AlD—Lancaster Fannins, Saturday, September 15,1984
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Bay cleanup ...
BY DICK ANGLESTEIN
Talk in Harrisburg says that Governor
Thornburgh will officially commit a million
dollars in state money next week to
Chesapeake Bay cleanup in the publicity
limelight wifh William D. Ruckelshaus of the
ERA in Philadelphia.
As the Commonwealth -- one of the major
contributors to Bay problems -- prepares to
get involved with this modest sum, let’s ask
some pretty pointed questions:
First, just how serious is Pennsylvania about
footing its share of Bay cleanup costs?
Second, if the state's role increases in the
future is it equipped to handle it?
Third, and most controversial - Will a
continuation of a voluntary program get the job
done?
The state’s first-year financial commitment
totals one million dollars and will be devoted
entirely to aiding farmers install Better
Management Practices to reduce erosion and
nutrient runoff.
This financial commitment doesn't compare
too well with neighboring states, particularly
Maryland, which is devoting some $6O million
to cleanup efforts. Virginia is allocating about
$6 million over two years.
In fact, some conservation personnel openly
say that the state is doing little more than
paying lip-service to the cleanup program and
see little hope for improvement in the future.
Obviously, if the job is to get done future
commitment by Pennsylvania must be m-
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NOW IS THE TIME U-T
By Jay Irwin - I
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Lancaster County Agriculture Agent
Phone 717-394-6851
To Be Aware of the
Century Farm Program
The Century Farm Program is
aimed at recognizing the efforts of
Pennsylvania’s farm families
which have preserved the
traditions of the rural heritage of
the pioneer farm.
The program was initiated as
part of the Nation’s bicentennial
observance in 1976, but is being
continued for its value in
promoting the ideals of the family
farm and the importance of far
ming to Pennsylvania’s economy.
To be eligible for certification as
a Pennsylvania Century Farm, a
farm must have been owned by the
same family for the last 100 con
secutive years, and a family
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member must currently reside on
the land. In addition, the farm
must consist of ten or more acres
of the original holdings or gross at
least $l,OOO a year from the sale of
agricultural products.
We encourage you to participate
in this program that is ad
ministered by the Pennsylvania
Department of Agriculture.
Applications are available at the
County Extension Offices.
To Mow Weedy Pastures
If your pasture is weedy, get out
the mower. There are two good
reasons for this; one it eliminates
the production of weed seeds and
two, it removes mature forage
which lets plants send out new and
tender growth. But, before you
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creased. But is the Commonwealth in a
position to step up such a commitment in
coming years 7
Continuing revision of the state’s program -
three versions within a six-month period -
suggests otherwise. It's been said that the
DER has had to scramble just to be able to
plan to carry out the present $1 million
commitment by Pennsylvania.
And now to the most controversial part of
the program. For an agricultural publication to
even look at the question of voluntary par
ticipation by farmers will likely be considered
heresy by some. But the real issue of concern
is not how it gets done but getting it done.
Let’s look at the record of voluntary com
pliance and farmer participation in Bay
cleanup to date.
For more than three years a federally
sponsored, cost-sharing Rural Clean Streams
program has been under way in northeastern
Lancaster County
In that time some 47 commitments have
been made to install Better Management
Practices. That averages out to about 15 farms
per year.
If that rate continues for the larger Penn
sylvania voluntary program, it would probably
take about 600 to 700 years for BMP’s to be
installed on livestock and dairy farms needing
them m the critical watersheds of the
Susquehanna River.
But the DER has left itself an out in its latest
program report:
“Regulatory, including enforcement ac
tivities, will be stepped up if nonregulatory
programs fail or do not achieve expected
results. There may be a need for appropriate
enforcement activities in the event that far
mers, after given ample technical assistance,
information and incentives, deliberately
remain uncooperative..’’
So, the way it looks from here, there are
some tough decisions facing both farmers -
principally in Lancaster, Lebanon, Chester,
York, Adams and Dauphin counties - and the
state.
Farmer cooperation will determine if a
voluntary effort will work.
And, the state must come up with a long
term commitment to Bay cleanup if the
magnitude of the problem is to be approached
realistically.
TNRTS FOR
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mow, you should graze the pasture
heavily. With grazing you can
utilize all the available feed. The
animals eat some weeds, but they
also eat some of the tall grasses
that would be wasted by mowing.
If the drying condition is taking its
toll, it would be better to mow only
one-third of the land about every
two weeks to allow for regrowth.
Remember to mow closely... 2 to 3
inches. And instead of trashing the
clippings, save them. Many far
mers recover enough hay from
pasture mowings to winter their
cattle.
To Observe National Farm
Safety Week
The 41st Annual National Farm
(Turn to Page Al 2)
SERVING- THE
FRESHEST MILK
IN THE WORLD
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DIVINE OR
DEPRAVED?
September 16,1984
Background Scripture:
Romans 2:1 through 3:20.
Devotional Reading;
Romans 2:3-16.
Thirty years in the - Christian
ministry have led me to the con
clusion that there are essentially
three erroneous views of human
nature.
One of these is the conviction
that human nature is “totally
depraved.” Another: that human
beings are basically “good.” Both
of these have had their champions
in Christianity: the former in ages
past and the latter in our present
time.
Today I find that many people
who have been bom and raised in
the Christian church are reacting
vigorously against the concept of
sin. As someone told me a few
weeks ago. “I’ve spent too much of
my life agonizing over this idea
that, because of sin, I am a wor
thless ‘wretch.’”
THE DARK SIDE
As one who has spent many
hours in pastoral counselling, I
would have to acknowledge that
one of the most persistent
problems that plagues people
raised in the Christian church is a
crippling lack of self-esteem. Most
of the people I counsel have
learned all too well to think of
themselves as sinners. They have
focused much too much on human
depravity and neglected to con
sider the divine potential with
Farm Calendar
Saturday, September 15
Private Landowner’s Conference,
Pa. Forestry Association,
Ramada Inn, Breezewood.
Delaware Valley Old Time Power
and Equipment Association
annual show, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Washington Crossing State
Park, N.J.; continues
tomorrow.
Forsestry Association Conference,
Cook College, New Brunswick,
N.J.
Annual Home Gardners’ School,
Cook College, New Brunswick,
N J.
Sunday, September 16
Dairy Dash, 10 kilometer race and
2-mile fun run, Courthouse
Square, Scranton.
National Farm Safety Week
begins; continues through
Saturday.
Ag in Action, Tom D’Altrue’s
Horse Farm, Belle Mead,
Somerset Co., N. J., 1-4 p.m.
Monday, September 17
Fayette Co. Alfalfa Variety
which we are also endowed. It is a
serious distortion of human nature
because it sees only the dark side
of our nature.
On the other hand, thaf human
nature may be equally distorted if
we think of it as only “good.” And
the consequences are grave
because our experiences with
people will not long live up to our
expectations. We will find it hard
to deal with the tons of human
failure Ctnu Slil that is all around us
all the time. Go to Dachau som
time and then see how persuasive
is the concept that essentially
human beings are “good.” Pick up
your morning newspaper and read
the grisly accounts of rapes,
murders, and betrayals and then
see how long you can continue to
reject the Christian concept of sin.
It just won’t work.
There is, of course, a third
erroneous view of human nature
and it was to this to which Paul was
addressing himself in his Epistle to
the Romans. In Judaism in those
days and in much of the
Christian church as well there
was an assumption that some
people are essentially “good,"
while others are basically “evil.”
NO, NOT ONE!
This is still a popular view
today: the “good guys” vs. the
“bad guys” the “good guys”
being us, our church, our brand of
the gospel, and the “bad guys”
being those who don’t follow our
way. But Paul made it clear in
Romans that that idea too is m
error, for, as he puts it, “None is
righteous, no, not one” (3:10). All
of us belong to the “bad guys” for
there are none of us who are
without sin.
The “good news’’ on
Christianity, then, is neither “all
pie-in-the-sky” nor all “gloom-in
the-tomb,” and we can never truly
understand and employ our true
human nature until we
acknowledge both the depravity
and the divinity that co-exist and
struggle in the same human being.
Demonstration Meeting, 7 p.m.,
Jackson Dairy, New Salem.
Adams County Pork Producers
meeting, 7:30 p.m., Extension
Office.
York 4-H sheep and lamb roundup,
4pm., Thomasville Livestock
Auction.
Beaver Community Fair opens;
continues through Saturday.
Aratz Fair opens, continues
through Saturday.
Tuesday, September 18
Harmony Grange Fair, Westover,
opens; continues through
Saturday.
No-till corn plot tour, 9 a.m. Starts
at Solanco High School,
Quarryville.
Milk Marketing Shortcourse, Sept.
17,18 at Penn State.
Downtown revitalization video
conference, Penn State.
Annual meeting, Allied Florists of
Del. Valley. Ziegler and Sons
Wholesale.
Remote Sensing symposium, Md.
Dept, of Agriculture.
Senate Ag and Rural Affairs
Commitee, 12:30 p.m. Room
459, Main Capitol.
Meeting on Lancaster County’s
Impact on the Chesapeake Bay,
7:30 p.m., Farm and Home
Center.
York 4-H sheep and lamb sale, 7
p.m., Thomasville Livestock
Auction.
[ Wednesday, September 19
District 6 meet mg, 7
r p.m., Blue Ball Fire Hall.
fHunterdon Co., N.J., Ag
*' Development Board, 8 p.m.,
Extension Center.
Northeast Community Fair opens;
continues through Friday.
Solanco Fair, Quarryville, opens;
continues through Friday.