10
—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 20, 1972
The Truth About Meat Prices
Never has there been a clearer
illustration than the present situation in
the meat industry of how inflation destroys
logical reasoning and sets group against
group. With perfectly straight faces, so
called experts have charged that meat
prices are too high—that consumers
should even stop buying meat. As a
spokesman for the meat industry put it in
answering a columnist who made much of
the fact that live market cattle have hit the
highest point since the Korean War: “Why
in blazes must that be reported as dire
news 7 The real news is that cattlemen
finally are back to where they were 20
years ago! How many other businesses and
industries are selling products and ser
vices at 1952 prices?”
As far as the retail price of meat to the
consumer is concerned, prices in the last
20 years have gone up less than 40 per
cent while disposable income has in-
Underlying the productiveness of
American agriculture is the dedication of
farmers to the principles of private
ownership of land, private initiative, the
right to a fair profit and the right of in
dividual opportunity The nation's largest
farm organization, the American Farm
Bureau Federation, representing more
than two million farm families, is an ar
ticulate spokesman and indefatigable
defender of these principles
The Farm Bureau's interests are wide
ranging They include advocacy of a
reasoned approach to the use of
agricultural chemicals and endeavors
directed toward improving the marketing
and bargaining position of farmers It urges
enactment, for example, of the National
Agriculture Marketing and Bargaining Act
of 1971 Its reason for supporting that Act
is that, “A growing volume of farm
production is now produced and marketed
under advance contracts between farmers
and handlers This has led to a need for
Very shortly, American life will undergo a
characteristic seasonal alteration The
closing of school will mark its equinox just
as surely as the passing of the sun scross a
fixed line separates Winter from Spring
With the closing of school, the trek of
summer tourism will get underway—
another awesome demonstration of U S
mobility The responsiblity of summer jobs
for students will do little to lessen the rush
to enjoy the freedom of what remains of the
wide open spaces Incalculable numbers of
boats, campers, autos and every con-
Needed—Old-Fashioned Initiative
America’s energy resources, such as
petroleum, are far from exhausted But it is
going to take a large dose of old-fashioned
initiative and astronomical capital in
vestment to make them available for man’s
use—and there is no dodging the fact that
the energy-consuming public will be called
upon to pay more for its gas, oil and electric
energy
A late report presented at a meeting of
the American Petroleum Institute
illustrates what it takes to meet today’s
energy needs so far as the petroleum and
gas industry is concenred The report dealt
with the costs of drilling oil wells in the
Rocky Mountain region and with a new
technology of recovering increased
production of oil from existing fields The
A Product
School Year Ends
creased more than 100 per cent. Seldom
do stories about the price rise take into
account the increased cost of labor,
sanitation, grading, pollution controls,
transportation, refrigerator and so forth. In
spite of these rising costs, consumers
currently spend, on the average, five per
cent of their income for meat. Twenty-five
years ago, as a percentage of take-home
pay, meat took six per cent of consumer
income.
The story of meat prices is, if the truth
can be recognized, a classic story of the
efficiency of the free market. Facts show
that over the years, U.S. consumers have
had an abundant supply of meat at fair and
reasonable prices—prices set by supply
and demand in the marketplace. Making
the meat industry an inflationary
scapegoat will neither curb mfaltion nor
help consumers. It will threaten the
country with a meat shortage.
of Freedom
legislation to require handlers of
agricultural products to bargain in good
faith with qualified agricultural
associations. . . ” In advocating what it
believes to be an improved marketing
mechanism, the Farm Bureau’s policies
merely reflect a desire to strengthen a
competitive free market in agriculture, a
desire for “ . . equity in bargaining—not
politically imposed compulsion.”
There could be no American Farm
Bureau Federation in the USSR or any
other socialist or communist nation. It is a
product of a system that sets the individual
above the state. The backbone of this
system is the private ownership of land as
typified by the enterprises of millions of
American farm families. The policies and
measures advocated by the Farm Bureau
have but one purpose, to help preserve the
freedom, the responsibilities and the rights
that are the heritage of every citizen and
are instrumental in maintaining U.S.
agricultural abundance.
ceivalble type of motorized vehicle will be
on the move Perhaps a sign of the times
will be the increasing flood of bicycle ex
cursionists
As school vacation time approaches, so
also will a test of how genuine is public
conern for the environment Now is the
time to resolve to avoid littering—to
respect the land and its wildlife. If each
individual would carry this resolve with
him through the summer, a giant step
would have been taken toward preserving
our planet as a fit place to live.
cost of drilling an oil well in the Uinta Basin
of Utah ranges from $400,000 to $2
million The report noted that although
drilling in this area is expensive, it is still
economically feasible "by using good
drilling practices, proper equipment, well
trained people and quality materials . ”
On recovering oil from older fields, the
report describes a new method of injecting
carbon dioxide to force more oil out of the
ground This technique will step up
production in a Texas oil field by some 230
million barrels—at a cost estimated to be
more than $175 million.
What the public must understand is that
not only would an energy shortage affect
their daily lives, but to avoid it is going to
cost money.
now is
THE TIME . .
By Max Smith
Lancaster County Agent
To Be Careful With
Weed Spray Containers
The problem of weed control
faces most gardeners and far
mers. In many cases a herbicide
can be used to kill the weeds;
however this is a practice
needing very careful attention
and the close following of the
regulations. Sprayers or con
tainers in which any of the 2, 4-D
weed killers were used last
season may still contain enough
of the herbicide to injure
suceptible plants this season. It is
suggested that equipment used
for weed killing be marked so
others will not use this equipment
to spray normal flowers and
vegetables. It is very difficult to
get the 2, 4-D materials out of
equipment (household ammonia
and hot water can be used) and in
many cases the next crop is in
jured. We have been consulted in
cases where the equipment was
used last fall to spray weeds and
now used to spray vegetables,
flowers, or tobacco beds with
serious results. Be careful with
weed killer equipment at all
times.
To Provide Salt and Minerals
All livestock should have free
access to salt and minerals at all
times; the amounts needed will
vary between different animals
and this is the reason that free
choice should be provided in
addition to mxing into the grain
ration. Some recent research
with dairy cattle reveals that
some animals will not consume
enough for their own good on a
free choice basis; therefore it is
suggested that the major
TEACH NOW,
REAP LATER
Lesson for May 21, 1972
Background Scripture Matthew 28 9, 20,
1 Timothy 4 6 16, 2 Timothy 2 1,2
Devotional Reeding 2 Timothy 3 14
through 4 2
A man condemned to die in the
electric chair approached his last
minutes on earth with a crowd of
newspaper reporters, photogra
phers, and officials Did he have
any final statement to make’
Looking at the throng surround
mg him, he said
“If I had been
shown so much at
tention when I was
a boy, I would
not be here to
day'”
One cannot help
wondering how
~ many men and
Rev. Althousc wom y en hke him
might have had a different life
had they encountered more at
tention and concern at an earlier
stage of life The churches have
a gieat commission to “teach”
all men everywheie, but to many
congregations respond to that
command only when people seek
out the church and even then
they may fail to do so
“Teach these things . .
Whenever we perform a bap
tism m our church, the congrega
tion is asked to promise to “ac
cept the responsibility of assist
ing these parents in fulfillment
of the baptismal vows, and
undertake to provide facilities
minerals such as calcium and
phosphorus be mixed into the
ration of dairy cattle based upon
a forage test of the roughages.
Liberal salt consumption will aid
in the secretion of digestive juice
and increase water consumption.
To Keep Shields and
Guards in Place
During the rush of the planting
and harvest season some farmers
may forget abut the importance
of keeping protective guards and
shields in place. In most cases the
manufacturer has constructed
the shields to keep the operator
out of dangerous places. When
these shields are removed then
any human is exposed to this
added danger. All farmers are
urged to stress the importance of
machinery safety to their family
and their hired help. Too much
speed with the machinery and too
much rush on the part of the
operator are other causes of
serious accidents. We urge all
farm equipment operators to
take time to be safe and keep
protective shields in their places.
To Provide Ample Ventilation
Extremely hot weather may
arrive at any time and all
livestock producers are urged to
try and keep their animals as
comfortable as possible.
Livestock suffer from hot
weather and high humidity the
same as human beings. Shade is
very important to protect
animals from the hot sun; if they
are confined in a guilding, then
cross ventilation or electric fans
to keep air moving is important.
and opportunities for Christian
nurture and fellowship . .”
Something of this sort is prob
ably asked for in most rituals of
baptism Yet, how seriously do
we take that charge’
After a hard day’s work, a me
chanic was observed playing base
ball with his son. “Bill, aren’t you
tired’” asked his friend. “Sure,
I’m tired,” the mechanic answer
ed “Well, what are you doing
that for’” his friend asked “Oh,”
sighed the mechanic, “I’d rather
have a backache now than a
heartache later on ”
Perhaps too many of us settle
for the “heartache later on ”
Teaching the Christian faith
often seems “too much trouble”
to many of us If our church has
a church school program it may
only be because a few dedicated
people are willing to carry on
week after week a thankless task
Choirs are feted at banquets,
trustees and deacons are honored,
and finance committee members
wield great power, but church
school teachers are almost anony
mous in many churches
Entrust to faithful men
The writer of 2 Timothy stress
ed the importance of the teaching
ministry “ what you have
heard from me before many wit
nesses entrust to faithful men
who will be able to teach others
also” (2 2) Today, it would seem
appropriate to change “faithful
men” to "faithful women,” for in
many churches, teaching is re
gal dcd as a woman’s job No
wonder our youth get such a
strange idea about the importance
and relevance of their church
school experience
Many of us would do well to
reconsider the imperative to
“teach these things” for, difficult
as this task may be, the fruits we
will reap later for Christ and the
Church are innumerable
\ Based on outlines copyrighted by the
Division of Christian Education, National
Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA
Released by Community Press Service)