—Lancaster Farming, Saturday. June 4,1977 10 EDITORIAL COMMENTS Walk into a supermarket now, and you’re likely to see a variety of promotional displays in, around, and above the dairy case. June is Dairy Month. Milk is being given just a bit of extra attention. But there's a lot more to it than fancy displays and catchy slogans, even though that’s about the extent of the average consumer’s exposure to the dairy industry. Milk production involves gram and straw production in July. In August it’s hay. In September there's silage to be made, and in October the dairyman picks corn. November is no time of rest either since cows still need to be milked and field work might not be all done. December, January, and February bring clean-up and repair jobs into closer focus.,By March the dairyman is itching to get back out to the field, and in April he’s planting for sure. Field work continues into May And then there’s June with more of the same. But June is Dairy Month, even though cows are milked every month, 365 days of the year. The consumer doesn’t know about the dairyman getting up in the middle of the night to deliver a calf. Assisting in the birth process may mean wrestling with the calf while it is still in the womb. One arm is fully extended into the cow, straining to turn a calf into the proper birth position. It’s a demanding job, and depending on the circumstances, can take several hours. The agony of seeing a prized calf or : * I LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Reader questions beef referendum Editor, Lancaster Farming; I didn’t think I’d ever see the day when an American dairy farmer would be compelled to advertise another man’s product, but that day is at hand if we don’t turn down the beef checkoff promotion referendum. Dairymen will be assessed on the commercial slaughter value of our cattle. That money will then be used to promote the sale of beef, some of which, such as snacks, directly competes with dairy products, such as cheese and cottage cheese. We know that dairy promotion has not been all it was cracked up to be where it has been tried, but at least RURAL ROUTE 1 DON'T THINK IU HAVE m PRESERVES DOME IN TIME FOR THE FIRST FAIR. BY DIETER KRIEG, EDITOR dairymen were promoting their primary product. Let’s look at our own competition in the beef market. I’m afraid most of that advertising money will go to promote choice steaks and roasts, products we usually don’t associate with a dairy cow. An editorial comment in the May 10 Hoard’s Dairyman said that 80 per cent of imported beef “would grade commercial, utility, or cutter and canner, the same as cull dairy cows are graded.” This is important information for dairymen. It is not fair for dairymen to contribute part of the proceeds from our dairy beef sales for advertizing which I WONPFR IF I SHOULD exhibit SOME 1 PUT UP LAST a good producer die of an illness is part of the dairy business. So are trampled teats, partially paralyzed cows, mastitis, retained placentas, and a variety of other complications. Dairy farming could mean fixing fences when you had planned to bale hay, or repairing the silo unloader on a Sunday afternoon you thought you had for yourself. The dairy business means being at the mercy of the weather - depending on ram for your crops and hoping that lightning misses your cows, whether they’re m the barn or out on pasture. Dairy farming means not being able to afford to get sick, with time and money both being limiting factors. There's always work to do, and the animals are always dependent on the dairyman for their needs. Dairying is also a career with set hours, but rather than 8 to 5, they're more like 5 to 8. Throw m a few problems and the normal 14 hour day is lengthened by six more. It’s all part of the dairy story which isn't displayed around the dairy case of your supermarket. But then there are also many joys and satisfactions of being a dairy farmer. Without them the milkflow would certainly dimmish, if not cease altogether. Dairy farming is a cornerstone of agriculture, providing mankind with milk, cheese, butter, ice cream, meat, hides, fertilizer, and a more beautiful countryside. It’s a lot we can be thankful for and the farmer’s role in dairy production is hereby acknowledged and saluted. ; would promote beef consumption in general - even though much of our imported beef competes with ours and has a depressing effect on the price we get for our cull cows. What makes it even worse is that there is no promotion assessment whatsoever on imported beef. The beef promotion checkoff is clearly unfair to dairymen and we should all vote against it. Once beef producers come up with a better idea, we can talk about the merits of promotion. A— >!■ Sincerely, Forney Longenecker, Lititz, Pa. By Tom Armstrong x wouldn't know w hynot. some OF THIS MOLD IS REAL PRETTY. . OLO/NEW Story Lesson for June 5,1977 Background Scripture: Exodus 1 through 2 Devotional Reading; Psalms 102:12-22 Thirty-three hundred years ago there was trouble in Egypt. How could something that happened that long ago be of any intertest or relevance to us today? The world has changed so much in thirty three centuries. Society has changed. Technology has changed. Geography has changed. Everything has changed - except people! And since people produce the headlines, they have not changed much either: EGYPTKEEPS WARY EYE ON ISRAEL! ISRAEL PROTESTS EGYPTIAN “PROVOCATIONS”! JEWS AND EGYPTIANS CLASH AGAIN! The story in the Book of Exodus may be an old one, " but it is also very contemporary. For example, the roots of conflict are still much the same. The writer of Exodus outlines these for us. First of all, - there is FEAR! “Behold,” say the Egyptians among themselves, “the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us” (Exodus 1:10). Look around the world today and wherever you see major unrest you will also hear people saying “They are too many and too much for us” - in Ireland, in Lebanon, in Southeast Asia, yes, and in our own land, too. Wherever there are minorities and majorities there is fear at work. Secondly, the writer of Exodus tells us that there was EXPLOITATION - “Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply...” (1:10). We can always find good reasons for doing the wrong thing. Our own colonials found good reasons for introducing and perpetuating slavery. Many nations found good reasons to build colonial empires. One of the “good” reasons that motivated the Egyptians was the fear that “if war befall us, they join our enemies and fight against u 5...” (1:10b). When we have oppressed pedple and exploited them, we have good reason to fear what would happen when they gain some power. But...they multiplied The fact is, exploitation is usually profitable. The Egyptians lived in dread of the Israelites, yet at the same time they didn’t want TO RECOGNIZE VOLUNTEER CORN Seldom have we observed as much volunteer corn growing in our local fields; this com that has been left in the field since last fall is growing like a weed and will hurt com yields, the same as any other weed. The big problem is to know how to get rid of it. We do not know of any herbicides that can be used without killing all of the com plants. On tilled or minimum tilled fields, the cultivator can be used to kill the plants between the rows. On no-till fields, we know of no means of eradication except the hand hoe. If cultivation is to be used, it should be done while the com is small to eliminate the competition as soon as possible. All of this volunteer com growing at this time reminds us that too much of the 1976 com crop was left in the field TO CONTROL MULTIFLORA ROSES This wild rose is a menace in too many pasture fields and woodlots. We have held two indoor meetings and two field demonstrations in Lancaster County regarding this program. We urge local farmers to give some attention to stopping the spread of this wild rose. The materials that may be used include Tordon 10K pellets, 2, 4-5, T with £il, and a herbicide named Roundup. Each of these have special application needs and should be well understood before using. A special Certificate is needed to purchase and apply the Tordon 10-K pellets. We urge fanners to become acquainted with these materials and use them now, or later this year. In some cases, such as under good tree plantings, it might be necessary to hire Farm Monday, June 6 Registration begins for beef referendum. Sign up at the ASCS office in your county if you expect to vote next month. Deadline for signing up is June 17. to let them go. They needed them, just as the USSR both oppresses its own Jews and yet refuses to let them go. The old-new story: “So they made the people of Israel serve rigor, and made their lives bitter with hard service... “(1:13,14). It has been customary for men and nations to deal with their guilt, not by changing then actions, but intensifying them. It is as if an evil course pursued, hard enough and long enough will somehow become “right.” From this old story there is a lesson to be learned that is both ancient and contemporary: “But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad” (1:12) - when we set ourselves on a collision course with the will of God, even man’s most monstrous evil cannot long prevail. NOW IS THE TIME Max Smith County Agr. Agent Telephone 394-6851 machinery and grub oat these plants. Additional information is available at any of our County Extension Offices. TO CONTROL ALFALFA INSECTS The second crop of alfalfa is starting slowly due to the dry weather; however, the problem of leaf hoppers u usually with us for the second and third cuttings Also, on new stands of aifa| a planted this spring, insects can be taking their toll. We urge growers to observe their fields several times a week and apply insecticides to prevent insect damage The alfalfa leaf miner, causing discoloration of the leaves, was found on a number of first cuttings, however, with the normal sprays for weevil, or leaf hoppers, this insect should not be a serious problem, la repeating this subject this week I hope that all growers will do something to prevent insect damage on all later cuttings of alfalfa this year TO PREPARE GRAIN BINS If the dry weather continues, the barley and wheat crop will be ripening rapidly. This means that the grain bins should be cleaned out of old grain and sprayed for the control of insects Sweep out all of the cobwebs and dirt and spray the walls, floor, and ceilings with Malathion, Methoxychlor, or a Pyrethrin gram protectant. Make these spray applications at least 21 hours before new grain is put into the bin. New gram should not be placed on top ol old grain because there is danger of insect infection into the new crop. The bins or storage area should be rodent-proofed as much as possible before the new grain is stored. Calendar York County 4-H Clothinj judging practice, 4-H Center, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 7 Lancaster County Jr Holstein Club meets the Village Green Miniature Golf Course, Strasburg, 7:30 p.ro. Area wool pool, DoylestoWj , RR station on Ashland Street, 7 a.m. to 4 pm Hunterdon County, N.J., Son Conservation District supervisors meet at the Extension Center, 730 p.m. Wednesday, June 8 York County Beekeeper s meet at 7:30 p.m. at tfe home of Quay Minniw Red Lion. Com twilight meeting ® Chester County, 7 p.m the Extension com P near Spring City. Area wool pool, ReadiPfi Fairgrounds, 7:30 am 11 3 p.m. Lebanon Count) Conservation Distrtf board of director 5 meeting, 8 p.m. in R OO1 ® 207 of the LebanP County MuniciP* Building. . Adams County {Continued on Pap 31| • ••
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers