—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 16, 1966 4 From Where We Stand,.. Food Marketing Report Pleases No One Although it wasn't designed neces sarily to please anyone in particular, except perhaps the consumer, the Na tional Commission on Food Marketing alienated almost all parties as it report ed recently on its 18-month study of the nation’s food industry. Farmers in general liked the re port’s criticism of the food trade, but re sented the idea put forth by the com mission that government should be in volved to a greater extent as a negotia tor in bargaining for better farm prices, sales terms, etc. While the commission found the food industry “generally efficient and progressive”, it was highly critical of what it described as a weakening of price competition in that industry. “Preventing the various branches of the food industry from becoming highly concentrated in the hands of a few large firms is essential to maintaining effec tive competition,” the commission stat ed. When such concentration results, the report said, competition by price is replaced with competition by adver tising, sales promotion, and other sell ing efforts The commission found that firms tend to grow larger than necessary for maximum efficiency, and urged that regulatory agencies act to prevent such horizontal mergers and acqusitions by large food firms In a step toward helping the con sumer get her money’s worth at the supermarket, the commission suggests consumer grading for all foods for which grades are feasible; establishment by FDA of standards of identity for all foods recognized as belonging to a de finite product category; nondeceptive packaging and informative labeling, and a centralized consumer agency establish ed in the executive branch of the government In commenting on the 113-page re port, Charles B Shuman, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, said “the report will be a great disap pointment to everyone who believes in the market system ” He stated that if federal regulatory authority over all segments of the food industry were expanded as the commis sion suggests, it would, m effect, be putting the industry m a “regulatory strait]acket which has no parallel any where else in the economy” We agree with Shuman’s conclu • 4-H Queens (Continued fiom Page 1) ly piesident of the County Council’s hone economics divi sion and is secietaiy of the Red Rose Baby Beef Club Miss Kiantz twelve is the daughtei of Mr and Mis El vin B Kiantz, New Pi evidence R 1 She has been in 4-H ac tivities foi the past foui veais, and is a membei of the Rough Rideis Hoise and Pony Club, the Holstein Dairy Club, and the Lampetei-Stiasbuig Cook ing Club Judges foi this event weie Robert Mahck and Ann Hen, Lancaster television peisonali ties, and Mis Elsie Zug, home economics teacher at Manheim Centi al High School (Continued on Page 7) LANCASTER FARMING Lancaster County’s Own Farm Weekly l.itit!' l J a 17~i43 PO Box 2(,f, Ofiitc-5 2' I’ Aram bt IntityC, I’a 17")4r Phone Imncastei V't-idr? Don Timmons, 'j'juo.’ 1 •» POSING FOR THEIR FIRST-official picture im- get the variety they want-Cer- wwW be Tor P Dn’ccidr C ' ,mpbtl1 ' ' d ' clt,Mn ® mediately following the crowning ceremony at Long tl£ied seed grains carry tested Sllag ’ e; ' when cut £or a Subsr i iption pt ic( >-2 pet \ear m Park Thursday evening, are the 1966 County 4-H P® rformanc ® and a greater crusher? dr crimper should be Established >,o\ ember e K e "ia e -d-d Queens Left, Junior Queen Marilyn Krantz, New yield P° te ” tial - The 1966 A S r0 ‘ used to hasten curing.' The Eanclo!ttr F.diminpa Providence Rl; and, right, Senior Queen Judy Buck- - U1 !Lf V3l 3 -,f a- ° Ur gPOWth should be cut U P t° Class postage pa.d at , T ititz L F Photo Extension office will Jiscuss heading time for best feed tiititz. Fa; i < ,43 : r y ti tz Rd., r .-f ‘ f , recommendedwiydeties,: - sion that, although some regulation is necessary to prevent unfair prac tices, excessive regulation would have the effect of stifling competition rather than stimulating it to say nothing of the effect on food prices of the typically high-priced bureaucra tic costs of administering such regula tion! It is not expected that much action will be taken on the commission’s con-, troversial report this year, but it has been pointed out by some observers that individual technical reports by mem bers of this 15-man commission may be the most important development of the entire study. These reports are expected to be issued over the next three months. Tax Farm Land According To Use We were particularly well pleased to note the recent introduction into the Pennsylvania General Assembly of the Pennsylvania Farmers’ Association pro posal for farm land to be taxed by use. At present, farm land is largely taxed upon its non-farm market value. The bill, known as House Bill 381, was introduced with bi-partisan sup port It proposes an amendment to Article Nine, Section One of the Con stitution of the Commonwealth of Penn sylvania to permit this special taxation provision on active agricultural land The bill also provides for payment of additional taxes if such land is there after applied to non-agncultural use. Passage of this bill by the House will put the issue of constitutional amendment directly to the people of the state. If approved, the General As sembly would draft a Farmland Assess ment Act outlining the details of appli cation. There is ample precedent for this measure. Beginning with Maryland in the late 1950’5, some 20 states have passed laws or constitutional amend ments permitting suburban, farm lands to be valued on the basis of use for agriculture rather than on higher values of adjacent property. This will be a particularly mean ingful tax break for the farmers in Lancaster County with the ever-boom ing land values on the urban fringes of our cities. If passed and adopted, the measure will help keep farming in this area competitive with other agri cultural sections of the country. Every farmer in the county should actively support this bill and watch its pro gress with interest. Vest-Pocket God Lesson for July 17, 1966 Becligreuffll Scripture* E»oduj 20 4 6 32 I 24 I O roniclej lb 29 '»oioh 46 I 4, John 4 7 24, Davehenel Reading Psc m 95 6 7 A little girl was working at her table with great intensity of con centration ami eflort. Seeing her kindergarten teacher approach, she proclaimed mattei-of-factiy, "I’m drawing a pictuie of God.” The teacher smiled one of her superior adult smiles and said sweetly,, "But dear, no one know s what God looks like.” ' Well, they w ill wh e n I'm fin ished,” the little gul snapped. In d kmdei- Rev. Althouse garten such confidence is amusing. In an adult it cannot help but sound arrogant. It idlects not only upon the humility of the adult, but also peihaps upon the si/e of his God. "Too little!” is oui judgment upon both. The thud of the Ten Com mandment sa\s: "You shall not make yourself a gra\ en image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above .. . You shall not bow down and seive them.” What’s wrong wuth graven im ages? Is theie something really harmful about them or is this just one of God’s peculiarities? No, the prohibition against graven images rs not only for the satisfaction'of'-God but also the piotection of men. Protection, from what? Fiom a god that is too small. Whenever a man thinks he can adequately sum up the meaning and peison of God in some man-made object or origi nal idea, Ire is insulting God and deceiving himself. Man needs to be protected hom the vest-pocket gods ot his own making. ATTEND THE CHURCH OF YOUR CHOICE SUNDAY Now Is The Time . .. By Max Smith, Lancaster County Agent Local glowers who are interested in competing in the Pennsylvania live-acie coin contest are reminded of the eniollment dead line of August 1 Seveial contour stups or one field, with at least five acies of one kind of coin aie lequired, migated coin is not eligible Entiy blanks are avail? jle at the Extension Office To Seed Cover Ciops The months of August and September are good times to seed open ground to a cover ci op, these crops may be used for green manure to be plowed down next spring, or may be pastured this fall and again next spring before being plowed. winter giain ground that has not been seeded disced or plowed and seeded to a covei ciop. grass, domestic lyegrass, or winter rje aie of cover crops. ;er Grain Orders To Utilize Excess Forage is passing rapid- Faimeis m the noithein pait , 8 weeks it will f Lancastei County me not botheied with this problem be ■ed winter oats, cause 0 f the extreme diy con by barley and ditions, however, in mam other varieties are paits the rainfall of a week me farms better a §° lesulted in very fast grow .d selected vane- * of f dan and the - sudan-sorghum hybrids! the \ier in this part g-- u * growth got ahead of th'e hve ■oweis are urged stock In these'cases thfe >crop orders early to ma y be cut for hay oi' silage ice ti EASY TO HANDLE One reason that men like small, limited gods is that they can be more easily handled. The ancients fashioned gravenimagee not so much to honor the gods, but to get them to work for them, to pacify them, or to keep them from doing them harm. Ths portable god was easily used and manipulated. i The Second Commandment, then, i> not just an eccentric whim of God, but a fact that is essentia] ito the welfare of man as well as [the satisfaction of God. Having discovered the existence of anulti ■mate Higher Power, men hava responded by either (1) trying to use that power, or (2) allowing it to use them. When our God is only vest-pocket size, we tend to try to use him to fulfill our own needs and purposes. But when our God is big enough lor the ever-expanding universe wo are experiencing, we will tend to sur render ourselves to him so that he may use us to accomplish Iris pm poses. Today giaven images are not much of a threat to Christianity but the principle behind the Second Commandment is still \eiv relevant. Gin God may still be too small, too limited, too much fashioned in, the image ot man. We ma\ be like the enterprising bo\ who chaiged his filends ad mission to his back \ard to see an eclipse God and his truth aie not limitecLto oui denominational and doctrinal back \ ards He is too big and too complex to be limited by our petty pa.oclual fences. MORE THAN RIGHT HILL When Jesus spoke with t' e Sa mai itan w Oman b\ the w ell it aas appaicnt to him that her God was >oo small Her vest-pocketrelig.on nas too small to include bodi Jews 1 and Samaritans; one ot them had| to be the "light’’ group and the other the "wrong ’ Her God s,vas so small that he had to b.'i-Vfcoi shipped on but one mountaThtop and she was concerned to make sure which was the 'right”.one. And a ou 9 What about the si/c of a oui God? Is he small e rough for aou to use and contiqs> to di\ ide the w oild into small, li&stile neighboihoods, to fit into ypur ow n \ est-pocket sued w oild? If he is. he is lai too small -n*and soaiecou. > (ftasad •n ‘outlines copyrighted by the Division af Chnutian Education National Council of the , Churchas of Christ in tha USA. Re!eo>od by 1 Community Press Service) To Enroll In Com Club *
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers