10
—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Jan. 31, 1976
EDITORIAL COMMENTS
Diet books and pure bunk
Farmers already know this and
have for a long time but some of
their city cousins don't, and the
following may serve as a bit of am
munition for them to use the next
time they confront someone who is -
afraid to eat a good wholesome meal
Dr. Michael Deßakey, the famed
heart surgeon, supplies the welcome
information and we cheer him for it.
Deßakey says steaks, eggs, bread,
and potatoes are "good old fashioned
foods” which are not going to fill us
with cholesterol and kill us with
coronaries." He was featured m a
NATIONAL STAR newspaper story
headlined "Go Ahead, Eat That Steak
It’s Okay Says Top Heart Doctor.”
We reprint a portion of his remarks
in the next few paragraphs.
"There’s nothing wrong with a
person having an egg breakfast every
Questionable
The validity of USDA’s market
reports and similar projects have
often been questioned. Farmers
themselves admit from time to time
that they have little faith in them and
that they don’t really feel like
cooperating with USDA surveys
claiming that their production and
intentions are none of the govern
ment’s business.
USDA’s effort in trying to portray
Australia’s meat industry really came
into question at my desk in recent
weeks because a USDA report and
those from an Australian friend don’t
agree.
The USDA release, received here
last month, states: “Australian cattle
prices slumped sharply at country
auctions in late November and could
ease further in weeks ahead. Low
prices are attributed to an early
curtailment of shipments to the U.S.,
which halted imports in excess of the
voluntary restraint level on Nov. 17
(1975). This resulted in an earlier
than usual closing of Australian
packing plants, which normally close /
for a period of time at the end of the
shipping year."
My friend's letter, dated Nov. 15,
Earl Butz’s PR effort
When U.S. Secretary of Agriculture,
Earl Butz, stopped m York a week ago
to address the 13th Annual
Agribusiness Seminar - sponsored
jointly by the York County Extension
Service and the York Chamber of
Commerce - he was talking to the
wrong crowd. He himself admitted
that because the “meat” of his talk
was really not much more than a
public relations effort
There’s nothing wrong with that
The talk was obviously entertaining,
as frequent outbursts of laughter
r » jll i' C»•> »»' 'tf V* f iA r n
BY DIETER KRIEG, EDITOR
ipdirtniing
morning,” and there’s nothing wrong
with regular steak dinners. Eat
nothing to excess moderation is
the key to a healthy diet.
“These restricted fad diets that tell
people not to eat this or that or you
will die of a heart attack are just pure
bunk. From a medical point of view,
we don't believe diet plays a par
ticularly big role in heart attacks. I
suspect that a lot of these fad diets
that are filling up books are being
written only for commercial reasons."
As acknowledged earlier, farmers
already know this. But farmers
sometimes don't carry the
authoritative clout which a doctor
has, and with this in mind, it might be
well for farmers to grasp Deßakey's
statements and shoot this info
directly at those who are terrified at
the sight of a good steak and temp
ting eggs.
information
1975, reads, in part: "Cattle prices
have improved considerable the last
two months, but even now would not
be up to the cost of production.” A
second letter, dated January 2,1976,
stated; “Cattle prices have about
doubled in the last six months but
would hardly cover the costs of
production even yet.”
Interested and active in the cattle
business for a number of years here
in Pennsylvania and more recently in
the "Land Down Under” which he
now makes his home, my Australian
friend also reported that “The news
about the increased quota for
Australian meat this year to the U.S.
has been joyful news to cattlemen
here. A recent report from the
Australian Meat Board says they have
signed a contract with four shipping
lines at a much better rate than last
year.
One thing the USDA report and
news from my friend agree on is that
there’s very little profit in the
Australian cattle industry. In
Queensland, for example, 20 per cent
of all cattlemen supposedly had an
income of less than $2,000 last year
which includes several hundred
families, my correspondent wrote.
proved. While not revealing much of
anything new regarding farm policies,
he did present an educational talk.
Educational to whom 7
Farmers probably already knew
most everythmg which Butz referred
to in his half-hour presentation. (See
text of his speech elsewhere in this
issue) But some members of the
Chamber of Commerce may not have
been so well informed when it comes
to agriculture and agribusiness. And
it’s a good bet that consumers aren’t
BY It VS Hm f | W Al T H(U ! S f
mm
kw lM««<
“SOMETHING
GREATERI'’
Um« ior February I. IOTI
Background Scrip tare:
Matthew 11 through 12.
Devotional Heading: 2
Corinthians 4:1-0.
The Hebrew faith current
in the time of Jesus was a
magnificent and impressive
religious system. A con-
siderable bumber of Roman
soldiers stationed in
Palestine were favorably
impressed and drawn to this
spiritual approach.
“What is lawful?”
Yet, it was a flawed
system and the flaw lay, not
in the truths it embodied, but
in the way that these truths
were implemented in the
lives of some of its most
fanatic adherents. For all of
its brilliance, for all of its
power and majesty, there
was something that bad gone
wrong in it, something at
tributable to human failure.
The flaw was the legalism
that had been allowed to
corrupt and distort the
essential meaning of the
faith. The legalism had
begun as an attempt to make
the faith practical in the
lives of the worshippers. But
in time, the legalistic
perspective had become a
monster that threatened to
swallow the truths that had
given rise to the laws.
hi Matthew 12 we find a
simple illustration. Jesus
and bis disciples are jour
neying through some
grainfields one sabbath day.
Hungry, the disciples began
to pluck some of the ears of
grain.
There were two per
spectives on this little in
cident. First, the disciples
were “Hungry,” In fact, they
must have been famished to
turn to the grain for nourish
ment. Secondly, working on
the sabbath was against the
Jewish law and surely
plucking grain would be
considered work!
That they might
accuse him
Although the heart of the
Jewish faith called for
compassion upon those in
need - the hungry, the
thirsty, the sick, the
widowed, etc. - still the
Pharisees chose to focus on
the legal, rather than the
humanitarian perspective.
To them, it was more im
portant that work was illegal
than that men were hungry.
How often today we find
that religious people still
choose to focus upon the
legalistic or ritualistic
perspective and ignore the
simple needs of their
fellowmen. We still seem
more concerned to ask
whether something is
“lawful” than whether it is
“needful.”
aware of the numerous facts Butz
presented.
At least one radio station in the
area taped Bute’s speech and
presented it to the public in its en
tirety. At least one TV station was
present at the meeting, and the
speech did receive some coverage in
York newspapers.
So, while Butz's speech may not
have amounted to a whole lot more
than entertainment to farmers
themselves, his message did get out
to the public where it’s needed as
To Recognize the
Value of Lime
Those who try to farm,
garden, or keep lawns
without due attention to lime
requirements arc not
making efficient use of all
materials. The story of soil
testing, to learn of the needs
of the soil, is an old story, but
still needs more attention on
some farms or properties.
I’ve heard fanners say they
lime every two years in
order to keep their soil in
good condition; however, if
no lime is needed, they are
wasting money and lime. On
the other hand, if lime is
needed and not applied, then
fertilizers cannot be utilized
to the highest degree. Proper
liming and soil acidity
makes better use of com
mercial and organic fer
tilizers. Don’t forget the
value of lime this year.
To Handle Livestock
Waste as Fertilizer
At the recent Cattle
Feeder’s Day it was pointed
out that all types of livestock
and poultry manures are a
valuable source of fertilizer
for farm crops and should be
managed as such. With the
high livestock and poultry
population in this part of the
country there are tons of
waste produced that can
greatly reduce the amount of
commercial fertilizer
needed; that is, if the
material is handled and
stored properly. Protection
from the weather is very
important, if it is to be
stored. The holding of the
liquid part of the manure
preserves much of the fer
tilizer content. Don’t pile it
back of the bam and forget
about it, because this is
wasting fertilizer on one
hand, and requiring the
producer to buy more fer
tilizer at a future date.
To Improve Management
It appears that both beef
cattle and swine producers
may be facing a period of
So it was when Jesus
healed the mad with a
withered hand on the sab
bath. The pharisees were
little concerned with the
man’s need, but were hung
up on the question: “Is it
lawful to heal on the sab
bath?” (12:10). Their real
motivation shone through; “
... so that they might ac
cuse him.”
Our religious systems,
doctrines, and liturgies may
be very impressive, but as
Jesus said: “Something
greater .., is here” (12:6).
And that “something
greater” cannot help bat
always lead us closer to the
needs of our fellowmen.
much as anywhere, if not more so. As
Butz stated in his message, he has a
PR job to do. I agree with that - and if
his message enlightened a few
housewives in this area, then his
coming to York was very worthwhile.
American agriculture needs more
recognition among the George -
Meanys and Mrs. Butterworths. The
responsibility of this undertaking
not only on an agriculture
but on our news media and each
individual farmer as well. It's a big job
which everyone should share in.
NOW IS
THE TIME. . J
h
I'
A
Max Smith
County Agr. Agrni
Telephone
lower market price*; thia
has happened before and
should not be disastrous to
the good manager. When
production costs remain high
and market values drop,
then the producer will have
to check his management to
plug every loop-hole of
possible losses. We refer to
parasite control on livestock,
both inside and outside.
Stomach worms and body
lice continue to feed on too
many animals in thia area
and will cut down on gains
and feed efficiency. The
control of rodents such as
rats and mice should be on
the management list; don'/']
feed them along with yomf
livestock, if you want to
make any profit. Doing
things that should be done,
and done on time, will help
keep up the bank account.
Farm Calendar
Feb. 2
Beef Cattle Management
Seminar at Schuylkill’s
Penn State campus.
Meeting starts at 7:30
pjn. and will feature
David Kantner, county
agent, as speaker.
Land use meeting, at the
Lancaster Farm and
Home Center, 7:30 p.m.
Twin Valley Adult Farmers
meet at the High School
for arc welding class,
7:30 pm
Manheim Young Farmp£ J
meeting at the high
school. Subject: manure
handling.
Feb. 3
DHIA workshop for Lebanon
County, in the Municipal
Building, Lebanon, from
1-7 pjn.
State Fruit Growers
Meetings, Sheraton Inn,
Gettysburg, lasts through
the sth.
Ephrata Young Farmers
meet at 7:45, topic is
alfalfa management.
Feb. 4
Crops Day for Adams
County, at the Get-
tysburg National Bank.
DHIA workshop at the Farm
and Home Center, 1:30
and 7:30 p.m.; and at
12:30 at the Quarryville
Fire Hall.
District 5 of Inter-State Miljr \
Producers hold meetin|
at Meadow Hills at noon.
Feb. 5
4-H beef and lamb banquet at
the Lancaster Farm and
Home Center, 6:30 p.m.
DHIA workshop at the
Lancaster Farm and
Home Center, 9:30 a.m.
Feb. 7
Ephrata Area Young Far-i
mers Banquet at die Mt.
Airy Fire Hall, 6:45 p.m.
g
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