AlD—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 12,1983
Coalition
The term means a temporary alliance or
partnership. It’s a word that could and should
have more meaning to Pennsylvania
agriculture in years to come.
As farmers begin to be recognized by in
dustry and other lobbying groups as more
than just the weed-chewing, tractor-driving
stereotypes of the past who preferred being
left alone to getting involved in politics, it is
only natural that these hard-working
agriculturalists become assets to other big
businesses in legislative endeavors.
And, m turn, farmers could expect
reciprocity in lobbying support when issues of
importance to agriculture come before the
General Assembly.
These ideas were discussed last week
during the annual meeting of the Pennsylvania
Farmers’ Union by a panel of speakers
representing consumers, the AFL-CIO, and
education.
Each organizational spokesperson outlined
how they look out for their constituents, and
how they would be willing to work with farmers
on legislation where similar policies in
tertwined.
This may seem unusual to some farmers,
that consumer groups, steelworker unions,
and school systems, would be ready and
willing to become allies with agriculture. We all
can remember the hurt inflicted on farmers by
consumer advocates who lashed out at
cholesterol and nitrates, labeling eggs and
bacon as dietary villains.
And as one farmer exclaimed at last week's
session, farmers and the AFL-CIO would be
unlikely partners what with steel workers’
wages driving up the cost of farm equipment,
trucks, buildings, and more. -But, the union
labor leader quickly countered the charges
that labor* was the culprit for high prices
instead he blamed it on corporations' greed
for profits.
Nevertheless, the willingness to work
together was expressed by the labor
representative. And farmers would be missing
OUR READERS WRITE
Flexible (Agriculture
American farmers have gained
the ear of the White House and
Congress. Unfortunately, this new
attention is the result of a -
struggling farm economy.
Oversupplies of farm com
modities have driven prices so low
that it has become nearly im
possible for anyone fanning a
major crop to make a profit.
Through increased productivity
and a wealth of rich farmland,
American farmers have made
agriculture the nation’s largest
industry. Its total assets equal
about 80 percent of the combined
capital assets of all manufacturing
OTIS *
Off the
Sound! mg
By Sheila Miller, Editor
A case for coalitions
corporations in the United States.
Because agriculture is such a
vital contributor to the American
economy, it follows that the
current depressed agriculture
economy is having a rippling effect
throughout our nation. The many
industries that supply agricultural
needs, such as chemical com
panies and equipment manufac
turers, are affected. The reduction
in demand for these goods and
services ultimately leads to higher
unemployment.
I applaud the new efforts by the
President and Agriculture
Secretary John Block to bolster
w ELL, IT KIND
OF GIVES ME
ft FEELING OF
PESSIMISTIC
OPTIMISM
out on a powerful friend if the offer dangles,
ignored.
Then there was the representative of the
State Education Association who vowed to
work with farmers in keeping rural schools up
to snuff. This speaker struck a nerve that is
still twinging.
If education is willing to work with farmers
on keeping schools open, then why is it so hard
to arrange for farmers to visit local school
children and share the farm story with
otherwise "uneducated" youths?
The concern is legitimate, especially in the
face of books and curriculums that would
attempt to brainwash children into believing
farm animals are inhumanely treated and that
farmers are "bad guys.”
For those who don’t feel it’s important for
farmers to work with education in these
matters, take a look at any school child’s
textbooks, paying particular attention to the
way farmers are portrayed. Most pictures of
farmers and farm equipment look like they
were dug out of USDA's moth-eaten archives,
and would be more appropriate in “ancient”
history texts. Horse-drawn farm machinery is
still used by some farmers in the 1980 s, but
the majority till the land with the aid of
mammoth tractors that come equipped with
air conditioning, radios, and control panels
that rival the cockpits of jet planes.
Since revised editions of textbooks require
large expenditures of money, both on the part
of book publishers and school districts, having
agribusiness presented to students in its
proper perspective is probably not in most
school boards’ budgets. But the story must be
told, and soon, so that an entire generation
won’t grow up thinking of agriculture as a
“dark ages” enterprise.
This might be a coalition of top priority for
farmers. Not only would we be gaining support
for farm programs and legislation from an
entirely new group of sympathizers, but we
might be “killing two birds" by achieving a
better rapport and understanding with school
teachers.
prices by reducing the huge stocks
of commodities through a new
payment-in-kind program.
However, I don't believe it is
wise to use acreage reduction
alone as a means of reducing the
surplus. I’m afraid such a singular
approach would allow our com
petitors to expand production and
capture our markets.
Therefore, I believe that
Congress must address the
problem through a combination of
acreage controls, efforts to move
the surpluses through alternative
marketing strategies, and farm
credit.
Legislation that I intend to in
troduce during the 98th Congress
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7W/}ATKS CTVS !! ;
ThIAT REALLY CLEARS
ThflfJGS UP FOR US.
Board
THE BOND
February 13,1983
Background Scripture;
Luke 22; 1-23.
Devotional Reading:
1 Corinthians 11:23-26.
A widow sits and stares at the
four walls of her one-room apart
ment, Just as she has for the past 10
months since her husband died
Friends have been “kind” to her
and tried to be supportive, but no
matter how well-intentioned these
efforts have been, she feels all
alone and she aches in loneliness.
WHEN THE HOUR CAME
A middle aged father cries alone
in his bedroom mourning the loss
of his “little girl,” a young woman
still not out of her teens. Ex-,
tremely close ever since his wife,
the girl’s mother, walked out of
their life when the daughter was
only five years old, he feels utterly'
“crushed” by her announcement
that she is quitting college and
going off to live with a young man
whom the father is certain will ruin
her life.
These are only two examples of
the wounds we experience in life.
Hie situations may vary widely,
but the results are the same:
feelings of unreplaceable loss, of
unquenchable grief, unresolved
bitterness, unbearable loneliness,
and unremitting pain. There may
seem to be no possible cure to heal
these wounds. With no one to really
nowktheume
By Jay Irwin
Lancaster County Agriculture Afent
Phgne 717-394-6851
To Evaluate Manure Plant Food
Our agronomists have, told
farmers for 40 years that a ton of
dairy manure is equivalent to 100
pounds of a 5-3-5 fertilizer, but
recent research indicates little, if
any, nitrogen is available to the
crop when manure is spread daily
and left exposed to the elements.
Current data have confirmed
that a ton of stored dairy manure is
equivalent to 100 pounds of 5-3-5
fertilizer. The nutrients in fresh
manure are equal to those of
inorganic fertilizers for crop
production, but more slowly
available. In the year of ap
plication, about one-half of the
nitrogen in manure is available.
Studies show that com fertilized
with fresh manure applied and
plowd down in the spring produced
the most com silage. Yields were
lowest when the manure was
applied in the fall, left exposed on
the . soil surface all winter and
plowed down in the spring. It's
important to manage manure
application just as you manage
other areas of your operation.
To Train and Prone Trees
General pruning of apple trees
should be in full swing at this time
of year, especially if you have a lot
of pruning to do. I’d like to remind
growers and homeowners not to
over-prune young trees or those
which haven’t yet started to bear
fruit There is a tendency to either
prune the small trees too heavily,
or simply to leave them alone. A
middle-of-the-road course is best.
The training of young trees
should involve just enough cutting
to maintain a healthy central
leader and to develop the desired
number of well-spaced scaffold
braches. Branches that are either
understand what we are feeling
and to share it was us, we may
begin to dispair of life itself.
It is this mood which seems to
hang over the Upper Room when,
as Luke puts it, “the hour came”
and Jesus “sat at table and the
apostles with him." At that table,
along with Jesus and the 12, there
was fear, distrust, dismay, and
betrayal. Jesus probably knew
that his very hours were num
bered, that Judas had betrayed
him, and that the other eleven
apostles would scatter like
frightened sheep before the night
was over. As in the lives of so many
of us, Jesus, too, experienced the
coming of a fateful “hour" that
would test his soul.
UNTIL IT IS FULFILLED
Yet, somber and fearful as was
that Upper Room gathering, there
was also a light to shine in that
darkness. And the light that Jesus
offered them (and us) is more than
enough to dispel any darkness that
falls upon us. For even in the
darkest hours, just as Jesus of
fered an unbreakable fellowship to
his disciples, so be offers us that
same oneness with him, that same
communion that assures us that,
no matter what the circumstances
may be, we are one with him and
he with us. Thus we need never
face the wounds of life alone. The
bond between Christ and ourselves
will enable us to meet and conquer
any of life’s most painful blows.
“Holy Communion" is not just
something that happens in church
when we share the Lord’s Supper.
It is a fact of life with Christ and
the rital is only a reminder to open
our lives and let Christ share them.
The bread and the cup speak to us
of his sacrificial self-giving which,
in one way or another, is sufficient
to meet all our deficiencies. The
bond that links us to Christ will
bear any load—if we want it to.
poorly spaced, or ones making
very narrow-angled crotches
should be removed.
Keep in mind, when.you start
pruning early - start with your
hardier trees, the apple and pear
with plums and sour cherries next,
and leave your peach till near the
end; they’re quite tender.
To Check Poultry Waterers
Hens without water can cost you
money. In one experiment, birds
deprived of water for only 24 hours
required 24 days to return to
normal egg production. In most
experiments, after a period of only
36 hours without water, birds never
returned to normal. A flock
without water for 36 hours or more
may molt, then go through a
prolonged period of restricted
production. This is especially so in
older flocks. If water is restricted
for 48 to 60 hours, severe mortality
can result from dehydration.
As you walk through your house
each day, check the waterers to
make sure none are dry or a line is
plugged. I am aware of a case
where the water line was
restricted, by a faulty valve, in the
middle row of cages for nearly 3
days. Mortality was high and
production was seriously affected
in that row.
A few minutes a day checking
waterers can well mean saving a
lot of dollars don’t wait until
molted feathers are under the
cage.
To Dress For The Chill Index
Winter is not over as some
people would like to think it’s
only the middle of February. And
when you’re outside on a cold
windy day and it “feels” colder
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