Alo—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 24,1982
Dealing with cut
What do corn gluten, poultry, soybeans and
citrus fruit have in common 7 These are all
agricultural products that are causing a
ruckus between the U.S and the European
Community
For some time now, the EC has been
thumbing its nose at Washington farm leaders
a symbolic gesture of ‘We’ll do just as we
please ’
What’s been happening is that farmers in
the EC have been cashing in on their coun
tries’ 1957 programs designed to create a self
sufficient farm economy with increased fafm
productivity, stable markets, reasonable
prices for consumers, and regular supplies, all
the while ensuring a fair standard of living for
farmers. Now that they’ve reached and
surpassed this level of self-sufficiency, the EC
countries are plagued with overproduction
and inescapably caught in a vicious circle
For years they've paid their farmers to
increase agricultural production so they could
achieve independence from food imports And
now they have to pay them to stay in
agriculture because these growing food
supplies and subsequent surpluses have
lowered farm prices to the point where it’s
impossible to make a profit
So, what do these subsidizing countries do
with the food they can’t use 7 They dump it on
the world market and underprice free
enterpnse exporters
Then, as if it’s not bad enough that the EC
citizens have to pay their farmers twice for the
food they produce, these countries also pay a
subsidy to the exporting firms that unload the
surpluses So, that’s three times the EC
taxpayers finance the farming industry
In one year alone, the EC pays out $l3
billion in support programs Compare that to
the U S support programs that are projected
to only reach the $ll billion level over the next
4 years
With that kind of investment in their
agricultural products, no wonder the EC is
willing to unload them at below-production
costs. Any income is better than nothing
As a result, the EC has been winning the
competition with the U.S. for markets Ac
cording to the U.S Dept of Agriculture, the
United States took less than a fifth of the $1
billion poultry market in the Middle East last
year while EC producers cornered the market,
NOW IS THE TIME
To Practice Strict Sanitation
Livestock and poultry producers
must make a special effort to
prevent contagious diseases. Many
of these infections are brought
home by the owner, or with the
purchase of a new animal. There
are a number of infections that can
be spread very easily from farm to
farm.
In this part of the country where
the density of poultry and livestock
is so great, producers should be
alert to the possibility of spreading
diseases. When returning from
another farm, or public place,
different clothes and footwear
should be used, Stray dogs, cats
and wild birds should be controlled
as much as possible. New pur
chases should be segregated and
tested before mixing with the home
herd or flock. In many cases
vaccination should go along with
Off the
Somdimg
By Sheila Miller, Editor
By Jay Irwin
Lancaster County Agriculture Agent
Phone 717-394-6851
very strict sanitation practices.
Every producer is urged to give
attention to the prevention of
diseases through good
management and the use of good
sanitation practices.
To Be Careful With Fertilizer
Placement
Most of the crops we plant will
require additional plant food in the
form of nitrogen, phosphorus and
potash to obtain maximum yields.
However, we must realize the
potential danger of burning seeds
or roots when they come in direct
contact with either the nitrogen or
potash fertilizer. Either of these
elements will stunt or prevent
germination.
Fertilizer should be placed on
the side or deeper than the plant
roots or seed. Most mechanical
planters are now designed to keep
the seeds and fertilizer at least two
throat marketing
selling $330 million worth of poultry to the oil
rich countries
U S farmers are being hurt by some rather
non-kosher marketing tactics Hpw can we
compete with these countries who always
seem to be able to go a “penny" lower on their
export price and don’t hesitate to increase
import duties to curtail any foreign trade 7
Just two weeks ago, US. Secretary of
Agriculture John Block issued a statement of
concern and disappointment regarding the
Commission of the European Community’s
request to the EC Council of Ministers for a
renegotiation of the zero duty (tariff) on corn
gluten which would impose an import tax
(Corn gluten is a byproduct of U S alcohol and
sweetner production and is used to produce
animal feed In 1981, the U S exported $5OO
million worth of corn gluten, duty-free, m
Europe)
“We have repeatedly advised the European
Community that the binding on corn gluten is
not negotiable because we cannot accept any
measure that would further restrict our access
to the market of the European Community
The intent to restrict corn gluten exports to
the EC is viewed by our agricultural com
munity as an unfriendly action,” stated Block
Senate Ag Committee Chairman Jesse
Helms shared Block’s concerns and stated,
“There has not been a tariff on U S corn
gluten since the 1960 s The imposition of a
tariff along with additional import controls on
U S agricultural products would seriously
injure American farmers, and that is unac
ceptable to me "
But, according to the American Agriculture
Movement Chairman Marvin Meek, U S gram
experts in Washington are being "out horse
traded.”
“Our leaders told the EC that their tariff is
depressing our prices and interfering with
third-world trade They should have told the
EC we were raising our prices to the protected
price EC farmers enjoy, which is just about at
our parity,” Meek said.
Once again, it appears as if U S farmers are
footing the nation’s “foreign policy” bill. While
we wait for our political leaders to reach a civil
solution ensuring an export market for our
farm products, EC farmers are laughing all the
way to the bank
inches apart. In the case of plants
the fertilizer should be either
worked into the topsoil in advance
of planting or side-dressed along
the row after the plants have been
transplanted. Proper fertilizer
placement will return greater
benefits from the plant food.
To Consider Pinkeye Prevention
Pinkeye in cattle is a perennial
problem for beef and dairy far
mers. Although it is not fatal, the
disease is painful and results in
weight loss and decreased milk
production in cattle, and
ultimately in economic losses for
producers, reveals Chester D.
Hughes, Extension Livestock
Auction.
Researchers are currently
looking to preventive measures as
a means of controlling pinkeye
Board
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FROM ALPHA
TO OMEGA
April 25,1982
Background Scripture:
Revelation 1:13.
Devotional Reading:
Lamentations 3:21-27
31-33.
Dear Visitor:
The piece which you have just
entered is sacred. This small cave
some two thousand years ago gave
shelter to the beloved disciple of
Jesus Christ, St. John the
Evangelist, who around the year 95
A.D. was exiled to Patinos by the
Roman Emperor Domitian on
account of the word of God and the
testimony of Jesus Christ.
Thus reads a small brochure
given me in May, 1980 in the Holy
Cave of the Apocalypse on the
island of Patmos in the Aegean
Sea. Tradition tells us that a small
recess in the rock of the cave was
the place where St. John laid his
head when resting. Another recess
to the right and a litter higher is
the place where he supported his
hands when he knelt to pray. A
level rock is believed to be the desk
upon which his companion,
Prochoros, wrote as the Apostle
dictated. And that which St. John
dictated and Prochoros wrote was
the Revelation of John.
He Sent His Angel
According to the Apostle John, in
Revelation 1:1, this book came to
him as a revelation from God. This
was a message which God had for
churches, and as John puts it, “he
made it known by sending his
angel to his servant John.” So the
message is from God, but what of
OUR READERS WRITE,
AND OTHER OPINIONS
The ‘eggs'act number
In the April 3 issue of Lancaster
Farming on page B-10 in Kid’s
Korner’s section called “Food and
Fun” it stated that forty years ago
the average hen laid 100 eggs a
year.
I can’t see any profit in eggs if
the layers were on vacation 265
days a year.
I raised Hubbard New Hamp
shire reds 45 years ago. They laid
at least 75 percent all wmter. I
would get 300 eggs daily from 400
birds.
I can’t imagine where you get
HAWS
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the strange manner in which this
message is presented?
The style is called “apocalyp
tic,” a type of Jewish and Christian
literature in those days which was
used to reveal a message from G od
through the means of images and
visions of a highly symbolic
nature. The style is something that
is hard for most of us to understand
in these days, except to note that
the images and symbols are
reminiscent, to some degree, of
those we encounter in dreams or
psychedelic experiences. They are
images that seem to come from the
deep recesses of the unconscious
mind.
Yet, although the images may
give us considerable difficulty
as sometimes our own dreams do
still the message that God im
parted through the evangelist is
pretty clear. Writing in a time of
persecution against Christians by
the empire, the Evangelist is
relaying God’s assurance that, no
matter how great the earthly
powers that persecute them, God is
in control and through his Son,
Jesus Christ, he will prevail.
The Alpha and Omega
“T am the Alpha and the
Omega,’ says the Lord God, who is
and who was and who is to come,
the Almighty.” Since Alpha and
Omega are the first and last
letters of the alphabet, he is saying
“I am the first and last of all
things.” In between there may be
principalities, powers and em
pires, but “Fear n0t,...1 have the
keys of Death and Hades.”
Dear visitor, your coming to this
holy place is not a chance event in
your life. God...has guided you
here to listen deep within yourself,
to the secret echo of the words
spoken to St. John...and for you to
see with your mind’s eye the
heavenly vision revealed to the
Apostle.
And the meaning of that
“heavenly vision,” now as then, is
the assurance from God through
Christ that the whole world, from
Alpha to Omega, is in his hands.
the 100 egg story from. I suppose
some people didn’t get anymore
than that.
Fifty years ago, Booth Farms of
Clinton, Missouri trap-nested some
white leghorn hens and one of them
laid 342 eggs in one year. With good
care, laying flocks back m those
days paid their way.
If you listen to the Hollywood
Squares (television show), you
would have heard about how many
eggs a hen can lay in 30 days. They
asked the amount 20,40, or 60? I
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TAXES