AlO-Lanctster Faming, Saturday, March 7,1992
OPINION
Correct An Economic
Talk about the cost of health care is a popular subject these
days. In the United States we have the most advanced technolo
gy and the best physicians and specialists. But our health care
system is the most expensive in the world.
Why this is true or who or what is to blame we cannot say. But
we can say that farmers are in need of the proposed tax break on
the money they spend for health insurance premiums.
Along with failing crops and falling markets,'farmers also
face the family’s health care as a major concern. Like everyone,
farm families find it harder to deal with the rising costs.
But more specifically, it is not fair that urban neighbors who
are corporate or government employees receive health insur
ance tax free, while fanners are taxed on the money they use to
pay for health insurance.
It’s nothing for a health care policy to cover a farm family to
cost $4,000 per year. Fanners understand the consequences that
come from choosing a career where free health insurance is not
offered. But they should not be penalized because of this choice.
The urban neighbor is not taxed on the $4,000 value of his
policy that is provided as a company benefit. Fanners should not
be required to pay tax for health policies either. The playing
field needs to be leveled to treat all people the same regardless if
they are provided insurance or purchase it themselves.
Many proposals in Congress deal with the issue of a 100 per
cent tax deduction for health insurance premiums for farmers
and others who buy their own health insurance. The tax laws
need to be changed to allow this deduction.
This will correct at least one economic discrepancy between
rural and urban neighbors.
Farm Calendar
s.il 111 (l.i \. M.m li
Regional Christmas Tree Seminar
and Trade Show, Rustic Lodge,
Indiana. 8 a.m.-3;30 pjn.
Fourth Toastmasters’ Meeting,
Farm and Home Center, 8:30
a.m.
ladelphia Civic Center, thru
March IS.
Maple Magic, Greenville.
Maple Sugaring Festival, Hashaw
ha Environmental Center,
Westminster, Md„ 12 p.m.-S
Poultry Management and Health
Seminar, Kreider’s Dairy Farm
Restaurant, Manheim, noon.
Adams Co. Farmers Assn., Mt. Joy
Church Parish House, 6:30 p.m.
Cumberland County 4-H Dairy
Club Banquet, Penn Township
Fire Hall, Huntsdale, 7 p.m.
Octorara Young Farmers Assn,
awards dinner, West Fallow
field Christian School, 6:4S
p.m.
Special 4-CORE CREDIT Meet
ing, County Administration
Building, Chambersburg, 7
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main SL
Ephrata. PA 17522
by
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A Stmtnrmn EMtrptif
Robert G. Campbell General Manager
Everett R. Newiwanger Managing Editor
CspyrlfM IWt by Unesstar Farmlrtf
Discrepancy
p.m.-9:15 p.m.
Farmland Preservation Meeting,
Lehigh County Ag Center,
Allentown, 7:30 p.m.
“Grazing to Reduce Costs,"
Adams County Extension
Office, 10 a.m.-Noon.
(Turn to Paga A9l)
Editor,
I applaud your Feb. 29. 1992
Lancaster Fanning Opinion. Agri
culture does need to be a vital part
of Pa. *s public school curricu
lums. But I'm afraid that the State
Board of Education will most like
ly lend a deaf ear to the fanning
communities legitimate concerns.
I traveled to Harrisburg on Feb.
27th for the meeting concerning
proposed changes in chapters 3,5
and 6 of the new state regulations.
Many concerned citizens, parents
and grandparents made die trip
from all parts of the state, Phi
ladelphia, Pittsburgh and Erie to
name a few. Probably well over
200 of us showed up but only a
small room which seated 80 peo
ple was provided. Even though a
larger room which could have
ONCLE X-TWINK
AUTHE ICE HA9
FINALLY MELTED >
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Using a variety of com maturi
ties should lessen weather stress
and crop failure potential.
Extreme heat and dry weather
during com pollination will sizzle
com yields. Protection against
weather stress may be minimized
by increasing the length of time the
com crop will be pollinating.
By planting several hybrids of
varying maturity days, growers
will extend the time the crop is
silking and pollinating. In
extremely hot weather, silks will
emerge later than the tassel and the
pollen may die before it reaches
the silks.
When planting different matur
ing varieties, it is best to plant them
in different fields. Research has
shown yields are usually higher
when each variety is grown sepa
rate rather when grown in a
mixture.
Remember, this practice will
also spread the harvest over a lon
ger period of time.
Farm Forum
accommodated us was available
the meeting site was not moved. A
PA system was set up in the hall
way for the overflow to listen in
on the proceedings. It was obvious
by the board members attitudes
and lack of willingness to answer
questions of legitimate concerns
that they had all ready decided and
the meeting was a mere formali',.
The proposed “learning out
comes” of the regulations will not
only leave PA*s children woefully
ignorant as to the importance of
agriculture to our state and nation
but also of our history, language,
sciences, and literature and cul
ture. Academics are being
replaced by values clarification,
psychological manipulation and
“politically correct” attitudes and
To Consider
Using Varying
Corn Maturities
To Properly
Ground Electric
Fences
When it comes to electric fenc-
(Turn to Pago A3l)
NOT QUITE.
ing, you cannot have too many
ground rods. Sometimes one will
work, but three is better.
Why? When an animal touches
the fence, the electricity must
travel through the animal into the
soil, then through the soil to a
ground rod, and finally up the
ground rod to the fence charger
where the circuit is completed.
Only then does the animal feel the
shock.
Therefore, the more ground
rods, the more electricity gets back
to die fence charger. That is why
the best ground system consists of
three galvanized ground rods at
least six feet deep and spaced 10
feet apart Always use clamps to
attach your ground wire to the
ground rods.
Remember, your electric fence
is only as good as its ground
system.
To Study
Competitiveness
Dr. David Kohl, professor of
agricultural economics at Virginia
Tech, has made the following
Background Scripture: Mark
2:23 through 3:6.
Devotional Reading: Psalms
18:20-30.
There aren’t many places in the
gospels where Jesus is angry, but
Mark tells us clearly of one such
instance: “And he looked around
at them with anger, grieved at
their hardness of heart” (3:5). To
me. the amazing thing is not that
Jesus got angry on this occasion,
but that there were so many others
when he did not get angry. So we
need to pay attention to what it is
that makes him angry.
In Mark 3, it is tire attitude of
the Pharisees toward the com
mandments. Previously, they were
deeply critical of him because he
permitted his disciples to pluck
and eat grain as they walked
through grain fields on the sab
bath. That was work and work on
the sabbath was a profanation of
it. Later, in the synagogue, a simi
lar criticism was leveled against
Jesus because he healed a man
with a withered hand on the sab
bath. The attitude of the Pharisees
was simple and clear up to a point:
healing was work and therefore a
violation of the sabbath.
SANCTITY OF LAW
Now, before you go jumping all
over the Pharisees, let’s acknow
ledge that there is a certain logic in
their position. God wants the sab
bath day kept holy and Jesus had
the other six days of the week in
which to perform his healing. We
need to preserve the sanctity of the
law of life breaks down into anar
chy people doing whatever
they want, when they want
because it suits them.
What angers Jesus in this
instance, is not that the Pharisees
are being reasonable, but that they
**» -au-f
observations at winter meetings:
• Fixed costs is one of the
United States’ fanners biggest
weakness in global competition.
• A business should require less
than 80 cents to generate a dollar's
worth of income.
»Invest 25 percent of your mar
gins or excess earnings outside the
industry of agriculture.
• Medical costs will be the big
gest expense threat on the cash
flow statement
• Technology wave will hit
agriculture in the mid-19905.
• Only one out of every four far
mers will be able to adapt technol
ogy in the future because of finan
cial and labor limitations.
If you want to stay in agricul
ture, you need to be paying close
attention to your financial records,
controlling costs, improving pro
ductivity, purchasing health insur
ance, and making the best use of
your time. The decisions you make
today will determine your
competitiveness.
Feather Profs Footnote:
"Chance favors the prepared
mind."
are being reasonable enough. Two
thousand years later and we still
tend to make the same mistake
concentrating on the rules, with
out considering the purpose
behind all this.
Yes, God gave the people of
Israel the sabbath. But the purpose
was not to please or satisfy God,
but to benefit his children: “The
sabbath was made for man, not
man for the withered hand. Jesus
rebuked the Pharisees, saying: “Is
it lawful on the sabbath to do good
or to do harm, to save life or to
kill?” (3:4).
SANCTITY OF LIFE
It is amazing to me that so many
people still don’t understand the
reason for rules and regulations.
They are made for our benefit
our highest benefit, that is not
to satisfy God. When God says
“thou shall not,” his purpose is not
to requite our obedience, but to
get us to behave in a way that is
best for our own ultimate wellbe
ing keeping in mind that our
personal wellbeing is intricately
interwoven with the wellbeing of
everyone else. When he com
mands, “thou shall not commit
adultery,” it is not because he
simply has a rule against it, but he
has a rule against it because adul
tery tends to break down the nor
mal fiber of life and that ultimate
ly affects everyone. When he tells
us not to cover, it is not because
our covetousness annoys him. but
because we arc the ones who are
most injured by it. So, if it is bad
for humanity, there is a command
ment against it. If it is not harmful
to us, then there is no legitimate
commandment against it. The
sancdty of law is important only
when law preserves the sanctity of
life.
I’m not saying that we always
have to understand when God
calls us to obey him, but usually, if
we are wondering whether God
commands it or not, wc can deter
mine the answer by asking: this
thing we are to do or not to do, is it
good for all of us, or not good?
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