10— Lancaster Farming, Saturday. Jan. 25, 1975
Farm Commentary
McHale’s Math Questioned
An item in this column last week
about Pennsylvania Secretary of
Agriculture James A. McHale aroused
the ire of Donald Hershey, Manheim,
president of the Lancaster County
Farmers Association. In essence,
what McHale said was that it is
possible to butcher a yield grade 3
steer, sell the top cuts at normal
retail prices, then pay consumers 10-
cents a pound to haul away the
hamburger. And still make a profit.
“Ridiculous!" said Hershey. "No
retailer is making so much money
that he can afford to pay people to
haul away hamburger. And farmers
can’t butcher and sell directly from
This is the year that Pennsylvania
Farm Show Director Wellington
Smith said he was going to scale
down the deficits that have
historically been a part of the
financial picture for the aging com
plex. That was the reason visitors to
this year’s Farm Show paid a dollar
for parking.
The dollar fee, though, was to be
collected all year at events scheduled
for the Farm Show facility - like the
Keystone International Livestock
Show, the Dairy Show, Horse Show,
and the PIAA state basketball and
wrestling championships
“Foul!” roared the powers that be
at PIAA, and they withdrew to other
arenas. Penn State will see the
wrestling championships this year,
and some colleges may~share in the
basketball action, which could also be
staged in Hershey.
What impact will this have on the
Farm Show budget, we wondered, so
we talked to Wellington Smith on
Thursday. “I’m going to miss wat
ching the basketball games,” Smith
said, “but other than that I’m not
really too sorry to see them go. I
understand they’ve been wanting to
Sim Hangs It Up - After 43 Years
We weren’t able to make the an- he’s going to be retiring after 43
nual meeting this year of the Mt. Joy years on the job. In next week's issue,
Farmer’s Cooperative, but we want to we hope to share a few of Sim’s ob
say congratulations and best wishes servations about the changes he’s
to Sim Horton for the job he’s been seen over nearly half a century as a
doing as the coop’s general manager milk marketer.
for many years. Sim called and said
Polishing the Farmers’ Image
Lebanon County farmers took some
positive steps this week to combat
some of the bad publicity springing
from Midwestern NFO members who
slaughtered their calves and buried
them The scene at area meat
markets was not nearly as dramatic
as the wire-service photos of weeks
past, like the one of that cigar
chompmg Nebraskan holding his
pistol to a calf’s head. And the wire
services were noticably among the
missing as some 70 Lebanon County
dairy farmers took their calves to
butcher shops and donated them to
by Dick Wanner
The PIAA’s Big Bounce
their farms because it's against the
law.
"McHale doesn’t like the retailers,
but they've got to make a profit, too.
And we need them. They not only
move our product, but they buy it for
their own tables, too. I wonder if
McHale has ever stopped to think
about all the people who'd be
unemployed if you took away
everyone who helps move farm
products from the farm to the table."
We take it, we said to Don, that you
aren't a Jim McHale fan. "I think Jim
McHale is doing the farmer more
harm than good,” he replied. "And I
hope you quote me."
move out of the Farm Show anyway,
and the parking fee just gave them an
excuse
“Actually, they were only paying
about half the rental fee we charge v
other groups. Last year, they paid us
$16,000 for 43 days here, and by the
time we figured everything in, we
probably lost money. This year it's
going to be worse because everything
has gone up. Coal, for example, went
from $l4 to $5O a ton. Paid parking
would have helped us a lot to make
up for the deficits we incur from some
of these charitable groups.
“And, you know, so far the only
complaints I've heard about the
parking fee have come from the
groups that aren’t paying their way.”
Smith said he did have one com
plaint about the way the PIAA officials
ended their agreement with the Farm
Show. “If they had let me know a little
earlier that they weren’t coming back,
I could have lined up some other
events. The state could have had
some income from those days they
cancelled out of. Now the buildings
will just stand empty. But we’ll try to
get some business next year to
replace the PIAA crowd.”
be used as food for hungry people.
While their action didn’t make a big
splash in other than local news
media, we can’t help feeling that the
Lebanon County farmers who
donated their calves helped at least
to reaffirm the good opinion most of
our local citizenry has of the farm folk
who live among them
The farmers know, too, that their
calves are going into empty bellies,
not a hole in the ground. No matter
what kind of ledger you use, that has
to be worth a lot more than publicity.
CHRIST POWER
Lesion for January 28,1915
Background Scripture: Acta
2:22-41; Romans 1:14-17; 1
Corinthians 2:1-5; Ephesians
1:1 through 2:10.
Devotional Reading: Psalms
106:1-10.
We live in a world feedin g u P° n the bark ? f
preoccupied with securing y S g ItS
and exercising power of all
kinds. There fc economic Periods of Q when thc
newer - for examole the snow remains on the ground,
power cu^entlyTerted by of these trees
the oil-rich nations. There is w ,!j be „r °finVinff
military power - the United aluminum fo , g
States and the Soviet Union c n VemiS
being the two prime rabblts - Some .f 1 ®™ 10 ? 1
examples. There is nSclear f™** ar p e av . a^ able h °
power - the question of how discourage rodents but
we will it naeeine us Sequent applications are
power - to our mid* the « - SStfTmZ
constant sUmgg e for it by con tinues. When the
rri h :r.. p “
“senior dowgf snd ni3r
circumference, serious,
senior power, snd muny cp-innc damaffe will result
otter kinds « well None of sea %S§lSn
these by themselves are v«n«ia«An
either good or evil. Power is weather
necessary inoimworld. What livest t J ck cou i d
makes the difference is the some ven tii a tion problems,
motive behind the exercise often en .
be close dbarns,
power can oe eimer con en there is condensation
structive and destructive. oftheW ailsor ceilings, it is a
The eyesof your sure sign of a< f ditional
Thp h< HWnrmp g p te il!L thp ventilation needed; or more
The difference, says the insulation. Electric exhaust
writer of Ephesians, is fang are commonly used t 0
Chnst-power. Unlike so o ut the foul air and
much of the power exercised j! emove the problem . Ef .
by man, Christ-power is nrilk production or
With“ oSS-Mwer S die weight gains are not K
81 the bam is too warm or too
motivation, atomic energy tight. Open bams such as
free-stXdairy bams will
phnief B have little trouble with
destruction. With Christ- ven tilation providing they
sytsassrs Ss~yrs&l
Bamven^tionteavailable.
power so different? Planning
The writer of Ephesians It , „ ot to early to be
teUs us. for one thing, that dec l isions y n what
Chnst-power begins with | re to be grown this
en i g Kf n eT e summer. The spring season
with Christ-power sees hfe = aDDroac hin e ranidlv and
Si".?* SXSSJSVS
Ephesians prays that the p i ace d very soon. Good farm
Father of glory, may give cords he lp guide the
you a spirit of wisdom and of direction of the production
revelation in the knowledge effort and make it possible to
of him, having the eyes of know which enterprises are
your hearts
enlightened . . ” (Ephesians
1:17, 1».)
One reason that man lives
so impotently is chat he fails
to realize what life is all
about. Jesus referred to this
when he spoke of people who
“see but do not see and hear
but do not hear.” How we
look at life and the world in
which we live makes a big
difference in how we operate
in that world. Knowledge is
power.
The greatness of his power
For one thing, when we are
enlightened by God we un
derstand what true power is.
We come to realize that
brute force and violence are
very limited forms of power.
Nowhere was this better
demonstrated for us than in
the example of Jesus Christ.
Not only was his power
vindicated in that he was
raised from the dead, but
also in that he was exalted
and given dominion over all
sources of power:
“ ... according to the
working of his great might
which he accomplished in
Christ when he raised him
from the dea d and made him
sit at his right hand in the
| NOW IS |
I THE TIME... I
I 8
’li-i 8
$ al
i{:;: Max Smith ggl
ii|; County Agr. Agent ;j|:(
Telephone 394-6851 |:|J
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To Protect Shrub*
And Trees
Recent snow cover for
several days at a time could
result in rabbits and mice
heavenly places, far above
all rule and authority and
power and dominion ...”
(1:19-21).
Equally important as
Christ’* own resurrection
from the dead is what his
power is able to do to and for
us. By that power we are
recreated and given new life
that is imperishable: “But
God who is rich in mer
cy... even when we were
dead through our trespasses,
made us alive together with
Christ... and raised us up
with him ... ” (1:4-6).
All other power must be
controlled and shaped by the
power of Jesus Christ. With
Christ-power all forces can
be sued for the good and
welfare of men. Too often we
have had to witness the
terrible consequences of the
world’s energies that have
not known the redeeming
force of Christ-power.
(Based on outlines
copyrighted Jay the Division
of Christian Education,
National Council of the
Churches of Christ in the
U.S.A. Released by Com
munity Press Sendee.)
the best for each farmer.
With the favorable price of
most feed grains it is easy
for livestock and dairy
farmers to overlook the
place of quality forage crops
in the feeding program.
Good hay and silage continue
to be cheaper sources of feed
nutrients for most farm
animals. Planning should
include these lower-cost
sources of nutrients.
To Handle Livestock
Wastes Properly
Manure continues to be a
very good source of fertilizer
elements and all livestock
and poultry producers are
urged to recognize this fact.
With the mounting cost of
most fertilizers, and
especially nitrogen, manure
merits water-tight storage
pits, and application to the
fields at a tune when the run
off will be a minimum.
Figures are available to give
the average fertilizer values
of various farm manures and
these sources need to be
included in planning the
fertilizer program. Some
kinds of poultry manure may
run as high as 90 pounds of
nitrogen per ton, therefore it
is necessary to limit the
application amount per acre.
Good manure storage and
handling is very much in
order so that fertilizer
purchases may be kept to a
minimum.
Calendar
Tuesday, January 28
7:45 p.m. Class 2of Ephrata
Area Farmers Dairy Calf
Management meeting at
the Ephrata High School
ag classroom.
9:30 a.m. - Beef Cattle
Feeders Day at the
Lancaster Farm and
Home Center.
Thursday, January 30
7:30 p.m. - Elizabethtown
Young Farmers Hog
Production meeting at
the Elizabethtown Ag
Classroom.
Saturday, February 1
6:45 p.m. - Ephrata Area
Young Farmer’s Banquet
at the Mt. Airy Fire Hall.
For more information
contact Charles Ackley.
Pa. Yorkshire Swine
Association Show and
Sale at the Farm Show
Arena.
Monday, February 3
Manheim Young Fanners
Soil Conservation
program at Manheim
High School.
Tuesday, February 4
9:00 a.m. - Dairy Conference
at the Guernsey Pavilion.
7:45 p.m. - Ephrata Area
Farmer Dairy Cattle
Management meeting at
the Ephrata High School.
Wednesday, February 5
9:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. -
Dairymen Milking School
at the Farm and Home
Center. Registration
required.
Friday, February 7
Computer Workshop for
Cattle feeders at the
Lancaster Farm and
Center.
6:45 p.m. - Garden Spot
Young Farmers annual
Banquet at the Blue Ball
Fire Hall.