10—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 6, 1973
See You at the Farm
It’s that time of year again. Time for the
sights, the sounds, the smells, the throngs
of people, the activities, the awards the
excitment that make' up the Penn
sylvania Farm Show.
Many LANCASTER FARMING readers
will be at Harrisburg this week, and it’s
a sure bet that many of them will be coming
home with awards for crops and livestock.
One bet we’d like to lose is that there'll be
lots of snow, or slush, or ram or all three on
Farmers in this area have always been
among the leaders in Pennsylvania
agriculture. The success of Lancaster
County farming is one indication of that
fact.
Another indication is the number of
honors and awards that have come to
farmers here Some of the more recent are
the Honorary Keystone Farmer degrees to
be conferred during the Farm Show week
on vo-ag teachers Jess Erway, of Manheim
Central High School, and Phillip Oglme at
Vote Yes for
There are a lot of reasons for dairymen to
vote in favor of a checkoff program that
would provide funds for milk advertising
and promotion In the Pennsylvania milk
referendum scheduled to be held between
January 12 and 26, a lot of milk producers
will vote for a checkoff program
There are also a lot of reasons for voting
against checkoffs and a lot of dairymen will
vote “No” in the referendum Three years
ago, in fact, Pennsylvania dairymen voted
overwhelmingly against checkoffs
We can’t argue with the logic of either
side of the referendum issue. Both sides
have the same facts, both sides have
assessed those facts, and both sides have
come up with logical, although opposing,
positions
We have listened to both sides, we have
looked at the facts, and we have concluded
that the arguments for a checkoff program
outweigh the arguments against it
Checkoff opponents say that they don’t
want to participate in a mandatory
program We wholeheartedly agree with
that sentiment However, given the basic
facts of human nature, a checkoff program
has to be mandatory, not just to work, but
to be fair
It simply would not be fair for a small
number of voluntary contributors to bear
the entire cost of a program designed to
benefit the whole industry This is true
whether or not the program does, in fact,
benefit the industry Either all should pay
or none should pay And if the majority
rules in favor of checkoffs, then all should
pay, including those who are opposed to
the program
Another very strong argument advanced
by the checkoff opponents is that ad
vertising results are difficult, if not im
possible, to measure especially, in the
extremely complex milk market This is an
argument that just can’t be won with clear
cut statistics The opponents are saying
"Show me l ", and the plain truth is that
nobody can show them. Not for certain,
anyway
Brand advertising is certainly a proven
way to move goods That’s how General
Motors sells Chevrolets, that’s how Miles
Laboratories sells carloads of Anacm,
that’s how Tiffany sold lampshades.
Milk is marketed under brand names,
Individual dairies can influence their brand
sales with the amount of advertising
‘Coa3x*x ,
Congratulations
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Farm Show Week.
Fora time earlier this year, it looked as if
Agnes might have ruined any chances of
having a Farm Show. It took a lot of work by
Department of Agriculture personnel to
get the Farm Show Complex ready. That
department has been getting a lot of
criticism lately, but this is an achievement
we can't cntize. We can only say thanks for
a job well done.
Garden Spot, and
Miles Fry, Ephrata.
And dairyman James Kreider,
Quarryville, was named this week to
receive the Master Farmer award for 1972.
Awards like these recognize not only the
winner’s proficiency, but his service to
agriculture and the people of Lancaster
County. We would like to congratulate
these men and also say thanks for their
good works over the years.
Milk Promotion
money they spend. It is pretty evident,
though, that when one dairy is a particular
market increases its sales, it does so at the
expense of the other dairies in that market
Overall sales in the market, in other words,
aren’t increased by brand advertising even
though a particular dairy may double or
triple its sales with a well-executed ad
vertising program.
Check-off opponents say that you can
persuade people to buy their milk at one
place rather than another, but you can’t
persuade them to buy more milk. Those
who support checkoffs feel it is possible to
increase milk sales with non-brand ad
vertising.
There are indications that commodity
advertising does pay. Citrus growers have
tried it, egg organizations have had some
apparent successes and the pork
producers say that their efforts have been
amply awarded. But again, there are so
many variables that it’s hard to say for sure
that non-brand advertising has increased
sales for any particular commodity.
L We honestly feel, though, that there have
been enought apparent successes to
warrant an industry backed promotion
program for Pennsylvania milk. If an ad
vertising program is well-funded, and if it is
well-executed, we feel that milk sales will
increase. If the dairy industry can increase
public awareness of the health-giving,
nutritious qualities of milk, then the public
should buy more milk.
We urge dairymen to vote “Yes” on the
milk referendum. And if a checkoff program
is instituted in Pennsylvania, we urge all
milk producers, even the opposition, to
help make the program a success.
WEST POINT, MISS., TIMES LEADER:
“...somehow or other, many American
public school systems miss the boat when
it comes to graduating young people with a
sound basic skill in use of their native
language. With all due acknowledgment of
the truism that generalizations are odious,
we say that students who get through high
school and enter college should be able to
write straightforward English without a lot
of misspelled words and grammatical
mistakes."
Show
farmer-businessman
I NOW IS
I THE TIME . . .
I
Max Smith
County Agr. Agent
Telephone 394-6851
To Vote In Milk
Referendum
Pennsylvania dairymen will
have a chance to vote in the state
wide Milk Marketing Referen
dum to be conducted by the
Pennsylvania Department of
Agriculture from January 12 to
26. If the majority of the
dairymen voting favor such a
plan, then all dairymen will be
expected to pay 5c per hundred
pounds of milk sold into a dairy
marketing and promotional
program. The referendum will
require a majority of those voting
to favor the plan before it is
passed. Local dairymen are
urged to become acquainted with
this referendum and participate
in the outcome. Milk marketing
cooperatives will be able to bloc
vote for their membership.
To Control Parasites
Livestock and dairy production
costs are rising and all producers
must do a good job on
management in order to make
any profit. In many cases either
internal parasites or external
parasites are reducing the
performance of the animals.
During the winter long hair coats
bring heavy cattle lice infection.
Spraying with one of the common
insecticides using cold water
should eliminate the problem.
Stomach worms are very com
mon and again will reduce the
vigor and production of the beast.
With the more expensive feeds
and inputs, every producer
should be sure that parasites are
not taking away his profits.
TIME TO CHANGE
Lesson for January 7,1973
Background Scripture Jeremiah 31, 32
36 41
Devotional Reading Isatah 55 3-11
“I think the Lord just got my
attention'”
These words suddenly came
from a friend as he brooded over
a stinging personal defeat. What
he meant was, not that God had
caused this defeat, but that in the
midst of it he was
beginning to hear
what God had ob
viously been try
ing to say to him
for some time.
Humiliated and
despondent, the
message was start
ing to get through
Rev. Althouse to him • there were
going' to have to
be some substantial changes in
his life
"I will forgive their iniquity...”
One thing that was now for the
first time very clear to him was
that his pride had become a sin
ful, destructive factor “Riding
high,” he had not been willing to
sec this, but now, his pride
wounded, he realized that it had
been a subtle but destructive
force in his life “Strange,” he
mused, ‘ how blind I’ve been to it.”
This is the way it had been for
the people of Judah Jeremiah the
piophct had tried to make them
sec their need for repentance and
change, but thev had stubbornly
refused to heed his warnings
Now, captives in Chaldea, God’s
= "-3as
To Segregate Animals
Winter weather presents more
problems when it comes to the
transporting of all species of
animals. Whether it be from a
sale or a show, it is strongly
recommended that new animals
be kept separated from the rest of
the herd or flock for at least 30
days. Animals coming back from
State Farm Show should get this
same length of segregation. In
many cases the returning
animals have been treated for
various infections and may not
get sick; however, when coming
into contact with untreated
animals the latter group may
come down with any infections.
Segregation and good sanitation
are very important at all times.
To Practice Farm
Pond Safety
It might be bold on my part to
mention the possibility of farm
ponds freezing hard enough for
ice skaters, hut no doubt this will
happen in the next month or so.
When the pond freezes over many
youngsters will be wanting to
skate. Farm pond owners are
urged to give some supervision to
the skaters and have rescue
equipment such as a wooden
ladder, ropes, or other non
sinkables handy. Also the ice
should be at least 3 to 4 inches
thick to hold a group of people.
Persons should not skate alone on
ice of uncertain strength or
thickness. Farm pond safety
during the winter is just a im
portant as during the summer
months when swimmers enjoy
the water.
message at least was beginning to
get through to them. And the man
who had correctly forecast their
tragedy, now was bringing them
a new message of hope: “ . . . I
will forgive their iniquity, and I
will remember their sin no more”
(31:34).
Sometimes we have to go
through bitter experiences before
we begin to hear the message
God has been sending to us:
“Time to change'” “Time to
change!”
“Upon their hearts ..
Jeremiah spoke of a “new cove
nant” which God would make
with the people. Actually, this
“new covenant” would be a new
relationship between God and his
people. The old relationship
(“covenant”) had rested upon
laws written on scrolls. Intended
to guide the people in spiritual
growth, these written laws were
often broken, ignored, or twisted
into insignificance. What God pro
posed now, said the prophet, was
a new relationship based, not on
written laws, but a new spirit
within their own hearts.
This promise of a new covenant
relationship also speaks to our
needs today, too. No less than the
people of Judah, we too are like
ly to drift into a weak, second
hand type of religion. We too can
depend too much upon externals
—appearances of • respectability,
rituals, customs, churchisms, etc.
—and miss that most necessary
spiritual reality, the experience
within. Thus, it is for us too that
Jeremiah gives the promise; “And
no longer shall each man teach
his neighbor and each his brother
saying, ‘Know the Lord’ for they
shall all know me ...” (31:34).
Perhaps God is trying to get
your attention, to tell you that it’s
time to change.
(lased on outlines copyrighted by the
Division of Christian Education, National
Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA
Released by Community Press Service )
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