” These include nearness to mar kets, feed costs even or lower than those in the west, the bene fits of the corn silage/alfalfa rota tion, and the (sometimes) abun dant precipitation. Mueller believes in what he calls “a three-legged milk stool” Setting the Standard in Manure Management A low compaction, high volume method of applying liquid manure on less than ideal ground conditions while also reducing odor. Photo taken at Burk-Lea Farms Stanley Burkholder Chambersburg, PA Park your Hard Hose Drag Reel in the center of the field the manure is to be applied m Uncoil the hard hose pulling towards the farthest corner Simply drag the hose back and forth across the field until the whole field has been covered When finished unhook the applicator from the hard hose and wind in the hose High volume: Flow rates possible that are equal to (3) 6,300 gal. spreaders @ 3 loads per hour each! Low compaction: Nothing heavier than a 150 hp tractor is ever in the field! Reduced odor: When used in conjunction with an Aerway soil aerator, odor is virtually eliminated. Complete system w/4.5” x 1320’ drag hose, 3-pt. spray boom, 3,000’ of 6” supply line, manure irrigation pump and 12’ Aerway incorporator is currently available for demo/rental/sale Call Ross Johnson SUmcwfaftfC 800-222-2948 • 610-563-6196 4019 Ashville Rd. • Quarryville, PA 17566 www.midarianticagri.com *Keep It Simple ’ Says New York Dairyman to use as a guide for dairying. The three principles are simplici ty, large volumes, and low invest ment per cow. “A penny saved goes straight to the bottom line,” Mueller said, adapting a line from Ben Frank lin. One way Mueller has saved money over the years is by using old family station wagons as farm utility vehicles. “One of our little ‘secrets’ is not to tie up a lot of capital in an expensive, gas-guzzling, 4X4 pickup truck,” he said. The only justification for buy ing new farm equipment is “you must be sure it is used over many acres the whole season long.” Mueller said he purchased a new $240,000 chopper and $45,000 windrow merger several years ago because he wanted reli able equipment that was able to handle large volumes without breaking down during harvest. Other “simplification” strate gies Mueller has used on his farm include handling sand-bedded manure from the freestall bams by pushing it over what he calls “The Great Wall of Hopewell Township.” The concrete wall is 570 feet long and 13.5 feet high. The ma nure and sand mixture is pushed over the edge of the wall into the lagoon below. The sand tends to stay near the edge of the pit. After the liquid is pumped out and spread, the solid portion, in cluding sand, can be accessed and spread by loader and “V” spreaders. “This is simplicity itself,” Mueller said of the manure-han dling setup. Mueller said that he has “vio lated” the principle of low invest ment per cow several times in re cent years, but for reasons he considered valid. For example, concrete in alley ways is grooved to prevent cow slippage. jffili George Mueller Mueller recently built a work shop to service farm machinery, after “spending 40 years fixing equipment in mud and snow,” he said. The waste-oil heated build ing provides a warm, dry place for his field crew to work all win ter long. Mueller kept an eye on efficie ny during the recent expansion to a 1,200-cow facility, which was built on top of a hill for ventila tion and natural drainage pur poses. The new milking center in cludes a double-25 parlor. Milk is precooled with well water in a plate cooler. The warmed water is then channeled to the cows, who Meuller said prefer to drink it warm. Heifers are housed in a 264-foot long, 8-row bam and provided with rubber-filled can vas mattresses. No bedding is used. Calf hutches are located near the milking center to ease the feeding of waste milk. Mueller said large and small dairies need each other to make the industry thrive in the east. “There’s no better place to raise a family if you can turn a profit. By keeping things simple and efficient, you can,” he said. “We can compete with the best of California if we keep our eyes on the three-legged milk stool.” Shomfmns* typiaiktyoutfont <tog torn ofmuton.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers