AlO-LaacMter Fanring, Saturday, December 13,1980
Lancaster Farming says...
“Society is starting to realize that
we can not continue to tolerate the
levels of soil loss we are seeing in
many of the nation’s most productive
agricultural states.
“If land users can’t do a better job
of keeping those losses within ac
ceptable limits, I think they can
expect to have society trying to tell
them how they may or may not use
the land we have left.”
That quote is not from some wild
eyed radical nor from an avowed
communist.
But the message is clear: if farmers
don’t clean up their farming prac
tices, non-farmers or government
agencies are going to step in to tell
them how to farm ‘right.’
When U.S. Soil Conservation
Service Administrator Norman Berg
made the above statement he had in
mind the legions of non-farm people
who are presumed to know next to
nothing about agriculture but who
know enough to realize gullys don’t
THE TWO-POINT
SERMON
December 14,1980
Background Scripture:
Malaclu3:l-5; 4:5-6;
Isaiah 40; 1-11; Matthew 3:1-
12,
11:7-15; 17:9-13.
TO CONSIDER
LEASING MACHINERY
The cost of machinery is a
big item on most of our
modem farms. In this part of
the state most farmers have
sufficient equipment to farm
twice their current acreage.
Our economists suggest that
m many cases it might be
eases ewos
AWD-Jftße 500C> FRIENKoBUT SONFIWE?
WSA6RBE UXRK IaSRHER Ob 4'B
commmm rwifte £mo, toe
AIU) ' '
may he forced to farm 6 right 9
You
belong in farmers’ fields, and mud
should be kept out of streams.
While most farmers could rightly
claim to be doing the best they can,
that ‘best’ may not be good enough
In Cass County, lowa, one of the
nation’s top farming counties, soil
losses this spring were placed as
high as 150 tons per acre on some
farms.
One of America’s most precious
natural resources is its top soil, but
much of it both in lowa and here in
Pennsylvania is simply washing
away
Whatever a farmer's efforts,
whatever assistance is given to save
soil, the pressures from inside and
outside the farm community are
going to build on those who take any
but the most strict line on con
servation.
The state Ag Department this
week held hearings on measures to
require an approved management
plan as a prerequisite to receiving a
Devotional Reading:
Isaiah 7:10-15.
John the Baptist had only a
two-point sermon, but his
rather uncomplicated
message made a tremen
dous unpact upon the people
of Judea. His reputation
spread far and wide and
great crowds went out into
the Judean wilderness to
hear this strange man* who
regarded himself as simply
God’s messenger. So great
was his popularity that even
the Pharisees and Saducees
of Jerusalem went to hear
him. Some even came for
ward to be baptised by him.
What could this man of the
' wilderness possibly say that
would attract such great
more profitable to lease the
machinery than to own it.
This can be true more often
with machinery that is used
only a few times each year
(combines and field chop
pers). Another practice that
is regarded as very
economical is to lure custom
operators to do the work
rather than to buy your own
equipment for that par
ticular job. This is a popular
practice here in
southeastern Pennsylvania.
Farmers are urged to cut
down the big investment and
throngs? Did he have some
new approach to religion?
Was there something unique
about his religious lifestyle
or message? No, John the
Baptist was not unique as a
desert prophet. There had
been many others before
bun, some even setting
precedents for his aesthetic
style and demeanor. Nor
was his message unique or
new. Both his sermon points
were drawn from familiar
themes in the scriptures.
Prepare His Way!
like prophets before him,
John the Baptist called his
listeners to repent. That was
his first sermon point:
change from your sinful
the severe depreciation that
has been experienced
TO PRACTICE
HOLIDAY SAFETY
This is not a new thought
but one that bears repeating.
With the holiday season
approaching there are many
extra decorations and events
that can present fire
hazards. We urge every
parent to discuss the need of
safety measures that will
prevent serious fires and
possible human injury Too
many of us get careless with
our evergreen decorations
and Christmas trees. Can
dles, fireplaces, and over
loading of our electric lines
r IF "TU3O Pa>R£ ftIbJAVS ODE or '
ittan is uwwecessAwi a-h heik mEfnBERS
LEARUTa UJdRK I6SETrtER,"I6 CbmPßonniSfc
AND 'To REACH 60AU5 To6£IHER.
Clean and Green tax assessment
See page A-30.
Eventually farmers will find
themselves unable to participate in
any government program at all if
their farms are not up to snuff. While
getting out of government programs
isn’t a bad idea, it could be un
comfortable should it be forced
A farmer may be declared unfit to
farm the land, the same way a poor
parent can be declared by a court to
be unfit to rear a child.
At the heart of the matter is a
conflict in two outlooks: farmers, on
one side, generally feel they own the
land and can do with it what they
please maybe even if it destroys
forever the land’s value for farming.
Development or poor management
would do just that.
The second group sees the farmer
as steward over a God-given
resource, with the privilege to use
the property, but without the
authority to ruin it.
ways and return to God! And
the second point was clearly
tied to the first: “for the
kingdom of heaven is at
hand” (3:2). Actually, this
was the most important
thing John had to say.
•Everything else he preached
was predicated on his
assurance that the kingdom
of heaven was “at hand.”
Thus, John the Baptist saw
himself as God’s messenger
to prepare his people for his
coming and he linked
himself with Isaiah’s
prophecy:
The voice of one crying in
the wilderness: Prepare the
way of the Lord, make his
paths straight. (Isaiah 40:3).
all are possible fire hazards
when not carefully handled.
We urge everyone to make
an effort to be careful with
holiday decorations and do
not take chances. If there is
a possibility of a fire, then
that item should be
eliminated.
TO GET INFORMED
ON SEWAGE SLUDGE
There is considerable
interest near sewage
disposal plants for the use of
the sludge as a fertilizer on
crop ground. This material
does have good fertilizer
potentials but there are
some limits. In the first
place the land owner should
BY CURT HURLER, EDITOR
So it was a message of
hope, yet at the same time it
was hardly a popular theme
and the great response of the
people to this message must
be regarded as an indication
of their great spiritual
hunger. Nobody likes to be
told to repent, whether for
the kingdom of heaven or
anything else. The term
“repent” is not popular in
most religious circles today
for most us do not like to
think of ourselves as sinners
perhaps a bit “mistaken”
or “misguided,” but not
sinful.
Bear Fruit Befitting
Repentance
To be sure we regularly go
check with the operator of
the sewage plant to leam the
content of the sewage. All
plants are required to have
tests made on then- products
in order to know how to
handle it. There is a growing
supply of sludge from most
areas and plants are con
cerned about disposal
sources. The land owner
should recognize the fer
tilizer value of the material
and also, realize the per acre
limits of application. The
danger of an excess of heavy
metals (copper, zinc, lead,
cadmium) on the land is a
factor regarding the rate of
application. An excess of
these heavy metals could
make the soil toxic to
numerous plants. Farmers
should be aware of these
limitations.
TO MARKET
LIVESTOCK
WHEN READY
Both cattle and hog
producers face higher feed
costs and uncertain
markets. Some are debating
whether to sell their feed
grains and take some profit,
or to take the nsk of
marketing the grains
through cattle or hogs. This
Farmers will point to their land
deeds, the years of time spent im
proving the land, the money invested
in the property.
The others will argue that it is
impossible to own anything that can’t
be taken wherever you go. A shirt
can be packed along, a barn
dismantled and moved. But land is
permanent, part of the national
treasure lode. As such it needs the
efforts of all to assure its safety.
The idea of forced conservation
and strong sanctions against sloppy
land owners may sound socialistic.
But hurting a label at those who
support manditory conservation
won't make them go away any more
than booing an all-star player will
make him drop the ball.
Their conservation goals probably
would profit us all. Farmers need to
substitute a different method of
reaching those goals unless they
want to find themselves forced to
‘farm right.’
through the ritual of
repentance “Forgive us
our debts as we forgive our
debtors” but there is often
something vital lacking m
that ntual. The Baptist
realized that his people also
went through their sterile
rituals, so what he asked of
them was not words of
repentance, but changed
lives: “Bear fruit the befits
repentance, and do not
presume to say to your
selves, “We have Abraham
as our father’ ” (3:9). That
was the only way they could
be truly prepared for Christ
and his kingdom. And it is
still the only way today.
is not an easy decision, and
I’m not about to say which
should be done. However, if
animals are to be fattened
and sold, the feeder should
pay some attention to the
best market weight and
finish to get the highest
possible price. When either
hogs or cattle are fed too
long, they tend to overload
the market and get lower
prices. This extra weight,
and in most cases extra lard
and tallow, adds to the
surplus of the product and
lowers net profits. Feed
efficiency goes down when
animals are over-finished
and over-weight.
Farm
Calendar
Today, Dec. 13
AAM Grassroots Con
vention, Pueblo, Colo.
Continues tomorrow.
Harford County MCMP
annual meeting, Norotb
Harford High School,
Pylesville, 7 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 15
New Castle, Del. computer
(Turn to Page Al 2)