AlO-Lancasler Farming, Saturday, May 22, 1993
OPINION
Bovine Bashing
It seems that not a week goes by that I don’t read or hear
about another blow dealt to society by those wily and notorious
creatures called cows. The cows even fooled Orwell —the pigs
were just a diversion.
Scott Barao, extension livestock specialist University of
Maryland says according to some, these mischievous malcon
tents, while appearing on the surface to contribute significantly
to the lifestyle we all enjoy, actually have a less than noble
agenda. Even though they help keep the pharmacists, research
ers, clothing manufacturers, furniture makers, construction
workers, plus the butcher the baker and the candlestick maker
employed, they still cannot be trusted. They turn roughage (fib
er), undigestible by you and me, into a nutrient dense food
source that fits easily into a variety of diets and eating plans.
Cows were the original rccyclers.
Some well-fed public nags would have us believe that there
is a group of renegade cows down in South America hacking
away at the rainforests with chainsaws in one hoof and stuffing
grain that could feed the hungry, into their mouths with the
other hoof. Complex economic and food distribution problems
exist in many poorer countries. The simple fact that the U.S.
has had a surplus of grain for most of the last 3 decades and yet
those surpluses have failed to alleviate world hunger should
provide some evidence of the complexity of the world hunger
problem at least according to a cow friend of mine.
There are many serious issues facing us today. Human over
population, air and water pollution, waste disposal, resource
abuse, homelessness, crime, violence and disease to name just
a few. These issues arc complex and interrelated. Attempting to
simplify any one of these issues down to the point of blaming
cows only adds to the misinformation and misconceptions that
already abound.
Decisions about these issues must be based on the best scien
tific information available. Hype, hysteria and scare tactics
insult the intelligence of and do a disservice to the American
public.
Farm Forum
Editor,
Last Monday, May 17, CBS
Evening News included a report on
meat inspection as part of their
“Eye on America” series. The bla
tanly biased report could certainly
raise questions among consumers.
Beef industry groups support
the USDA regulation that esta
blishes zero tolerance for all recog
nizable fecal matter or ingesta on
carcasses. The key word, however,
is recognizable.
Recognizable means that an
inspector can detect foreign matter
as part of the normal visual inspec
tion of the carcass. It does not
mean getting out a magnifying
glass and going over every inch of
every carcass in search of micro
scopic specks of matter.
In terms of food production, that
is no more practical than getting
out a magnifying glass and going
over every head of lettuce to make
sure it doesn’t contain any micro
scopic specks of soil which may
harbor bacteria.
There are numerous safeguards
all along the production chain
designed to ensure that the beef
sold in your supermarket or served
in your favorite restaurant is safe.
Through the beef checkoff prog
ram, the Pennsylvania Beef Coun
cil is active in educating consum
ers, retailers, distributors, and
foodservice representatives on the
proper handling and cooking of
beef.
We’ve also taken our message
directly to producers. In coopera
tion with Penn State and the Cattle
men’s Association, the Pennsylva
nia Beef Council has joined other
states in sponsoring a beef quality
assurance program.
The bottom line is that beef is a
fresh product that contains no
additives or preservatives, and,
like other fresh foods, is safe when
prepared and cooked properly.
It is unfortunate that issues
involving labor unions, the gov
ernment and tabloid television are
combining to hurt consumer confi
dence in the safety of beef.
Beef producers are committed
to producing a safe and wholesome
product. Cattlemen and consumers
are the victims of this labor/
government squabble.
I urge producers to write or call
CBS, or your local CBS affiliate,
to object to the treatment of our
product on this type of tabloid tele
vision. The address for the CBS
Evening News is: CBS Evening
News with Dan Rather, 524 West
57th St. Studio 47, New York,
N.Y. 10019. The telephone num
ber is (212) 975-3691, or (212)
975-4321.
Sincerely,
David J. Ivan
Executive Director
Pennsylvania Beef Council
Farm Calendar , 4^5
S.ilunt.n, M.h 22
Learning Lamb Carcass Evalua
tion, Godfrey Bros. Meats,
Loganville, 7 p.m.
Eastern Regional Emu Chapter of
the American Emu Association
Annual Conference. Eden
Resort and Conference Center,
Lancaster.
To Have
Ag Leaders
Step Forward
Society is changing. Power
bases in government are changing.
Many public policy makers and
teachers have no experience or
knowledge about agriculture.
The number of farmers continue
to decline. This means agricultural
organizations must change. This
means developing a unified voice
for agriculture to address environ
mental, food safety, agricultural
literacy, and “animal rights”
issues.
We need forward-thinking agri
cultural leaders to step up and take
charge of their organizations and
redirect their efforts. Agriculture
needs people who are willing to
work into agencies and develop
working relationships with offi
cials. Members must realize work
ing with nontraditional agencies
are more important than member
services.
We need to support efforts to
educate the public about the
important role agriculture plays in
a healthy environment, about mod
em food production, and the
importance of maintaining a strong
agricultural economy. Agriculture
needs to prepare to defend itself as
an industry from being a regulat
ory target.
Now is the time for agricultural
leaders to come forward and
organize to meet the challenges of
the 19905.
To Manage
Pastures
For Profits
If you want to make a profit
from your pastures, you must think
of yourself as a pasture farmer.
This requires putting the same
amount of effort into establishing
and managing pastures as you
would into any other crop.
How many farmers would grow
com, soybeans, or alfalfa with the
same low level of soil fertility and
low level of management that they
use on their pastures?
To begin your pasture manage
ment program, you must first insti
tute a serious weed and fertility
program. Once weeds are under
control and optimal fertility levels
Sund.n, M.n 2,'
meeting, landscape gardening.
(Turn to Pago A 27)
are reached, a good grazing prog
ram is needed. Good grazing man
agement will help maintain fertili
ty while decreasing or even pre
venting further weed problems.
If you fail to manage your pas
tures well, they will soon revert
back to the same weedy and unpro
ductive pastures. Good rotational
grazing systems will tend to keep
most weeds out of pastures while
increasing productivity.
Remember, pastures need to be
managed like any other crop.
To Fight
Johnes Disease
Johnes is a disease that attacks
the digestive tracts of cattle. Older,
infected cattle shed the infectious
bacteria in their feces.
Calves and younger cattle are
most susceptible to infection. They
become infected by consuming
fecal material from older cattle.
To prevent calves and heifers
from ingesting fecal material from
older cattle, you need to;
• Provide cows with clean
maternity areas.
• Separate the newborn calf
from her dam as soon as possible
after birth.
• Do not allow the calf to nurse
her dam. Instead, wash and sanit
ize the dam’s teats and bottle feed
her colostrum to her calf.
1 i .A.', hi', | w A 1 !M i 1 i ■
f ®U!B
"Seeing Ii Not Enough!"
May 23, 1993
Background Scripture:
John 14.
Devotional Reading:
John.
We usually assume that if we
can just see something, we can
believe in it and that is all there is
to it Of course we trust our loved
ones, but it helps sometimes if we
can see our trust substantiated. We
believe in living by worthy moral
principles, but once in a while we
like to see that the world and us
are bettor off by holding to those
moral standards.
One of our most ancient con
cerns has been that we cannot see
God. Of course, we know that if
we could see him plainly, whatev
er it is that we would be seeing
could not be the Infinite, the Holy,
the Almighty. Still, we would
rather like to see him! And that
was why Jesus came to the world
so that in him, so far as we are
able to perceive, we could see the
Father. “I am the way, and the
truth, and the life;” said Jesus, “no
one comes to the Father, but by
me. If you had known me, you
would have known my Father
also; henceforth you know him
and have seen him.”
SHOW US!
How ironic, then, that Philip
follows those revealing words
with his plea, “Lord, show us the
Father, and we shall be satisfied.”
Is it that Philip didn’t understand
what Jesus had been saying, or
was it that he wasn’t satisfied with
what he saw of the Father in
Jesus? Are there not some times
when we stand in Philip’s shoes,
having received a revelation, but
asking for still more? There is a
suggestion of incredulity in Jesus’
reply: “Have I been with you so
long, and yet you do not know me,
Philip? He who has seen me has
seen the Father; how can you say,
‘Show us the Father’?” How can
• House calves and heifers well
away from maternity areas and
sick bays. Also, house them away
from pens, lots, and alleys used by
older cattle and drainage from
these areas.
• Do not contaminate the feed or
feeding area of calves and heifers
with fecal material coming from
foot wear, manger sweepings, or
dirty utensils and equipment.
• Keep visitors, advisors, ser
vice people, and farm workers
from tracking manure from your
herd or from other herds into the
feeding areas on your farm.
• Graze heifers separate from
older cattle. In a rotational grazing
system, do not use heifers to clean
up paddocks grazed by older cows.
All of these suggestions are
aimed at preventing young stock
from ingesting fecal material from
older cattle. More severely
infected cattle that are heavy shed
ders may transfer their infection to
their unborn calf across the placen
tal membranes. Thus, it may be
beneficial to cull calves that are
bom of infected dams.
Consult your veterinarian for
more specific information about
testing, culling, vaccination
options, and the state’s Johnes-frce
certification program.
Feather Prof s Footnote: "The
only limits are those of vision."
we?
Never in all the history of the
world has this been more true:
“Like father, like son.” The clear
est, most complete picture the
world will ever have of God is to
be found in his Son, Jesus. That
doesn’t mean that in Jesus is re
vealed all that there is of God, but
all that you and I need to know
and can comprehend. It is the gra
cious, loving nature of God that is
fully revealed to us in Jesus
Christ. What more could God tell
us about the living of our own
lives? When we see Jesus Christ,
we are seeing all that we need to
see of God.
KEEPING THE WORDS
But, if seeing is believing, see
ing and believing are not end of
the process. Jesus challenges us,
saying, “If you love me, you will
keep my commandments”
(14:15). And again: “He who has
my commandments and keeps
them, he it is who loves me; and
he who loves me will be loved by
my Father...” (14:21). And once
more* “If a man loves me, he will
keep my word...” (14:23). Keep
ing his words, his commandments
is what he expects to follow from
our seeing and believing.
When Jesus asks us to keep his
words, he does not mean to keep
them safely hidden like a treasure
that cannot be exposed to the light.
We are not to keep these treasures
in books, stained glass windows,
paintings or even safety deposit
boxes. Keeping the command
ments of Jesus means doing them.
Having belief in God is never
enough if we do not act upon it.
Acting upon what we believe, that
is faith. And it is also love: “He
who has my commandments and
keeps them, he it is who loves me;
and he who loves me will be loved
by my Father, and I will love him
and manifest myself to him”
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St.
Ephrata, PA 17522
by
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A SMiman Entwpri—
Robert C. Campbell General Manager
Even* R. Newnaangar Managing Editor
Copyright tees by LancaUcr Farming