Al£lancHt«r Farming, Satuidsy.Msy 8, 1993
OPINION
More Than Enough
To Feed Everyone
Sometime in the future, when the accomplishments of the
20th century are recorded for posterity, it may finally be ack
nowledged that our greatest achievement by far has been the
introduction of high-tech, high-yield agriculture. According to
Dixy Lee Ray in her new book Environmental Overkill, mea
sured in terms of benefit to human society, an adequate diet of
nutritious, abundant, and affordable food eclipses all other
developments of this most remarkable century. Neither compu
ter technology nor transistors, robotics, advances in communi
cation and transportation, life-saving antibiotics and modem
medicine, nuclear energy, synthetics, plastics, and the entire
petro-chemical industry rank as high in importance as the
advances in food production. And all these other wonderful
breakthroughs probably could not have happened without a
well-fed population.
No less an authority than Napoleon acknowledged the pri
macy of food when he observed that “an army marches on its
stomach.”
For the first time in history we can take for granted that food
will be available whenever we wish to buy it. For the first time
in the more than 6,000 years of recorded human progress, food
self-sufficiency in the developed world has been achieved, and
it happened on our watch! Modem society that is, the West
ern industrialized world is now able to feed itself and still
have surpluses left over to help nourish much of the rest of the
world.
Who points with pride to the fact that agricultural scientists
and farmers have scored a monumental victory over the ancient
scourge of hunger and malnutrition? Ironically, modem agri
culture is, instead, under attack, and its most important tools
and techniques are being questioned at a time we should be
loudly singing its praises.
Given the extraordinary success of high-yield agriculture,
why are there so many attacks upon it? Would the opponents
and critics prefer that less food be grown? I believe the answer
to that question is “yes.” And the reason can be summed up in a
single word overpopulation.
As recently as 1991, the Public Broadcasting System prog
ram, “Race to Save the Planet,” said flatly that world food pro
duction is falling behind population growth. That simply isn’t
so. The U.S. Agency for International Development’s demo
graphic survey published in 1991 shows birth rates slowing
more rapidly than anyone had predicted. Third World food pro
duction continues to rise twice as fast as its population. The
reality of the world’s food and environmental gains are con
firmed by all major published data series, including the UN’s
Food and Agriculture Organization and the U.S. Department of
Agriculture. Every reputable study of the world’s “carrying
capacity” has concluded that the world can feed its expected
population growth.
But the doomsayers are not placated. Recently, Ted Turner,
owner of the CNN network, said in an interview with Audubon
magazine, “Right now, there are just way too many people on
the planet.” His plan is to cut back from the current 5 billion
human beings to no more than “250 million to 350 million peo
ple.” Will he and Jane Fonda lead the way?
In the same interview, Turner also revealed his opinion of his
fellow Americans when he said, “When you look at us, we are a
bunch of pigs...and losers.” Speak for yourself, Ted. How does
he think we should live? According to Turner, with spears, loin
cloths, and human sacrifices. “The indigenous people were the
ones who were right!” he said. “I mean they had their own
religion, their ethics, their own technology. We just went down
the wrong road.” Surely no one listens to and accepts this
drivel!
No one, that is, except the leaders and spokemen for the
environmentalist movement.
pur—
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Beef Field Day, Clair and Susan
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Poultry Management and Health
Seminar, Days Inn, Shamokin
NOW IS
THE TIME
By John Schwartz
Lancaster County
Agricultural Agqnt
To Examine
Alfalfa Planting
Time
This year’s spring weather has
been anything but helpful in get
ting crops planted on time.
Already it is early May and very
little of anything has been planted,
including alfalfa. Normally by the
beginning of May nearly all the
seeding of alfalfa is done.
As we move later into what
would be the normal growing sea
son, the question is, “Was the opti
mum planting time for a particular
crop missed?”
According to Bob Anderson,
extension agronomy agent, alfalfa
may be planted through the month
of May with good results. Howev
er, plantings which have been
delayed this long will be under a
lot of pressure from weeds if a her
bicide is not used.
Many things should be consid
ered when deciding whether to
plant alfalfa this late or plant com
or another crop. You may want to
consider planting this fall or wait
until next spring. Thus, it may be
worth saving an old alfalfa field
until next year and planting
another crop this year.
If a short season com is planted
for silage this year, it may be possi
ble to plant a fall seeding of alfalfa.
A careful selection of herbicides is
necessary with this latter plan.
The decision to plant or not to
plant will be determined by your
own circumstances.
To Know Alfalfa
Protein Content
Glenn Shirk, extension dairy
agent, reminds us the best quality
feed for dairy cattle may not be
young cut, 22 to 26 percent protein
alfalfa.
Instead, cut alfalfa at the late
bud to early bloom stage of maturi
ty and aim for about 20 percent
crude protein, 30 percent acid
detergent fiber, and 40 percent
neutral detergent fiber.
However, you may want to
harvest the first cutting at the first
good break in weather, even if
alfalfa is in the early bud stage. It
could be the only good break we
receive for the next 2-3 weeks.
Early bud alfalfa is high in pro
tein but low in fiber (almost like a
protein concentrate). Young cut
alfalfa may boexcellcnt feed for
top producers, but you may need
additional sources of fiber in the
ration.
When young cut alfalfa is
chopped and ensiled, the fiber
becomes even less effective. Also,
Pasture tccdmg meeeting, Pa.
Electric Building. Mansfield,
12:30 p.m.-3 p.m.
Lancaster County Beekeepers
meeting, Dale and Barbara
Better's,JStrasburg, 7:30 p.m.
(Turn to Pag* A3l)
during fermentation, much of the
plant protein degrades to soluble
protein and to nonprotein nitrogen,
both of which in excess may be
toxic to the rumen and to the am
These excesses may also cause a
decline in dry matter intake, milk
production, body condition, and
conception, and an increase in foot
problems.
Because of the above problems,
test all high protein silages for sol
uble nitrogen and balance the
ration accordingly. For best utili
zation of soluble protein, limit the
intake of these silages or feed them
along with a soluble source of car
bohydrates such as high moisture
com, barley, com silage, etc. The
presence of soluble carbohydrates
in the rumen helps to “grab” the
soluble protein and hold it in the
rumen long enough for the bacteria
to utilize it.
Not To Grow
Puna Chicory
The farm press has had numcr-
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MORE TO COME!
May 9,1993
Background Scripture:
John 1:35-50
Devotional Reading:
Matthew 10:1-10
When I was a junior in high
school, I was hired by the Reading
Eagle, the daily evening newspap
er in Reading, PA, to write a
weekly column about local high
school sports. One of the first
things I learned was how to pre
pare my copy for the composing
room. This included typing the
word (MORE) at the bottom of
each page until the article was
concluded, meaning that there was
“more to come.”
The implication of “more to
come” runs through the gospel
accounts like a litany. Every few
paragraphs, we could write
(MORE), especially in John 1. As
John the Baptist is standing by the
Jordan, he sees Jesus walking and
says, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”
(1:35). The Evangelist tells us that
two of John’s disciples were pre
sent for this mountaintop experi
ence to see the Lamb of God!
COME & SEE
Some accounts would be con
tent to end right there, on the peak
of that mountaintop experience.
But that’s exactly where I’d have
placed the first (MORE), for, hav
ing seen the Lamb of God, John’s
two disciples feel constrained to
follow Jesus. “Rabbi.” they asked,
“...where are you staying?” and
Jesus answered, “Come and see.”
Once again, insert (MORE), for
having found his place of lodging,
they decided to stay “with him that
day” (1:39).
And still there was (MORE).
One of the two, Andrew, went out
to find his other brother, Simon, so
that he could share the good news
with him: “We have found the
Messiah!” (1:41). Andrew not
only told him about Jesus, he took
him to meet him and once again
(MORE) would be appropriate,
for Jesus says to Simon; “So you
are Simon the son of John?” You
shall be called Cephas’ (which
means Peter).”
Nor was that the end of this
chain of events; there was
“(MORE) to come when next day
Jesus saw Philip and said, “Follow
r
ous articles on the growing of puna
chicory as a forage crop.
However, chicory is classified
as a noxious weed in Pennsylvani
a, which makes it against the law to
sell, transport, or grow chicory.
Many growers may remember
that Johnsongrass, shattercanc,
and Jerusalem artichokes were all
introduced as new, extremely pro
ductive forage crops.
Dr. William Curran, Penn Stale
extension weed scientist, makes
the following statement: “Puna
chicory has not been thoroughly
tested in the Northeast United
States or Pennsylvania. The man
agement guidelines are still in the
infancy stage.”
Therefore, based on this limited
data and legal implications, we do
not recommend farmers plant puna
chicory at this time.
Feather Prof s Footnote: "No
one has ever risen to the real sta
ture of spiritual maturity until they
have found it finer to serve others
than to serve themselves."
me" (1:43). Philip did just that
he followed Jesus but he also
went and found his friend Natha
niel, saying, “We have found him
of whom Moses in the law and
also the prophets wrote, Jesus of
Nazareth...” And here, it seemed,
the whole chain of events might
come to a screeching halt as
Nathaniel raised a nagging ques
tion; “Can anything good come
out of Nazareth?” (1:46). It was a
fair question: Nazareth enjoyed no
special stature in the scriptures
and it had a pretty lackluster repu
tation in Jesus’ day.
GREATER THINGS
THAN THESE
By his response, however, Phil
ip indicated that there was some
thing (MORE): “Come and see.” I
wouldn’t say that no one was ever
argued into following Jesus, but
essentially the appeal is always
experiential: “Come and see.” Try
it for yourself and then decide.
When we do, we find there is
always (MORE) to come.
What convinced the reluctant
Nathaniel was the fact that Jesus
knew him psychically. “How do
you know me?” he asks Jesus,
who replies: “Before Philip called
you. when you were under a fig
tree, I saw you.” Amazed, Natha
niel blurts out, “Rabbi, you are the
Son of God! You are the King of
Israeli!” and once again, the
Evangelist could rightly insert
(MORE) to come, for Jesus says,
“Because I said to you. I saw you
under the fig tree, do you believe?
You shall see greater things than
these.”
All of us have seen our share of
these “greater things.” We have
seen brokqp lives put back
together, people saved from life
long failure, lives salvaged, homes
and marriages restored, the guilty
forgiven, bodies, minds and spirits
healed, and resue from temptation
and grace when we have been
tempted, and people led from
darkness into light.
The gospel of Jesus Christ con
sists of an invitation, “Come and
see,” and a promise that if we do
follow Jesus there will always be
(MORE).
Lancaster Farming
Established 19BS
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St.
Ephrata, PA 17522
-by
Lancaster Nrming> Inc.
A Sttmmtn Entopnb*
Robert C. Campbell General Manager
Evans R. Nawawangar Managing Edtor
Coeyrlshl IMS by Laneaalar Farming