AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday,
OPINION
Feed The Hungry
“Parity Giving” is a bold tax- unemployment, high national debt
incentive plan to end America’s and eventually the risk of severe
farm crisis and help feed the starv- depression. Will there be a great
ing of our world. This “zero-cost” depression of 1990 as some eco
amendment to the Internal nomisls are predicting? To p j an Por Pa n
Revenue Service code would Under the proposed legislation, Wheat Seeding
allow special valuation of agricul- Congress would set a parity value time is fast approaching for
tural donations. The legislation is for donated farm products which wheal ers making
being pressed by farmers and would amount to the cost of pro- plans for their fall seeding. In most'
others sensitive to starvation in the duct i o n plus a profit factor. The £ wheat was a very food crop
world - plan, for example, might establish but some local wheat may
John Arens, senior partner with a pan ty value for com at $4.00 per * ti sfactory due to weed
Arens and Alexander, a Fayettevil- bushel. If a taxpayer were to buy .. JL f lf you
le, Ark. law firm that specializes in 100 bushels of com at $3.00 per
farm problems says die connection bushd (current market price) and ‘ ource and^e it Janed and
between starvauon and America s were to donate it to chanty, this , r „„ t „ dfnrdisease A i so ifyouhad
farm crisis has not always been as donor cou i d value his gift at $4OO, b problem not
obvious as it is now. “Through the instead of the current $3OO IRS
80s. my law firm has concentrated cost allowance. This incentive f f g can rcmain in the
its efforts in agricultural law, help- would encourage both corporate ’
ing farmers fight in the courts to a nd individual donors to become Certified seed would the best
keep their farms. Not until I sat at additional buyers of Amenca s t 0 y you experienced
the kitchen table with Frances and annual harvest The private sector M Ais year , The extra
Clarence Hopmann distressed would be enticed to participate in f cerUfied is well worth
Delta farmers from Dumas, Ark., solving our farm/hunger crisis he , insure a good crop next
did I begin to realize that the farm instead of relying on government )mmpr F
crisis crises were ba n ou ts and subsidies. To Consider AUer „ ative
inextricably linked, Arens saia. Any repo rted food excesses Protein Feeds
“Through her tears, Mrs. Hop- would absorbed in famine Wllh lhe ic e of protein
mann said: “It just doesn t make rc ii e f. This practical alternative to • in _ farmen! and feed com
any sense that 40,000 children die “tearing down our bams and build- j looking for alternative
each day because they have no ingne w ones” to store our excesses ‘ sourccs of protc i n feeds. Accord
ftxid-wcgrownce-and yct we would noton i y reduce hunger, but A shirk, extension
are told by the administration that would also strengthen America s one alternative is lhe
we have a surplus and that we are depr essed farm prices and help y | non-protein-nitrogen
not needed anymore; that we must revive Uie dignity of family farms. such aj ufca and anh dr .
lose our home our family farm. Eventually, commodity prices a * monia . When fed properly.
There is something terribly wnmg. would increase to levels nearing animals are able to con .
We can’t have a real surp us when the parity value because the true vcrt NPN im o protein. Animals
millions suffer and face starvation value - of donated producuon - nccd lQ be acdin [ ated t 0 NPN gra
in the world. calculated by converting tax say- d „ over a rio d of 3to 4
“I began to understand that.a in gs into increased worth-would Initially> ure a can be incor
lasung solution to Amenca s farm give an upw ard buoyancy to all intQ lf / e con c en trate mix at
crisis would not be found in the fann prices. Charitable relief orga- a rale of about 0 .5%, and then gra
courts or in modem farm subs - nizat ions would then be able to use dually i ncrea se d to a maximum of
dies. The answer was ancient, the bulk of their resources tetrad- lQva L 5 %. o r, it can be
Biblical economics. Only when and d i str i b ute the donated mixed ralc of about 10
America empties its food and flbcr . ton of norma , com gil .
and feeds hungry, yyould our It makes no sense that US. tax- alte mative is to mix
farm crisis be at an end. When payers spent $5.3 billionin 1987 to ? ds Qf anhydro us
America does not give on par with slore 10 .3 billion bushels of com, •JZ lon D t s ii aEe If NPN
to 'r ,y - 1.9 bimon bushels ot wheel, 635 rZJSTcSi do
storehouses become artifically million bushels of soybeans and nnl ; nclude it in the silage Neither
Ml, weakening hs Mm econcjmy, 23s million w«l. of rice (US.
the pnmary source of new wealthy Department of Agriculture) when dtoU g ht _ slrickcn
com silage.
Frances Hopmann, another even j n this country some 20 mil- ° (
advocate of Parity Giving says: ii on Americans go hungry for part Parm
“With parity giving, America’s o feach month, according to a 1985 * vaivuuai
farmers would no longer be driven report by the Havard Physician Saturday, August 6
into debt, disappointment and Task Force on Hunger in America. 1988 PA Simmental Field Day,
bankruptcy for reasons completely Our nation can no longer afford Windy Hill Farms, Titusville,
beyond their control. This coun- to ignore the hungry and destroy 10:00 a.m.
try’s well-tested and treasured sys- our most valuable resource: PDA Performance Tested Ram
tern of family farms would Arn crica’sfoodproductioncapaci- Lamb and Ewe Sale, Ag Arena,
survive.” ty which is dependent on our sys- Penn Stale, 1:00 p.m.
The late Carl Wilkcn, noted tem of family farms. As public Bradford County Holstein Picnic
agricultural economist and former opinion mounts, more will be Clinton County Fair, Mackeyville,
editor of the Progressive Farmer heard of this simple amendment to through the 13th
magazine, observed that in years the IRS code, which promises to Huntingdon Co. 4-H Clean-Up
when farm income makes up at break the unholy anomaly of hun- day, fairgrounds, 9: a.m.
least one-seventh of the nation’s ger in the midst of an abundant Cumberland County 4-H Horse
Gross National Product, the nation harvest. It would finally signal a Roundup, Carlisle Springs,
prospers. But in times when farm national response to the age-old Monday, August 8
income falls much below one- plea; Feed the hungry. Tioga Co. Holstein Show, Whit
seventh, there follows increased (Turn to Page A 27)
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
At Record-Express Office Building
22 E Main Street
Lititz. PA 17543
by
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A Sltlnrrmn EnUrpr**
Robert G Campbell General Manager
Everett R Newswanger Managing Editor
OpyrtlM IN by LanuMw rmm Inf
BOY, TM \S> HOT
WEATHER
v I <=> ROUGrH y
£
Ml £3
in*
NOW IS
THE TIME
By Jay Irwin
•Lancaster County Agriculture Agent
YOO 6ETT,
IT MAKES
PEOPLE
T\ RED
J& bo
U <fe^—
How much silage or high mois
ture com must you feed each day to
keep ahead of spoilage in the silo?
The amount will vary considerably
from hot days to cold days. Can
your herd consume this much
feed? The answer to these ques
tions depends on the diameter of
the silo, how well the feed was pro
cessed and packed when it was
ensiled, herd size, feeding prog
ram, season of the year and type of
storage structure.
If you are ensiling high moisture
ground shelled com in an upright
conventional silo, you’ll need to
remove at least 2 inches of grain a
day in warmer weather to keep
ahead of spoilage. For a 14 foot
silo, that is 1,400 pounds or more
of com per day 24 pounds per
cow in a 60 cow herd. If you are
ensiling whole shelled com or
ground ear com, the material does
not pack as tightly, and up to 4
inches may have to be removed
THE PERILS
OF POPULAR
RELIGION
August 7,1988
Background Scripture: Exodus
32.
Devotional Reading: Psalms 106:
40-48.
No public relations person
would tell the story of the Israelites
at Mount Sinai as the writer of the
Book of Exodus writes it. As he
tells it, just about everyone in the
narrative is presented in an unfa
vorable light: the Israelites, Aaron,
and even Moses.
Especially the Israelites. From
our safe perspective of the 20th
century, you and I can be proberly
shocked at the irresponsible beha
viour they exhibit. Impatient
because Moses has not yet come
down off the mountain, the people
of Israel demand of Aaron, “.Up,
make us gods, who shall go before
us; as for this Moses, the man who
brought us up out of the land of
Egypt, we do not know what has
become of him” (Exodus 32:1).
God has brought them out of
Egypt, freed them from the pursuit
of the Egyptians, provided them
with water and food for them in the
wilderness and now, despite all of
that, they are impatient and
demand that Aaron provide them
with idols!
THE WAY IT WAS
Wc commend the the writer of
Exodus for telling us the way it
was, not the way we would have
perfcrrcd it to be. But we need to be
no less acndid, for patiencke is no
more a universal virtue now that it
was in Moses’ day and we, despite
our pretensions, are probably no
less impatient with God than the
Israelites were. Who among us has
not dispaired when it seemed that
God was delayed in coming to our
aid? Which of us has not grown
IT MAKES?
PEOPLE - /
&ICK (
*
jfW op
daily. Four inches of this material
in a 14 foot silo is 2,436 pounds
41 pounds per cow in a 60 cow
herd.
If a limited oxygen storage unit
is used, sizing is less critical.
Late August and early Septem
ber are good times to establish a
new pasture, or renovate an old
one. In fact, this is a good time of
the year to make any pasture or
lawn seeding. The old sod should
be destroyed by cultivation or by a
herbicide. After the soil has been
treated with lime and fertilizer,
according to a complete soil test, it
can be seeded and should produce
good grazing for next summer.
The advantage of a fall seeding
is to permit time for the new plants
to become established before the
1989 hot weather arrives. The
cool, moist fall months should give
the plants a good start. The Agro
nomy Guide lists some good seed
ing recommendations.
impatient with prayer that seemed
unanswered and looked for help
elsewhere?
People may be more than will
ing to keep the covenant so long as
it seems that God is running his
end of the bargain according to our
time schedule. But, if God insists
upon being God and uses a totally
different timetable, how long are
we likely to wait faithfully and
patiently? Popular religion is
always an impatient one.
In addition to being impatient
for Moses’ return, the people of
Israel also wanted a god they could
see, handle and maybe even con
trol. It was one thing for Moses to
tell them about a God whom they
could not see, but they wanted
something more tangible like
the golden calf that Aaron made
for them out of their offerings of
gold. You and I, of course, are not
very likely to ask for a golden idol,
but that doesn’t mean that we are
any less amterialistic in our reli
gious outlook. We may say we
believe in an invisible God, but we»
act as if it is only the material
goods in which we can trust. Popu
lar religion is always a materialis
tic one.
EMOTIONAL BALANCE
Thirdly, the people of Israel
wanted to turn their religion into an
emotional binge. The “still, small
voice” within was not enough for
them. They wanted a religion that
swept them off their feet and
turned their insides upside down:
“And the people sat down to eat
and drink, and rose up to play”
(32:6). There’s nothing wrong
about sitting down to “eat and
drink” or even rising up “to play,”
so long as we don’t make that a
substitute for obeying our coven
ant with the Lord. The problem is
not emotion in religion, but emo
tion instead of religion. The prob
lem is substituting excitement for
obedience and faithfulness, of mis
taking entertainment for revela
tion. Those are always the attrac
tive, compelling perils of popular
religion.
IT MAKES)
PEOPLE
To Renovate Old Pastures
(Based on copyrighted Outlines produced by
the Committee on the Uniform Senes and used by
permission Released by Community & Suburban
Press)
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