—Lancaster Famine, Saturday, February 4,1978
10
The market that is - and isn’t
The little girl and her mother Dragon.” She wanted a drink Bless
walked up to the concession stand her heart, nothing but milk would do.
before the start of the current But the elderly lady behind the
popular movie, Walt Disney’s “Pete’s counter had to tell the girl that the
During the course of a dinner
conversation this week, I learned
that a Lancaster County new and
used car dealership saw its costs rise
by 40 per cent during the past two
years. A monthly insurance premium
alone was taking a phenomenal
$l5OO per month out of the budget.
It should be noted here that the
dealership referred to is of modest
size. No big show room and no fancy
location It might even be said that
the business is small by Lancaster
County standards.
Why the lines about an automobile
retailing business? Simply, to serve
as a reminder that the farmer is not
alone when he takes notice of his
NO ABSENT
GOD
Lesson for February 5,1978
Background Scripture:
Psalms 78; 105; 136.
Devotional Reading:
Psalms 77:11-20
One of the most unique
TO CONSIDER
MORE ALFALFA
good alfalfa hay at
$lOO.OO per ton and corn
around $2.25 per bushel, it
appears that many farmers
might benefit from having
more hay to sell. I realize
that some soils may not be
able to produce legumes
such as alfalfa, but most of
them can be put into shape to
produce alfalfa and clover.
Liberal applications of lime
are very important. The
most recent crop averages
show that 3.26 tons of alfalfa
is average for Lancaster
County and 94.3 bushels of
com. The economics of these
averages at going prices
shows a greater gross in
RURAL ROUTE
THE FJPOST HAS
HEAVED THE GROUND
UP SO MUCH THIS
gate vjoht opbn
Bis
The squeeze spreads
aspects of the religion of
Israel was the conviction
that God is present and
active in human affairs, both
individual and collective in
many religions and
philosophies, God is seen as
a kind of Absentee Landlord
who owns the premises but
' rarely pays them a visit. It is
the remoteness and unap
proachability of God that
dominates much religious
thinking today. Appalled by
those who seem to.create
God in man’s image', ihany
people shudder at any
concept of God which sees
him acting in a human
manner.
AGodof deeds
come from alfalfa hay. In
addition, there is great
possibility that alfalfa hay
yields will mcrease in the
next few years. Some
growers are already getting
6 to 8 tons per acre. Good soil
conservation favors the
growing of more hay crops in
comparison to all com. 1
firmly believe that more
acres of alfalfa will benefit
farmers at this time.
TO PLAN FOR
TOPDRESSINGWHEAT
The practice of applying
extra nitrogen to winter
wheat early in the spring is a
good one; this treatment is
usually made about the
middle of March when
vegetative growth begins.
1U SET 7 HE TRACTOR
WITH THE FRONT END
LOADER TO LOOSFN UP
THE GROuNb
y
rising expenses A 40 per cent in
crease in costs over a two year period
isn't easy to work with New car
prices haven’t gone up by quite that
much to make up for it. So the car
dealer, like the farmer, has had to
tighten his belt. Like the farmer, he’s
faced with government regulations,
including minimum wage standards
and safety rulings.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that a
lot of businesses are caught m the
cost-price squeeze. Not just farms
and car dealerships. The grass isn’t
necessarily greener on the other side *
of the fence, even though most of us
are often tempted to believe so.
Yet, it does not follow that,
if God is not human in his
nature, he is necessarily
“out of this world” either. If
it is immature to think of
God as “the Big Man up in
the sky,” that does not mean
that God cannot act within
the world he created. There
is nothing simplistic in
believing that God is at work
in the affairs of his creation
andhis creatures.
This is the way that the
people of Israel usually
thought of him; as the Divine
Being Who-Has-Done-Some
thmg. If you work your way
through the Old Testament,
you will find few, if any,
abstract ideas about God.
This year, considering the
very high market price of
straw, it should be more
beneficial to add nitrogen to
obtain higher yields of
straw. In fact, a high yield of
straw might be more
valuable than high grain
yields. Applications of from
30 to 60 pounds of actual
nitrogen per acre has given
increased yields of both
grain and straw. When the
field is under-seeded to a
new stand of alfalfa or
clover, then the nitrogen
applications should be kept
to the lower amounts. Every
effort should be made to
harvest maximum amounts
of straw this coming year.
theater did not offer milk. The girl’s
mother bent down to the girl’s height
and attempted to persuade the child
to make another choice. Having no
success at all with her sales pitches,
she erected herself, smiled politely
and announced that her daughter
really really didn’t like any drink but
milk. I was wishing I had my camera
handy.
That was a lost sale for the theater,
and a lost sale for the dairy farmer It
makes a person wonder how many
other similar situations anse each
day where a competing product wins
out over the farm fresh food simply
because the farmer’s product wasn't
even offered
Although milk is the example here,
the circumstances can be applied to
other commodities as well.
Another example of lost markets
centers around the allegations of
jnfenor quality eggs being shipped to
New York City. The excuse behind
that scheme is that the consumers in
You will find few
speculations about God’s
nature and being. What you
will find in great abundance
are accounts of what God
has done in his world. Thus,
the writers of the Old
Testament, instead of trying
to tell people what God is
like, concentrate on telling
them what God has done and
is doing.
As we saw last week,
sometimes the Psalmist saw
God revealed in H the
awesomeness of nature or in
the holiness of God’s moral
order. But more often he
found him in acts which
could be pinpointed in
history:
TO SERVICE
EQUIPMENT
The growing season is
rapidly approaching when
all kinds of equipment and
machinery will be needed.
No doubt many of these
items need some repair or
adjustments. Now is the
good time to get that work
started. Your local service
man will appreciate the
business before the spring
rush starts. Many local
farmers may want to do
their own repairing and
servicing. The important
thing is to get this done
before the day the equip
ment is needed. For the non
farm folks this refers to the
lawn mower and the garden
By Tom Armstrong
whv don't ybo try
New York don’t know what a good
egg tastes like, anyway. What
practitioners of such marketing
schemes tend to forget is that only
top quality, good tasting products
will increase the consumer’s appetite
for eggs, milk, meat, fruit,
vegetables, etc
It’s no secret that packing houses
have sent inferior meat through their
marketing channels. And while we
can’t blame eigher the packing house
or the farmer for wanting to make a
sale, sending something irregular
through the market isn’t really a
good idea. But we do it, andTve been
on.that side of the fence myself, as a
matter of fact.
And therrthere’s another example
involving milk -- another personal
experience. The scene of the bad
publicity was a Centre County
supermarket. The gallon,of milk I had
0 give thanks to the Lord,
call on his name, make
known his deeds among die
peoples! Sing to him, sing
praises to him, tell of his
wonderful works!
The people of Israel
regarded their history as
sacred history because they
could see the hand of God
moving within it. Things
didn’t “just happen” - God
made them happen!
A God who leads - - ?
Furthermore, not only did
God act in history, but he
also revealed himself to
them as a Presence. When
they spoke of the
“covenant,” they were
speaking of the relationship
tractor. Equipment kept in
good condition will give
more satisfying service, and
will last much longer.
TO MARKET
CATTLE ON GRADE
One point that was
stressed several times at our
recent cattle feeders day,
referred to the fact that too
many of our local feeders
feed their cattle too long;
they are sold when over
finished dnd are dropped
into a lower yield grade. It is
suggested that producers try
to sell their cattle when they
will grade choice, rather
than keep them until they go
into the prime grade. -This
Farm Calendar
Today, Feb. 4
Ephrata Young Farmers
annual banquet, Mt. Airy
Fire Hall, 6:45 p.m.
York County 4-H Baby Beef
banquet, 7 p.m. at the
Shrewsbury Fire Hall;
speaker: Dr. Barry
Flinchbaugh, special
assistant to the president
of Kansas State
University.
(Turn to Page 37)
between God and his people.
Thus Israel felt and saw his
presence in their national
affairs. They saw him not as
a Celestial Cheerleader
urging them on from afar,
but as The Leader in their
midst: “So he led forth his
people with joy, his chosen
ones with singing” (Psalms
105:43). Thus, when "’the
Psalmist proclaimed,
“Praise the Lord!”, he was
"celebrating,not-an abstract
idea, not s a,; theological"
speculation nor a philosophic
ideal, but a God who was
known because of a*
Presence which could not be
denied.
costs more money per pound
of gain and has a limited
market. Weight is not a good
indication of when to sell
because small-framed cattle
will reach the choice grade
at much lighter weights than
some of the larger-framed
Feeders are
urged to become more
familiar with what it takes to
grade choice, and then move
ttie cattle before they get
over-finished.
Tuesday, Feb. 7
Maryland Holstein Con
vention at Kent County’s
Great Oak Resort.
Southeastern Pennsylvania
com and soybean clinic
and trade show, Westover
Inn and Golf Club, Jef
fersonville, 9 a.m. to 3
p.m.
(Turn to Page 25)