AlO—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 6,1981
It’s that time of year again,
folks. That special month of
June, long recognized for such
joyful events as graduations,
weddings, Father’s Day, and
Dairy Month well, at least
for the past 45 years.
And, once again, Lancaster
Farming is taking a special
look at Pennsylvania's largest
single segment of the farm
economy, with facts and
figures on dairying spilling off
page after page.
It’s our big chance to salute
the state’s 15,000 commercial
dairy farms, 171 licensed milk
dealers and 220 dairy plants
which create jobs for about
80,000 Pennsylvanians. And,
lets not forget those four
legged “factory workers” who
supply the industry with
billions of pounds of milk,
whether through four
“spigots” or just two
Admist the glitter and
glamour that goes along with
celebrating Dairy Month, the
state’s statistics won't let
anyone forget for a minute
there are still unsolved
problems confronting the
dairy industry It’s hard to
believe an industry can be
doing too good a job and too
efficient.
But, no matter how you
flush out the facts, the
numbers show fewer cows
producing more milk on a
smaller number of farms
Last year, Pennsylvania milk
production totaled 8.5 billion
pounds, an increase of 5.1
percent from 1979’s 8 billion
pounds As production went
up, consumption went down
so that now the state’s dairy
NOW IS THE TIME
FOLLOW LABEL
INSTRUCTIONS
I am sure you have heard us say,
read the label and follow the in
structions before using any
pesticide. Well, it is still very
important to all farmers and
gardeners. Many different kinds of
materials are needed to control the
various insect, fungus, weed and
rodent problems.
Every pesticide should carry a
label with directions; these should
be read and followed during the
application of the matenal. Don’t
make the mistake of applying the
material in error and then refer to
the directions.
The labels are provided by law
and should be respected by the
user. All packages should carry
the original label; and never
transfer material into another
carton. Pesticides should be stored
in separate locations where
children cannot get to them -
preferably under lock.
Off the
Soumdlmg
By Sheila Miller, Editor
Time to celebrate
farms produce 120 percent of
our needs.
Too much milk that’s not
news to anybody anymore
But what are we going to do
about it?
A Berks County dairy farmer
confided recently that he’d
love to be able to quit milking
for awhile but how can he 7
With investment in cows
and equipment, he said, he
can't afford to sell his cows
and leave his barn empty
Dairy farmers don’t have the
flexibility that hog and cattle
feeders have when the market
is poor, he remarked.
The ‘unfortunate’ marketing
system controlling dairy
producers almost locks them
into a dead-end road where
they're caught in a vicious cul
de-sac of making more milk to
get a bigger pay check. To get
a premium, they keep the
milkfat as high as they can,
even though the diet
conscious consuming public is
demanding lowfat foods, from
milk to meat.
And round and round the
milk carousel they go who
knows when the ride will end 7
Some economists and dairy
specialists (with investments
of time and little capital) are
full of suggestions on how
dairy farmers can cure their
tils Culling cows, cutting
credit, and jacking up gram
prices are equally feasible
ideas for farmers, bankers,
and feed dealers respectively
Somehow nobody is thrilled
with the ideas
Others recommend more
promotion. Catchy slogans
and mass media commercials
are dreamed up to make milk
‘fun’ to drink who cares
By Jay Irwin
Lancaster County Agriculture Agent
Phone 717-394-6851
TO REDUCE RURAL CRIMES
Rural crimes has become a sad
fact of life. Most facts and figures
that we read indicate an increase
in rural crime. There are many
things you can do to “make crime
more trouble than it’s worth".
That would include installing and
using locks, bringing your
equipment inside, or putting it in a
well lighted area at night. Also, do
not keep loading chutes near gates
One of the most important things
you can do is to establish “crime
watch” with your neighbors
You also may be able to borrow
an engraving tool from your local
police department to mark your
equipment with your driver’s
license number.
TO KEEP COWS
COMFORTABLE
All of us enjoy a cool breeze, a
shady spot and a cool refreshing
drink on a hot summer day, so do
cows' If we expect cows to work
for us this summer, our I-ancaster
Board
about nutrition anyway 7
Maybe if the public saw Mean
Joe barter his shirt for a mug
of milk, more kids would down
their daily requirement
without a knock-down, drag
out fight.
Speaking of commercials
and scenes from Hollywood,
dairy farmers don’t stand
much of a chance at the
“Washington, D.C. Corral”
Taking their cues from the
Reagan admimnstration, the
nation’s legislators seem to be
setting the stage for a
showdown between dairy
farmers and the free en
terprise system, with the
government taking the part of
innocent bystander.
Well, in every old-time
Hollywood production, the
guys wearing white hats
always win. And, everybody
knows dairy producers always
wear white in the show ring,
so we’ll keep our fingers
crossed for a happy ending
With more promotion and
public awareness, consumers
may buy more milk products
to use in preparing delicious
meals, like those featured in
our Home Section this week.
Legislators will be more
sympathetic to the problems
and economic hardships
confronting all farmers, even if
they have to find it out from a
walking, talking robot.
And dairy farmers will use
their skills and ingenuity,
pride and faith to solve their
problems in order to give
Dairy Month another 45 years
and many, many more
Happy June Dairy Month
from the staff of Lancaster
Farming.
County Extension Dairy Agent,
Glenn Shirk, reminds us that we
should do everything possible to
keep cows cool, comfortable and
content.
A breezy, shady spot, close to a
fresh supply of water, salt and feed
helps to assure good production. If
these conditions are not available
out m the pasture area, then the
next best spot for the cows during
the heat of the day is a well
ventilated stable; they can be
turned out to pasture at night.
If cows are housed in summer, it
is essential that a lot of air be
moved through the bam. This may
be done with fans, or by opening up
the barn If fans are used, they
should do more than just circulate
warm, stuffy air: they should
exhaust stale, warm, moist air and
replace it with fresh air. Where
natural ventilation is relied upon, a
hi»h roof or a high ceiling will help
keep the “beat canopy” off the
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REDISCOVERING
THE WORD
June 7,1981
Background Scripture:
2 Kings 22:22-23;
Deuteronomy 10:12-11:1.
Devotional Reading:
Acts 2:1-13.
A story in the newspaper the
other week told of a local family
who, in the process of having some
extensive renovations made to
their home, found a very valuable
old manuscript. Although that kind
of thing may not happen every day,
it does occur frequently that the
renovation of a building will bring
to light some long lost documents,
' often quite valuable ones.
This is what happened during the
reign of King Josiah of Judah
according to the account of 2 Kings
22 and 23. During the 18th year of
his reign, extensive renovations or
repairs were being made in the
temple at Jerusalem and some old
.scrolls were discovered and taken
to Hilkiah, the high priest. Upon
examination, Hilkiah, to his great
delight and shock, found that these
old scrolls were nothing less than
the great scrolls of the law given to
Moses to spell out God’s covenant
with his people. Apparently these
scrolls had been missing for many
years and the people of Judah had
forgotten about them.
We Have Not Obeyed
The commandments of the
scrolls (presumably containing
portions of our present book of
Deuteronomy) greatly disturbed
King Josiah, because it was ap-
OUR READERS WRITE
Oppose casein imports
With preliminary markup work
being done on the 1981 Farm Bill by
both Senate and House Agriculture
Committees in Washington, D.C.,
dairy provisions are viewed with
great interest by dairy fanners
throughout the nation. Dairymen
are unified in the realization that
three key areas need to be ad
dressed.
A minimum of 75% of parity as
established by the Ag Act of 1949
must be maintained along with
semi-annual adjustments as
dictated by increasing production
costs. Furthermore, limits need to
HAV HAWS
I see that you’re pretty well loaded down today.
be the Saturday for LANCASTER
FARMING S annual dairy issue.
parent to him that the people of
Judah were not keeping their
covenant with God given to their
forefathers. In the traditional
gesture of deep dismay and
repentance, Josiah ripped his
clothes and sent Hilkiah to a
prophetess, named Huldah, for
counsel. Yes, she concurred, God
was very angry because of the
faithlessness of his people m
fulfilling the covenant, but in light
of the King’s humble repentance,
God’s anger would not fall upon
Josiah’s reign.
That was the beginning of large
scale reforms made in the life of
Judah. First, the King read the
scrolls to the people of Judah and
then he rededicated himself and
his little nation to the covenant
relationship with God. The pagan
altars and vessels in the Jerusalem
temple were removed and
destroyed. Other pagan places of
worship which had multiplied
greatly during the reign of
Manasseh were levelled. The
observance of the -Passover—
apparently many years neglec
ted—was begun once again. Thus,
the writer of II Kings described
Josiah: “Before him there was no
king like him, who turned to the
Lord with all his heart and with all
his soul and with all his might,
according to all the law of Moses;
nor did any like him arise after
him.”
No King Like Him
Two things were essential in this
great religious reform: (1) the
rediscovery of the word of God,
and (2) the ready receptivity of
Josiah. Countless lives have been
changed the same way: people
have suddenly rediscovered the
word of God for their lives and
have responded positively by
entering into a new covenant or
relationship with God. The
rediscovery of God’s word in
Josiah’s reign changed a nation.
What could it do in your life?
be placed on imports of casein, a
milk protein brought in tins
country as an industrial chemical.
Historically, insoluble casein has
been used for such industrial
purposes as paper coatings,
adhesives, paints and plastics. In
recent years synthetics have
replaced most casern used for
industrial purposes. For these
purposes, casein does not interfere
with the U.S. price stabilization
program While industrial uses
have declined, casein imports used
in food and feed manufacturing
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