- Lancaster Farming. Saturday. January 3.1970
4
From Where We
Actions Speak Louder
Than Words
Pollution of man's environment has in
recent months become a major topic ol
national debate Hopefully, this concern will
not pro\ e to lie the kind of ephemeral fad to
which modern nations seem peculiarly dis
posed. The problem of pollution will be rc
sohed only through patient and steady ef
fort and bv the full cooperation of e\cryone
concerned. Pollution is a national problem,
not the exclusive problem of particular in
dividuals oi groups Involved in the pollu
tion question aie national values, science
and technology politics, industry, economic
preferences ol consumers and geograph.v
That numerous factors conti ibuto to the
pollution problem has not pre\cnted critics
of the farm industry from exploiting present
emotion on the subject The\ ha\e latched
onto the issue for the purpose of discredit
ing the farmer as a whole Their Holv War
is premised on the untenable notion that
farmers alone have created the .pollution
problem. It is a narrow vision which sees
agriculture as a scapegoat.
The magnitude of the emironmental
pollution problem can be grasped by con
sidering the sheer impact of the numbers of
people and the unavoidable pollution that
they create. Some 200 million tons of gar
bage are generated in private homes every
year one ton per person. Waste presently
discharged into bodies of water exceeds five
million tons a year. Columnist Ralph de
Toledano states the problem succinctly:
“. . . every American contributes his mite
even as he drives down to the corner drug
store to buy medication for the ills of pollu
tion.”
In a recent address to the National Agri
cultural Chemicals Association, J. Phil
Campbell, Under Secretary of Agriculture
commented on.the role of Agriculture in en
vironmental pollution. He said,
“There is a great deal of uninformed
talk about maintaining nature’s balance. . .
Mr. and Mrs. American Citizen hear a great
deal about water pollution. They read in the
press or hear over the radio and T-V that
14 million tons of plant nutrients are applied
to soils in the United States every year.
From there it’s an easy jump to the conclu
sion that these plant nutrients, washing off
into streams and lakes and feeding the
growth of algae, are making the water un
usable for domestic purposes, recreation, or
tishing Scientific eudence indicates that
plant nutrients are quite a minor factor in
this development. But rumor has a way of
outi unmng fact ”
Water pollution studies made by Uni-
ersity of Wisconsin soil researchers found
that farm wastes run oft unless fertilizer
and manuie are applied to sloping frozen
ground pose much less of a pollution
pioblem than city and industrial wastes
Yes, there i& a pollution problem But,
Farm News This Week
Top Corn And Tobacco Shown By 4-H
Bo\ s In Annual Round-Up Page 1
Miss Stoltzfus In Guernsey
State Contest Page 1
LANCASTER FARMING
Lancaster County’s Own Farm Weekly
P 0 Box 266 - Lititz, Pa 17543
Office 22 E. Mam St, Lititz, Pa 17543
Phone Lancaster 394 3047 or Lititz 626-2191
Everett R Ne.vswanger Editor
Robeit G Campbell, Advei Using Duector
Subsci iption ;n ice S 2 per yeai in Lancaster
Countj SSelsewheie
Established Xoicmbei 4 1955
Published evuy Satin das b\ Lancaster
Fanning Lititz Pa
Second Class Postage paid at Lititz, Pa.
17543
Member of .Vewspapei Farm Editors Assn
Stand..,
to indict the farmer as the culprit is to
grossly misstate the issue. Indications are
that the farm industry is doing something
• about pollution, while some of its critics, it
seem.s. have not progressed beyond verbal
abuse. At least that’s the way it looks from
where we stand.
This Is A Farmer
Farmers are found in fields plowing up.
seeding down, returning from, planting to.
fertilizing with, spraying for and harvesting
if. Wn es help them, little boys follow them,
the Agriculture Department confuses them,
city relatives visit them salesmen detain
them, meals wait for them, weather can de
laj them, but it takes Heaven to stop them.
When jour car stalls along the w'ay, a
farmer is a considerate, courteous, inexpen
sive road service. When a farmer's wife
suggests he buy a new suit, he can quote
from memory every expense involved in
operating the farm last year, plus the added
expense he is certain will crop up this jear.
Or else he assumes the role of the indignant
shopper, impressing upon everyone within
ear shot the pounds of pork he must pro
duce in order to pay for a suit at today’s
prices.
A farmer is a paradox he is an “over
ailed” executive with his home his office; a
scientist using fertilizer attachments; a pur
chasing agent in an old straw hat; a person
nel director with grease under his finger
nails; a dietition with a passion for alfalfa,
animals and antibiotics; a production ex
pert faced with a surplus; and a manager
battling a price - cost squeeze He manages
more capital than most of the businessmen
in town.
He likes sunshine, good food, state
fairs, dinner at NOON, auctions, his neigh
bors, Saturday-nights in town, his shirt col
lar unbuttoned, and above all a good soak
ing rain in August.
He is not much for droughts, ditches,
throughways, experts, weeds, the eight-hour
day, helping with the housework, or grass
hoppers.
Nobody else is so far from the telephone
or so close to God, nobody else gets so much
satisfaction out of modern plumbing, favor
able weather and good ice cream
Nobody else can remove all those things
from his pockets and on washday still have
overlooked; five “steeples,” one cotter key,
a rusty spike, three grains of corn, the stub
end of a lead pencil, a square tape, a $4.98
pocket watch, and a cupful of chaff in each
trouser cuff
A farmer is both Faith and Fatalist
he must have faith to continually meet the
challenges ol his capacities amid an ever
present possibility that an act of God (a late
spring, an early frost, tornado, flood,
drought) can bring his business to a stand
still. You can Reduce His Acreage but you
can’t Restrain His Ambition.
Might as well put up with him he is
your friend, your competitor, your custom
er, your source of food and fiber, and self
reliant young citizens to help replenish your
cities
He is your countryman a denim
dressed, business-wise, fast-growing states
man of stature.
And when he comes in at noon having
spent the energy of his hopes and dreams,
he can be recharged anew with the magic
words. “The Market’s Up.”
Local Weather Forecast
(From the U. S. Weather Bureau at the
Harrisburg State Airport)
The five-day forecast for the period Sat
urday through next Wednesday calls for
temperatures to average below normal with
daytime highs in the 30’s and over-night
lows m the teens Cold throughout the
pei lod Normal high-low lor the period is 39-
24
Precipitation rnav total one-fourth to
one half inch water equnalent occurring as
< mow or ram Satuiday 01 Sunday and snow
agam about Tuesday.
TWO QUESTIONS
Lesson for January 4,1970
ItchgrvunJ Scripture: Genesis 179-M, MotlheW
3, John I 19-36. Ads 19 1-7.
Hans Christian Anderson’s
story of "The Ugly Ducking” is
really a parable of life. We see it
enacted around us again and
again. As children we concerned
ourselves very little over the
question, "Who; am I?” because
we were quite
sure we knew
who we were.
But then adoles
cence steals upon
us and all the
certainties of
the past fly
away. Once so
sure of our own
identity, we
now find that
we don’t really know.
Thinking he was a duckling
and an ugly one, at that the
hero of Anderson’s story felt un
wanted and rejected by everyone.
No matter how hard he fried, he
didn’t make a very good duck.
But then, one day he began to
bloom into a beautiful swan and
he found out who he really was.
Having discovered his true
identity, he found also his true
vocation in life.
“The real me”
Of course, the Danish story
teller was really thinking about
people, not ducks. The adolescent
years take away our old self
images and we enter into young
adulthood confused and troubled.
Then, as with "The Ugly Duck
ling,” something happens to help
us to begin to find out who we
are and what we are here for.
That is, some of us “find out,”
while others of us drift along,
still searching for the "real me.”
This search and discovery for
our self-identity is different for
each of us. For some of us it
comes early and easily. For
others, it is a long, hard search.
Some do not search at all, content
to play roles and wear masks.
Yet, there is no more wonderful
discovery than for a man to find
out who is this "self” that God
has created him to become, to
find out his mission and nieho
Read Lancaster Farming
For Full Market Reports
To Store Herbicides
Carefully
Weed killer chemcials should
be given special attention during
the winter months They should
be kept away from any seeds oi
plants because theie may be su
fficient fumes to do some dam
age The emulsion foims of ma
teuals should be kept in non
freezing areas for best results
next yeai Be sine and stoie the
chemicals in the ongmal contain
er in 01 dei to maintain identity
and application insti notions
To Eliminate Rodents
The heavy snow covet of le- gains of milk pioduction does
cent weeks might easily mean a not pemut f°ed to be all over
heaviei lat and mouse mfesla the giound 01 floor about the
tion in and aiound faim build-feedeis
In life. . .
One cannot help but suspect
that this it the kina of experience
that Jesus had when on that day
he went to the Jordan River and
was baptised by John. Many
scholars believe that this is whoa
Jesus truly realized who he wus
and whnt he was intended to do.
An inner conviction apparently
brought him to John to be bap
tised in the first place. Then, a
heavenly voice confirmed it;
"This is my beloved Son, with
whom I am well pleased.” The
Baptist also helped to confirm it
with his own reaction to Jesus’
request for baptism: "I need to be
baptised by you, and do you
come to me?” and in his later
testimony, "Behold, the lamb of
God.”
The call
Yes, on that day Jesus received
his call to a messianic ministry,
but when did that call first begin.
This is like asking for the concise
moment when a child becomes a
youth, or a youth an adult. In
reahtv, the process is long and
subtle.
The incident in the temple at
age twelve indicates that he al
ready had some sense of call.
Throughout his young years,
Jesus had become familiar with
the messianic prophecies of men
like Isaiah. Though long dead
and gone from the scene, these
men never the less spoke to the
heart and mind of this youth con
cerning his mission.
Jesus found his cell in voices
from both the past and the pre
sent. So, as he called Jesus to his
work, he calls us too, usingmany
means to reveal his will to us.
He wants us to find out who he
created us to be; he wants us to
discover our life task, to know
the plan he wants us to follow.
Signposts everywhere
Too long we have assumed
that God called only clergymen
and missionaries. He calls all
men, though many ignore the
call. He puts signposts all around
us, yet w r e may pass them by un
noticed. As he sent John the Bap
tist to Jesus, so he sends people
to us to help bear and confirm
our call.
To things we must know as
w r e live this life: Who am I? and
What am I here for? Do you
know?
(lasad on auHlnas eopyrgMrf by tha DrvisTan
of Christian Edueahan, Notianal Cauncil af tha
Churchas af Christ in tha U« S, At Ktlaccad by,
Cammumty Frass Sarvtca.)
ATTEND THE
CHURCH OF
YOUR CHOICE SUNDAY
NOW IS
THE TIME...
By Max Smith
Lancaster County Agent
ings. AH owners are urged to
use poison bait station to„ eli
minate as many as possible
along with eliminating all pos
sible nesting and breeding
places. Good sanitation is not at
ti active to lats and will help
keep down the infestation.
To Check Self-Feeders
Many livestock feeders may
be peimittmg too much feed to
be thiown out and not utilized;
this is one of the common leaks
in a feeding pi ogi am and can in
ciease feed costs All operatois
aie uiged to check their feedeis
legulauly to be suie that feed is
not being wasted Efficient