Alo—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 15,1980
Lancaster Farming says...
The farm community is offering
quite a few reasons why dairymen do
not need a milk checkoff program
First of all, milk is nature's most
perfect food The ad campaigns in
the 1960 s did such a good job of
convincing dairymen that humanity
could almost survive forever on a
diet of milk products that everyone
else must remember and be con
vinced, too After all, the campaign
was only 15 years and one
generation of homemakers ago
There is no reason to throw good
money into promotion since
everybody needs milk Who cares
that most orientals and many blacks
can’t digest milk 7
Why should farmers pay for
research and development of new
dairy products that will be easier for
those millions to digest 7 So what if
many Caucasians, including
President Carter, can’t eat cheese 7
ON BEING
QUALIFIED
November 16,1980
Background Scripture:
Acts 13:13-52;
2 Corinthians 3:1-6.
Devotional Reading:
Acts 26:9-18.
TO PLACE ORDERS
FOR NEXT YEAR
Farm planning is very
important as a part of good
farm management. One of
the things that need to be
done far ahead of the need is
to order supplies for the year
ahead. We have only a few
weeks left in this year but
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Why we don’t need a milk checkoff
I came into the Christian
ministry by the normal
route: four years of un
dergraduate college,
Ucensure by my
denomination as a
“probationer”, three years
of seminary, doctrinal
examination by ec
clesiastical officials, and
finally: ordination.
I have not regrets about
that route, nor am I in favor
of abolishing these and other
qualifications for the
Christian ministry. Yet, at
the same time I am
disturbed from time to time
that our ecclesiastical
system that has been
designed to protect the
church from an unqualified
many agri-business con
cerns will appreciate early
orders. Also, in many cases,
cash discounts can be ob
tained when ordering far in
advance of delivery dates
between getting the variety
quality, and quantity needed
as compared to having to
take what is left. I’m
thinking of hme and fer
tilizer, legume, grass, gram
seeds, and various
pesticides. Spend a little
time now in planning and
ordering your major needs
Will they be eating up all that much of
the millions of pounds in surplus 7
Milk prices are just fine today, so
why pay in to a kitty 7 The industry is
safe as long as its good friend, the
government, continues to assure an
ever-increasing return for producing
a product that already is in surplus
Even leaders of giant co-ops like
Inter-State have called for lower milk
parity percentages to cut supply
before the manditory April price
review and the big price crash Is it
better to cut prices, forcing farmers
to produce less, than to build
demand 7
Some folks say demand for milk is
pretty steady regardless of price.
Inelastic, the economists call it,
despite current sales slippage So
why try to build sales by advertising 7
It only makes those flashy dressers
on Madison Avenue richer
Basically, all advertising does for a
product is make it more expensive
ministry, has, at the same
time, become somewhat of
an airtight pressure
chamber that keeps out of
the church any ministry that
does not fit into the system I
have no doubt that we need
safeguards and order, but I
worry that we frequently
exchange safety for in
spiration and order for God’s
Spirit.
NOT SELF-SUFFICIENT
We need to be reminded of
what lies at the basis of any
ministry - clergy or lay. Paul
helps us in 2 Corinthians
when he says: “Such is the
confidence that we have
through Christ toward God.
Not that we are sufficient of
ourselves to claim anything
for next spring It could save
you money, and also, make
you money.
TO BECOME
PESTICIDE
CERTIFIED
but I fear there are hundreds
of pesticide users that are
not getting certified, or re
certified. The objective is to
be sure that all folks using
any kinds of pesticide is well
acquainted with the
material. I find no fault in
this effort. However, it is
unfortunate that too many
folks have made very little
effort to become certified, or
to get re-certified. This has
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and farmers must keep milk prices
reasonable Ads from those big
companies like Deere and IH,
Pioneer and DeKalb just increase the
prices of their product Telling people
about a product’s benefits won’t
encourage anyone to buy wisely
Remember, the dairy business is
different than other industries In
most fields, many little dealers sell
the output of one or two major
producers, milk is turned out by
many little producers and sold by a
handful of dealers Only large
producers should advertise, not
small ones
Dairymen shouldn’t be obliged to
help themselves in a checkoff unless
processors and retail outlets pay,
.too Obviously, the dairy is the big
loser when an individual farmer’s
income suffers since the milk goes for
processing
What difference does it make if
nor>nio cop milk as the stuff mother
as coming from us; our
sufficiency is from God who
has qualified us to be
ministers of a new
covenant ”(2 Cor. 3-4,5)
Whatever covenantal
ministry any of us have for
Christ it is not dependent
upon our own adequacy. To
be sure, we bring some
qualifications to that task;
we may be good com
municators, we may have an
easy way with people, etc.
But, although the ministries
of Christ need our God-given
gifts, they are not wholly
dependent upon them.
Anyone who becomes in
volved in ministering to
people knows that he or she
is sometimes - perhaps of-
been possible during the past
year by attending an
educational meeting in your
community, or county, at
which the pesticide program
has been discussed. We urge
attend one of these meetings
in the near future and get
qualified to purchase
pesticides in the future. If
you do not, you may not be
able to buy what you need.
TO ESTABLISH
FARM SECURITY
Every farmer should give
some thought to protecting
his or her property from
intruders. I realize it is
difficult to put every item
BY CURT RARLER, EDITOR
times
inadequate for the task.
Even less are we made
adequate or qualified by the
education we receive or the
stamp of approval which the
church puts upon by or
dination. All of these may
build upon, add to, and
enhance, but never replace
the only adequacy we ever
have: the sufficiency of God.
Our education, our training,
our ordination - these are but
tools, not the source of the
power by which we minister.
THE SPIRIT GIVES LIFE
We 'must constantly be
creating and perfecting our
man-made systems to help
us in the performance of our
covenantal ministries for
under lock and key - and this
may not be necessary;
however, some practices can
be established that will
discourage those who want
to rob or burglarize. I’m
light that give considerable
protection around the farm
homested; also, the
ownership of a watch dog or
two, that will announce the
presence of a stranger, or
something out of normal.
Farm Calendar
Today, November 15
Championship Rodeo, Farm
Show Complex,
Harrisburg, through Nov.
16.
First Pa. Fall Classic
Quarter Horse Sale,
Farm Show Bldg.
Montgomery County DHIA
Banquet, Christopher
Dock School, 7 p.m.
Monday, November 17
N orthampton 4-H Dairy Club
meetmg.
Delaware farmland
preservation meeting,
Gunning Bedford Junior
High School, Delaware
City, 7 30 p.m
makes you drink for breakfast, while
Coke is seen as a fun party drink and
beer is the beverage to have at a
clam bake or after a hard day's work 7
Advertising won’t help milk’s stodgy
image Anyhow, it doesn’t matter
what people think since we know the
product is good
Most Pennsylvania co-op officers
and farmer leaders are behind the
three-fourth of one percent milk
promotion checkoff per cwt because
they sing the party line Used to be
they'd make sure they got their
contributions back, but this
referendum has no ask-out
If each and every one of those
arguments makes sense, vote
against the milk promotion
referendum If any one, or all of
them, sounds a bit wierd, vote for the
referendum
After all, dairymen, it’s your future
personally
Christ, but, when we have
reduced something to an
organizational chart," a
confession of faith, a
procedure for equipping one
of Christ’s workers, let us
not be so arrogant to think
that our organizations,
confessions, and procedures
are equivalent to the Holy
Spirit. For our ministry, as
Paul puts it, it not that of a
“written code but in the
Spirit; for the written code
kills, but the Spirit gives
life” (2 Cor. 3:6).
The first and last
qualification of anyone who
ministers in the name of
Christ is to know, then, that
“our sufficiency is from
God.”
The keeping of gas tanks,
workshops, garages, and
herbicide storage places
under lock and key will
make it more difficult for
anyone to steal from these
places. The lockmg of
loading chutes from bams or
feedlots is a practice that
needs more attention; a pipe
or steel bar across the chute
might make it more difficult
to back up a truck and steal
(Turn to Page A 25)
Tuesday, November 18
Lancaster County Holstein
Association annual
banquet, Indian Springs,
Landisville, 6; 45 p.m.
Farm Credit annual
meeting, Palmyra Fire
Hall, 7 pm,
Ephrata Adult Farmers
meeting on wildlife
conservation, 7:45 p.m.,
high school ag depart
ment.
Wednesday, November 19
Flower Growers’ Day at
Penn State.
Farm Credit Assn, of
Lancaster annual
(Turn to Page Al 2)