10—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 17, 1972
Summer visitors this year will be guests
on many local farms. If you’re hosting
cousins from Cleveland (or even paying
guests), we hope you have a ball. We also
hope you keep them away from farm
machinery.
A guest who doesn’t know the difference
between a baler and a forage harvester
doesn’t even belong in the same field with
one of them The more distance you can put
between guests and equipment, the better.
Guests should neither operate nor ride
on tractors. Too many things can happen.
Editor, Lancaster Farming:
This is in response to your editorial
which appeared in the Saturday, June 3,
1972 Lancaster Farming Newspaper
Farmers have and always will fear the
dropping of State Retail Price Regulations.
It has been reported that all Pennsylvania
farmers are protected by the Farmer’s Milk
Marketing System.
First, 20 per cent of the milk supply m
Pennsylvania has no federal milk order
protection.
Secondly, in the past year and a half,
dairy farmers producing milk for sale in
New Jersey have lost in excess of one
million dollars because of no payment for
the milk delivered to their dairies. This milk
was under the FM Order System. Two
dairies, namely Raritan Valley and White
House, declared bankruptcy and farmers
have always absorbed the loss. October 1,
1971, our sister cooperative in New Jersey,
the United Milk Producers of New Jersey,
go out of existance. Ask any of these dairy
farmers about protection. Inter-state Milk
Producers Cooperatives 3,000 members
have always supported “Market Tools"
that protected farmers and consumers -
Retail Milk Producers does both.
Thirdly, a close look at price facts. With
1967 equal to 100 to retail prices of non
food items rose 22 points in 1971. Food
prices increased 6 points less.
Does Celery Rea
Hamlet soliloquized about the slings and
arrows of outrageous fortune. And apt
poetry it was, for the tragic, beleagured
king of Denmark, who was, you know, a
person Of course, if Hamlet had been a
chickweed or a giant plantain, he might
have lamented, instead, the dies and
harrows of outrageous fortune. And if he
had been a dandelion, the immortal bard
might have had him saying, ‘‘Oh, that these
too, too succulent leaves would wither.. "
But wait' you say Plants don't have
feeling A chickweed can’t soliloquize A
plantain can’t kill its mother A burdock
can't be in pain, it can’t communicate, it
can’t react
Cleve Baxter, a lie detector specialist
from Washington, disagrees. Baxter, you
see, connected his he detector electrodes
to a plant in his office. Describing the
results of the experiment, Baxter said:
“Surprisingly, the contour lines on the
charts were similar to typical reactions of a
human I thought about testing its reac-
WILSON, N C., TIMES: “Driving drunk is
going to cost money. It is largely respon
sible for traffic accidents and deaths, so
government is pushing the states to punish
the repeaters, to take away their licenses
for a long time, and to see that they take a
cure. Everything else has been tried and
with little success. Now just about the most
precious thing a man has, his driver’s
One on
Letter to the Editor
Grassroots Opinions
Tractor
Accidents can cripple and kill, and they can
result in mountainous lawsuits against a
farmer.
And, while we’re on the subject, let’s
remember to keep everyone but the
operator off farm equipment Even ex
perienced farmhands can bounce off a
tractor fender.
As with every summer, things are bound
to get pretty hectic. But remember your
safety rules, and you’ll make it a good
summer for everyone.
Prices paid by farmers for the things
they bought from city folks increased 21
points while prices paid to farmers in
creased nine points less. City people get
the better of this deal.
In the “market basket” retail food value
increased 15.1 per cent as compared to the
same value increase of 13.8 per cent* The
price spread between farm and retail has
increased 16 per cent, but the middle men
have higher operational costs than farmers
have. No one is making a killing.
Consumers will spend 8 per cent less of
their take-home pay for food this year
compared to 20 years ago. If food prices
had gone up in proportion to “take-home"
pay, consumers would average $286 more
per person for food this year than 20 years
ago.
Milk is your best food buy. One pound of
protein in hamburger costs $5 - in milk
$3.75. It takes $2.20 worth of hamburger
to equal the total nutritional value of $1
worth of milk.
Retail milk producers regulations are not
complicated - just misunderstood: and so
is the product milk.
I don’t understand why everyone wants
to ride a cow; horses are so much nicer.
Boyd C. Gartley
Dir. of Member and Public Relations
Interstate Milk Producers Cooperative
ly Have a Heart
tions and decided to burn it with a match.
At that very instant the recording pen
bounced off the top of the chart. The initial
result indicated that plants have some sort
of perceptive ability.”
Plants evidently know what's happening.
We don’t recommend that everyone
become a meatanan, but the next time you
bite into a juicy red tomato, you might at
least say “Excuse me.”
And if plants can sense the evil you’re
planning to do them, they might also be
able to perceive the concern you feel for
them A corn plant that feels wanted might
produce a bigger ear than one that feels
neglected.
As an experiment, you might want to
stand in the middle of your cornfield and
tell your plants that you love them. We
recommend performing the experiment
late at night. Not that darkness would
enhance the experiment, but it might save
your reputation.
license, must go. And is it will stop the
highway killing, the sooner the better."
VINCENNES, IND., THE VALLEY AD
VANCE; “Relations are reported to be so
good between mainland China and the U.S.
that the Chinese no longer have to smuggle
the sayings of Chairman Mao into this
country in fortune cookies."
I
ft
NOW IS
THE TIME . .
Max Smith
County Agr. Agent
Telephone 394-6851
To Control Canada Thistles
One of the most common weeds
in this part of the state is the
Canada Thistle; this weed is now
maturing and soon the white
cotton-like seeds will be blowing
over the area. Land owners are
urged to mow their fields before
the thistles mature. I do not know
of any weed that irritates people
in a community more than to
have the thistle seeds blowing
over their property. In many
cases the thistles grow on vacant
property or on land not being
farmed. Some real estate
developers are guilty of not
mowing their weeds several
times during the summer.
However, some farmers are also
guilty of permitting patches of
thistles to mature in their winter
barley or wheat fields. It is not
good weed control to permit them
to mature and then spread them
over the farm with the combine.
We suggest that grain producers
with these patches of thistles goin
there and cut them before they
ripen. Don’t be guilty of broad
casting thistle seeds to other
parts of your land or into your
community.
To Rotate and Clip Pastures
Permanent pastures should be
clipped several times during the
season and the first clipping is
over-due; this will control the
weeds, get rid of mature grasses,
and permit the new growth of the
desirable forage grasses. In
many cases it is advisable to
rotate the livestock from one
area to another every three or
four weeks and mow the pasture
after each period of grazing. This
is very important in good sheep
management to reduce the
danger of worm re-infestation. If
there is an excess of the old
“AND WHEN
YOU PRAY”
Lesson for June 18,1972
Background Scriplura; Matthaw 6 1-15.
D«v*h«n«l Reading. Isaiah 55 1-6.
Jesus was unimpressed with
the quality of prayer that he ob
served wherever he went. When
he saw men pray, he found nega
tive illustrations for his disciples
on “how not to pray.” Hypocriti
cal religious leaders, he observed,
made a great
show of praying
in public places.
But, though they
called it “prayer,”
it was not.
Your father
knows
.... „ Perhaps Jesus
v. thouse wou i,j no (- {j e t OO
impressed with what passes as
“prayer” today in many places.
Prayer, for many people, is, as it
was for the hypocrites and Gen
tiles of Jesus’ day, a pious form
rather than a vital transaction.
Many people may “say their pray
ers,” but they do not pray, they
do not do anything more than
“go through well-rehearsed mo
tions.”
The problem may be that we
do not understand any better the
nature of prayer than the people
of Jesus’ own day. Jesus told his
disciples: .. your Father knows
«KW»S»K-Ssi-»»»S.
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pasture, it will dry and most
animals will eat it along with the
new growth when given the op
portunity.
To Use New Grain Slowly
Small grain harvest is ap
proaching when it might be
possible to start using some of the
new barley or wheat in the grain
mixtures. This should always be
done gradually in order to reduce
the danger of digestive disorders
such as scouring or bloating. New
grain should be allowed a period
of curing or “sweating” before
going into the grain rations.
When the new grain is introduced
gradually from 10 to 20 per cent
up to the desired 40 to 50 per cent
of the entire ration, there should
be little digestive disturbances.
The old grain should be cleaned
out of the bin, if there is any left,
and the bins thoroughly cleaned
and sprayed with an insecticide
(malathion or methoxychlpr)
before the new grain is in
troduced. If possible some old
grain and some new grains may
be used in the mix at first as a
means of changing over to the
greater use of new grain.
To Insist Upon Farm Pond Safety
Warm weather brings swim
mers to local farm ponds and we
are concerned about the safety
measures at these ponds. Owners
are urged to have rescue
equipment handy for emergency
use. Items such as wooden lad
ders, boards, rafts, inflated in
ner-tubes, a rope, and other
rescue equipment should be
available. Swimmers should not
swim alone and children should
be warned of the dangers of cold
water in hot weather.-Liability
insurance should be carried on
the farm pond in order to protect
the owner.
what you need before you ask
him.” Too many people seem to
think that the object of prayer
is to persuade a reluctant or in
attentive God to bless us in some
way. Thus our prayers may be
attempts either to get his atten
tion, or to persuade him that
we’ve got a legitimate request.
Jesus, however, always prayed
with the assumption that it was
already God’s will and intention
to give him what he needed. His
purpose, thus, was not to per
suade God to give, but to open
himself to be able to receive.
Jesus did not mean that it is
wrong or useless to ask, but ask
ing is for our sake. Its purpose is
not to inform or persuade God of
our needs, but to enable our
selves to receive what God al
ready wants to give to us.
Pray then like this
The problem with prayer, then,
Jesus was indicating, is not a re
luctant Giver, but an unreceptive
receiver.
Jesus gave his disciples a
model prayer after which they
should fashion their own prayers.
It is the style or the attitude of
what we call “The Lord’s Prayer,”
not the words themselves that
are most important. In the model
prayer God comes first. The pray
er puts himself completely in
God’s hands and trusts his grace.
He does not hesitate to ask spe
cifically for his daily food or for
forgiveness or from the power of
evil, but he does this out of an
attitude that presupposes that
this is precisely what God desires
to give him . . . and will give to
him if he will but humbly and
expectantly receive it.
What Jesus said on prayer to
his disciples almost two thousand
years ago, he says also to us.
(leased on outlines copyrighted by the
Division of Christian Education, National
Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A
Released by Community Press Service.)
&
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