Alo—Lancaster Faming, Saturday, October 9,1982
In just one short month the townships of
Caernarvon and East Earl in eastern Lan
caster County will begin hearings on a most
controversial subject a proposed hazardous
waste landfill.
Both of these townships will pass judgement
on plans submitted by Envirosafe Services Inc.
The township officials will have to vote yea or
nay on whether to grant ESI a special ex
ception in order to turn the old Narvon clay
mine site into a home for hazardous waste.
Already there is a charged feeling stirring
the local residents into speaking out against
the proposed landfill. A sense of mutual need
has brought together farmer and nonfarmer in
a common effort to stop the landfill which
they feel threatens them.
Their cause has brought forth strong voices
out of a normally quiet people the Men
nonitesand Amish of the community. Together
with their neighbors, these soft-spoken people
are leaving no doubts in the minds of others
that they are not happy with. the idea of
perhaps someday dealing with another Love
Canal situation.
These individual landowners are not alone in
opposing ESl's planned landfill. Just last
Friday the Lancaster Environmental Action
Federation went on record as “strongly op
posed” to the landfill. And on Wednesday
evening the Lancaster County Conservation
District followed suit.
In citing their reasons for opposing the
Narvon landfill, LEAF pointed out their belief
that “much of the hazardous waste targeted
for Narvon could be recycled or rendered
harmless. The wastes are being buried in the
ground simply because this is the least ex
pensive means of disposal. We believe in
dustry and government should redouble their
efforts to encourage the reuse of these wastes
which should be viewed as a valuable resouce
not just something to throw away. If waste
volumes can be reduced by recycling, the need
for landfill sites such as that proposed at
Narvon would be greatly reduced."
The Federation also pointed out the fact that
Lancaster County is the most agriculturally
productive, non-irrigated county in the U.S.
and therefore “is not the place for a hazardous
waste landfill. There are many places in less
populated areas where agriculture is not a
major industry that would be suitable for such
a facility."
Recalling the negative impact that the
world-famous TM! nuclear reactor had on
Lancaster County agriculture, as well as
surrounding counties', it is not hard to fathom
how consumers also could boycott food
produced close to this hazardous waste site.
Since this part of Lancaster County is ex
periencing an ever-increasing trend for truck
crop production along with the traditional
crops of corn, tobacco, and small grains, any
The editorial entitled '‘Battle of
the Bullheads” which appeared in
Off the
Sotmdf mg
By Sheila Miller, Editor
It’s everybody’s problem
OUR READERS WRITE
Explaining the relationship
the Oct. 2 issue of Lancaster
Farming contained some
WELL
Board
food scare would inflict grave financial im
pacts
Now you might be saying “Isn’t that too bad
for those unfortunate Lancaster County
farmers who are unlucky enough to live next
door to the Narvon clay mines?” But whats at
stake here goes much deeper into the heart of
agriculture than the misfortunes of just a few
farmers.
Ever since the pioneers settled this nation,
it has been the practice to take the best the
land has to offer and then, when it’s worn out
and ruined, to move on to "greener pastures.”
Well, we ran out of virgin land many years ago
and now we're forced to make do with what
we’ve got.
But the competition for our land is so in
tense .that we find farmers fighting factories
and families just to hold on to their fertile
cropland rather than succumbing to the
monetary temptation of selling out at top
dollar for an industrial site or a new housing
development.
It's a proven fact that prime farmland also is
prime land for just about every other use,
including landfills. And after the first farmer
gives in to the lure of the greenback dollar,
others follow either because they too seek a
windfall profit or because they no longer can
tolerate the annoyance of big business right
next door. And so it mushrooms as more
farmland feels the biting teeth of bulldozers.
We Americans also are guilty of believing
that "out of sight is out of mind." We bury our
sorrows, our guilts, our pasts in hopes that
they won’t come back to haunt us. But, when
we start burying potentially lethal wastes, the
ghosts we fear will be real ones and not just
figments of our imaginations. Reality will be in
the form of contaminated ground water and
surface water, and we won’t be able to wake
up from this nightmare and have it disappear.
That is why the Narvon fight is not just a
Lancaster County issue. As industry produces
more hazardous wastes than it can handle
profitably, there will be increased pressures
on all farming areas to serve as a convenient
disposal site. Farmers will have to defend
themselves against these intruders who will
offer enticing financial gains in order to dump
their “garbage” in the country.
Industry, must be forced to deal with the
wastes it creates and bear the cost of ren
dering it harmless. Although there are crys
from industry as to what this additional ex
pense will do to the cost of manufactured
products, current estimates show the average
business spends only one-tenth of one percent
of its cost of doing business on getting rid of
wastes. Even if that cost escalated to six
tenths of one percent, it would be wocth it.
As one East Earl township farmer said, "I’d
rather pay for it up front now, than a few years
down the road have my kids paying the price
with their health.”
erroneous information.
Presently, the National Farmers
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I TOST TELLTHEM.
THAT IF I DON’T
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BREAKFAST, THEN
I GET THIS STRONG
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FRIED CHICKEN .
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DELIVERANCE!
October 10,1982
Background Scripture: Exodus 11
through 12.
Devotional Reading: Exodus
12:37-42.
If you have never participated in
a Jewish Seder—the celebration of
the Passover in a Jewish home —
you have missed, I believe, a most
valuable and moving spiritual
experience. On several occasions I
have been invited to share in the
Seder of one or more of my Jewish
friends and 1 have deeply valued
those experiences.
Perhaps it may seem to you a bit
strange or even unfitting for a
Christian to celebrate the
Passover. I have never felt that it
was anything but most ap
propriate, for the passion of our
Lord was inextricably bound to the
Passover. The Christian un
derstanding of the experience of
salvation is tied to the meaning of
the Passover.
It Is The Lord’s Passover
Yet, even beyond that, I believe
that the Passover is for all God’s
children. True, it is a Jewish
celebration, but, as Exodus makes
it clear, “It is the Lord’s
passover.”
The Jews have preserved this
sacred celebration down through
the centuries and we are all in
debted to them for doing so. We
need to join them in celebrating
God’s deliverance of his children
from tyranny to oppression.
lln this particular case, Egypt
NOW IS THE TIME
By Jay Irwin
Lancaster County AcrieuKiir* Acent
Phono 717-394-6851
To Manage
Horizontal Silos
Most of our permanent silos are
filled, but we do have some
livestock and dairy producers that
need to store silage in temporary
structures. In many cases this is a
trench or a bunker silo, mostly
above ground. In these cases, it is
very important to keep out excess
water and air from uu. _iuigc
mass. This will require tightening
down the plastic cover week by
week as the silage settles. Also,
surface water should be drained
away from the silage area. There
are cases that the black plastic is
flapping in the wind during the fall
months. This will usually result in
larger amounts of spoiled silage.
To Check Bulk Feed Bins
We have a lot of bulk feed bins on
our farms today. And at this time
of the year and through the winter
months, a lot of operators are
bothered with the problem of
condensation which causes feed
caking and mold growth. This
condition can be improved by
insulating the bins that are outside.
The insulation reduces the con
densation because it reduces the
rapid temperature fluctuation.
The cold mornings along with
warm noon temperatures and then
cool nights will cause moisture to
form on bulk bin walls. The feed
caking on the walls would likely
contain mold. This moldy feed can
reduce feed consumption and
affect production. Also, feed
was the oppressor and the people
of Israel were the oppressed. But
just as God delivered the people of
the Jews from tyranny, so God is
always at work in the world to
accomplish deliverance for the
captives. When we speak of God as
our Saviour, we need to remember
that a Saviour is a Deliverer. A
God who saves his Children is a
God who liberates them.
So the story of the Passover is a
specific example of God’s
liberation of a particular people at
a precise moment in history. But
the Jew today knows that Passover
does not stop with ancient Egypt
and the Israelites. It is also the
story of God’s continuing work to
free the world of bondage, op
pression, and injustice. Wherever
that is happening, there, is
Passover.
When Your Children Ask...
Political freedom, thus, is, at
least in the Judao-Christlan
tradition, a religious or spiritual
issue. It was one of the most im
portant perspectives of this
country’s struggle for and at
tainment of independence. God
does not intend for us to be merely
holy. He also intends for us to be
free.
And perhaps even more per
tinent, having secured for us our
freedom, he intends for all his
children to be delivered from
bondage. One cannot be in har
mony with that aspect of God’s will
and be indifferent about the
freedom of other peoples. If we are
for freedom, we must be for
freedom for all.
Moses tells the people, “And
when your children say to you,
'What do you mean by this ser
vice?’ you shall say..." It is a
message that must be passed on
from one generation to another. It
is a revelation from God to his
people that must go on and on and
on: the will of God for all who are
oppressed is DELIVERANCE!
medications, particularly poultry
feeds, may not be effective in the
presence of mold.
It’s always a good idea to
thoroughly clean bulk feed bins
regularly, especially' during this
period of rapidly changing tem
peratures. After cleaning out the
bin, it should be sprayed with a
mold inhibitor and allowed to dry.
Calcium propionate solution may
be used as the inhibitor at the rate
of 2 ounces per gallon of water.
To Beware of
Grazing Hazards
Dairymen who are grazing their
milking herds in woodlots, or in
pastures with oak trees, should be
on the alert for fallen acorns. Our
veterinary science people tell us
that acorns are somewhat toxic to
cattle and will dry up most cows
for the rest of their lactation. We
are aware of many oak trees in
pastures, and in most years there
will be a pretty good acorn crop.
If the cows start eating these
acorns, then the milk flow will be
reduced drastically. Either the
cows should be removed from the
area, or someone should pick up
the acorns before the cows are
turned out daily.
To Prepare for
Cold Weather
The month of October is a good
time to get ready for freezing
weather. Water cooled motors
should be treated with antifreeze
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