—Lancaster Farming, Saturday. May 10.1975 10 Farm Commentary Although the expansion of Federal Order 4 Milk Marketing area is vir tually assured, there are still a lot of people talking about it. A York County group, in fact, is trying to get a court injunction to stop the expansion which would stop it from becoming effective on June 1. Trying to find out exactly what happens to milk prices m an order expansion is like falling through the looking glass. The Mad Hatter has all the figures he needs to answer any questions about milk prices, but he puts his facts on pages made from silly putty. The Inter-State people called us this week and said farmers will be getting 10-cents a cwt. more for their milk under the expanded order. William Deisley, an independent milk dealer from Lancaster, called to say that his producers were actually going to be getting 30-cents a cwt. less, but that he, Deisley, was going to be paying 30-cents a cwt. more for his milk. Well, we tried to get both parties together this week in Hershey before a testimonial dinner for Lm Huber, who's retiring from the Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board. It would have been an interesting confrontation, but it wasn’t to be. Maybe some other time. In our letters column this week, though, Mr. Deisley does expound a bit on his feelings. Custom Rates You can expect to pay an average of 16 percent more for any custom work you have done this year, according to the latest machinery custom rates published this week by Penn State. Here in the Southeastern corner of the state, for example, corn picking will cost an average of $9.15 per acre. Picking and shelling are up to $12.80 an acre this year while combining is up to $13.50. The custom rate for combining small grains is $10.20 an acre. Drying corn at 23-percent moisture will cost the farmer an average of 19-cents a bushel. If you hire your haymaking, you can expect to pay 35-cents a bale for cutting, raking, baling and storing. Baling alone will run you 17-cents a bale for twine-tie and 25-cents for wire-tie bales. Silo filling will cost an average of $2.15 per ton for uprights, $2.05 per ton for trench silos. Field chopping silage should run $22.50 per hour for one man, two wagons and a tractor, $27.00 if another man and a tractor are added. The Farm President Ford's veto of the Emergency Farm Bill was almost as certain as the sunrise last Thursday. The veto of one of the most con troversial pieces of farm legislation is years was virtually ignored by the national news media and the wire services, which might account for one local editorialist who strongly urged the President’s veto some four days after the ink was dry on the veto message. We tried to find out exactly what that veto message contained this by Dick Wanner Up in the Air About Order 4 Expansion After half-a-day on the phone Tuesday morning, we think we succeeded in lifting some of the fogs of confusion. Actually, both sides have a point. There are some 7600 milk producers presently in Order 4. When the 500 new producers join the pool on June 1, those 7600 will probably get a boost in their blend price of about 10-cents cwt. But that boost will come at the expense of the 500 new producers. They will get less money, 30-cents less according to Deisley’s figures. John Locke, an English philosopher who died a long time ago, would have approved of this move because it seems to provide the greatest good for the greatest number. Bill John stone, a very much alive farm economist at Penn State, also ap proves. "You'll have contentions on both sides anytime a marketing order is expanded," Johnstone told us. “The facts are that you've got a lot of producers competing for a limited amount of Class I sales in a particular area. The federal order system lets the market administrator spread the benefits from those limited sales around among all the producers. Some people will lose a little bit at first, but in the long run, everything evens out.” Up For 1975 Conventional corn planters will get about $4.40 per acre this year, while no-till planters will receive $7.80. Planting soybeans without fertilizer will run the farmer some $4.20 per acre. Drilling small gram without fertilizer should cost about $3.90, or $4.20 with fertilizer. Seeding alfalfa or clover should cost around $3.40 per acre, and custom potato planters will charge about $6.25 per acre. Expect to pay $2.60 per acre to get a custom operator to spray for weed control. Spraying for corn borers or alfalfa weevil will cost from $3.25 to $3.40 per care if you supply the spray materials. If you buy your spray materials from the custom operator, expect to pay an additional $2.35 or so. Surprisingly enough, to us at any rate, the cost of aerial application of spray materials is about the same as ground application. Fixed wing air craft will charge $3.25 per acre plus spray materials. Helicopters charge about $4.35 per acre. Bill Veto week by calling the ag department in Washington. “There was a veto message," we were told, "and it was two pages long. But the reason everybody ignored it was because it didn’t say anything ” Was there anything in the message, we asked, about supports 7 “The President said in his message that the country would always support its farmers " Along with its mothers, boy scouts and apple pie. RECOGNIZING “HOLY PEOPLE” Lesion (or May 11. 1115 Background Scripture: Leviticus 19. Devotional Reading: Psalms 24; M. Several months ago I led a tour to the Holy Lands of the Middle East. On the itinerary were visits to Greece, Egypt, Lebanon, and Isreal. Although the purpose of our pilgrimage was to focus on Christianity, we also had an opportunity to observe the relics of other ancient religions: those of the Egyptians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Canaanites, and the Phoenicians. Particularly impressive were the pyramids in Egypt, the Parthenon in Athens, and the colossal Roman ruins at Baalbek in Lebanon. Even if Herod’s temple in Jerusalem had survived today, Judaism would still have no ar chitectural monument to even come close to com peting with these. The Jews were not builders of monuments. “You Shall be holy’’ Yet, it seemed to me, that great and amazing as these monuments are even today, Judaism-and ultimately Christianity-have something else that greatly over shadows the greatest of all religious monuments: a moral imperative! By contrast, the ancient religions of the Greeks, Egyptians, Romans, Canaanites and Phoenicians were primarily religions of ritual. Their focus was the use of ritual and sacrifice to influence capricious gods. Winning the favor of the gods was primarily a matter of what one did in the temple. Religion had very moral tone of society. By contrast, Judaism was very much concerned with the morals by which people live their daily lives. Although for many years Jewish wors’iip was cen tered in the temple at Jerusalem, the prophets and others emphasized the primaicy of the moral laws. Right living, they said, waff much more important than right worship. We can see this same thrust in the early law codes of Israel. In Leviticus, for example, God lays it on the line: “You shall be holy; for I the Lord your God am holy” (Leviticus 19:2). The term “holy,” means “special,” “set apart.” They are to be unique. And their uniqueness will be their morality, just as the uniqueness of the Hebrew God, in contrast to the pagan gods, is in his holiness, or moral perfection. “All my ordinances” The Jewish concept of holiness was revolutionary. It indicated, for example, that there must be a concern and provision for the needs of “the poor and the sojourner” (19:9,10). Something „ extra should always be left in the field and vineyards to feed those who cannot provide adequately for themselves. A portion of what everyman harvests should be set aside for the needy. Helping others was never an optional matter. I :1: To Wage War On Weed* With all of the modem weed killers and practices to try to kill weeds, it seems that the weeds are still giving us too much trouble in most places. At this time of the year we notice that dandelions are still with us in far too many lawns, gardens, and fields. At this point the effort should be to kill the weed and not allow it to go to seed. Being a broadleaf weed the dandelion is not very difficult to kill with several herbicides; this may not be true with all weeds but the effort should be continued to keep them from going to seed. Every land owner should make every effort to prevent all weeds from maturing and broadcasting seeds for another crop. To Plant Corn During the past week I have been asked several times if seed corn is better in the bag or in the ground at this time of the year. Over a period of years there is little doubt that com planted early in May in this part of the state will outyield corn planted later in May or June. However, weather con ditions have been delaying most com producers and the only thing to do is to wait until soil conditions are dry enough to plant. All materials and equipment should be standing ready when the weather does dry off to go to work and get the com planted as quickly as possible. Due to some reduction in the price of fertilizer, especially nitrogen, some growers may want to increase the ap plication on com ground. Don’t delay com planting any longer than necessary at this time. To Plant Soybeans Recent research work and field experiements indicate that soybeans may be sue- Farm Calendar Saturday, May 10 8:00 p.m. Lebanon Valley Expo Corp. Square Dance, Lebanon Fairgrounds, fthannual Ag Alumni of PSU meeting, 117 Borland Lab, Penn State. It is clear that God also requires truthfulness in dealing with others and honesty in all business matters. Particularly, let there be no shortweighting of the customer (19;35). Also God is concerned that we do not take advantage of or cause any harm to those who are at a disadvantage. Coercing our neighbor is no less dishonest than robbing him. Finally, we are to live peaceably with our neighbor, avoiding all hate and vengeance. One cannot choose and pick which of these moral laws to observe. We will be recognized as God’s “Holy people” if we faithfully keep “all my statutes and all my ordinances.” NOW IS THE TIME. Max Smith County Agr. Agent Telephone :»»l-685l cessfully planted earlier in the month of May than we thought years ago. Many growers plan to plant the soybeans after the com is planted which would be mid to late May or early June. However, the latest suggestions would be to plant soybeans when the soil temperatures are from 50 to 55 degrees at 3 to 4 inches depth. This is about the same as for com planting. At this time of the year the sun is strong enough to warm the soil quickly when without cloud cover. A soil ther mometer is a good in vestment and should be used as a guide for many kinds of crop plantings. We don’t want to suggest planting soybeans in cold soil, but on the other hand, when the soil gets warm enough the beans should be planted even though it is early to mid- May. To Beware of - Fertilizer Placement The proper placement of fertilizer in order to prevent the burning of the seeds or roots is very important. Growers should keep in mind that both nitrogen and potash in a mixed fertilizer can burn seeds or roots. The guide to use with com starter fertilizers is not to exceed 50 pounds of nitrogen and potash fertilizers per acre with the fertilizer at least one mch away from the seeds. Larger amounts of the actual nitrogen or potash will decrease the stand and lower production. For example, three hundred pounds of a 16-8-8 in the row would add 48 pounds of nitrogen and 24 pounds of potash or a total of 72 pounds; this is too much and could bum seeds. Starter fertilizers should be high in phosphorus in order to en courage fast root develop ment. Sunday, May 11 Mothers Day Pfizer Research Conference, Minneapolis Convention Center. American Feed Manufac turers Assn., annual convention, Minneapolis Municipal Auditorium, continues through May 14. Monday, May 12 Regional hearing on federal egg research and promotion order, Philadelphia. Tuesday, May 13 8 p.m. - Lancaster Farm and Home Center board of directors monthly meeting, at the center. Friday, May 16 Lancaster Horse Show, Lancaster Riding and Tennis Club, continues through May 18. Saturday, May 17 12:30p.m. -Southeast Grape Industry Association field day, starting at Pequea Valley Winery. Reservations required. Tuesday, May 20 7:30 p.m. Ephrata Area Young Farmer monthly meeting, baler trouble shooting, Ephrata H.S. ag room. f. V
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