Alo—Lancaster Fannins, Saturday, June 21,1950
Lancaster Farming says...
The independent dairymen in
Pennsylvania need a single, united
voice which speaks for them and only
for them.
Three separate and recent issues
underline the need for independent
dairymen to have a formal channel to
speak their piece.
The first is the drafting of SB 1287,
the Milk Security Fund legislation
The second is the inability of Nor
theastern independent dairy farmers
to speak with one voice when state
highway regulations made it illegal
for 80,000 pound tankers to roll the
highways. The third is the rough
handling being given independents
by Eastern Milk Producers
Cooperative.
There are several sides to each of
the three questions and it is not our
purpose here to pass on the merits of
all of them But it seems one thing
has been left out of the decision-
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DOESN'T GOD CARE?
Lesson for June 22, 1980
Background Scripture:
Habakkuk.
Devotional Reading:
Psalms 20:1-7.
TO USE THE
AGRONOMY GUIDE
The 1960 Agronomy Guide
published by our Extension
Service at Penn State is one
of the very best handbooks
for all farmers. This Guide
has been published for yers
and is up-dated annually; a
copy is available at any
Extension Office in the state
of Pennsylvania. We urge
farmers to get one of these
and use it. I know there are Weather conditions have
RURAL ROUTE
60LLLLY . IS ms
Independent dairymen need a voice
The Book of Habakkuk
opens with some nasty
questions which the prophet
puts to God: “Oh Lord, how
long shall I cry for help and
thou wilt not hear? Or cry to
thee, ‘Violence!’ and thou
wilt not save? Why dost thou
make me see wrongs and
look upon trouble? (1:1-13).
I And just m case God doesn’t
know what he is talking
about, the prophet goes on
to spell out his complaint
“ Destruction and violence
are before me; strife and
contention arise. So the law
is slacked and justice never
goes forth. For the wicked
surround the righteous, so
justice goes forth perverted”
mk.
several thousand out in
Lancaster County.
I’m also concerned that
many farmers who have
them are not using them.
Answers to numerous phone
calls asking about crop
practices can be found in the
Agronomy Guide. I suggest
that each farmer index the
crops that he is growing with
tabs so the information can
be found more readily. One
of these rainy days become
more familiar with the
contents of this Guide. It
should be very useful and
contains dependable and
researched information.
TO CONTROL FLIES
making process - the opinion of the
independent dairy farmer
The Milk Security Fund, heartily
endorsed by this paper, was drawn
up almost entirely by representatives
of dairy cooperatives The co-ops
wrote in a section which allows them
to escape the provisions of the Fund,
leaving independents to live with the
law This is not to demean co-ops
they did what was best for their
members.
The only serious challenge to co-op
ideas came from the Pennsylvania
Association of Milk Dealers While
PAMD waged an honorable fight, it
must be admitted it was working for
the dealers’ interests and not the
producers’ interests
The independent shippers, who
deal one-on-one with the handlers,
had little to no input on the bill They
are lucky it turned out as well as it
did
(1:4.5).
There’s more to his
complaint, but that should be
enough to make it clear that
he was the kind of man who
, didn’t hesitate to make his
feelings known to God and
challenge him with
legitimate complaints. In
short, he was saying to God,
“Don’t you care, God’
Maybe you do, but it doesn’t
look that way to me! ”
The Lord Answered
Pretty sharp words for a
mere mortal to fling at his
God! How dare he question
the justice of Almighty God?
Yet Habakkuk knew that
he dared not fail to speak to
favored the breeding of too
many flies. Excess moisture
along with livestock and
vegetative waste will make
it possible for heavy fly
reproduction. The first step
is to clean up the premises
and establish good sanitation
practices. If there aren’t any
places for the flies to lay
eggs, then the population
will decrease.
Barns and box-stalls first place, algae growth is
should be cleaned out stimulated by the water
frequently. Storage piles being too clear, or too
should be drenched or shallow. With both of these
sprayed weekly with in- cases the sunlight is able to
secticides such as Diazmon reach the bottom of the pond
or Sevm. Clean premises and start vegetative growth,
that dry out quickly after a If the water can be kept
ram will not foster high fly cloudy, or if it is deep enough
By Tom Armstrong
i’,v- Ldbe of the overweight milk
tankers, there was no single
organization to go knocking on doors
in the state legislature and tell
congressmen relief was needed
That such relief came was largely
due to a strong union-backed
trucking lobby and the work of
general farm organizations
But it hardly seems proper that a
general group like the Grange
Farmers' Association, or Farmers
Union, composed of many factions,
could be called on regularly to for
mulate good policy for a specific
group Nor could they support a small
percentage of members who may be
in conflict with another group within
the membership
The case in point here is the recent
decision by Eastern Milk Producers
Cooperative to require Farmland
Dairies' independent shippers to join
the Co-op
the Lord concerning what
was in his heart and mind.
To try to keep these in
dignant feelings to himself,
he knew, was futile, for God
already saw into his prophet.
It was not safe to try to hide
his thoughts from God, for
the Lord despised deceit.
Furthermore, because
Habakkuk dared to ask these
questions and make his
complaints known, God
came to him with a message
that was intended not only
for him but for all the people.
First of all, God tells his
prophet, make sure the
people can understand the
message you deliver for me
“ Write the vision; make it
production. Don’t be blamed
by your non-farm neighbors
as the mam source of flies in
the community.
TOCONTROL
POND ALGAE
One of the major
management problems with
many farm ponds is the
control of weeds and algae.
This is not a new item and is
difficult to control. In the
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BY CURT HARLER, EDITOR
plain upon tablets, so he may
run who reads it” (2:2). This
was not a message for a
nation of joggers, but of
people in too great a hurry to
hear or heed ncmial com
munication.
If It Seems Slow.,
The message was
relatively simple: “For still
the vision awaits its tune; it
hastens to the end it will
not he. If it seem slow, wait
for it; it will surely come, it
will not delay” (2:3,4). It
may seem that God doesn’t
care about the plight of his
people, about the rampant
evil that seems to control the
world, but he does and he
(at least 18 to 24 inches) at
all places, there should be
less trouble.
If algae or weeds are a
problem, the first step is to
secure a permit from the
Pennsyvlama Fish Com
mission to treat the pond
with chemicals. This is very
important before any
chemicals are added. Ap
plications for this permit are
available from any Ex
tension Office or from the
Fish Patrolmen m each
county. If the pond is to
function m the many dif
ferent ways it is intended,
the algae and weeds should
be controlled.
TO ELIMINATE
COLORADO
POTATO BEETLE
Many potato growers have
learned that the Colorado
Farm Calendar
r. u tnrd J. y ’i Ull Farm Safety Seminar;
Delta Farm 9 a.m.- M essi C k Farm Equip
-4 pm., Route 851, Delta. ment; Rheems Exit
Lancaster County Dairy Route 283; 1 p.m.
Prmcess Pageant, Farm Berks County Dairy Prm-t
and Home Center, 6:30 cess Pageant; Berkshire
p.m. Sheraton; 7 p.m.
Somerset Pomona Grange cha rolais Fie f d Day and
meeting; Wills Grange; Heifer Sale> 7 aear
10 a m - (Turn to Page A 33)
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There seems to be no question that
Eastern’s opportunistic move is
legal And Eastern is doing what is
best for Eastern But a lot of folks
don't feel it’s right to force farmers to
join a Co-op when those farmers
repeatedly turned down the op
portunity to do so In fact, many of
the shippers earlier left Eastern to
seek a better market
Again, the independent has self
seeking outsiders deciding his fate
There is no central organization, no
rallying point, no one-for-all group to
help the independent out of the bind
General farmer organizations
remain silent in fear of internal strife
or all-out civil war
As milk processors and dairy co
ops grow in size, and markets shrink,
the independents in this state would
be well advised to consider banding
together Such ties may, in the long
run, assure their independence
will settle it as he has
promised...in his own tune!
So be patient, for “the
righteous shall live by his
faith” (2:4).
I think we can identify well
with Habakkuk for when we
see how things are gomg in
our own world, when evil
seems triumphant and good
humiliated, we too are
tempted to ask, “Don’t you
care, God’” And the answer
to our just complamt is still
as it was then:
Still the vision awaits its
time; it hastens to the end
It will not lie.
If it seems slow, wait for
it; it will surely come!
Potato Beetles are thriving
on the usual isecticides.
This was experienced last
year and is again true this
summer. It seems they have
developed a resistance to
Sevm, Malathion, etc. Last
year materials such as (
Ambush were released for
their control. And now, we
leam that a material named
Pydnn has been approved
for their control. Sources
may be limited for this new
material but an effort should
be made to obtain it for any
sized acreage. These beetles
can defoliate a potato plant
quickly, resulting m a weak
plant and poor tuber
development. Directions on
the label should be followed
accurately. We hope this will
be of some help to potato
growers.