master OPINION Big Barn Meeting Of Farmers We think it’s time to invite everyone to a big bam meeting and really get united for the cause of the dirt farmer. Farmers are constantly called upon to foot the bill for ser vices, promotions and expenses that have little to do with their own on-the-farm needs. When you think about it, a milk or other commodity check off to help an ad agency duplicate the efforts of another ad agen cy or to support a government food give-away program, would be better put back into the fanner’s pocketbook before it is ever removed. In fact, we could never really understand why the cost of advertising milk was not passed on to the consumer rather than back to the farmer. You can be sure you paid for the cost of getting yourself to buy your last new pick-up truck. State government is fond of saying that one out of five jobs in Pennsylvania is dependent on agriculture. This is stated to show farmers that government knows a lot about farming. However, if you look at it another way. what they really say is that 20 percent of the job holders in Pennsylvania take a cut out of the farmer's milk or other income check. Industrial companies unite and combine resources and responsibilites all the time. If it will help farmers keep some extra money in their pockets, why not merge farm organizations as well? And for someting refreshingly different, why not put a milk check-off on the consumer’s income for a while too? A big bam meeting of farmer directors from every organiza tion in agriculture demanding that this happen would be the first step. Signs Of A Good Cow She’s long in her face, she’s fine in her horn. She’ll quickly get fat without cake or com. She’s clean in her jaws and full in her chin. She’s heavy in flank and wide in her loin. She’s broad in her ribs and long in her rump, A straight and flat back without e’er a hump. She’s wide in her hips and calm in her eyes. She’s fine in her shoulders and thin in her thighs. She’s light in her neck and small in her tail. She’s wide in her breast and good in the pail. She’s fine in her bone and silky of shin. She’s a grazier’s without and a butcher’s within. Leavitt’s 1862 Found in America and Her Almanacs by Robb Sagendorph. pg. 216. ||s:^^=^ss^^“as=aaHH=Hs^ssss*sH| Farm Calendar Saturday .|anuar\ 11 Farm Slum Begins! Pennsylvania Farm Show, Farm Show Complex, Harrisburg, thru Jan. 16. Pennsylvania Farm Show, Farm Show Complex, Harrisburg, thru Jan. 16. Pennsylvania Farm Show, Farm Show Complex, Harrisburg, thru Jan. 16. Mid-Atlantic Fruit Variety Show case, Hyatt Hotel, Richmond, Va., 3 p.m.-6 p.m. Mercer Co. Dairy Workshop, Extension Center, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Hay Auction, Westmoreland Co. Extension, Westmoreland Fair grounds. 11 a.m Lancaster Farming Established 1955 Published Every Saturday Ephrata Review Building 1 E. Main St. Ephrata. PA 17522 by Lancaster Farming, Inc. A Stonrrmn Enfrpri i* Robert G Campbell Genera) Manager Everett R. Newswanger Managing Editor C«pyrl(M IWI k? LaneMr Farmlnf lanuary 11, 1992 Pennsylvania Farm Show, Farm Show Complex, Harrisburg, thru Jan. 16. Area tax meeting. Holiday Inn, Hazelton. New Jersey annual vegetable meeting. Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort, thru Jan. 16. Woody Ornamental Plant Identifi cation Course, Neshaminy Manor Center, Doylestown, Jan. 14-15 and Jan. 21-22, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. “Improving Swine Production Efficiency,” television short course, broadcast January 14, 21, and 28, downlinked to Berks Campus, Reading. Bradford-Sullivan Forest Land (Turn to Page A3l) THIS 13 WONDERFUL UN CIS OTIS. ACCORDING- TO ' DIET SCHEDULI SHOULD HAVE 1 10 POUNDS BY AND HERE YOU GONE AND L 0 12 POUNDS. To Understand Vaccination Failures The primary reason to vaccinate animals is to reduce economic loss due to sickness and mortality caused by infectious diseases. A good vaccine protects animals by providing a response that is con trolled, predictable, effective, measurable, and safe. The success of a vaccination depends on the proper application. Most common causes of vaccine failure include: • Improper handling and stor age of live vaccines. • Choice of improper or inadequate strains for the disease problem. • Undue stress on the animal being vaccinated. • Inadequate priming for killed vaccines. • Improper timing. • Bacterial contamination of vaccine, diluent, or vaccination equipment Proper vaccination is a very important key for success in ani mal agriculture. Review your pro cedures and take time to make sure you are vaccinating your animals properly. To Reduce the Rate of Forced Culling One way to upgrade a dairy herd is to cull out the low producing cows. Last year, the average culling rate for Pennsylvania dairymen on DHIA was 31 percent However, of the cows that were culled, 75 percent were forced culling cows removed due to such prob lems as poor conception, mastitis, etc. Only 25 percent were removed for low milk production or sold to someone else. When the rate of forced culling increases, the opportunity for upgrading the herd by selectively culling out low producers is great ly reduced. This winter, cooperative exten sion will be holding many meet ings addressing topics on how dairymen could reduce their forced culling rates. Plan to attend meet ings near you. learn about ways to improve your dairy management skills, and take them home and implement them. Many farmers could improve their situation by making sure they are doing things right the first time and doing them on time. As new Master Farmer Paul Waybright said, “We do not do anything real outstanding. But we are consis tent.” Consistency and repeatabili ty is what we should be striving for. As land values continue to rise in many parts of Pennsylvania, far mers need to be concerned about transferring their assets to the next generation without having to liq uidate substantial portions of the farm to pay the inheritance taxes. Any couple with assets totaling more than $600,000 have a poten tial federal estate tax problem. Life \ '"V , A- r. ».r>. < Bi IAWKtN'f v\ ALIHUU‘>t Background Scripture: Psalms 103. Devotional Reading: Psalms 146. Today in rummaging through my credit card company file, I found a statement from a particu lar credit card outlining the vari ous benefits available to those who use their cards: excess colli sion loss/damage insurance for car rentals, "Buyers Security" for accidental damage, fire and theft on anything within 90 days of the purchase date, extended warranty on all purchases, guaranteed travel insurance, ready cash, and even frequent flyer points of a particu lar airline. "Don't forget your ben efits! " the brochure advised. Actually, that is pretty good advice for me. I'm not a big user of credit cards and I tend to forget that there are more benefits than simply establishing credit to rent a car or book a hotel room. The same is true of my relationship with God. When things are going pretty well with my life, I tend to forget about "all His benefits." It is only when I am in some diffi culty, whether imposed from without or within, that I am reminded what God does for me personally. What are those bene fits? The Psalmist lists them; who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the Pit, who satisfies you with good as long as you live so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s VERY PERSONAL No credit card company, no self-help program, no product on the market, no club or association offers me that kind of a deal. I've (THAT ie> QRBATf i To Explore Joint Life Insurance ‘sasiys sn DON’T FORGET THE BENEFITS January 12, 1992 insurance is often used to provide funds to pay these taxes. "Joint life,” “survivorship life,” or "second-to-die” life insurance is now available from several life insurance companies. The unique feature about this policy is that proceeds are not paid until the second insured person dies, which is usually when the federal inheritance tax is due. By including both a husband and a wife in one policy, more coverage may be obtained for a given pre mium than by insuring each person separately. If you have a potential inheri tance tax problem, take time to contact your insurance agent and ask about “joint-life” insurance. Feather Prof s Footnote: "Take time to read—it is the foundation of wisdom." got a great thing going here and I need to remind myself and join the Psalmist in singing: "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits" (103:1). Scholars believe that the Psal mist is someone who has exper ienced both great personal adver sity and rescue, so that this hymn begins as a very personal response. God has healed him and helped him in the midst of afflic tion. God has provided him with "good" throughout his life. So, it is not enough for us to acknowledge God's goodness in only general terms. We must seek out, recog nize and respond to all the things He does, first of all, in our own lives. Yet, having started on this intensely personal level, He moves from the personal to the corporate. We cannot praise God for what He has done for us per sonally without giving thanks for what He has done others. As He is concerned for me, God "works vihdication for all who are oppressed . " All Israel has been blessed by God's grace. So, we too, if we start with our personal thanks, must be able to move tow ard corporate thanksgiving, too. Otherwise our praise may be nothing else than sheer selfishness. 2 POLARITIES The Psalmist is struck by two polarities. On the one hand there is the permanency and pervasive ness of God's goodness: "He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor requite us according to our iniquities” (103:17). Further more, although everything else decays and passes away, "the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon those who fear him” (103:17). The other polarity is the transitory nature of human life: "As for man, his days ate like grass, he flour ishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone...” Realizing these two great truths, the Psalmist abandons his solitary song of praise and calls all creatures great and small every where to join in praise: "Bless the Lord, O you angels... all his hosts... all his works." \/'
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers