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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.
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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
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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."
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