AlO-Lanc«ster Farming, Saturday, Fabruary 6, 1993
OPINION
Let's Give Urban
Pollution Some Attention
We have heard a lot of discussion about nutrient management
during the past four years. Now everything is coming to a head
in the form of mandatory state regulations in Pennsylvania. This
week the newest version of the State House of Representatives’
bill on nutrient management, with amendments a little more pro
tective of farmers, passed with very little opposition. Apparent
ly the Senate will also agree, and Gov. Casey will sign the legis
lation when it gets to his desk.
We have a number of concerns about the public impressions
this process has given. From all the rhetoric, you would think, if
you didn’t know better, that all farmers ignore environmentally
sound practices for the sake of the almighty dollar. Two major
points seem to be overlooked.
First, more and more evidence shows that septic systems,
suburban run off, factory and air pollution, and municipal waste
arc major non-point excess nitrogen sources in the “Bay.” Why
would anyone interested in this subject, especially environmen
talists, not insist that these sources also be identified and forced
into compliance with sound “save the Bay” procedures?
Secondly, no one seems to grasp the information that farmers
already have made magnificent progress toward cleaning up
their pollution in the environment. John Schwartz, Lancaster
County agricultural agent, told us this week that Lancaster far
mers already have written more than 1,600 nutrient manage
ment plans and have them in place. This is more than half of the
bona fide farms in Lancaster County. We also know farmers in
other agricultural areas of the state have also written plans.
For these excellent farmers who are true environmentalists,
and others who practice good farm management methods, the
new expected state legislation will have very little impact on
their operations. It’s simply the direction the ag community has
already gone.
From media attention to this issue, the uninitiated may
believe agriculture is the only culprit in this environmental
issue. But agriculture already has taken seriously its part in the
problem. Let’s make sure the urban side of the problem (which
is also addressed in the new nutrient management bill expected
to become law) receives the same attention and enforcement of
regulations as the urban community wants to impose on farmers.
Farm Calendar ,
EAYFA annual banquet, Mt. Airy
Fire Hall, 6:45 p.m.
Benefit Auction for Lancaster 4-H,
Farm and Home Center.
Delmarva Beef Spring Meetings,
Wye Research and Education
Center, Arthur Houghton
Library, 9 a.m.-ll a.m. and
Calvert Grange Hall, Elkton,
Md., 1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m.
Penn State Animal Products Spec
tacular, Nittany Mall, State
U.S. Feed Grains Council mem
bership meeting, Washington,
D.C., thru Feb. 10.
Delaware Valley Milk Goat Asso
ciation meeting, Boyertown
Borough Hall, Boyertown, 1:30
Annual Shade Tree Symposium,
Host Conference Center, Lan
caster, thru Feb. 9.
Dairy/Crops Day, Ramada Inn,
Dußois, 9 a.m.
Crops and soils meeting, Adams
County extension office, 9 a.m.
Poultry Management and Health
Seminar, Kreider Restaurant,
Manheim, noon.
EAYFA officers meeting, EHS Ag
Dept., 7:30 p.m.
ABC Dist. 2, Delaware State, Fel-
ton Fire Hall, 7 p.m.
'ABC Disu 8, Franklin, Kauffman
Pa. Young Farmers’ Association
Winter Convention, Sheraton
Berkshire Hotel, Reading, thru
Feb. 11.
Lancaster Co. Crops Day, Farm
and Home Center.
Croß Production Satellite Semi
nar, Forage Crops.
Beef Producers meeting, Adams
Co. Extension Office, 7:30 p.m.
Schuylkill Co. vegetable meeting.
Pine View Acres, Pottsville, 9
a.m.-3:30 p.tn.
Northeast Regional Fruit Growers
meeting, Ramada Inn,
Chinchilla, 8:30 a.m.-3:30 pjn.
Nutrient Management Workshop,
County Depts. building, Pleas
ant Acres, 7:30 p.m.
Lycoming Co. Crops Day, Penns
dale Fire Hall, 10 a.m.-3:15
p.m.
Farm in the Family Workshop, St
Anne’s Parish Hall, Lancaster,
7 p.m.-9 p.m.
ABC Dist 4, Northern Lane.
(West), Country Table, MuJoy,
7 p.m.
ABC Dist 1, Ontelaunee Grange
Hall, Leesport, noon.
ABC Dist 8, Fulton, McConnells
burg Fire Hall, 10:30 a.m. '
ABC Dist. 9, Southern Blair and
To Prepare
Heifers
For Calving
As calving season arrives.
Extension Livestock Agent Ches
ter Hughes reminds us it is impor
tant to prevent calving problems,
especially with first calf heifers.
A heifer needs to reach 85 to 90
percent of her mature body weight
before delivering her calf. That
may require her to gain one to one
and quarter pounds per day.
To achieve this gain, the type of
ration you choose is important
Avoid high protein rations such as
alfalfa hay with 20 percent protein.
High protein feeds may cause
more calving problems because
they increase the calf birth weight
and overcondition the heifer. A 12
percent growing ration is best
because it has enough energy for
added gain without getting heifers
too fat.
During calving season, first calf
heifers must be given extra atten
tion because they are structurally
smaller than mature cows.
Separate heifers from the herd
for closer management and obser
vation before calving. Provide
shelter to protect newborns from
extremely low temperatures. Be
prepared to gb'e calves colostrum
if they do not nurse within six
hours.
Finally, keep birth weight and
calving ease records to identify
sires and dams responsible for
calving problems. Cull those
females with a history of calving
problems and avoid selecting
replacement heifers from those
dams.
To Stay
Competitive
Glenn Shirk, extension dairy
agent, says dairying is a very com
petitive business. Those who are
the most efficient will survive.
To increase your competitive
edge, Shirk recommends you
focus on;
• Getting cows to milk well.
• Keeping the herd healthy so
Southern Huntingdon, Central
H.S., Martinsburg, 7 p.m.
ABC Dist. 14, Ohio. Dutch Valley
Restaurant, Sugar Creek, noon.
ABC Dist. 14, Ohio, The Bam
Restaurant, noon.
ABC Dist. 14, Ohio, The Bam
Restaurant, 7:30 p.m.
ABC Dist. 15, Vernon Central
Hose, Meadville, 7:30 p.m. •
ABC Dist. 16, Erie, Erie, Asbury
U. Methodist Church, Water-'
fordytjoon^^^^^^^^^^
York Co. Crops Day, Winterstown
Fire Hall, 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Berks County Dairy Day, Berks
Ag Center, 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m.
Franklin County Swine Producers
. meeting, 191 Franklin Farms
(Turn to Pag* A23J
they may conceive well and stay in
the herd longer.
• Breeding and selecting for
genetic improvement
• Reducing replacement costs
arid overhead costs.
• Reducing operating expenses.
• Producing high quality forage.
When land, labor, and capital
resources are scarce, use them
where they have the greatest and
quickest return on efficient,
high producing cows. Then you
must keep them healthy, have
them bred, and keep them in the
herd longer.
To help cut costs, consider hir
ing custom operators, purchasing
the grains you need, and contract
ing heifer raising in order to reduce
the equipment, facilities, and labor
to grow crops and raise
replacements.
As price structures change (cost
of equipment, labor, interest rates,
etc.) you need to re-examine the
economics of the various segments
of your operation and make the
necessary adjustments.
Do not get caught in the trap of
never making any changes. That is
the sure way to lose your competi
tive edge.
NOT AN ELECTIVE
February 7,1993
Background Scripture:
Luke 24: 13-53
Devotional Reading:
Acts 1:1-18
As in school, we find in life that
there are some things which are
generally ’required’, while others
are ’elective’. This is also true in
the life of the church: some activi
ties are essential to Christian dis
cipleship, while others are valu
able, but not essential. When peo
ple join a local congregation, we
usually indicate that faithful wor-’
ship attendance and stewardship
of one’s self and substance are
required of all members. For many
people that may be as far as it
goes.
The New Testament indicates
that it is therefore easier to be a
church member than it is a disciple
or follower of Jesus, for the
requirements of discipleship are
considerably higher than the sup
port of a local congregation. For
one thing, witness was not option
al in the early church. If you were
a Christian you were a witness,
nothing less. Today, lots of Christ
ians regard witnessing as an elec
tive in the fife of the church.
WHAT’S A WITNESS?
Maybe some of the problem is
that we are unsure about what it
means to be a witness. Witness is
an Old English word that original
ly meant ‘knowledge’ or ‘wis
dom’. Later, ‘witness’ came to
mean ‘knowledge gained by
observation and first hand experi
ence’ and eventually it was
expanded to mean ‘observed
knowledge given*in testimony’.
So a witness is a someone who
both personally experiences
something and testifies in some
way as to what has been personal
ly experienced.
What intimidates a lot of
Christians is the testifying part
We think that it willte difficult to
verbalize our Christian faith. But I
suspect that our basic problem is
not so much with testifying as it is
in having something about which
to tesify. Witnessing may overawe
us because we are not sure we
To Be Aware
Of Pesticide Law
Starling January 1 this year, far
mers applying pesticides are
required under the provisions of
the 1990 Farm Bill to keep records
for restricted use pesticides they
apply.
The new rules will have little
impact on Pennsylvania farmers,
since Pennsylvania Law already
requires that pesticide application
records be kept.
Starting in 1993, private appli
cators will be required under the
farm bill to keep the following
records when applying restricted
use pesticides: the month, day and
year of application, the brand or
product name used, the formula
tion used, the EPA registration
number, the total amount used, the
rate of application, the address and
location of where it was applied,
the size of area treated, the targeted
pest, the crop or commodity the
pesticide was applied to, and the
name, address, and certification
number of the applicator or appli
cator’s supervisor.
Feather Prof s Footnote: "In
the middle of difficulty lies
opportunity."
have enough faith to share with
someone else.
We can point to Jesus’ apostles
and say, “Well, they had a pretty
convincing experience of the
resurrected Christ, but I’ve never
heard a heavenly voice or seen a
vision.” But the experience on the
Emmaus Road is suggestive for
those of us who think we may not
have something to share with the
world.
RECOGNIZING THE CHRIST
The resurrected Jesus, says
Luke, walked with two disciples
on the Emmaus road. But note that
“their eyes were kept from recog
nizing him” (24:16). It was only in
the breaking of bread that they
recognized his familiar manner
and then they realized that for
miles they had been walking with
the resurrected Christ without rea
lizing it. “Did not our hearts bum
within us while he talked to us on
the road...?” (24:32).
Are there not likely to be many
times in our lives when Christ
walks with us and we do not rec
ognize or see him? Are there not
times in our Christian experience
when, looking back, we recall that
there was a strange warmth or
burning in our hearts in certain
experiences? In reading a passage
of scripture, in hearing a sermon
or a prayer, in helping someone in
need, or lying in a hospital bed?
Perhaps the problem was not that
Christ was not there, but that we
failed to see him in our
experience.
What we have experienced per
sonally, that is what it is to which
we are called to witness. We don’t
have to be theologically learned or
eloquent in speech—all we are
called to do is to find ways of
means of telling others what we
have experienced of Jesus in our
lives. Jesus said, “You are witnes
ses of these things” (23:48). We
must share what we have found it
means to be followers of Jesus
Christ. That is never an elective.
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St.
Ephrata, PA 17522
- by
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A Stunman. Enfrpm*
Robert C. Campbell General Manager
Evens R. Nawiwangar Managing Editor
Copyright Itt3 by Lancaster Farming