L.inr.rlii 1 ‘.n nnng. Sutui d.i\. Mart h 7. 1070
4
IVipll iiMi’t Ml il MlmillMl ill ( oldlUg
to flow It I'fli < t- 'iicm Tlics s.n 'I depends
on whose os is gi (ling goted
A lecenl poult r.\ meeting Jit tile Farm
anti Home (’enter illustrated the point.
A speaker noted she, as a housewife,
has been quite concerned about the high cost
of eggs m recent months e.ntl asked a
grocer, “Do the chickens gel more money
now ’’’
The grocer was stumped. Grocers tend
to know a great deal about how to price
eggs, but tei.v little about the chickens
which produce them.
But a Lancaster County egg producer
wasn't at a loss on the question: Do chickens
get more money now?
"The chickens get more than I do.’’ he
mutteied.
Eggs Convenient
Amwa>. it was noted. egg> are still one
of the housewife's best protein bins. on a
cost per unit basis.
Eggs were also reported to be vein
"conveniently packaged" in their natural
shells, a point which housewnes should keep
in mind when deciding what should go into
the family food budget.
In a time when increasing numbers of
women are w orking or engaging in activities
outside the home, it’s only reasonable to
Egg producers should note the USDA’s
recommendation last week against a large
egg production increase m 1970.
There’s no way, of course, that the
USDA can enforce the recommendation and
it’s really up to the individual farmer to de
termine if he’s going to boost his egg pro
duction.
n But the producer who goes against the
USDA’s recommendation should be aware
that he’s going against the finding and
recommendation of officials who study the
egg market.
Newspaper Backs USDA
A recent edition of Poultry and Egg
Production newspaper strongly backed the
USDA recommendation. Its editorial, in
part, went as follows.
"Conversations with mdustrymen in the
past several months have indicated much
optimism for the year ahead This optimism
is justified, it restraint in chick placements
is forthcoming But to produce to the limit is
sheer folly
"Some people operate on the theory that
if the doctor's prescription calls for one tea
spoon of medicine, a double dose is twice as
good This same inane reasoning seems to
be in force with egg producers who act as if
a 10 per cent increase is twice as good as a
5 per cent boost in the laying flock
"Every time the egg industry goes
through a depressed period and then ap
pears to be coming out of it slowly and
again begins to garner profits, we hear
statements that the industry is beginning to
achieve maturity The larger and fewer
operators are going to provide the stability
that the many small ones never could
achieve.
“Somehow this maturity does not ap
pear to be tery evident ”
Egg Prices Dow n
Egg prices literally shot through the
LANCASTER FARMING
Laneastei County’s Own Farm Weekly
n 0 Box 266 Lititz Pa 17543
Office 22 E Main St Lititz Pa 17543
Phone LancoMei 394 3047 oi Lititz 626 2191
Robeit G Campbell A.clv ei tismg Dn ector
Zane Wilson Vam cmg Eclitoi
Sub-ci iption puce S 2 pei xeai in Lancaster
Countj S3eKewheie
Established Noiembei 4 1955
Published e\eiv Satuidas b\ Lancaster
Fai mm 2 Lititz, Pa
Second Postage paid at Lititz Pa
17543
Member of \evsnapfi Faim Edito>s V r n
Pa IXewspapei Pubbshus Association, and
National Newspapei Association
The Egg
How Many Eggs?
Consumer
c\|)c( t lln’j'll haie less I mu' to spend ,n
I hi’ hlihi ;i So. a peat rr need lor both rt
ficicnt kitflu'n- and foods.
Convenience loods Mich as freeze dried
products have a bright future. It’s a hopelul
smn for cptf producers that epps should
rank in the comcmencc food catcporj.
Egg Marketing
But poultry men must recognize the
need to keep the housewife aware ot just
how comenient the egg is. The woman of
the house is constantly bombarded with new
products, new packages, new gimmics. She
must be reminded occasionally that some of
the best and most com enient products are
those which she has used the longest.
In today's consumer-oriented economy,
the farmer must make sure his message
gets to the consumer.
One of the themes which run through
speeches and talks to county farmers is that
the farmer must learn more about market
ing his product. It doesn’t do much good to
raise a superior product it it can’t be made
to hold its own in the market place.
Eggs are comenient Tn.s is -old hat 1 to manv faim-
Sounds good, doesn’t it? Egg producers eis bat still icy essential to
ought to say it often. successful fanning today i not
And add, for a clincher, that they're
priced low in relation to competing pro
ducts
roof for a period last 5 ear and thej 're still
good, though on the way down.
It's no secret that many Lancaster
County egg producers ha\e really cleaned
up financially during the high egg price
period. Some of them, however, thought the
good times were long overdue.
As one egg man stated at a poultry
meeting at the Farm and Home Center,
“The producers got tired of subsidizing the
consumer ”
$2O Million-plus
Eggs and layers, more than a $2O mil
lion a year business m Lancaster County
even in 1968, certainly increased its stature
in county agriculture in 1969.
Even in 1968, eggs and layers were
second only to the dairy business in terms
ot agricultural production lalue in the coun
ty In 1968, eggs and layers accounted for
about one-si\th of the $124,000,000 county
agricultural products income
These are some of the facts which make
the USDA recommendation and how county
egg producers react to it is Mtally impor
tant
Supph Volatile
One factoi making egg prices so volatile
is the rapidity with which the supply of lay
ers can be increased or decreased This
isn’t true, for instance, with beef cattle
If one farmer increases egg production,
he may have made a wise move But if
every other farmer made similar increases,
they may all be wrong because they glut the
market.
The real enforcer in the matter of pro
duction ultimately is the consumer and the
price he’s willing to pay for eggs. That’s in
fluenced strongly by how many eggs there
are, however
Will 1969 Repeat?
One thing the egg producer and farmers
in general will ha\e to guard against in 1970
is the natural tendency of many ot us to
become o\ erly optimistic after a good y cai
Because egg prices were high in 1963
doesn’t mean they will be in 1970
What will the economy do to poultry
puces in 1970'’ Wouldn't it be woith a foi
tune to know lor sure?
But we don t know, so we lea\e it to you
farm manage!s to do as you'te always
done make your own decision.
We iea,\ e it to \ ou to determine that the
USD A will be as wrong on eggs m 1970 as
Moore was on beef in 1969. or to decide that
maybe the USDA is giving a word to the
To Plan For Quality Forage
The haiNesting of top quality
haj oi silage doesn't just happen.
I. has to be planned along with
good management There is a
\ast difference between average
ha% and excellent quality hay.
the latter k nd of forage is need
ect to obtain maximum pioduc
tjon with peak efficiency Fite
dom from weeds, stage of ma
in it>. and low’ hr.uesting loss
e, will de.e.mine the vdue of
the cion PioJuceis aie lit ged to
make e\ei.» cffoit to get top qual
ity 11.. J o. sila = e this summei
To Keep Accurate Records
cross are quickly forgotten.
Jesus himself made it clear that
there could be no cut-rate discip
leship; “If any man would come
after me, let him deny himself
and take up his cross and follow
me.” And that’s the way it was foe
his disciples. Peter, tradition tells
us, was crucified head-down on «
cross in Rome. Andrew was also
crucified. Bartholomew was cru
cified and beheaded. Thomas was
martyred in India. James the Less
was stoned and clubbed to death.
Jude and Simon met violent
deaths, and even James, tho
brother of Jesus. There was noth
ing marked-down about their dis
t-cVgr-unrf Scripture Marie 134 3t luke 14 25 33 I Cipleship, 4
Kings 22 1 36 Ala the// TO 16 39 Acts 6 through 7, £
Dev«ti»n«l Resting Jeremiah 20 7 12. “Cheap grace” r
NO CHEAPER RAIE!
Lesson for March 8, 1910
Singer Sarah Vaughn’s little
neice was having prayer ex
plained to her. Prayers, she was
told, are like telegrams to God.
The little girl thought that over
and then asked: “Oh, is that why
we send them at night to get
the cheaper
rate?”
Out of the
mouths of babes
and infants come
some of the most
profound
thoughts to chal
lenge the mind
of man. Why the
little girl said
Rev. Althouse that, I do not
know, but perhaps she had al
ready learned that a great deal of
adult attention seems directed
toward getting the cheaper rate,
regardless of the commodity.
Everyone wants a bargain, some
thing marked down from its orig
inal price, a discount, a deal
even in religion!
An Easter without Lent
Just as a Christmas without an
Advent is quite meaningless, so is
an Easter without a Lent. The
resurrection, great and glorious
news that it is, cannot be either
understood or experienced apart
from the passion and cross of our
Lord. An Easter without the Pas
sion of Christ is a bargain-base
ment ichgion that is really no
bargain. It is a tiagic attempt to
get tne cheaper late.
Last spring immediately after
Easto. I saw a sign in a stoic win
dow “POST-EASTER SALE . . .
CROSSES AND BUNNIES ONE
HALF OFF. ’ The “dosses and
banmes, ’ of course, weic choco
late, but I couldnt help feeling
there was a fair amount of un-
conscious nony in that poster, i??” - •■>«">« «p yr «hi»d by Divm«i
TT-cln,- 1C a timo nf oi-ant Chmtl,n Education, National Council of Hio
While EcStei is a time of gieat C} . urch „ ~ chm( U- s K R^.atK i by
e>citement and joy, the post-Eas- Community hn Stivko.)
ter season seems to be a time of
marked-down Christian disciple
ship. The pain and agony of the
NOW IS
THE TIME...
By Max Smith
Lancaster County Agent
only i efer to financial iccords
but especially to the u«e of all
kinds of pcst.ctdes The place of
chemicals in food and feed pro
duction is getting considerable
attention MI produceis should
keep accuiate lecoids of all ap
plications. lecoul blanks are
.-nailable at om Extension Office.
To Shear Sheep
Many Rood shepheids will get
their sheep out ot the fleece dur
ing Maich and tally Apnl This
might seem earl\ to the average
peison, but the ewe flock will
piodute inoie milk and be better*
mothers without their current
crop of wool The fleece should
be diy when sheaied and stored
in a clean, dij place until sold.
Nor for us. The cost of disciple*
ship for us Is still a cross; if nqt
of wood and nails, it is still a cross
of some kind. There is no point ia
trying to seek a cheaper rate, fop
there is none. It does not neces
sarily mean that each of us must
die for our faith though it
might but that we must he
willing to live or die for it, which
ever is required. Sometimes it is
more difficult to live for some
thing than to die for something.
Dietrich Bonhoelfer was a Ger
man pastor who was put to death
for his active resistance against
Hitler and the Nazis. He has writ
ten a book which has become a
modern classic. It is entitled, The
Cost of Discipleship, In it he calls
“cheap grace” the “deadly enemy
of the Church.” By “cheap grace"
he means the bargain-counter ap
proach to Christianity that as
sumes that because Christ has
paid the price for us, the love of
God costs us nothing. It pictures
the Church as a benevolent wel
fare organization that has too
much grace on hand and must
give it away indescriminately,
and God as a senile philanthrop
ist whose gift of grace costs him
nothing.
Without A Cross
“Cheap grace,” says Bonhoef
fer, “is grace without discipleship,
grace without a cross, grace with
out Jesus Christ, living and in
carnate.” We can congratulate the
woman who by careful shopping
is able to feed her family well for
less money, but the family that
tries to get the cheaper rate in its
religion is doomed to disappoint
ment. There is no “cheap grace.”
All grace is expensive. It cost
Christ a cross to win a crown. It
demands no less of us.