AlO-Upcastfr Farming, Saturday, March 28.1987.
OPINION
The Wrong Sow By The Ear
We just read the report that the
Humane Society of the United
States has printed 500,000 post
cards showing a bacon and eggs
breakfast with the caption, “The
Breakfast of Cruelty.” The cards
are being sent to egg and pork
producers and grocery stores. The
printed message on cards received
by members of the United Egg
Producers stated, “Until the
United Egg Producers establishes
more humane guidelines for the
care and housing of laying hens, I
will not being eating eggs for
breakfast.”
We suppose the Humane Society
is only concerned about the
welfare of hogs and chickens
though we would want to know
what other special interest groups
may be behind the attempt to
disrupt the wholesome breakfast
food supply of ham or bacon and
eggs. But the real point can be
made by us who are old enough to
remember chickens outside of
cages and hogs in large pens.
Maybe that’s when the
phenomenon called “pecking
order” was bom.
But we still remember that bird day of the week, too.
| FARM FORUM our readers write j
Dear Editor
A public and formal declaration
of Pennsylvania Farmers’
Association and the American
Farm Bureau Federation prin
ciples has just been released in
Policy Book form. Pennsylvania
Farmers’ Association is a grass
roots organization and a firm
believer of Americanism. Our
farmers policies are based on
moral and religious ideas, in
dividual opportunity rather than
guaranteed security. There are
guidelines on family, law en
forcement, national security and
property rights.
If you who read this letter to the
editor are not a farmer but support
PFA’s or AFBF’s objectives, you
can become an associate member.
Imagine what strength the group
would have if you joined the 3.3
million members now in Farm
Bureau.
To quote Paul Harvey who spoke
at the AFBF Convention in
Farm Calendar
Saturday, March 28
Colonial Charolais Association
annual meeting, EconoLodge,
Frederick, Md., 2 p.m. Spring
Sale, Frederick Fairgrounds, 6
p.m.
Bucks Co. Unit of National Far
mers Organization annual
dinner, 7 p.m., Plumsteadville
THAT'S A NEAT A
POP YA HAVE L
TP ERE", YUP... )
in the low end of the pecking order
scooting from one end of the
chicken house to the other to get
picked on the comb by every one of
the hundred or so other laying hens
within reach. You would think the
cage bars that animal-rights ac
tivists say limit the movement of
birds could also be thought of as
protective shields from all the
other hens in higher pecking order
brackets.
In addition, we would guess that
the multitude of pigs on modem
American farms live “higher on
the hog” than a huge percentage of
peoples in underdeveloped
countries or in ghettos of our
crowded cities. While the ter
minology would not be correct, any
way you look at it, these 500,000
postcards are “barking up the
wrong tree.” Though it would be
better to say they got the “wrong
sow by the ear.”
Really in the end, what needs to
be considered is the reality of what
it means to “go to bed hungry” and
to “have a chicken in every pot”
not only on Sunday, but every other
January in California, ‘.‘lf AFBF
would grow to 30 or 40 million
members, AFBF could organize
our disorganized majority against
all our enemies, foreign and
domestic.”
Here in our Pennsylvania
Farmers’ Association we have the
largest Blue Cross/Blue Shield
group plan in the state with more
than 10,000 of our member families
using the service. This could be 40
or 50 thousand people. Group rates
are 30 or 40 percent less than single
rates and have better coverage.
For this reason alone many
members have come into PFA
which is affiliated with the
American Farm Bureau
Federation.
Anyone who supports PFA’s or
AFBF’s objective can become an
associate member.
Mabel G. Bream
Adams County Information
Director
(Turn to Page A 39)
Fireball, Plumsteadville.
Tickets at $7 each are available
from Bill Garges, Warrington
at 215-348-5514.
Monday, March 30
United Egg Producers Legislative
Meeting, Grand Hotel,
Washington, D.C., continues
NOW IS
THE TIME
By Jay Irwin
Lancaster County Agriculture Agent
To Be Aware of
the LT Problem
It seems like there is always
something showing up to keep
poultry producers on their guard.
Once again LT
(Laryngotracheitis) is showing up
in Lancaster County. It has been
diagnosed in broilers, started
pullets and layers so all poultry
producers and supportive people
need to be aware.
This means that we really need
to maintain tight bio-secunty. A
few important areas are (a) insist
that sales people, deliverymen,
customers and pick-up people
absolutely stay out of houses, (b)
provide obvious outside recep
tacles for feed slips, invoices and
messages, (c) know your pullet
source and their vaccination
program, (d) do not visit other
poultry farms and (e) control
rodents - don’t forget stray dog
and cat control.
To Make Pastures
Produce
The best way to improve your
through April 2.
Agricultural Area Security Act
Meeting, 4-H Center, Bair
Station, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, March 31
Clarion-Venango-Forest Christ
mas Tree Meeting, Washington
House, Fryberg, 7:30 p.m.
Pa. Young Farmer Association
Volleyball Tournament,
Ephrata Jr. High School Gym, 7
p.m.
Wednesday, April 1
Annual Meeting, Headwaters
Farm Credit Service, Potato
City and Whitneyville.
Lancaster County Conservation
District, Farm and Home
Center, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 2
Manor Young Farmers,
“Chesapeake Bay Cleanup,”
7:30 p.m., Penn Manor High
School Ag Department.
Kent County DHIA Meeting,
Kennedyville, Md., 7 p.m.
Sincerely
Pa. Relief and Quilt Auction, Farm
Show Complex; continues
tomorrow.
Solanco FFA Parent-Member
Banquet, Solanco High School
Cafeteria, 7 p.m.
Saturday, April 4
Penn State University Dairy
Judging Contest, Penn State
University.
Spring Livestock Judging Contest,
Penn State University.
Pennsylvania Maple Festival,
Meyersdale; also held April 5
Friday, April 3
permanent pasture is to apply lime
and fertilizer, practice rotational
grazing and clip them regularly.
This is quicker, cheaper and in
volves less risk than tearing up the
old sod and reseeding.
Most permanent pastures have
sufficient seed of desirable grass
species. The only thing they need is
a little tender loving care and the
opportunity to grow, and to
recover from grazing pressures.
Thus, fertility and rotational
grazing are very beneficial. The
more paddocks you have, the
better it is.
If your acreage is limited for
your size herd, restrict the amount
of time cattle and livestock are
permitted to graze. Don’t let them
trample the grass unnecessarily
by allowing them to roam freely
over the pasture while not grazing.
After a paddock has been grazed, it
can be clipped to control weed
growth and to keep the grass young
and nutritious. This is also a good
time to apply fertilizer and
necessary herbicides, while
allowing the grass to recover prior
to being grazed again.
To Plan For
Oat Planting
I know some farmers are con
sidering the use of feed oats for
planting this spring, but this may
not be a good idea. Feed oats may
contain quackgrass, bindweed and
other weed seeds. Planting feed
oats will generally result in lower
yields. You also have the problem
that any weed seeds planted will be
a problem for years to come.
Keep in mind that high quality
seed is the smallest part of
producing a crop. So, saving a few
cents by using inferior or weedy
seed doesn’t make mush sense. On
the other hand, homegrown seed of
and April 8 through 12. Monday, April 6
Delaware State Grange 36th An- Queen Anne County DHIA
nual Scholarship Dinner, Meeting, Price, 7 p.m
Capital Grange Hall, Dover,
Del., 6:30 p.m
SAFETY FIRST?
March 29,1987
Background Scripture:
Luke 22:31-34; 54-71
Devotional Reading
John 18; 19-24
One could make a good case in
defending Simon Peter from the
charge that he had betrayed Jesus.
There is no question that Peter
denied knowing Christ, not once
but three times and unequivocally
at that: “Women, I do not know
him” (22:57). But one could argue
that Peter did the smart thing, in
fact, perhaps the only wise course
he could have taken. After all,
suppose Peter had said, "Yes,
that’s right, I was with him.”
Would that have saved Jesus from
the cross? What good purpose
could have been served’ In fact,
wouldn’t such a confession from
Peter and one or more of the others
have caused more martyrs to die
with Jesus? Wouldn’t that have
denied to the Christ the leadership
varieties proven successful on
your farm can be cleaned, treated
and planted if the germination is 80
percent or better. You can place
the seed in a tray with moist soil,
cover with wet burlap and keep in
a warm place. Then count the
seeds that germinate against the
total and determine the percent of
germination.
To Provide
Farm Security
Thefts and vandalism on farms
is on the increase. This is very
difficult to prevent because of the
various items around farm
buildings and homes; also the
number of buildings and places to
enter are many. However, we
suggest that every farmer take
some steps in protecting his
machinery, tools, livestock and
supplies. The automatic lights that
come on at dusk and go off at dawn
should be of real value in
discouraging burglars. There are
also many new sensing devices
that detect movement around the
premises.
Watch dogs are also very useful
in detecting strangers around the
property. Shops, garages and other
smaller buildings should be kept
locked when possible. The iden
tification of animals by tags,
branding and photographs is very
helpful. It is also a good idea to
mark all machinery and tools with
a permanent ID number. The best
number to use is your drivers
license number preceded by DL
PA (Drivers License, Penn
sylvania).
Remember, Social Security
numbers are non-retnevable so it’s
best not to use it. Farm thefts are
on the increase so farmers should
take steps to protect their
property.
(Turn to Page A 39)
he needed in the early post-Easter
church? Wasn’t it best for Peter to
practice “safety first” and save
himself for a life of apostleship?
HE WEPT BITTERLY
So far as we can tell from the
Gospels, however, no one ever
condemned Peter for his three
time denial of Christ that night. No
one had to, for Peter condemned
himself. It might well be argued
that Peter wisely chose to save
himself from a needless martyr
dom, but Peter knew in his heart
that his denial had nothing to do
with wisdom, Peter “went out and
wept bitterly” because he knew in
his heart that behind his denials of
Jesus was his fear and panic to
save himself.
There are many times when we
are faced with situations in which
the circumstances are quite dif
ferent from those faced by Peter,
but in which the principle involved
may be much the same. There are
times when we realize that our
discipleship for Christ may be
better served by picking and
choosing (if we canj the tunes,
places and circumstances in which
we will stand up and be counted for
him. If we are to risk some kind of
martyrdom for Christ, let it be
over the most important kind of
issues.
HE TURNED & LOOKED
But, if we pick and choose the
crosses we will take up for Christ,
ourselves about our motivations. If
the decision rests on better
discipleship, fine. But, if we are
merely rationalizing to play for
"safety first,” then we are just as
guilty as Peter was.
There is something else that we
must learn from Peter’s ex
perience If we betray Christ -as
Peter did by word and action-we
are not consigned to con
demnation, so long as we have the
courage and nonesty to admit that
we have failed him and resolve
henceforth to put Christ, not
safety, first
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