Aio-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 20 1993
„ OPINION
Challenging And Exciting
America’s food and agriculture system is one of the world’s
richest resources, thanks in part to the American entrepreneurial
spirit displayed throughout its history. According to Richard
Brown, president, New Jersey’s Gloucester County Board of
Agriculture, a key to American agriculture’s efficiency and pro
ductivity has been its ability to be open to new ideas, to be risk
takers and entrepreneurs and to be effective and skillful
managers.
It’s appropriate that Agriculture Week (March 14-20 and Agri
culture Day (March 20) coincide with the vernal equinox, the first
day of spring and the beginning of a new growing season. While
the big snow storm this week has our attention bound to related
winter activities, it will not be long before the snow is gone and
preparation for spring planting will begin.
Robert Leiby and David Dunbar, Lehigh County agents, say
that because so many people are separated from production agri
culture, they forget how food and natural fibers are produced.
This distance comes because of lack of experience with agricul
tural processes and by complex marketing systems.
In the United States, one farmer produces enough food and fib
er for 128 people. This is quite different from other countries
where families often have a cow, a small flock of laying hens and
a large vegetable garden. Our consumers are able to buy a won
derful variety of foods throughout the year and we spend only
about ten percent of our disposable income on food.
Each year, Pennsylvania’s agricultre generates a $3.8 billion
income and an additional $3B billion in related economic activity,
including processing, marketing, and transportation.
And agriculture continues to grow and meet the new chal
lenges of today. Just within the last year, we have seen a number
of technical breakthroughs including com able to produce a bio
degradable plastic. What scientists sec in the future of agriculture
is mind-boggling.
Farmers continue to increase both the quality and quantity of
their production while they work to develop and maintain sys
tems that are sustainable and environmentally sound. The future
of agriculture is not only challenging but also exciting.
Farm Calendar
Saturday March 20
Spring Begins
National Ag Day
Agricultural Industry Dinner, John
M. Clayton Hall, University of
Delaware, Newark, 6 p.m.
Women and Horses Inaugural
Conference and National Tour,
Cook Center, Cook College
Campus, New Brunswick, N.J.
Grapevine Pruning Training and
Pest Control, Naylor Wine Cel
lars, Stewartstown, 10
a.m-noon.
Ephrata Young Farmers Craft
Show, Ephrata Senior H.S., 9
Home Horticultural Seminar, Veg
etables For All, Farm and Home
Center, 7 p.m.-9:30 p.m.
Farm Safety Series, North Jackson
Large Dairy Herd Conference,
Embers Inn and Convention
Center, Carlisle, thru March 24.
Pesticide Safety, Farm and Home
Center, 1 p.m.-3 p.m.
Pesticide Label Changes For ’93,
Farm and Home Center, 7
p.m.-9 p.m.
Livestock Facilities Planning
Workshop, Sheraton North,
Country Inn, West Lebanon,
New Hampshire, thru March
24.
Clarion Co. Farm Safety Demon
stration, Clarion Co. Park, 7:30
p.m.-9 p.m.
Pork producers meeting, Mercer
Co. Extension Center, 7:30
p.m.
Grain Establishment and Pest Con
trol Clinic, Penn Slate Schuy
lkill Campus, Schuylkill
Haven, 6:30 p.m.-9 p.m.
Central Md. Beef Management
Short Course, Eldersberg Publ
ic Library, 7:30 p.m.-9:45 p.m.,
continues March 30.
Westmoreland Co. Hay and Grain
Sale, Westmoreland Fair-
grounds, 11 a.m.
Pasture cross-fencing demonstra
lion, Westmoreland
Fairgrounds.
Dairy Herd Management Milk
Residue, Ephrata H.S. Ag
Delmarva Hatchery and Breeder
Flock Management Short
Course, Delmarva Convention
Center, Delmar, Md.
Pesticide applicators meeting,
Lebanon Valley Ag .Center.
Farm Labor Strategies Workshop,
Harvest Drive Restaurant,
Intercourse, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Pesticide safety, Lebanon Co.
extension, 1 p.m.-3 p.m.
Pesticide Label Changes for ’93,
Lebanon Co. extension, 7
p.m.-9 p.m.
Pa. DHIA records training, White
Horse Fire Hall, 12:30 p.m. and
Lancaster Farm and Home Cen
ter, 7:15 p.m.
Pa. Cattlemen’s Association annu-
To Look At
Closely
Trimmed Beef
For the beef industry to stay
competitive, the packing industry
is introducing a 'A -inch trim pro
duct to the retailer.
A major factor contributing to
the adoption of a closely trimmed
product is the competition from the
warehouse clubs, which forced
retailers to lower costs. Closely
trimmed product reduces the
amount of labor needed to retail
meat.
According to Chester Hughes,
extension livestock agent, “Cattle
feeders will be surprised at how
fast 'A trim and everything it
implies will impact the sale and
price of cattle."
He said that as A -inch trim
becomes more common, it will
force packers to pass value differ
ences (premiums and discounts)
back to the producer.
Fat trimming is going to move
the industry to value-based mark
eting. Producers will not being
producing fat because there is no
market for it and they will be paid
on the basis of lean production.
It is estimated within two years,
50 percent of all boxed beef will be
A trim and the other 50 percent
will be in another five years. Close
trimming will also pave the way
for tray-ready and then branded
products.
Based on carcass data from the
4-H beef program, outstanding
4-H members are producing leaner
and higher quality beef than five
years ago.
Now is the time to leant how to
produce high quality, lean beef if
you want to stay in the beef indus
try. The net effect will be to
increase beefs quality and compe
titiveness in the meat case.
al meeting, Toftrees Resort,
Slate College, 4 p.m.
Atlantic Breeders Cooperative
annual meeting, Eden Resort
Inn and Conference Center,
Lancaster, 10:30 a.m.
Pa. Dairy Princess promotion
meeting, N.W. district, Clarion
Clipper, Clarion, 9:30
a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Estate Planning Clinic, Messiah
Lutheran Church, South Wil
Pa. Beef Expo, Ag Arena, Penn
State, thru March 28.
Cornell Swine School, Cornell
University, Ithaca, N.Y., thru
March 26.
Dairy-MAP, financial manage
ment, REA Building, Cam
bridge Springs, continues April
1.
Solanco Young Farmers awards
banquet, Methodist Church,
Quarryville, 7 p.m.
Northumberland Co. Conservation
(Turn to Page All)
To Raise Sheep
With Beef
Chester Hughes, extension
livestock agent, believes there are
economical and biological advan
tages to adding sheep to a beef
cattle operation. He reminds us
lamb prices tend to go up when
beef prices fall and vice versa.
Sheep prefer finer plants and
cattle coarser ones therefore,
sharing pastures works well.
Sheep may be fed out to market on
forage alone if quality is adequate,
thus requiring little outlay for feed.
There are many acres of idle
pasture land that could be used for
sheep. As long as sheep are pro
tected from predators, natural
meadowland, waterways, woods,
orchards or abandoned cropland
may be utilized for sheep.
Labor requirements are about
two hours of work per year to
maintain one ewe and her offspr
ing on farm pasture.
In addition to the sale of com
mercial slaughter lambs, other
marketing opportunities could
include freezer lambs, hot house
lambs, white wool, naturally dark
colored wool, wool products,
lambskins, and even sheep milk
ARE WE ALSO J
BLIND? |
March 21,1993
Background Scripture:
John 9.
Devotional Reading:
John 8:48-59.
I never realized that John 9 is
composed of so many questions
twelve of them, I count, in all.
Some of them are vital questions
to which all of us can relate.
For example, the first one to
Jesus; “Rabbi, who sinned, this
man or his patents, that he was
bom blind?” (9:2). TTiat is the kind
of question we still ask today:
what is the meaning of human suf
fering? Like his own disciples and
the Pharisees, many of us try to
find the answer in sin. And it is
true that often, when we do some
thing wrong, someone is going to
suffer for it. But, as in the book of
Job, we find that suffering is not
always attributable to sin; so Jesus
refuses to speculate. Instead, he
says, this is an opportunity for
God to do something wonderful.
Sometimes I can understand suf
fering in a specific situation, but
other times I can find no reason at
all. When I reach that blind alley,
it is time for me to say instead,
‘Here is an opportunity for God to
do something wonderful.’
The next question is also a faith
issue; “Is not this the man who
used to sit and beg?” (9:8). A
similar question was asked of his
parents: “Is this your son who you
say was bom blind?” (9:19).
When God does something won
derful we sometimes have a hard
time believing it
There is one question which
was asked four times, in one form
or another “Then how were your
eyes opened?” (9:10, 15, 19, 26).
Instead of rejoicing in the man’s
healing, the Pharisees were
obsessed in finding out how Jesus
had done it. Why? Because they
were sure he had done something
wrong—like breaking the sabbath.
It sounds idiotic, but I too have
found people who, instead of rejo
icing at something wonderful,
have persisted with: “How did you
products.
To Develop
Sacrifice Lots
There is probably nothing more
damaging to pastures than over
stocking them and neglecting
them.
To give your pastures an oppor
tunity to become more productive,
consider the establishment of sac
rifice lots. These are smaller,
fenced off sections of pasture
located close to the bam and
seeded to a rugged grass such as
Kentucky 31 tall fescue. This is not
a grazing grass but will stand up
better to heavier slocking rates.
A sacrifice lot is a place to con
fine cows outside while protecting
your prime grazing lands. Sacri
fice lots may be overstocked, too.
So, it may be necessary to have a
concrete lot where cows may be
temporarily confined, especially
during wet periods.
' Having more than one sacrifice
lot gives you the flexibility of
allowing one to recuperate while
another one is being used.
Feather Profs Footnote: "In
the middle of every difficulty lies
opportunity ." Albert Einstein.
do it?” The next question. “Where
is he?” (Jesus), also shows that
they were more interested in
attacking Jesus than in the blind
man being given his sight
"What do you say about him?”
they finally asked the healed man
(9:17). Failing to find Jesus to
reproach him, they turned on the
young man himself. They wanted
him to say something which they
considered blasphemous. Jesus
could not be from God and so he
could not have healed the man!
Because Jesus did not fit into their
theology, they were convinced
that he was not from God. But
even the young man is able to
point to their folly: “If this man
were not from God, he could do
nothing” (9:33).
Jesus asks die next question of
the young man: “Do you believe
in the Son of man?” (9:35) and he
counters with his own question;
“And who is he. sir, that 1 may
believe in him?” (9:36). Like
many of the questions asked in
John, it is not because the ques
tioner doesn't understand—the
young man probably had come to
the conclusion that Jesus was the
Son of man—but because he is
being cautious in arriving at his
faith: “Lord, I believe.”
The last question comes in two
forms from the Pharisees: “You
were bom in utter sin, and would
you teach us?” (9:34), they ask the
young man. And, “Are we also
blind?” they ask Jesus. These are
not requests for information, but
hostile sarcasm. These men pride
themselves on their correct under
standing of God and his will and
they are furious—and maybe a bit
unnerved —at the suggestion that
they arc the ones who do not
understand, do not “see.”
And us—do we not also need to
be careful when we say, “We
see?” For in our smug assurance,
may we not also be spirtually
blind?
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E Main St.
Ephrata, PA 17522
by
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A Stonman Entfpnte
Robert C. Campbell General Manager
Everett R Newswanger Managing Editor
Copyright 1993 by Lancaatar Farming