AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 3,1986
OPINION
Service to Agriculture
Twenty-five years of service to
agriculture. That’s what Arnold
Lueck, associate county agent
from Lancaster has done. If you
have a witty alfalfa stalk or need to
know which side of the house to
plant a flowering shrub, you can
always call the extension service
and ask for Amie. Amie is the
name he is affectionately called by
his friends.
Lueck joined Penn State’s
Cooperative Extension Service in
1961 and was especially helpful in
agronomy and horticultural
Solute to
In 1984, one out of every forty
one Americans lived on the farm.
That amounted to nearly 1%% of
the total U.S. population. Back in
1920 when the farm population was
first counted as a separate group,
over 30% lived on farms. By 1950
the proportion had fallen to around
15%.
According to the U.S. Depart
ment of Agriculture, 2.3 million
farmers provide food and fiber for
271 million people-201 million in
the U.S. and 70 million overseas.
One farmer provides food and fiber
for 116 people. That figure of 116 is
Farm Calendar
Saturday, May 3
Spring Sale, Pa. Shorthorn, Polled
Shorthorn Association, Mercer
4-H Park.
Apple Blossom Festival, Get
tysburg; continues tomorrow.
Md. 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,
Bedford Fairgrounds; show,
9:30 a.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.
Huntingdon County 4-H County
Council, 7:30 p.m., Extension
meeting room.
IN THE SPRINie TIME
UNCLE OTIS) MAKES A*
WEAR MV BOOTS WW<
J <3O OUTDOORS
fS*
/v.
programs. Helping farmers who
grow corn, alfalfa, potatoes,
tobacco, celery, grapes and ap
ples. Lueck’s programs also have
been designed for home gardners,
4-H clubs and agri business
representatives. Lueck is well
known and well-received with his
weekly newspaper columns and
radio broadcasts.
With all of the fine effort this
county agent has brought to
agriculture, we want to, on behalf
of the agricultural community, say
a big thank you, Arnie.
Farmers
up from 73 in 1970 and 46 in 1960.
The average person in America
eats 1,426 pounds of food per year.
Three ounces a day more than 20
years ago. The most popular food
in total pounds sold is whole milk,
123 pounds per person annually.
It would seem that the farmer is
rather small when it comes to
numbers in relation to population.
But when it comes to producing
food, us farmers look pretty large.
In fact it probably wouldn’t be out
of place to solute ourselves as
masters of food production in the
world.
Fauquier Junior 4-H Livestock
Club show and sale, Fauquier
Junior Fairgrounds, Marshall
Va., 9:30 a.m.
Tuesday, May 6
Berks County
program, 6 p.m
York County Farmland Tax
Reassessment Meeting, Dover
Area Intermediate School
Auditorium, 4500 Intermediate
Ave., Dover, 7:30 p.m.
Pa. PRV Task Force meeting, 7:30
p.m., Ephrata Senior High
School.
Wednesday, May 7
Lancaster Conservation District
Board meeting.
Southcentral Twilight Fruit
Growers Meeting, 6 p.m., Earl
Brown Orchards, Loganville.
Annual Meeting, Dairy and
Nutrition Council, Pittsburgh
Marriott, Greentree.
Huntingdon County DHIA direc
tor’s meeting, 8 p.m., Extension
meeting room.
Friday, May 9
Spring Steam Up, Rough and
Tumble Engineers Historical
Association, Kinzers; continues
tomorrow.
Saturday, May 10
Spring Field Day, Pa. Polled
Sheep Club
NOW IS
THE TIME
By Jay Irwin
Lancaster County Agriculture Agent
By
To Practice Pesticide Safety
Pesticides are very important to
our highly efficient agriculture.
When used as directed, they repay
our growers with higher, better
quality yields at minimal risk to
our safety and health.
• It’s important to choose the
correct pesticides and application
equipment for your particular
problem.
• Be sure to read and follow the
label directions. Make sure all
coworkers do the same.
• Without fail, use the recom
mended personal protective
equipment to prevent harmful
contact with chemicals.
• Mix chemicals accurately and
carefully. Clean up spills. Return
unused materials to safe storage.
• Triple rinse and drain empty
FARM FORUM
OUR READERS WRITE
Editor’s Note: All letters to the
editor must be signed to be con
sidered for publication. If
requested, the name will be
withheld when published.
Dear Editor,
Your excellent article, “A
Dairyman in Buyout Shares His
Thoughts”, should be shared by
the nonfarmer people. Have you
considered offering it to the
Lancaster papers or the
‘‘Philadelphia Inquirer” that ran
headlines on how much the big
farmers will be getting, but no
insight on what it involves?
Sue Lomborn
225 Lees Bridge Rd.
Nottingham, PA 19362
Hereford Association, Spring
Bottom Farm, Fairfield.
Kraybill School Sale, 9 a.m.,
Kraybills Mennonite School,
Mount Joy.
Sunday, May 11
Southwest Warmup Arabian Horse
Show, Arden Downs,
Washington.
Monday, May 12
Annual Meeting, Pa. Approved
Dairy Lab Directors, Penn
State University.
Tuesday, May 13
York County Farmland Tax
Reassessment Meeting, Nor
thern Middle School
Auditoriujn, R 2 Dillsburg, 7:30
p.m.
Thursday, May 15
Lebanon County FFA banquet,
Cedar Crest Middle School, 7
p.m.
/Vs.
containers into the spray tank.
• Clean the equipment when you
have finished. Don’t smoke or eat
until you have washed and
changed clothing.
• Store pesticides in their
original labeled containers in a
locked cabinet, room or building.
Let’s have a safe growing and
harvesting season this year.
To Prepare for Soybean Planting
Soybeans should be planted in
warm moist soil. A thermometer
will help you decide when is the
best planting date. Special bayonet
type thermometers work very
well.
The ideal soil temperature is
about 62°F. The reading should be
taken at about 8 a.m. when the soil
temperature is stabilized. The
thermometer should be inserted at
least two inches in the soil.
Many people planting soybeans
will either end up with too many
plants per acre or too few. This will
happen because they will use the
pounds per acre philosophy, which
won’t work for soybeans. Because
soybean seed differs greatly in
size, this also means they differ
greatly in number of seeds per
pound. For example, one variety
may average 2,100 seeds per
pound, while another variety
averages 3,100 seeds per
pound...that’s a difference of 1,000
seeds per pound. So, if you plant a
bushel of seed with 85 percent
germination, that’s a difference of
about 48,000 plants per acre.
The only way to plant beans is by
seeds per foot of row. If a grain
THE DEVIL
TO PAY
Ma> 4,1986
Background Scripture: Matthew
12:22-32; Luke 11:5-13.
Devotional Reading: John 3;3-15.
I never heard much about the
Devil when I was growing up. As a
matter of fact, even when I was a
theological student in seminary,
references to the Devil were few
and far between. But in the past
two decades, the Devil, it would
seem, has made quite a comeback.
To be sure, there are some Satanic
religious cults that have grabbed
occasional headlines and the
motion picture studios have
worked the Devil and other
demons for all they are worth at
the box office.
DEMONIC P.R.
Actually, however, it is none of
Annual Meeting, Pa. Horse
Breeders Association, New
Bolton Center, West Chester.
Saturday, May 17
Goodville Fire Company Spring
Community Sale, 9 a.m. to ?,
quilt auction at 1 p.m., Good
ville Fire Company, Rt. 23
between Blue Ball and
Morgantown.
Bradford County 4-H County
Council meeting, Extension
office.
drill is used, three beans per foot of
row is plenty. If a 30-inch com row
is used eight to nine beans per foot
is about right
To Check Fai m Ponds
Many ponds will be showing both
algae and weed infestation build
up as the weather gets warmer,
and yes these pond plants will
begin to grow. Permits are needed
in order for the owner to use the
proper material, and to protect
livestock downstream from the
pond. Before any ponds are treated
in Pennsylvania with any chemical
or fertilizer, the owner should
obtain a permit from the Penn
sylvania Fish Commission. Ap
plication for the permit is
available from the Pennsylvania
Waterway Patrol Office or from
our Penn State Extension Office.
To Help Prevent Damping-off of
Seedlings
Damping-off of seedlings is a
common concern of plant growers.
It may start with a single seedling
and move rapidly through the flats
or bed. Growers can prevent losses
from damping-off by following
good control or prevention prac
tices.
Good damping-off prevention
practices include the use of clean
or treated seed, sterilized soil or
disease-free plant media, clean
containers, water and tools.
Watering plants in the morning
when the temperature is rising will
provide good drying conditions and
also aid in preventing losses from
those disease organisms that may
be in the soil.
the above who have brought the
Devil to his current state of in
famous reknown, but multitudes of
unwittig Christians, who seem to
spend so much of their time
looking under their neighbor’s bed
for the Devil that God himself gets
far less of their attention.
Christians have found that war
ning others about the Devil is more
fun than witnessing to the grace of
Jesus Christ. They have found that
there is no better “put down” to
another person than to suggest or
outright accuse them of consorting
with demonic powers. And, as
quite a few have found out to their
financial gain, the Devil also sells
books.
Ah yes, some may say, that is the
price we must pay for vigilance against
the demonic, for we are safest from the
Devil when we are most aware of his
presence. And thus they rationalize
their tireless public relations ef
forts that keep the Devil alive and
well in the popular consciousness.
Thus, they justify their self
righteous attacks upon other
Christians so that they might keep
them from becoming “unwitting
tools of the Devil.”
“ONLYBEELZEBUL”
It is important to remember that
Pharisees also tried to discredit
Jesus by using the same kind of
charge. When he healed a dumb
demonic, they tried to counter the
amazement of the people saying,
“It is only by Beelzebul, the prince
of demons, that this man casts out
demons” (Matt. 12:24). No other
accusation ever brought so
devastating a reply from Jesus. By
robbing the Devil of his wretched
human victims, says Jesus, he is
actually plundering the Devil’s
“household” and evidencing the
presence of the Kingdom of God in
their midst.
Jesus goes on to utter some
words that are probably the
harshest he ever spoke: “...every
sin and blasphemy will be forgiven
men, but the blasphemy against
the Spirit...whoever speaks it
against the Holy Spirit will not be
forgiven, either in this age or in the
age to come” (12:31-32). This is,
for Jesus, the worst of sins-as one
commentator puts it, “that
malignant moral blindness which
deliberately affirms that which is
good is evil.”
Thus, to condemn our neighbor
and his faith as “of the Devil” may
put us in the position of
blaspheming God’s Holy Spirit.
Then we wifi really have the Devil
to pay.