AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 26,1986
OPINION
Now it’s lite beef
Next time you walk into a
restaurant and ask for a “lite” you
may not necessarily get a beer or a
cigarette. You may get an eight
ounce strip-loin beef steak. That’s
what Swift Company calls their
new cut of meat made available to
the food industry about three
months ago. Company spokesmen
say this steak caters to young
people who are health diet con
scious and is available nationwide.
Taken from lean ungraded (no
roll) carcasses that are aged 21
days, the steaks are then trimmed
down further so that the final
product has 33% less fat and 25%
fewer calories.
So far the jury is still out on the
public’s acceptance of the lite beef
When farmers speak
The word passed around Capital
Hill in Harrisburg Tuesday claims
that the Pennsylvania Fanners
Association presents one of the
strongest legislative voices in
Pennsylvania. You might say
when PFA speaks congress listens.
Of course, PFA has a very
professional and efficient
legislative and public relations
staff. They do their job superbly.
But the real strength of their voice
comes from the individual farm
members from every county in the
state. These farmers leave their
plowing, planting, feeding, and
milking for a day and become
informed of the issues that will
f
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Farm Calendar , /
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Saturday, April 26
A-Day, Delaware Valley College,
Doylestown; continues
tomorrow.
Maple Festival, Troy Fairgrounds,
8 a.m.; continues tomorrow.
15th annual Wayne County calf and
bred heifer sale, noon.
York County Sheep and Wool
Festival, York Fairgrounds.
‘Top of the Class’ market lamb
sale, Manheim Fairgrounds, 1
p.m.
Chester-Delaware Pomona
Grange 3 annual legislative
dinner, Cochranville Fire
Company, 6:30 p.m.
Monday, April 28
Berks County 4-H Beef Club
meeting, 7:30 p.m., Berks
County Ag Center.
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steaks. One major hotel chain now
carries the product on their menu.
The banquet staff has been in
structed of the new food, and in
formation flyers have been placed
on the restaurant tables. But so far
the response has not been over
whelmingly favorable. People
have ordered the steaks but some
don’t think it has as good a flavor
as a regular steak.
Maybe the public just needs to
develop their taste for the lite beef.
Or maybe it’s just a matter of
education. But at least we have
another creative way to market
farmer-produced food and
everyone involved in this kind of
creativity should be congratulated
for their efforts.
effect their business and family
life as farmers. They put on their
Sunday clothes even though it’s
Tuesday (that probably only
happens once a year about this
time) and go personally to the
offices of members of the state
house and senate.
While their stand on issues is pro
farmer, we’ve noticed .that often
their views reflect a concern not
only for themselves but also for
city and urban people as well. Our
applause goes to the men and
women of PFA who took the farm
message to the state government
with the proper mix of strength
and empathy. We call it a job well
done.
Tuesday, April 29
York County Farmland Tax
Reassessment Meeting,
Eastern High School
Auditorium, R 2 Cool Creek
Road, Wrightsville, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, April 30
York County Farmland Tax
Reassessment Meeting,
Southern Middle School
Auditorium, Glen Rock, 7:30
p.m.
Hans Herr FFA banquet, 7 p.m.,
Willow Street Vo-Tech School.
Friday, May 2
Delaware Food Festival,
Wilmington Hilton, 1-95 and
Naamans Road, Wilmington,
8:30 a.m. to noon.
NOW IS
THE TIME
By Jay Irwin
Lancaster County Agriculture Agent
To Prepare For Corn Planting
It always seems like we are in
the full swing of the spring rush by
the time daylight savings time
arrives. Well, this year is no ex
ception. We are fast approaching
com planting time and if your
planter is not “ready to go” then
put this high on your list for jobs
that must be done.
If you plan to change the row
width, be sure to calibrate your
planter to the plant population you
desire. This should be done well
ahead of time so if you need new
plates they can be picked up and
installed. Also your pest control
programs should be worked out.
If you are on a no-till program
and have a cover crop of rye,
wheat or barley, then it should be
sprayed when the vegetation is 18
to 24 inches tall. Paraquat plus a
surfactant does an excellent job.
As far as insect control goes,
research data collected from
Saturday, May 3
Apple Blossom Festival, Get
tysburg; continues tomorrow.
Maryland Sheep and Wool
Festival, West Friendship,
Md.; continues tomorrow.
Berks County dairy princess
pageant, Berks Ag Center, 7
p.m.
‘Sale of Star Performers,’ Pa.
Polled Hereford Association,
Bradford Fairgrounds. Show,
9:30a.m.; sale, Ip.m.
Goodville Fire Company Spring
Ham Supper, 3 to 7 p.m.,
Goodville Fire Company, Rt. 23
between Blue Ball and
Morgantown.
Monday, May 5
Accounting and Auditing Con
ference, Penn State University,
sponsored by Pa. Society of
Public Accountants; continues
through Wednesday. Contact
your local Extension office.
York County Farmland Tax
Reassessment meeting,
Southeastern High School
Auditorium, 200 Bowman Road,
Hanover, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 6
Berks County Sheep Club
program, 6 p.m.
York County Farmland Tax
Reassessment meeting, Dover
Area Intermediate School
Auditorium, 4500 Intermediate
Ave., Dover, 7; 30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 7
Lancaster Conservation District
Board Meeting
York County Fruit Spray meeting,
Earl Brown Orchards,
Loganville.
ThIE
numerous sites over the past
several years indicates that soil
insecticide treatments for com
rootworm control have not
significantly increased yields
except in a small percentage of the
fields. If rootworm was not a
problem in the past, treatment will
not be necessary. If the field was in
anything but com last year, there
would not be a rootworm problem
because they survive only on com
roots.
To Condition Cows For Summer
All cows and breeding-age
heifers should be vaccinated for
Lepto at least once a year, and
spring is a good time to do this.
Dewom heifers three to six weeks
after being turned out to pasture.
The second worming, three
weeks after the first, is crucial to
success; it, along with keeping
unwormed cattle out of the
pasture, can greatly reduce the
worm count of the pasture. An
alternative to double worming is
the use of sustained-release
boluses.
If pink eye has been a problem,
consider vaccinating for it, and
control face flies tahelp prevent its
spread. Keep cattle out of wet
areas to prevent mastitis and foot
problems. If necessary, use foot
baths as an additional preven
tative measure.
To Evaluate Sewage Sludge Before
Using
Many farmers are being ap
proached to have sewage sludge
applied to their land. Several
things must be evaluated before
considering this step. First of all,
many of our farms are presently
WHERE THE
DEVIL 15...
April 27,1986
Background Scripture: Luke 3:15-
22;4:1-30.
Devotional Reading: Luke 4; 1-13.
I cannot tell you how many times
I’ve read the account of Jesus’
temptation as recorded in Luke 4
(as well as Mark 1 and Matthew 4).
But it is a passage with which I am
quite familiar and whose meaning
I assumed I fully grasped (always
a dangerous assumption!). Yet, as
I reread it today in preparation for
writing this piece, it suddenly
dawned on me that there was
something in this passage that
previously had escaped me.
Like many others, I have always
labeled this passage, Luke 4:1-15,
as “the Mount of Temptation,” the
account of Jesus’ victorious en
counter with the Devil as Tempter.
Furthermore, I’ve always iden
tified with Jesus’ experience with
the Tempter because temptation is
one of the most common of human
experiences. I am tempted.
Everyone is tempted. Jesus was
tempted. And because he was able
to win over the Tempter, so you
and I can apply his response to our
own situations.
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producing more animal and
poultry manure than they have
land to apply it on, so we just don’t
have the acreage.
You should also be aware of
potential pitfalls in sewage sludge.
Sludge is a by-product of
wastewater treatment and can
contain many different elements
and compounds from municipal
and industrial sources. The
wastewater goes through several
stages of treatment, but the sludge
that is removed from the effluent
may contain heavy metals and
trace elements such as copper,
zinc, lead, nickel, chromium or
cadmium. These elements can be
toxic to plants at low levels and
some represent a hazard to the
food chain.
To avoid heavy metal or other
problems, sludges must be
analyzed to determine their
suitability. Ideally, your soil
should also be tested. Sludge and
soil testing is absolutely essential
for the safe and beneficial use of
sewage sludge on cropland. Costs
of analyses are usually paid by the
municipality involved.
To Think Ryelage
Many farmers plant rye as a
forage crop for their cattle. Rye
can provide a lot of much needed
high quality forage if it is
handled properly. For top quality
feed value, rye should be cut
around the boot stage of maturity,!
and wilted before ensiling. After
this stage, feed value drops
rapidly. Some of our rye fields will
be heading out soon. That means
we should be thinking about cut
ting rye, perhaps even before we
start planting com.
SPIRIT LED
Still, the Mount of Temptation
has always carried an ominous,
fearful connotation. True, Jesus
was victorious over the Tempter,
but then he was Jesus and I am me.
And I cannot help wondering
whether the gulf between being me
and being him is not too great to
allow me confidence in ap
proaching my own Mount of
Temptation and the Tempter who
waits for me there.
Yet, today I discovered that the
Mount of Temptation does not
belong to the Devil. To be sure, he
is there, always, but so is the Holy
Spirit! How could I have
previously seen only the Tempter
in this encounter? Luke clearly
reveals the presence of the
Tempter’s adversary: ‘ ‘And Jesus,
full of the Holy Spirit, returned
from the Jordan, and was led by
the Spirit for 40 days in the
wilderness tempted by the devil”
(4:1). Jesus encountered the devil
in the wilderness, but he entered
that experience “full of the Holy
Spirit” and was “led by the
Spirit.” And when it was all over,
Jesus “returned in the power of the
Spirit into Galilee...” (4:14). In
Jesus’ experience, where there
was the devil, there was even more
the power of the Holy Spirit.
AND OPPORTUNE TIME
And what about our Mounts of
Temptation? If, when we approach
them, we see only the Tempter
lurking there to test us, then the
battle may be over for us before it
bas even begun. After all, who can
contend against the power of the
devil? We are mere mortals! And
a the Mount of Temptation is the
devil’s home ground!
But is it really? The experience
}f Jesus indicates that the Mount of
Temptation is the home field of the
Holy Spirit and it is the devil who is
,he interloper. When we are
.empted, then, let us look not to the
Tempter, but to the Holy Spirit who
can lead us, as he did Jesus, safely
hrough this experience and bring
is out on the other side “in the
cower of the Spirit” for whatever
lalilees await us.
For, where the devil is, there
even more is the Holy Spirit who
can victoriously empower us as he
lid Jesus.
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