AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 7, 1991
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OPINION
The Prize:
A Unified Pennsylvania DHIA
In an article starting on Page A 1 ot this week’s issue, we have
published the tremendously informative and well-researched
document about the history of the Pennsylvania DHIA Program.
This detailed presentation of the illustrious Pennsylvania prog
ram, written by Donald Ace, professor emeritus at Penn State’s
Dairy Science Extension, shows how PDHIA, maybe more than
any other organization, has helped fashion the unique and envi
able position of the dairy industry in Pennsylvania.
Unfortunately, this wonderful legacy left to us by our fore
fathers is in danger of annihilation. What should be a vital and
progressive organization into the 21st centry may within a few
years become simply a monument to past historical
achievement.
Frankly, we are shocked by the division and confrontation
that has surfaced over the issue of centralization. What should
have raised PDHIA to a level superior to any other dairy organi
zation in the nation, has become such a sharp two-edged sword
of division that the entire dairy industry of Pennsylvania is in
danger of losing its credibility.
We don’t blame anyone. We blame everyone involved. At a
time when the economic welfare and survival of the individual
dairy farm family so much needs unity and mergers to reduce
costs of services, we find the largest state dairy fraternity frag
mentizing itself by division.
Christian brother is pitted against Christian brother. Dairy
man against dairyman.
Centralization of PDHIA was to bring all dairymen to the
same level of quality service that was experienced by the larger,
well-managed counties. But a number of county organizations
are now outside the fold because they are not convinced it will
be better for them. This bitter division must be diffused
immediately.
We arc in favor of centralization because many things in the
system of dairy record-keeping must be brought up to standards
that make them creditable. This can best be done by having one
jurisdiction in the state. But to accomplish this state need, peo
ple must be brought together by reason and persuasion and
agreement rather than by denial of records.
It is time to collectively renew our efforts to build a stronger
dairy industry in friendly fellowship rather than continue to
have destructive confrontations. Its time to forget those things
that are past and press toward the prize of a unified Pennsylvani
a DHIA. The welfare of the whole dairy industry depends on it.
Farm Calendar
.Lancaster Co. 4-H Horse Club
banquet. Farm and Home Cen
ter, 6:30 p.m.
National 4-H Congress, Chicago,
National 4-H Congress, Chicago,
nUjmiDgJl^
Cumberland Valley Adult Fanners
farm refuse and recycling,
Cumberland Valley H.S., 8
p.m.
Centre Co. DHIA annual meeting.
Penn State Tax Institute, State Col
lege, thru Dec. 10.
Holstein Steer Meeting 4, Farm ,
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E Main St.
Ephrata, PA 17522
by
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A Stmnrrmn Enterpm•
Robert G Campbell General Manager
Everett R. Newswanger Managing Editor
Copyright IMI by Lancaster Farming
and Home Center, 7:30
p.m.-9:30 p.m.
Northeastern Pa. tomato meeting,
Thompson’s Dairy Bar, Clarks
Summit.
Fayette Co. agronomy meeting,
Fayette Co. Area Vocational
School, Uniontown, 7:30
p.m.-8:30 p.m. and 8:30
p.m.-9:30 p.m.
Swine educational meeting, York
4-H Center, Bair, 7:15
p.m.-9:45 p.m.
National 4-H Congress, Chicago,
111., thru Dec. 13.
Hay Auction, Westmoreland Fair
_ grounds, 11 a.m.
(Turn to Page A 35)
To Have Hay
Tested Before
Feeding
At the recent Pennsylvania For
age Conference, there was a hay
judging contest where participants
were asked to rank four bales of
hay according to quality.
The hay that had the lowest rela
tive feed value was the hay most
Farm Forum
Editor:
I am writing in response to an
article titled, “Are Producer
Financed Milk Promotions Neces
sary?” (Lancaster Farming,
11-9-91 Vol. 36 No. 52, Pg. A3O).
I am a dairy farmer in Centre
County, and I agree that many of
our advertising dollars seem to be
wasted in the costs of promotion
rather than promotion itself. I
appreciate your publication’s con
cern for the milk industry, and I
would like to ask you to forward a
copy of this letter to die proper
promotion people who can further
consider it. Possibly the Milk
Industry Foundation (Washing
ton, D.C) mentioned in your
article.
First of all, the general popula
tion needs to be reinformed that
milk is NOT a health poison. I
think that the national dairy prom
otion board has been working on
this, but there is more to do.
2% milk consumption is up, but
4% is greatly declined. People
who think they are doing them
selves a favor avoid 4% milk like
the plague, and then hog down
something like macaroni or spa
ghetti. A box of KRAFT Macaroni
and Cheese has a fat content of
25% as served. I realize that these
foods use milk products too. but
I’m sure the promotion board can
see that many foods contain a fat
content higher than 4%. Milk
needs to be advertised as 96%
FAT FREE, and not as 4% milk!
Your article also states that
whole milk consumption has not
changed in the past 3 decades, and
possibly even declined, that soft
drink consumption has doubled
since 1970. Since soft drink com
panies have proven by this fact
that they know what they are
(Turn to Pago ASS)
people selected as being the best
Had they purchased this hay and
fed it to cows, chances are that dry
matter intakes and performance
would have been less compared to
the poorer looking hay.
Thus, there is more to hay qual
ity than what meets the eye and
nose. The only way you will be
fairly sure of the quality of hay you
are feeding is to have it tested. It is
especially important this year
because of the poor weed control
we experienced and the unusual
growing conditions we had.
To Apply For
Milk Refund
Are you shipping about the
same amount or less milk this year
compared to last year? Do you
have a conservation plan for your
farm?
If your answer is yes to both
questions, then you might be eligi
ble for a 5 cent per hundred weight
refund for the milk you shipped in
1990. How much money is this? If
you have a 60-cow herd that aver
ages 15,000 pounds of milk per
SUPPOSE THERE’S
NO “VICTORY”
December 8, 1991
Background Scripture:
Judges 4:4-5:31.
Devotional Reading: Psalms
81.
Like the song of Moses (Exo
dus 15:1-18), the song of Deborah
and Barak is a victory song that
gives voice to their joy for the
defeat of their enemy, Sisera:
“Hear, 0 kings; give ear, 0
princes, to the Lord I will sing. I
will make melody to the Lord, the
God of Israel.
What made this victory so
sweet was that the people hadn't
believed they could not win. The
prophetess Deborah had to per
suade Barak that with God's help
it could be done. Even then, he
was dubious: "If you will go with
me, I will go; but if you will not go
with me, I will not go.” Because of
this reticence to believe her pro
phecy, Deborah warned him: "I
will surely go with you; neverthe
less, the road on which you are
going will not lead to your glory,
for die Lord will sell Sisera into
the hand of the woman" (4:8,9).
Because of Barak's lingering
doubts, there would still be vic
tory, but the credit would go to
someone else.
You and I might judge Barak as
being overcautious - as, under the
circumstances, indeed he was.
Yet, we should be able to better
appreciate his caution, for most of
us have stood where he did: was
this a message from God, or was it
merely from Deborah? Acting
upon God's message is difficult
because it is not always clear who
is the source of it. As it turned out.
o f WHY
A AFT£R
A 6IX- ?
0
cow, your refund would be $450.
For more information and applica
tion, contact your local ASCS
office.
To Consider
Pesticide License
Update
Fanners with private applicators
licenses to apply pesticides to farm
land have a new requirement to
meet if they use a fumigant
Fumigation of space, commodi
ties, or soil now requires a special
certification for private applica
tors. The Penn State Office of Pes
ticide Education has developed
educational material to help appli
cators prepare for this
examination.
This material may be ordered by
calling Penn State’s Department of
Independent Learning at (800)
252-3592 and asking for the fumi
gation educational information.
Also, start planning now to attend
meetings that will allow you to
renew your pesticide license.
Feather Profs Footnote:
"Indecision is the graveyard of
good intentions"
against great odds they did defeat
their enemy, Sisera. So, Deborah
and Barak celebrated the victory
singing the praises of God who
made it possible.
But suppose there had not been
a victory? Suppose the battle had
been either a draw or a defeat for
the people of Israel, would they
still sing God's praise?
These are very important ques
tions because life is not a continu
ous string of victories - for some
of us, far from it! There have been
times when a loved one did not
make it through an illness, when
our book was turned down by the
publisher, when we did not get the
promotion we worked for, and
when that for which we hoped and
prayed emestly just didn't happen.
Jesus suffered on the cross. Ste
phen was stoned to death. Paul,
although saved from violent death
a number of times, eventually, it
would appear, was put to death.-
So, do we still sing?
STILL A CROSS
It is wonderful to be delivered
from a peril or problem in the
midst of life. When that happens,
let us praise God for it But that is
not our ultimate assurance, just as
it was not God’s ultimate Provi
dence to Jesus. There are times
when, instead of being saved in
the nick of time, we have to suffer.
God's ultimate promise to us, I
believe, is not that we will always
be saved from life’s perils, but that
we are always saved in the midst
of those perils. Of course it is
more enjoyable for us to get the
long-awaited promotion, but it is
no less valuable to us to have
God's help in dealing with our fai
lure to get it.
So, whether we win or lose the
battle, God is with us and he has
promised us that He will win the
war. The day-to-day fortunes of
the struggle are one day "wonder
ful!" and another "terrible!" Butin
the long run God will prevail and
because of that, so will we.
And that's something to sing
about, too!
CAUSE IRAT'9 WHEN
THEY DRAW THE
LOTT&& NUMBERS
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