AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 11, 1991
OPINION
What Do You Think?
If you think agriculture is not under the gun from environmen
tal consumer groups, think again. When National Secretary of
Agriculture Ed Madigan recently took office, he immediately
became a defendant in 3,500 lawsuits filed by environmntal
groups.
“I thought that was terrible,” Madigan told the American Farm
Bureau Federation’s National Affairs Conference last week,
“until I found out that was only the lawsuits filed against the Fore
st Service.” In all, the new secretary of agriculture is named as a
defendant in more than 30,000 such suits.
To fully explain the environmental movements’s potential
impact on agriculture, Madigan compared the fund-raising suc
cess of the nation’s top environmental groups with the fund
raising success of the Republican and Democratic parties. While
the two political parties raised $9O million, the 26 top environ
mental groups raised $BOO million. This fund-raising ability often
translates into the ability to promote environmental policies and
regulations that do not consider agriculture.
We did notice that the strong anti-prayer movemet in the nation
was suddenly silenced when our loved ones were faced with com
bat in Desert Storm. It became quite acceptable to offer a prayer in
White House ceremonies down to the smallest dairy meeting at
the local farm and home center. Could it be that the anti
agriculture attitude in the nation would also see the same sudden
change if for some reason the grocery store shelves became emp
ty and all the credit in the world available to the average American
taxpayer could not buy more than a small daily serving of milk
and a handful of rice from some foreign relief agency?
What do you think?
p r __
Farm Calendar
Western Pa. Sheep and Club Lamb
Sale, Mercer Co. 4-H Park,
Mercer, 6 p.m.
Bradford Co. Tractor Certification
Program, extension office, 9
a.m.
Blair/Cambria/Clcarfield Co. Bee
keepers hive platform demo
and picnic, Duman Park, 1 p.m.
(rain date May 18).
Pa. Bison Association Seminar,
Country Corner Hall, New
Poultry Management and Health
Seminar, Holiday Inn, Shamo
kin Dam, 6 p.m.
Lancaster Co. Beekeepers meet
ing, Rainbow Apiaries, East
Dairy barn ventilation principles,
Rutters Family Restaurant,
York, 7:30 a.tn.-9:30 a.m.
Starpoint Jerseys bam meeting.
Bill Ulrich Farm, Quarryvillc,
7:30 p.m.
Southeast Pa. 4-H Market Hog
Derby weigh-in, contact your
county extension offce.
Lancaster Farming
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 Genera! Manager
Everett R Newswanger Managing Editor
Copyright IWO by Lancaster Farming
Northumberland Co. Spring
Awards banquet, Sunbury
Social Club, Sunbury, 6:30
p.m.
Clinton Co. private pesticide
applicator exam, extension
office. 9 a.m.
i M.-fr. I
\ May 17
Saturday* May 18
Armed Forces Day
Mid-Atlantic Herding Stock Dog
Club herding clinic,
McVcylown.
ueotord Co. Sheep and Wool Field
Day, Bedford Fairgrounds,
Bedford, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Pa. Hampshire Sheep Association
annual Field Day, Tom Nicke
son Farm, Wellsboro, 11 a.m.
Pa. Young Dairymen’s Associa-
Farm Forum
EDITOR
Did you know the Ag Student
Council (Penn State) sponsored the
Lipizzian horse show recently and
in their food booth they sold hot
dogs and diet and regular Pepsi?
Not one ounce of any dairy pro
duct. I feel sure any dairy in State
BEEF "PRODUCTION SURE INVOLVES A LOT OF
WORK . X LONT UNDERSTAND WHY YOU
Editor’s Note:
Last week Jay Irwin, retiring
Lancaster County agent, wrote
his farewell column and this
week John Schwartz picks up the
column as the new Lancaster
County agent. Thanks to Jay and
welcome to John.
To Say Thank You
On behalf of the agricultural
community, I say thank you Jay
for the excellent columns you
wrote every week for the Lancas
ter Farming. Your advice was
sound and followed widely. We
are going to miss your daily gui
dance and many years of wisdom.
However, we will always remem
ber your dedication to people and
always placing their interests first
in making decisions. Best wishes
for many happy years of retire
ment May your days be filled
with joy from seeing friends, love
from visiting family and peace
tion, central district meeting.
Morrow Farm.
Clearfield Co. estate planning,
Multiservice Center, 7
HBE9HHI
Christmas Tree pest management
workshop and tour, McCurdy
Tree Farm, Dillsburg, 9:30
Clinton Co. Expo ’9l, Lock Haven
Lancaster Co. Home Horticulture
Seminar, Simple Garden Che
mistry, Farm and Home Center,
7:30 p.m.-9 p.m.
Milk Producers Voluntary Ag
Association annual meeting,
(Turn to Page A 22)
College area would have even
given half the product or maybe
donated all if they woulf have
wanted to promote our product
Eleanor Isenberg, Hundington
County Dairy Princess
Cooradinator
Alexandria
from knowing the fruits of your
labor have been productive.
To Remember Safety
The spring planting season has
arrived. With the uncertainty of
weather, efforts are made to get as
much done as possible on sunny
days. This often tempts farmers to
rush and forget some basic safety
rules. First, if you have small
children or grandchildren around
be extra careful. Know where
they are at all times. Before mov
ing equipment, check to make sure
they are not playing on or around
the equipment. Establish strict
rules about play areas. Roads are
not good playgrounds. Second,
stay alert. Get adequate sleep and
lake a rest break periodically. By
resting 15 minutes every few
hours will make you more produc
tive. Lastly, keep operating speeds
at safe levels. The few extra sec
onds you may gain by speeding
will easily be erased by an acci
dent. Make safety a top priority on
your farm all the time.
To Remember Your
Neighbors
With the rapid suburban growth
WHO’S PUSHING
YOUR BUTTONS?
May 19,1991
Background Scripture: 2 Cor
inthians 5:6-20.
Devotional Reading: 2
Timothy 1:8-14.
That is the title to one of the
chapters in our book, What You
Need Is What You've Got. In it my
wife Valere and I say: "If you arc
married to an alcoholic, if you’re
the parent of a problem child or
the child of domineering parents,
if you are a hen-pecked husband
or an abused wife, you are likely
allowing someone else to press the
buttons that control your life
both without and within. 1 '
It doesn't matter what we call it
"pulling your own strings," let
ting others manipulate you, sur
rendering to your fate you are
permitting someone or something
else to run what God put into your
hands alone your life, your self.
In counselling others I have often
found that many people feel that
they have little or no control over
their lives. They are what they are
because someone made them that
way God, parents, teachers,
etc. Other people are powerful,
while they feel weak and helpless.
LEARNED HELPLESSNESS
But none of us are bom helpless
or hopeless; that is something we
learn, according to Professor Mar
lin E. P. Seligman of the Universi
ty of Pennsylvania. And we tend
to learn these better than almost
anything. The good news is that if
we have learned to be helpless, we
can also learn to be the opposite.
3USTTASTH TWIS STEAK AND
X 7WINK >OO'LL UNDERSTAND
»■>■
a
we are experiencing, it becomes
more important for farmers to
develop a good neighbor policy.
Know who your neighbors are,
their work hours, and when they
around. Explain to them what
type of fanning operations you are
involved with. Let them know
they may come to you with ques
tions and concerns. Then listen to
their concerns and take steps to
show you want to help. Most of
the problems I encounter with
neighbor complaints with farmers
involves lack of communication
between fanners and neighbors.
By opening up good communica
tion lines before a problem arises
will go a long way keeping small
issues becoming a major problem.
Most issues neighbors complain
about will be taken care of in time
by nature. However, peoples
memories will last a lot longer
depending on how the issue was
dealt with. By listening, explain
ing the situation, showing con
cern, using nature properly and
being a good neighbor yourself
will go a long way in keeping you
out of legal actions.
The difference lies in what or who
we let "push our buttons." For we
were not created not any of us!
to be manipulated or controlled
by anything or anyone. Paul says
to the Corinthians: "Now the Lord
is the Spirit, and where the Spirit
of the Lord is, there is freedom"
(3:17). All of us need to make a
declaration of independence from
our manipulating habits, our
imprisoning ideas and attitudes,
and our enslaving emotions. There
isn't anyone who cannot do that, if
they really want to!
Sometimes, particularly if our
bondage has been a long-term
experience, it seems our bonds are
too powerful for us to break. So,
instead of gritting our teeth and
struggling against these negative
powers, we need to focus on a
positive that is stronger than all
the negatives. For example, if
right now I command you not to
think of strawberry shortcake, I
suspect that, no matter how much
you might want to comply, you
have strawberry shortcake on your
mind. You can't defeat a negative
with a negative "Don't!" But
you can defeat it with a stronger
positive "Do!" So, if I ask you
to please think of your favorite
food, the strawberry shortcake
will be gone.
IMMERSED IN LOVE
That's how we can free
ourselves of b mg controlled
by concentrate un a positive that
is stronger; the love of Christ. Paul
says to the Corinthians, "For the
love of Christ controls u 5..." (5:
14). If we immerse ourselves in
the love of Christ we will find the
negatives will not be able to push
our buttons. We will be motivated
by it and that will overpower
everything else. If we choose to let
the love of Christ at the center of
our lives, we cannot be victims
only victors.
(Based on copyrighted Outline! produced by
the Committee on the Uniform Senes and used
by permission Released by Community & Sub*
urban Press.)