—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 21, 1965 4 From Where We Stand... Farmers' Goal Cheap Food? Has any contemporary political figure ever said “Farmers of America, you are fools! You make it possible for the great American consumer to spend a pittance for food so that she can spend a fortune on luxuries. And you do it at your own expense.” Not that we have ever heard. More likely they give the farmers an offhand ed pat on the head for the fine produc tion job they are doing for the politi cian’s constituents back home. And they echo the wrath of their constituents if the retail price of meat, milk, or eggs goes up a few cents. Why shohld the farmer take pride in producing food at a price which more often than not does not cover his aver age cost of production? Why should the farmer invest his capital and labor so that the American consumer can be the best fed in the world and at the lowest cost (19 cents out of each spending dollar)? As the American Dairy Association points out m its newsletter “Tips”, there is frequently a human cost in producing cheap food and fiber that is often over looked. That human factor is the Ameri can farmer. Most consumers can afford to pay more for food than they are now pay ing. Economists claim that demand for most food products is “inelastic”. That means that for a given change in price, there will be a less than proportional change in demand For example, people don't suddenly curtail buying eggs when the price goes up 10 or 15 cents If the price gets extremely out of line with comparable products they may eventual ly buy less eggs and more of some other food item “Tips” makes the interesting point that homemakers are not general ly aware of actual prices paid for speci fic foods, they are more likely to have a total tood budget within which they try to stay. As the growxn/g population de mands more and moTre food, and as the number of farms get fewer, but larger, farmers are going to be more business-minded than they are today. And they are going to be considerably less willing to invest their money for such a marginal return. But that may be a long time com ing Right now the farmer has little con trol over the retail price of food There is too much production, and therefore competition dictates the price. The farm ers’ share of the food dollar has con stantly shrunk in recent years, and yet retail prices have increased The reason for this is that there is more being done to farm products after they leave the farm than was once true. The mar keting system provides more services, packaging, labor and processing costs are all up The so-called “built-in maid service that is added to a product after it leaves the farm increases almost daily But the farmer plays no part in this part of the food business, so does not profit from it One solution might be for farmers to consider doing a bigger share of the total food-producing job. Grow it, pro cess it, and market it This can’t be done practically by individual farmers, ex cept on a small scale But it can be done by farmer-owned and controlled com panies. The big boys are getting into it, why not the family farmer? What Do YOU Think? Lancaster Farming Lancaster County’s Own Farm Weekly P. 0 Box 266 - Lititz, Pa. Offices: 22 E Main St. LiUtz, Pa. Phoned Lancaster 394-3047 or Lititz 626 2191 Don Timmons, Editor Robeit £ 3 |Canpsbell, tismg Director Established November 4, '1955. Published eveiy Satur day by Lancaster-Famung, Lit itz, Pa. -ITS,*'*-. . -*«. 1 £ The Myth Of Everlasting Plenty! • In the early days of America the comparatively small population looked upon the natural resources of this land of milk and honey as endless. Unfor tunately, that myth has been perpetuat ed to this day. Now we know that there is a measurable limit to many of these re sources oil, coal, land. And now we are gauging the growing numbers of people and the demands of industries against a measurable amount of water the one resource without which life can not survive. One very important step has been taken this past week long overdue action on die chronic water shortage in the northeast. It has now become a matter of national attention. Senator Aiken’s water bill has cleared the Sen ate and is expected to receive quick and positive action in the House. This bill would provide outright government money grants plus ample loans for rural water systems. In addition, plans for getting start ed on a practical, large scale program for desalmization of sea water are getting under way. That we have come to this in the few hundred years that this nation has existed is a little frigh tening. There is no chance that our generation will make a serious dent in the seas, but at the present rate of water consumption we wonder how many more generations it will take to drink up t>ie ocean, for all practical v>ni poses Again, the myth of endlessness is being applied to a natural resource; this time it’s the ocean. We should develop a large scale desalinization pro gram, but it should be for emergency use only that is to balance out the uneven rainfall from year to year. To regard it otherwise puts the country into the position of the little old widow who finds that she can not live on the interest from her investments so she spends a little of her principal each year, hoping that she won’t outlive the last of that fund. She can take a cal culated risk because she’s concerned only with her own life. But as a na tion, we have to provide, hopefully, for endless generations to follow. We can not morally spend their principal. The only long-run answer is edu cation, as it seems to be the answer to so many of our current problems. According to the National Association of Soil and Water Conservation Dis tricts, education at the elementary school level in the functions and im portance of conservation of natural re sources is practically non-existent They hope to remedy this lack through a massive educational effort. They can use all the help they can get' This concern over drinking up the sea may seem a bit ridiculous and if looked at only in the span of one short, human lifetime, it is In future generations the sea will be needed for its bountiful harvest of food. It is also valuable for transportation undoubt edly less so in coming years and for recreation. But food is its greatest trea sure So let’s prepare to drink it in emer gencies, but through better conserva tion measures and education let’s limit those emergencies. Weather Forecast Temperatures for the five- day period, Saturday through Wednesday, are expected to average below normal. It will be cooler at the beginning of the period with little day to day change thereafter. Nor mal high for this period is 84 degrees; low, 62. Precipitation will pro%a|b ly total less than % Inch occurring'as showers Monday night or Tuesday, with larg- est amounts near the coast. What Do YOU Think? Many swine producers know the importance of a good boar but are reluctant to pay the prtce of a performance tested sire. Much has been done in recent years to improve the rate of gain, feed conversion, and carcass quality. These traits can be selected for in a good hog and will help im prove the pig crop and in* crease profits. A herd-improv- Blevins was proud-to quote mg sire does not cost the the field staff r to the owner money, he pays the effect that this, gr-qup sefemed <l L»*ft»nv Purity First lesson for August 22, 19G5 Background Scripture; Galatians 5 13 26* DOVohon&l Beading: Colocsians 3 1-10. A BOUT THE only place where man can safely do as he pleases is inside a padded cell. An old-time ruffian, swinging his fists and spoiling for a fight, shouted, “I can swing my fist anywhere I please, they ain’t no body to stop me, this is a free country, see?” A quiet man there present retoited, “But your free dom to swing your fist stops where my nose begins!” Maybe Dr. Foreman neither man wa? a Christian, hut the story shows that you don’t have to be a Chris tian to see that freedom always has its limits. If a man does exactly what and as he likes, he is pretty sure to do what some body else like, and that is where the trouble begins. A Mistake About Freedom Many religious people, who maybe have more “religion" than common sense, make the same mistake about freedom. They know two things which aie true, but they put them together wrong. They know they have been “called to freedom,” which is one of Paul’s ways of describ ing conversion, called from slavery into a free world. They know too that God is a gracious God and has forgiven them their sins. Tiue; but then these people go on to a wiong conclu sion. They think that now they ha\e reached that happy land where they can do just as they please, and G<)d won't mind a bit. People in Paul's time made the same mistake. Tney “mistook liberty for license ” They used their freedom as if it were free- dom to do wrong. They supposed that freedom meant that a kindly God excused them from all le sponsibihty, that tney could bleak ar * his law’s and not displease L ' Now Is The Time ... To Apply For Federal Gas Tax Refund The fom cent per gallon federal tax amounts to a good amount of money on many faims Claims for this lefund must be filed oy Septembei 30 Foim 2240 Gas Tax Refund can be seemed at the local Internal Revenue Office Tins coveis gasoline purchased be tween July I, 1964 and June 30, 1965 Gaso line used in the duect pioduction of faim commodities is eligible foi lefund To Introduce Heifers To Milking Routine Dairy heifeis that will be freshening for the fust time this fall should be given some attention pnoi to their coming into pioduc tion We’d suggest that the heifers be intro duced info the milking herd seveial weeks before they aie due to freshen, they should be tied into their milking stabs along with the other cows and become accustom ed to the milking loutme and other procedures They should be led each time in older to get them into good condition. To Use a Good Boar Hog The New I'orlfcmism It used to be tru'o of run-to sccd puritans that they would i judge a nan by some ono partic ular point. If he made good on that, he was rated a Christian; if not, he was out. For instance, a great and good .man arrived in Korea on a preaching mission; i but he got oft the plane with a cigar in his hand. That killed him for some of the old-stylo puritans who saw or heard of it. lie couldn’t be a Christian, he smoked! But the modern puritan i turns it upside down. His position is that if only a man is concerned with the race question, and pref-’ crably has taken part in demon strations somewhere, then God will overlook everything else. We can see the absurdity, now, of saying, “He must be a Christian;! lie doesn’t smoke.” It is as wrong to say a man has fulfilled his| Christian ideal when he has a good pcisonal chaiacter, as it is, to say he is all a Christian should 1 be if he has a sense of social justice. Personal punty AND so-> cial justice, being a Christian includes both. But personal purity conics first. Doing good in so ciety, real, enduring good, if it comes out of a pure heart, has a stiongcr base than when it is done by those who have low per sonal ideals, or none. The Disinherited ,v» ‘ A man who knew God if any one ever did, (he apostle Paul, wrote to clear up this matter, for some people he knew in Gala tia He diaws up (Gal, 5, our “background Scupture”) twos lists, one of acts or habits which aic in harmony with God (“fiuits of the Spmt” he calls them) and also a list of deadly sins The bad list staits with immoiahty and impuuly. Per sons who do such things, he tells us, aic disinhciited God will not take them into his kingdom. If you will look at these two lists, you will find that the life de scribed on what I nave called the “bad list’’ is easier by far than living by the good list Tti put it better Living like God is al ways harder than living 111®“ the devil "< (based on outlines copyrighted! liy the Division oi Christian Education, National Council of in* Churches of Chrsirii the USA Released by Community' Press Service ) * ATTEND THE CHURCH OF YOUR CHOICE ON SUNDAY farmers should be ordering their needs We urge growers to select the varieties that will do the best for them and to use good quality seed. The best way to be sure of this is to buy certified seed. If home grown seed is to be used it should be tested for gemina tion and weed seeds, and be treated with a fungicide foi disease control Penned is the leading winter b'arlejj vari ety with Wong and Hudson also acceptable. ,For fyintei wheat Redcoat is on ’'every one’s list with PernioH. and Seneca continuing to get some acreage. I MAX SMITH