10
—Lancaster Farming, Saturday. Oct 26,1974
Farm Commentary
CATTLE ON FEED DOWN SHARPLY
Cattle on teed tor slaughter market
in the 23 major States down sharply,
USDA reported last week. At
9,149,000 head on Oct. 1, the total
was 24 pet. below a year earlier, 22
pet. below the Oct. 1,1972 total -and
the lowest on feed for Oct. 1 since
1967.
July • September placements in
those States totaled 4,624,000 head,
down 12 pet. from a year ago; July -
Sept, marketings from those States
totaled 5,522,000 head, down 7 pet.
from a year earlier. Prospective Oct. -
Dec. marketings from those States
seen at 5,294,000 head, down 18 pet.
from a year ago, 22 pet. below 1972.
Cattle on feed totals for Oct. 1 in
the major States: Texas, 1,599,000
head, down 31 pet. from a year
earlier; lowa, 1,030,000 head, down
28 pet. from a year ago; Nebraska,
1,040,000 head, down 28 pet. from a
year ago; and Kansas, 900,000 head,
down 24 pet, from a year ago. (Cattle
on Feed).
HOG IMPORTS CONTINUE UP
U.S. cattle imjDorts were down
sharply during August, but hog im
ports continued high. Cattle imports
totaled 12,992 head for the month,
well below the 57,388 head imported
during August 1973. This brought
cattle imports for Jan. - Aug. to
521,437 head, down nearly 25 pet.
from a year earlier.
But, the August totals brought hog
imports for the first 8 months to
164,483 head. That’s - more than 3
times that of a year earlier. The total,
already at a record high, was nearly
double that for all of 1973. The
previous record high was 89,032
head imported m 1972. All hog im
ports are from Canada.
CHICK HATCHES CONTINUE OFF
U.S. commercial hatches of both
egg-type and broiler-type chicks
continue to downtrend. Egg-type
hatch, at 31.6 million during Sep
tember, was down 26 pet from a year
ago and this marked the 10th straight
month this hatch has been below that
of a corresponding month a year
earlier.
The broiler-type hatch, at 221
million, was down 10 pet. from a year
earlier, marking the 6th consecutive
month this hatch has been below a
year earlier.
The Jan. - Sept, totals: Egg-type
chicks, 372 million, down 10 pet. from
a year earlier; broiler-type chicks, 2.4
billion, down 1 pet from a year
earlier
What’s coming up 7 More of the
same. There were 30.1 million egg
type eggs m incubators on Oct. 1.
That's down 27 pet from a year ago.
On Oct. 1 there were 182 million
broiler-type eggs in incubators.
That’s down 16 pet from a year ago
(Eggs, Chickens and Turkeys)
SOVIET HARVEST
Soviet gram harvest well along As
of Sept 30, a total of 276 million acres
of gram (excluding corn) had been
harvested, USDA reported last week
That leaves about 24 7 million acres
left to be cut. This compared to about
148 million acres left to be cut at the
end of September 1973.
EGG PRODUCTION
U.S. egg production, at 5.172 billion
eggs in September, was down 3 pet.
from a year ago. Though rate of (ay
was up, the layer numbers were off 5
pet. from a year ago,
AUGUST MEAT IMPORTS OFF
August red meat imports off
sharply. Those covered by the Meat
Import Law -- mainly fresh and frozen
beef and veal -- totaled 101.4 million
pounds for the month, down one
third from a year earlier.
Total meat imports -- those covered
by the Meat Import Law, plus canned
and preserved beef, all pork and lamb
-- totaled 140.4 million pounds, also
down one-third from a year earlier.
The Jan. - Aug. totals; Meat
covered by the Meat Import Law,
716.6 million pounds, down 16
percent from a year earlier; all red
meat, 1.1 billion pounds, down 12Vz
percent from a year earlier.
(Livestock Market News).
OF CATTLE AND FERTILIZERS
For years, cheese processors have
viewed whey as a waste and have
dumped it into lakes and streams in
an effort to get rid of it, but ARS
scientists now show it can be used as
a nutritious feed for cattle ...
Crossbred cattle raised in pens are of
better quality than cows which graze
in pasture lands ... Too much
nitrogen causes apples to stay green
... But, large applications of nitrogen
on rangeland every few years sub
stantially increases yields, improves
nutritive value of forage and costs
less than annual smaller ap
plications. ..
PA. BROILER PLACEMENTS
DOWN 14 PERCENT
Placements of broiler chicks in the
Commonwealth during the week
ending October 19, 1974 were
1,207,000. The placements were 14
percent below the corresponding
week a year earlier, but 8 percent
above the previous week. Average
placements during the past 10 weeks
were 1 percent below a year earlier.
Settings for broiler chicks were
1,718,000 - 10 percent below the
previous week and 15 percent below
the comparable period a year earlier.
The current 3-week total of eggs set
is 5 percent below the same period a
year ago.
inshipments of broiler-type chicks
during the past 10 weeks averaged
3,000 compared with 26,000 a year
ago. Outshipments averaged 19,000
during the past 10 weeks, 35 percent
below a year earlier.
Placements in the 21 States were
49,557,000 - 1 percent below the
previous week and 11 percent below
the same week a year earlier. Average
placements during the past 10 weeks
were 11 percent below a year ago.
Settings were 58,712,000 - 13 per
cent above the previous week but 14
percent below a year earlier The
current 3-week total of eggs set is 13
percent below the comparable period
a year aga.
THAT’S RELIGION
Lwwtir October *l, ItH
Background Scripture:
Amos 5:10-24; 6:44; 7:10-17;
8:44.
Devotional Reading: Amos
5:18-24.
Amos was neither popular
nor well-received in Israel.
In fact, he was clearly un
welcome and one religious
authority of that land gave
him the Biblical equivalent
of “Get lost, buddy!”
There seemed to be good
reason for his rejection.
For one thing, he was a
stranger to Israel. It seemed
highly presumptions for this
citizen of Judah to come
north to tell the people of
Israel what was wrong with
their way of life. His kind of
meddlesome trouble-making
was not appreciated by the
people of Israel.
A matter of Credentials
Secondly, Amos had no
religious credentials. He was
not a priest, not did he seem
to have any special
education or training for
religious work. Actually, he
was a layman, a farmer:
what business did he have
trying to speak as a religious
authority?
Furthermorre, he was
condemning people who
regarded themselves as very
religious. They were a nation
that had a number of holy
places and shrines for
worship, they observed all
the religious festivals and
feasts, and they regarded
themselves as “God’s
people.” How dare he point
an accusing finger at them*.
Finally, although he
claimed to speak for God, he
was meddling in lots of areas
of life which were not
religious, but social and
economic. For example, he
protested the treatment of
poor people. Evidently he did
not understand economics!
He also criticized the
administration of justice,
particularly the use of bribes
and pay-offs. Didn’t he
realize that everyone did it
and this was the accepted
normal way in modern
society?
Another one of his
criticisms was levelled at the
shrewd business practices of
many affluent merchants. So
they foreclosed and
repossesed on people who
couldn’t pay their bills, after
all: that’s business! So they
cheated on weights and
measures: that’s the way
business is conducted by
everyone these days!
Prophet: Go Home!
Amos was particularly
obnoxious to Amaziah, the
priest of the temple of
Bethel: “0 seer, go, flee
away to the land of Judah
and eat bread there; but
never again prophesy at
Bethel, for it is the King’s
sanctuary. ..” (7:12). It
was just another way of
telling Amos to go home and
stick to religion.
But Amaziah was wrong
on two counts. First, the
temple at Bethel did not
really belong to the King of
Israel, but to God. Where
better to speak’s God’s
message than in his own
sanctuary!
Furthermore, Amos was
“sticking to religion.” The
people of Israel thought the
elaborate worship and
|
NOW IS
THE TIME...
Max Smith
County Agr. Agent
Telephone 3944851
To Make
Farm Show Entries
The 1975 Pennsylvania
State Farm Show will be held
at Harrisburg January 6
through the 10th. Premium
Lists are now available and
prospective exhibitors are
urged to prepare their
exhibits according to the
rules and regulations. The
entry deadline for livestock
is November 4. A new type of
livestock and dairy entry
blank are to be used this
year. Supplies of these
blanks, the general entry
blank, and the Premium
Lists are available at our
Extension Office. t
To Test Soils This Fall
We are informed that the
fertilizer situation may be
worse next spring; nitrogen
prices are expected to go
higher in 1975. All com
mercial farmers are urged
to do their soil testing this
fall so they can order their
fertilizer needs before the
new year. When this is done
the fertilizer dealer will have
more time to obtain Ms
needs and the prices might
be in favor of ordering early,
A complete soil test is the
best way to make the most
efficient use of the lime and
fertilizer dollar. If the soil
needs lime, the land owner
will get much more benefit
from the fertilizer applied.
Don’t make the-mistake of
guessing soil needs.
To Check
High-Moistare Corn
Several {hone calls reflect
the need for more in-
Farm
Calendar
Saturday, October 26
Pennsylvania National
Farmers Organization
annual convention,
Holiday Inn, State
College, Pa.
Monday, October 28
Pennsylvania State Grange,
102nd Annual Session,
Trinity Area Senior High
School, Washington, Pa.
Continues through Oc
tober 31.
Wednesday, October 30
4:00 p.m. - Berks County
Agricultural Center Open
House, Bern Township.
New Holland Sales Stables
Annual Dairy Show and
Sale.
Thursday, October 31
7:30 p.m. - Lancaster
Beekeepers Fall
Meeting, Gambers Dutch
Gold Honey, 2220 Dutch
Gold Drive, Rohrer
stown.
religious festivals were the
essence of religion, but Amos
lifted up the oppression of
the weak, the lying and
cheating of the powerful, the
corruption of economic,
social, and political life and
was saying as loudly as he
could: “That’s religion!”
(Based on outlines
copyrighted by the Division
of Christian Education,
National Council of the
Churches of Christ in the
U.S.A. Released by Com
munity Press Service.)
formation in the making of
high-moisture corn. This
method of harvesting and
storing com has been well
accepted and is growing in
popularity as a livestock
feed. For the ground ear
corn the moisture content
should be from 30 to 35
percent. For the shelled com
it is best if the moisture
range is between 25 and 30
percent. Com put into the
storage with higher amounts
of moisture may be darker in
color and stronger in Savor.
Com that gets too dry may
be improved by adding IVt
gallons of water at the silo
per ton for each percent of
moisture needed. High
moisture corn harvest
permits getting the com off
the ground quicker with less
danger of down stalks.
To Winterize Farm Vehicles
Freezing weather is due
and water-cooled motors
need some attention. They
should be drained or anti
freeze materials added to the
cooling systems. Too often
the motor on a piece of
machinery stored for the
winter will be forgotten until
it is too late. All machinery
should be stored out of the
weather and all working
parts greased and oiled to
prevent rusting. Batteries
have to work much harder in
the cold weather , and need
cleaned and inspected. Old
batteries may have to be
replaced because of the
heavier load to turn motors
in extremely cold weather.
Friday, November 1
Timonium Fair, Timonium,
Md. Continues through
November 6.
Viewpoints
Of the various executive
abilities, no one excited more
concern than that of placing
the interests of our fellow
citizens in the hands of honest
men, with understanding suf
ficient for their stations.
Thomas Jefferson
Editor’s Quote Book
There is only one way to
achieve happiness on this ter
restial ball, and that is to
have a clear conscience or
none at all.
—Odgen Nash
•f*
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