AlO-Lancast*r Farming, Saturday, December 1,1984
This 'Weefrs*'
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MCRI-T/16
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Faith and Farming
BY DICKANGLESTEIN
Is there any light at the end of the long, dark
tunnel that ag has found itself mired in during
the past few years?
You gotta squint real hard but there may be
a flickering speck about the size of a lone
lightning bug flying around inside a huge
football stadium.
How can that be, you might rightfully ask
when
- The Wall Street Journal on successive days
carries stories on the sale of IH and the hoped
for sale of Harvestore.
-Mennomte farmers from throughout the
U.S. and Canada gather to mutually discuss
their problems.
-The level of ag business, except for bare
essentials, is at a near standstill.
NOW IS THE TIME
To Plan Work
Schedules In
Layer Houses
If you are planning to work with
your layers, such as applying a
miticide to control lice or mites or
do any noisy repairs to the feeders,
fans or waterers-this work should
be done in the afternoon. The
reason for this is-it’s after the hen
has laid her egg for the day, and
she is a lot less susceptible to in
jury and damage to the future
eggs. Your everyday chores won’t
upset them because they are ac
customed to them, but these
unusual conditions can upset their
regular cycle.
Just a word on the number of
birds per cage. It may seem like a
good idea to add one extra bird per
cage, but this could lower your
hen-housed production. There are
over 20 cage density experiments
and they all show a lowered
production per hen when you add
that extra hen. Keep in mind that
very small differences in
production can result in large
economic differences over time in
large flocks. With an over supply of
eggs, we really don’t need that
extra bird anyway.
To Tighten
Farm Security
Rural crime is a serious problem
By Jay Irwin
Lancaster County Agriculture Agent
Phone 717-394-6851
in many parts of our coun-'
try-Lancaster County included-
We need to take every precaution
to protect our property from theft
and vandalism. This is more dif
ficult on a farm because of the
number of buildings and exposed
items. A good place to start is to
install automatic lights; also a
good watch dog will signal the
arrival of a stranger or something
unusual happening.
Another preventive measure is
to keep garages and workshops
under padlock to make it more
difficult for illegal entry. Farm
machinery should be stored under
cover or near farm buildings at all
times. It’s a good idea to engrave
all tools and equipment with your
driver’s license. Social security
numbers are non-retrievable so
your driver’s license number is
much quicker identification.
Neighborhood watch is very
successful-notify your neighbors
if you see something unusual.
To Use Only
Needed Fertilizer
Elements
Fertilizer prices continue to be
high, so we suggest that farmers
act now to hold this production cost
in line. A comlete soil test now will
reveal the exact fertilizer elements
that are needed in certain fields for
certain crops. The idea of applying
-Talk everywhere centers on speculation of
which ag businesses and which farmers are
going to make it.
But actually it is in all of this negative news -
gloom and doom as the conservative optimists
with the rose-colored glasses like to call it -
that lies that spark of hope.
Finally, the non-ag media and the public at
large are truly recognizing the plight of far
mers.
Because, it is only with such recognition,
that something will finally be done.
Before, those who dared to point out such
things were a bit like those who failed to take
the advice of songwriter Jim Croce, who said;
“Never spit into the wind."
Before, the good-time profiteers made such
words come back to slap you in the face.
But now the ill winds of ag are blowing so
hard that almost everyone is getting slapped
in the face
At least, these slaps are finally waking some
people up.
In the midst of all of this, we’d like to pay
tribute to that Mennomte gathering in
Western Pa. this week. For it is through such
plain and honest dialogue as took place at the
Faith and Farming Conference that eventual
solutions will come.
Permanent solutions to problems are im
possible without grassroots involvement
Sure, government and others can help
But you the individual farm family must
want realistic solutions that will involve some
tough decisions
It's up to you.
It’s your farm, your way of life and your future
at stake.
the same amount ot the same
analysis of fertilizer each year
might help but is not the best way
to obtain the most from your
fertilizer dollar. Some fields may
have sufficient amounts of potash,
or be in excess of some elements;
in these cases it is not economical
to apply more of these same
elements. With high fertilizer costs
we suggest that farmers do soil
testing and then apply what is
needed for each crop, and be sure
to include the nutrient value of
manure when calculating your
needs.
The use of drugs and antibiotics
are needed in many cases with
livestock, poultry and dairy
production. Their use is quite
common in many farm operations.
However, the misuse of these
materials is where trouble can
start. When these items are ad
ministered to animals or poultry,
the owner should read the label for
directions relating to withdrawal
periods for milk cows, or time
between treatment and slaughter
for meat. It’s only good common
sense that these regulations should
be followed. To short-cut the period
of time is only jeopardizing the
product and the entire farming
business. Don’t take chances with
To Observe
Withdrawal Time
THE ARROGANT
SPIRIT
December!, 1984
Background Scripture:
Psalm 199:97-105;
1 Corinthians 2; 2 Timothy 3,
Devotional Reading:
1 Corinthians 2:6-16.
In Umberto Eco’s brooding,
best-selling novel, The Name of the
Rose, the medieval plot comes to a
climax with a dramatic con
frontation between two monks
locked in mortal conflict. Each of
them, William of BaskerviUe and
blind Jorge, believes he speaks for
God. Each sincerely and
passionately believes the other is
really the Devil incarnate. “You
are the Devil,” William accuses
Jorge, who says, “You are worse
than the Devil.”
The reader can hardly fail to side
with the humane William against
the villainous Jorge and delight in
William’s grand denouncement:
The Devil is not the Prince of
Matter: the Devil is the arrogance
of the spirit, faith without smile,
truth that is never seized by doubt.
(Harcourt, Brace, Javonovich,
1983)
I LOVE THY LAW
William is right, of course, but
his “rightness” is not enough, for
in the ensuing physical struggle, a
tumbled lamp sets fire to the
monastery library and the world’s
greatest repository of knowledge is
reduced to ashes. It is the year J 327
and the destruction of the abbey
7v^
Farm Calendar 1^%%/
Saturday, Dec. 1
Lehigh County 4-H Livestock
Awards Dinner, 7:30 p.m.,
Germansville Fire Company.
Monday, Dec. 3
Housing and breed selection
poultry session, 7:30 p.m.,
Berks County Ag Center.
Tax Week at Penn State,
University Park campus,
continues through Friday.
Maryland Farm Bureau annual
convention, Hagerstown, Md.
Milk Marketing Update, 9:30 a.m.-
2:30 p.m., Chambersburg
Holiday Inn.
Tuesday, Dec. 4
Food and Ag Policy Conference,
Washington, D.C., continues
through Thursday.
Housing and breed selection
poultry session, 7:30 p.m.,
Berks-Lehigh Valley Farm
Credit Service Center.
our valuable food products. Also,
keep accurate records of all
treatments. In cases where excess
tolerances are found, it might save
time and money.
The Eztenilon Service If an affirmative
action, equal opportunity educational In
•titution.
and its treasure marks the onset of
Europe’s Dark Ages, an era from
which the continent will not soon
emerge.
I do not pretend to know all that
Echo meant by The Name of the
Rose, but it is apparent that he is
warning us that it is not enough to
defend truth from error. We must
be careful, lest in fighting error,
we destroy the truth as well.
Many people I know today are
obsessed with their struggle to
make sure that truth prevails over
error. They have the truth and
those who do not agree with them
are blasphemously in error. Their
opponents, they are certain, gre
possessed by Devil. The Bible thus
becomes a weapon to be used to
prove others “wrong,” a condition
that is tantamount to intentional
evil.
FOR EVERY
GOOD WORK
The problem, of course, is not
with the scriptures, but with what
people do with them. If dedication
to God’s word-such as that in
dicated by the Psalmist (119:97-
105)-produces a humble and joyful
spirit, then a person can say with
Mm, “Thy word is a lamp to my
feet and a light to my path”
(119:105). But, if one’s dedication
to the scriptures produces an
arrogant, self-righteous spirit, that
is probably the greatest
blasphemy of all.
For the purpose of God’s word is
not to make us content or even
proud in knowing, but humble and
faithful in doing. It is in noble
deeds, not noble thoughts that
God’s truth is made manifest. If
the scriptures speak to us, they will
focus, not on the truth we possess,
but the truth we are called to be.
Thus, the writer of Timothy
finishes his passage on the
scriptures; “...that the man of God
may be...equipped for every good
work.” (3:17).
110th annual Delaware State
Grange meeting. Today’s
session at Midland Grange Hall,
Georgetown; annual banquet
tomorrow in Cape Henlopen
High School.
Wednesday, Dec. 5
Bradford County Extension An
nual Meeting, 8 p.m,
Friedenshutten Restaurant,
Wyalusing.
Thursday, Dec. 6
Peninsula Horticultural Society
meeting for commercial
vegetable growers, 9:30 a.m. -
3:30 p.m., Wicomico Youth and
Civic Center, Salisburg, Md.
Grain Producers Marketing
Strategy Session, 8:30 a.m.-
noon, Sheraton Inn, Dover, Del.
Pa. Dairy Promotion Advisory
Board, 10:30 a.m., Room 309,
PDA Building.
Friday, Dec. 7
York 4-H Dairy Banquet.
Milk production
down
HARRISBURG - Penn
sylvania’s October milk produc
tion totaled 775 million pounds, two
percent below last year’s
production, according to the
Pennsylvania Crop and Livestock
Reporting Service.
The number of milk cows in the
commonwealth during October
averaged 738,000 head, 1,000 more
than a year ago. Milk production
per cow averaged 1,050 pounds in
October, down 20 pounds per cow
from a year ago.
U.S. milk production during
October 1984 totaled 10.9 billion
pounds, four percent less than
October 1983. Total milk qows in
the United States averaged 10.8
million head, three percent less
than October 1983. Production per
cow averaged 1,010 pounds, 14
pounds less than a year earlier.