AlO-Lancasler Fanning, Saturday, April G, 1991
OPINION
Food Safety Trivia
The cranberry scare of the early 1960’s and the Alar hysteria
of the late 1980’s turned out to be nothing more than witch
hunting in the pretext of protecting the public welfare. In retros
pect, both of these events turned out to be tempests in teapots.
But they defamed innocent people and inflamed public inclina
tions to believe the worst while pinning blame on a scapegoat
agriculture.
A USDA study estimates losses to the apple growers in
Washington state alone in excess of $l4O million, with 10 per
cent of the growers forced out of business because of false
publicity.
According to Nancy Ragsdale, environmental programs
coordinator for agriculture and natural resources at the Univer
sity of Maryland, the real tragedy of Alar goes beyond economic
impacts on apple producers. It lies in the deliberate distortion of
scientific data, ready public acceptance of flawed information,
and subsequent effects of the hysterical outcry on the regulatory
process.
In a recent talk at the University, Dr. Ragsdale commented
that a person would have had to drink 19,000 quarts of apple
juice per day for 70 years to even approximate the risk level that
appeared to be carcinogenic to rodents used in the notorious
Alar study.
Rather than focusing on food safety trivia, the nation’s public
information people should focus on public health concerns like
smoking, alcohol, unbalanced diets, and high-dose exposures to
harmful environments for industrial workers.
Farm Calendar
Pa. Holstein Spring Sale, Ag Are
na, State College, 10:30 a.m.
N.E. Pa. regional sheep meeting,
Towanda.
Fruit pruning demonstration, Ber
trams Fruit Farm, Honesdale, 1
p.m.-3 p.m.
Income Opportunities For Rural
Areas Seminar, Allegany Com
munity College, Cumberland,
Md.
Tractor and machine operators
safety course, Edinboro Bor
ough Building, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
York Co. Forum, thru April 7.
Lancaster Co. Sheep Shearing
Shool, Ed Harkins Farm,
Pequea, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Northern Tier Sheep Producing
Seminar, Wysox Presbyterian
i m i^3oDi m^^
York Co. Forum.
Mercer Co. Sheep Shearing
School, Carl Gadsby Farm,
Grove City; repeats April 9.
Wayne Co. drinking water clinic,
Extension Office, Honesdale, 1
p.m.-3 p.m.; repeats 7 p.m.-9
p.m.
Berks Co. ASCS banquet, Ag Cen
ter, 7 p.m.
PFA state legislative tour, Harris
burg Hilton and Towers, 11:15
Lancaster Farming
fJ Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E Mam St
Ephrata, PA 17522
by
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A Stemman Enterprise
Robert G Campbell General Manager
Everett R Newswanger Managing Editor
Capyrlfht ItM by Lancaster Farmlnf
a.m.; dinner at Harrisburg Inn,
Poultry Sales and Service Confer
ence, University Park, thru
April 10.
York Co. Computer User Group,
Gettysburg H.S. ;
Lehigh Co. small-scale farming,
Ag Center, 7:30 p.m.
OCIA weed control meeting.
Room 1-A, Farm Show Com
plex, Harrisburg, 7 p.m.
Snyder Co. ag labor meeting.
(Turn to Pago A3l)
Farm Forum
Editor:
About Pennsylvania’s Nutrient
Management Bill- H 8496.
I have some real concerns about
the misleading statements being
tossed around about farmers put
ting nutrients in the Chesapeake
Bay. I think farmers are taking a
bad rap. They are being used as a
“whipping boy” to cover for
someone else. Mainly, industry,
sewage treatment plants, Penn Dot
road spraying as well as salting
during winter. People having their
lawns sprayed, wildlife, and
others.
The farm associations state they
UNCLE OTIC,. THIS IS THE COUNTY \
CIVIL DEFENSE DEPT WE HEARD \
THAT THERE'S SONAE FLOODING- I
OUT BY YOUR PLACE. COULD you J
TAKE A LOOK AND LET US KNOW /
THE EXTENT OF IT?
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NOW IS
THE TIME
By Jay Irwin
Lancaster County
Agricultural Agent
To Incorporate Manure
Many bams, poultry houses
and feed lots will be cleaned out in
the next few weeks. We repeat the
suggestion that this material be
either injected into the soil or
worked into the topsoil within a
few days after application. This
will not only preserve more nutri
ents but will reduce odors and
maintain good public relations
with your neighbors. Discing,
chiseling or plowing after the
manure application is strongly
recommended. Livestock and
poultry manure have considerable
fertilizer value when applied into
the soil before exposed to weath
ering. We urge our farmers to rec
ognize this organic fertilizer and
utilize it fully.
We hope our non-farm people
understand that applying manure
to our fields is part of farming and
part of rural living. It may be
unpleasant for a short time, but as
far as I know, rural odors have
never been proven to be a health
hazard. We hope everyone tries to
understand the needs and cares of
others.
To Evaluate Dairy Expenses
When milk prices fall, the first
inclination is to look for ways to
cut costs. This is always a good
practice, but according to Glenn
Shirk, Extension Dairy Agent, be
careful not to cut costs foolishly.
Don't jeopardize your ability to
make wise decisions and manage
efficiently. This is a time to fine
tune management decisions, not to
retreat back to sloppy decision
are in favor of this bill. The lead
ers of farm groups are not speak
ing for the average farmer. They
are not the ones putting in long
days working and paying their
bills. The average farmer is too
busy to run to all these meetings
and hearings. Thus the average
farmer is usually not heard from.
We do not need any new laws.
There are laws on the books now
to take care of a person who is
really polluting the waterways.
We most certainly, do not need
government telling us how many
(Turn to P*g« A 35)
making.
For example, rather than to drop
DHIA, force yourself and your
consultants to utilize DHIA
records more effectively. Rather
than "firing" consultants, rely
upon them more heavily for
improved feeding, for improved
herd health, for continued genetic
progress, for efficient cropping,
and for better financial manage
ment. In other words, push every
one to give you a greater return on
each dollar spent.
To Start Grazing Gradually
With the amount of warm
weather and good growing condi
tions, we're seeing pastures grow
ing very rapidly. This is also true
with producers that are planning
to graze winter grains such as rye
or barley. The herd or flock should
be controlled at first and not
allowed on the area for more than
a half hour; bloating and scouring
may result if they consume too
much of the lush forage the first
few days. Also, it's best to feed the
animals some dry matter such as
silage, hay or straw before turning
hi [ A k[ N' ( ;v AIIHOU'.f
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TROUBLE AT THE
CHURCH SUPPER
April?, 1991
Background Scripture: I Cor
inthians 11:17-34.
Devotional Reading: I Corint
hians 10:14-22.
This passage of scripture I
Corinthians 11:17-34 ought to
be read in every Christian congre
gation at least once a year and per
haps more often. I don't mean to
imply that all or even most con
gregations have a serious spiritual
problem with their church sup
pers, but the issues Paul raises
with the Corinthians in this pas
sage are no less a problem in the
churches today than they were in
the first century A.D.
What was the problem in Cor
inth? It appears that the Corinthian
church periodically held a church
supper during which the bread and
the cup of the Last Supper were
taken, quite possibly at the end of
the meal. It would seem that
instead of an occasion of unity in
Christ, the church suppers in Cor
inth had become rife with faction
alism. We don't know if Paul is
referring to the same leadership
factions that he mentioned in
Chapter I, or, as some have sug
gested, that these "divisions" are
more social in nature: the have's
and the have-not's.
DIVISIONS VS. UNITY
Sometimes it is amazing how
many different ways a congrega
tion can be divided. I'm not as
concerned that there are divisions
some grouping is natural but
that often these divisions keep us
from experiencing the unity that
the church is called to manifest. It
CD
them out to pasture the first few
times. Dairy farmers should keep
milking cows from the grazing
area at least 4 to 3 hours before the
milking period.
To Remove Bagwortn Cases
Right now is a good time to
check evergreens and shrubs for
overwintering bagworm cases.
These insects are especially
fond of arborvitae, junipers, and
cedars, but may be found on other
plants. Where only a few infested
plants are involved it may be prac
tical to remove and destroy the
bagworm cases. Each case may
contain up to 500 eggs. Young
caterpillars will hatch from these
eggs in late April if the cases have
not been destroyed.
If there are too many overwin
tering bagworm cases to remove
by hand, wait until after the eggs
have hatched and then use a spray
such as Sevin, Malathion, Orthene
or BT's. Follow label directions
when using any pesticide. Check
for young caterpillars in late April
and early May. It is best to control
them when they are still small.
is understandable in a church
when the youth stick together for
their activities and when senior
citizens do much the same. But
these groupings should never keep
us from sharing, worshipping and
witnessing together.
Apparently, that's what hap
pened in Corinth. The idea of the
church supper with Communion
was a good idea, but the way it
worked out was not! Some people
came early and didn't bother wait
ing for those who probably could
not get there so soon. If you've
ever wondered where the idea of
the carry-in supper (or by whatev
er name it is known in your
church) originated, perhaps it was
Corinth. It seems that everyone
brought his or her own food and
some had lots to eat and others vir
tually nothing. So there was little -
or no sharing.
BLASPHEMY!
Paul saw their divisive, selfish
behavior as a virtual blasphemy
against the Lord's Supper. We
have no idea what was Paul's con
cept of the Lord's Supper
whether he regarded it as a sacra
ment, a simple memorial, the
physical or spiritual presence of
Christ, and so on. Nevertheless,
although Paul doesn't give us a
theology of the Eucharist, he does
give us some clearly-defined
ideas.
For one thing, it is a commemo
ration of Christ's cross and resur
rection, a crucial victory already
won "Do this in remembrance
of me." Secondly, it is a commun
ion or sharing in the presence of
the living Lord at his table
"This is my body which is for
you." Third, it is an anticipation of
the final victory of Christ to be
established when he returns
"...you proclaim the Lord's death
until he comes." In an experience
focused on the self-giving of
Christ, how can Christians come
to this table selfish and divided?
(Based on copyrighted outlines produced by
the Committee on the Uniform Senes and used
by permission Released by Community and Sub
urban Press.)
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