AlO-Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, February 9,1985
OUR READERS WRITE,
AND OTHER OPINIONS
Case Co. -
Dear Editor
We are watching closely the
development of the merger bet
ween the Case Co. and In
ternational Harvester Co. As
farmers in Lancaster County,
Pennsylvania, we are using 18
tractors and front end loaders, all
of which are either International
Harvester or Case. In addition, we
have a full line of field equipment
which is mostly International
Harvester.
The Lancaster County area has
enjoyed spirited competition
between International Harvester
Organic farming
Every major type of livestock is
now under attack by disease
epidemics - avian influenza in
poultry, pseudorabies in swine,
Johne’s disease in cattle and
Potomac fever in horses. At the
same time chemicals are being
used on crops and animals are
being concentrated in close con
finement and given more drugs
and antibiotics than ever before.
The use of these poisons and un
natural methods have caused these
diseases to spread like wildfire.
The animals’ immune systems
have rebelled against their
mistreatment.
This past spring I noticed an
incredible amount of dandelion
growing in alfalfa fields all over
this region. So much, in fact, that
the alfalfa surely must have been
unfit for feed. This was “super”
dandelion, a new strain of dan
delion which has become resistant
to herbicides and thrives on the
imbalance caused by huge doses of
chemical fertilizers and lack of
crop rotation.
A weed will never develop which
could withstand being torn out by a
plow and left to wither in the sun.
Plowing also completely destroys
army worms.
Many farmers have been
complaining about people
throwing litter on their roadside
fields and pastures. I am totally
opposed to people throwing their
trash out of car windows and think
that/the amount of litter along our
roadsides is a disgrace. But, I
think that it is ironic that some of
these farmers care nothing about
the spray drift, fumes, toxic fungus
and ground water and stream
contamination that comes from
their farms and travels onto ad
jacent lands and miles beyond. Not
to mention the tremendous
illnesses in people that are caused
by the contaminated food they
grow. Cancer rates continue to
rise.
The American farmer is always
portrayed as being very in
dependent, but this is largely a
thing of the past. The farmer today
does not think for himself. He
follows completely and blindly the
instructions given to him by the
chemical companies, the banks
and the USDA, who tell him to
spray more, go more into debt and
work harder.
The USDA agronomy guides are
(Turn to Page AJV)
IH Merger
and Case dealers. In the past, this
has served us well both in terms of
fair pricing and reliable service.
A situation which is of grave
concern to us at this point is a
transaction we experienced in the
wake of this merger with the
present Case network of dealer
ships. In late October 1984, we
purchased a Case 1845 skid loader
for a net price of $20,500. Within a
NOW IS THE TIME
By Jay Irwin
Lancaster County Agriculture Agent
Phone 717 394-6851
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
nbrmal 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, to the
middle row of cages for nearly
three 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 Be Careful
With Fuels
With the geater use of wood for
fuel there is need for caution about
the use of gasoline or kerosene to
start a fire or make it bum faster.
Both of these items are explosive
and should not be used near an
open fire or hot coals. They should
be stored in underground tanks or
in metal, fireproof containers.
Label all containers so there will
not be a chance of any mix-up. It is
inviting trouble to store gasoline or
kerosene in glass jugs or bottles;
also it is very dangerous to start
burning trash, barbecue pits, or
stoves with these materials. Be
sure every member of the family
understands these fire hazards.
To Evaluate
Manure Plant Food
Our agromomist has told far
mers 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
week of this transaction, another
authorized Case dealer from
Lancaster County was knocking on
our door to tell us he could sell us
the same loader for $15,500. This
sales person implied that we were
taken advantage of by his com
petitor. In checking with the dealer
we purchased the loader from and
the Case Co., we were told, “Sorry,
you bought too early. You missec
the additional discount.’’
Needless to say, we are very
unhappy to the tune of $5,000. But
of equal importance is our concern
of the future Case-International
Harvester dealerships in Lan
caster Countv.
any, nitrogen is available to the
crop when manure is spread daily
and left exposed to the elements.
Current data has confirmed that
a ton of stored dairy manure is
equivalent to 100 pounds of 10-3-5
fertilizer. The nutrients in fresh
manure are equal to those of
inorganic fertilizer 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 corn fertilized
with fresh manure applied and
worked into the soil in the spring
produced the most corn 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. Another important
factor, by incorporating the
manure into the soil immediately,
you reduce the possibility of water
contamination and odors.
To Train
and Prune Trees
General pruning of apple trees
should be m 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
overprune 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
branches. Branches that are either
poorly spaced, or ones making
narrow-angled crotches should be
removed.
Keep in mind, when you start
pruning early - start with your
hardier trees, the apple and pear
with plum and sour cherries next,
and leave your peach till near the
end; they’re quite tender.
The Extension Service is an
affirmative action* equal op
portunity educational institution.
IDONTBELIEVE /tA
LET ME SEE THAT <
ARTICLE, OT/S/ C'
Pa. Master Farmers
Abram G. Barley
John E. Barley
its right there
JUST UNDER THOSE
TOUR FARM AUCTION
ADS. y
OF MY
OWN ACCORD
February 10,1985
Background Scripture:
• John 10.
Devotional Reading:
John 10:22-39,
The term “sacrifice” is not heard
much today, either in society in
general or within the Christian
community. When I was young, I
heard a great deal about sacrifice
as part of our Christian
discipleship.
Today it is an unpopular idea, it
seems. “Self-fulfillment” is much
more likely the ideal that is set
before us. Perhaps that is why
Sister Theresa is so venerated
throughout the world. We can
hardly comprehend someone who
offers her life for others.
THECUiPLAIN
It’s not just a matter of being
willing to die for someone else, but
of living for others. Many people
can’t help wondering about Sister
Theresa: “What’s in it for her?”
they want to know.
St. Martin of Tours was another
Christian saint who devoted his life
to others. One day, walking
through a village, he saw a
shivering beggar. Taking off his
cloak - capelh - he tore it in half
and shared it with the beggar.
Thereafter, St. Martin was called a
“capella lender,” from which
°”ontnai|y the term “chaplain”
Farm Calendar
Saturday, February 9
Cumberland County Holstein
Banquet, Penn Township Fire
Hall, Huntsdale.
Monday, February 11
Servicemen’s Seminar, Poultry
House C&D, Holiday Inn North,
Lancaster.
Tuesday, February 12
Adams County Beef Producers
Meeting, 8 p.m., Adams County
extension office.
Lebanon County Dairy Day, 10
a.m., Prescott Fire Hall.
Wednesday, February 13
1985 Winter Tree Fruit Meeting,
Rutter’s Restaurant (formerly
Avalong’s) east York, in
tersection of Route 30 and Route
24 (Mt. Zion Rd. exit).
Hydroponic Vegetables Con
ference, Berks Co. Ag Center,
Leesport, 9:30 a.m. -3:45p.m.
York County Commercial Tree
Fruit Growers meeting, 9:30
a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Rutter’s
Restaurant.
Calf and Heifer Management,
Eastern Lancater County Adult
Farmer Program, 7:30 p.m.,
Blue Ball School.
evolved-“one who will lend his
coat” to another.
There’s a sense in which all
Christians are called to be chaplains
to one another. Sometimes, of
course, it means more than lending
a coat; sometimes, it may be one’s
life that we must lay down for
another. This was piognantly
demonstrated for us in February,
1943 when the American cargo
transport ship Dorchester was
torpedoed m the South Pacific. As
it went down, four U.S. chaplains
a Roman Catholic priest, a Jewish
rabbi, and two Protestant
mmisters-gave up their lifebelts
so that four soldiers would not have
to jump into the water without
them. The Dorchester slipped
under the water as the four
chaplains stood on the deck with
their arms entwined and their
hearts united in prayer.
I LAY IT DOWN
Ths loss of the four chaplains
was a tragic loss of life, but it is
important for us to remember that
their lives were not taken from
them; they gave their lives. In
John 10 Jesus speaks of that same
dynamic; “...I lay down my life
that I may take it again. No one
takes it from me, but I lay it down
of my own accord’ ’(10:18).
The four key words have are;
...of my own accord.” If my life is
taken from me, that is tragic. But
if I lay it down of my own accord,
then, as Jesus taught, I don’t really
lose it. In fact, the only way I can
lose it is by trying to hang on to it.
There is a certain power m
giving ourselves. Jesus said, “I
have power to lay it down, and I
have power to take it again”
(10:18). Whether ‘‘laying it down”
means to live or die for others. If
we give it for our “own accord,”
we never truly lose it.
Northeast Regional Vegetable
Growers Meeting, 10 a.m. to 3
p.m., Milwaukee Methodist
Church, Lackawanna County.
Thursday, February 14
Lancaster Extension Association
annual dinner meeting at Farm
and Home Center, 6:30 p.m.
Atlantic Breeders Co-op, N.
Lancaster #l, Blue Ball Fire
Hall, 7 p.m.
Monday, February 18
Interstate Milk Producers § 7,
Hostetter’s, Mt. Joy at noon.
American Dairy Assoc, and Dairy
Council, Inc., 25th Annual
Meeting, Syracuse, 9; 30 a.m.
Tuesday, February 19
Lancaster County Crops and Soils
Day at Farm and Home Center,
8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Atlantic Breeders Co-op, Southern,
Solanco Fairgrounds, 7 p.m.
Mid-Atlantic Direct Marketing
Conference at Cherry Hill Inn
and Conference Center,
Camden Co., N.J.; continues
through Thursday.
Thursday, February 21
Wolgemuth’s 1985 Poultry
Banquet, 6:30 p.m. at Harvest
Drive Restaurant.
Keystone Pork Congres, 10 a.m. to
4 p.m. at Penn Harris Motor
Inn, Harrisburg. Porkette
Annual Meeting, 10 a.m.
Atlantic Breeders Co-op, N.
Lancaster #2, Blue Ball Fire
Hall, 7 p.m.
Lancaster Farm Financial
Management Conference by
reservation at Farm and Home
Center, 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
1985 Pennsylvania Holstein Con
vention; continues tomorrow.
Friday, February 22 r '
Maryland Holstein Convent^;
> continues tomorrow. /