AlD— Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 31,1981
Lancaster Farming says...
Are farmers better off today?
Having spent several millions of
dollars to study the structure of
agriculture, the U S Government
h?s .cached several conclusions that
won’t surprise anybody
Nevertheless, those
bear notice
Keep in mind that progress in
agriculture, like anything else in
society, should be measured not by
the few way out in front but by the
general well-being of those who
represent the average farmer
To paraphrase President Reagan's
campaign question Are you, as a
farmer, -better off today’ than you
were 10 years ago 7
The government came up with
some answers It says present tax
policies have a significant effect on
farm structure (Surprise l )
In practice, tax policies encourage
land purchases by larger farmers and
wealthy, nonfarm investors seeking a
hedge against inflation and to put off
WHEN GOD DOESN’T
WANT OUR HELP
February 1,1981
Background Scripture:
Matthew 13-1-52
Devotional Reading:
Zephamah 3 11-13
A recent convert to
Christianity was being in
terviewed on a tv talk show
TO PRACTICE
SANITATION
Livestock and poultry
diseases are around. In this
part of the state where the
farms are smaller and the
buildings are close together,
all producers must take a
special effort to enforce
strict sanitation and security
measures At this tune I’m
Gaaßeojsos
C&K X 6RDW HOUSe PLAtttZ FOR | '
mV M-H EI/FN THOU6-H
tax payments
Technology, the product of past
research and education, has had a
major impact in that its benefits are
realized sooner by larger farmers
Changes in the ag marketing
system have affected farm structure,
the study says Increasingly, the
marketing system is oriented to
serve the larger producers
Farm commodity and credit
policies have been of greater benefit
to larger farmers, the government
‘‘discovered ”
conclusions
The study admitted that govern
ment policies which explicitly or
unintentionally encourage the trend
toward larger farms are both in
flationary and inefficient
While none of the above really
constitutes news, one conclusion is
noteworthy
“Futher gams to be realized for
society from the shift to larger farm
units are small, if they exist all all,”
'What do you like best about
being a Christian 9 ” the show
host asked him. It didn’t take
the new Christian long to
say, Preaching against the
sinners and warning people
about the Devil ” He said it
with an innocent zest and
pride that indicated there
was nothing casual about his
answer
I suppose when it comes
right down to sheer fun in
religion there is nothing
quite so enjoyable as
preaching against sinners
and warning people about
the Devil It is a rare
preacher who hasn’t gotten
some enjoyment con
scious or unconscious
from preaching a fire and
thinking of the pseudorabies
situation in this county and
neighboring areas. We have
some problems with the
infection in cattle, and some
bovines have died recently
In most cases, hogs are the
carrier of the virus to cattle.
Farmers are urged not to
mix hogs and cattle
together Hogs may appear
normal and healthy but still
can be carrier? to cattle.
Also, we repeat the caution
about reckless discarding of
dead animals, especially
dead pigs. Most fatalities in
swine are with young pigs. If
/r!? idont
?mes i /
brimstone sermon We’d all
rather be flaming prophets
than soothing healers
Weeds And Wheat
And to some degree, our
passion for socking it to the
sinners” finds a source of
sorts in the teachings of
Jesus Did he not charac
terize the judgement of God
as a separating of the "sheep
and goats,” the sinners from
the saints 9 Is is not true that
in his great parable of
judgement (Matthew 13 24-
30), Jesus likens it to the
harvesting of wheat and the
discarding of the weeds 9 Did
he not specify that the weeds
were to be bound in bundles
to be burned”, while the
they are discarded
carelessly, stray animals
and birds will surely spread
the infection to other
premises Livestock
producers are urged to be on
the alert and manage with
the most strict practices.
Also, keep all visitors out of
buildings unless clean
footwear and disinfectants
are used liberally. We could
have some serious problems
down the road
TO PLANT TREES
Firewood is being used
more and more as a source
of fuel, this means that more
of our trees are going to be
cut for this purpose In some
cases we may be running
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the report says
In face of all the financial realities
outlined in the report, then, the
USDA turned its back on the
economistsrand sided with the
sociologists
No longer is the person sym
pathetic to the small family farm to
be accused of sentimentalism or
wanting to move backwards m time
The U S government itself says
there is little further benefit to be
gained by having farm size increase
significantly beyond today’s general
levels
That doesn't mean American farms
are exempt from economic trends
Only about one-third as many
counties derive 20 percent or more
of local income from farming as did in
1950 A handful of large farms still
account for the lion's share of farm
income
What the government concluded is
current programs must be changed
Wheat is to be gathered into
God’s heavenly ‘ barn”
(13 30)' Yes, without a
doubt, that’s how Jesus put
it
But Jesus has more to say
about the ‘weeds and the
wheat ” In his parable,
Jesus tells us that, when it
was obvious that the far
mer’s field was filled with
weeds as well as wheat,
servants came asking
‘Then do you want us to go
and gather them'” That
question, for all its antiquity,
is a very contemporary one
Christians still come to the
Lord, asking for his blessing
as they go out to pull up the
weeds from hip field How we
short on firewood in the
future Some woodlots can
stand only so much cutting.
Therefore, we suggest that
land owners do some tree
planting to replace the trees
that are being used for
firewood. It may take two or
more decades for the trees to
develop into firewood size,
but that will still be good for
our environment Trees such
as oak, hickory, black locust,
beech, apple, ash, and maple
will be good trees for shade
and for firewood.
TOUSECORRES-
PONDENCE COURSES
Why not go to school at
home this year by enrolling
in one or more of our Penn
iLMlii
to reverse the trend toward fewer
and larger farms
In one of his last acts as Secretary
of Agriculture, Robert Bergland last
week asked “Are our programs
adequate to this task 7 "
He answered in a single word
“No"
USDA found that even programs
designed to protect the farm sector
have accelerated trends that push
families out of farming, keep new
farmers out, and concentrate control
of the resources that produce our
food into the hands of fewer persons
The Farm Bill, to be redrawn over
the coming months, will say whether
the decade and century to come will
be better than the one past
A silent majority deserves no vote
If the family farm is to survive, today
is the day to initiate policies which
will reverse its continuing downward
slide, and give a happier answer to
the question posed above
love to do battle with the
bad guys” for God and
humiliate them whenever we
can How sweet it is’
Our Task And His
And so, few of us ever stop
to take seriously the rest of
Jesus’ parable of the weeds
and wheat We stop short of
permitting Jesus to say once
again, “No? lest in gathering
the weeds you root up the
wheat along with them Let
both grow together until the
harvest” (13 29,30) Do we
hear that LET THEM
BOTH GROW TOGETHER
UNTIL THE HARVEST'
The reason is simple we are
not wise enough to gather up
the weeds without en-
State Correspondence
courses’ These courses by
mail are offered in the fields
of agriculture, family living,
and community develop
ment They are very
practical and usually cost
from $4 00 to $lO.OO per
course This provides an
opportunity for folks to learn
more about a particular
subject while working and
living a normal life at home
Additional information is
available by contacting your
local Extension Office, or by
writing to Correspondence
Course, 307 Agr Adm Bldg ,
University Park, Pa. 16802
We strongly recommend
some of these courses to
brush up on projects of your
interest
TO BE
SELF-SUFFICIENT
Are you prepared to be
isolated for several days at a
tune this winter due to snow
or ice storms’ Do you have a
stand-by generator that can
supply sufficient electricity'
How about your food, w?»er,
and medical supplies’ To
date we have had verj little
ice or snow in our weather
picture, however, weathei
has a habit of balancing
things over a period of time
dangenng the wheat For all
of our complacent
judgements, we really do
know enough to distinguish
between them.
So Jesus continues, And
at the harvest time I will tell
the reapers. ” It is Christ
and Christ alone who is able
to separate the wheat from
the weeds. If these grow side
by side in God’s field, it is his
concern and his province,
not ours No matter how
much we may enjoy judging
one another, it is a power
that belongs to God alone
Our task is not to worry
about the weeds, but to
concentrate on being the
wheat
We can still get severe
storms or blizzards that maj
work hardships on some
folks The important thing is
to keep a good inventory ol
the necessities of every da>
living for use m case of £
weather emergency. Man}
of us depend upon electricity
for almost everything Wher
this is not available we car
have severe problems I’c
urge all farmers and folks u
the rural areas to give this
some thought and b<
prepared for the worst
Farm
Calendar
Today, January 31
Delaware Holstein Assn , 10
a m , Sleats Bros Faim
& Odessa Fire Hall,
Odessa, Del
York 4-H Baby Beef
Banquet, 7 pm,
Orangeville Fire Hall,
Hanover
Garden State Dairy Goat
Assn luncheon, Ipm,
Ryland Inn, Whitehouse,
N.J
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