AlO-Uncatttr Farming, Saturday, Stpttmbtf 25, 1993
I^MMn
OPINION
Environmentally-Minded
While pundits loudly debate the meaning and importance of
“new” concepts like sustainable agriculture, American fanners
are quietly embracing sustainable practices and have been for
years.
Garfield Thomas, an official with Sandoz Agro, was one of the
speakers at the recent National Association of County Agricul
tural Agents’ annual convention in Baltimore. Thomas said agri
culture has always changed, and the extension service has always
helped farmers adapt and adopt new farming practices.
. “If you read the general press,” Thomas said, “you get the idea
that sustainable, agriculture is some revolutionary idea that hit
American farming like a bolt of lighting. But I don’t see a revolu
tion. I see evolutionary change that comes from new knowledge,
new attitudes and new tools. ‘
‘The bigger issue is not whether we support sustainable agri
culture or low input sustainable agriculture or integrated pest
management,” Thomas said. “The bigger issue is that fanning in
the United States is changing, and we are part of that change.”
Questions and concerns about the environment have been driv
ing agriculture since the 1960’s and continue to do so. In a recent
Gallup poll, more than half of the farmers have increased their
concern for the environment. In addition, the economic factor has
made farmers "push the pencil” more.
But the fact remains that the chemicals and fertilizers that are
on the market today are environmentally safe when used to soil
test needs and when used according to label recommendation. As
one very conservation-minded farmer told us, all the harmful
chemicals have been removed from the market. “I have no prob
lem using what is available,” he said, "and I get good results.
The goal is to balance the needs of the crop with the needs of
the environment. And farmers are reaching that goal better than
any other segment of society that uses our natural- resources.
Farm Calendar
Eastern National Livestock Show,
Timonium, Md.
Bloomsburg Fair, Bloomsburg,
thru Oct 2.
Clarion Co. dinner meeting, Holi-
Northeast Poultry Show, Lancas
ter Host Resort, thru Sept. 30.
Morrison Cove Community Fair,
Martinsburg, thru Oct. 1.
Eastern Milk Producers Co-Op
Association, Inc. annual meet
ing, Sheraton University Inn
and Conference Center, Syra
cuse, N.Y., 1 p.m.-4:30 p.m.
Successful Retirement Seminar,
Walgreen Co., Lehigh Valley
Distribution Center, Beth
lehem, continues OcL 5 and 12,
Northeast Poultry Show, Lancas
ter Host Resort, thru Sept. 30.
New Holland Fanners Fair, New
Holland, thru Oct. 2.
~, TWliit-. « I
I tun sd;i\, St plomlu i M)
Keystone Livestock Exposition,
Farm Show Complex, Harris
burg, thru Oct. 4.
Tri-Valley Community Fair,
Hegins, thru Oct. 3.
S.E. Pa. Dairy Pasture Walk, Lee
and Gail Reinford Farm, Skip
pack. 9:30 a.m.-ll:30 a.m.
Somerset County Farmers’ Asso
ciation annual meeting, Berlin
Community Building, 7 p.m.
Ephrata Area Young Farmers Fall
Alfalfa Management Seminar,
meet at Oregon Dairy Restaur
ant, 10:30 a.m.
Farmers
I- nd.i\, October I
Simmental Breeding Cattle Show.
Farm Show Complex, Harris-
Complex, Harrisburg, 12:30
Farm Show Complex, Harris
burg, 8 a.m.
Solanco Young Farmers annual
family picnic, Brenneman
Farm.
Hollidaysbuig, thru Oct. 7.
Manheim Community Farm
Show, Manheim, thru Oct 8.
First annual Fore FFA Golf Tour-
nament. Hawk Valley Club,
Denver.
Agribusiness Leaders Forum, Rut
ter’s Family Restaurant, Ml
Zion Rd., York, 7:30 a.m.-B:4S
Walgreen Co., Lehigh Valley
Distribution Center, 7
p.m.-9:30 p.m., continues Oct
Berks Co. 4-H Market Swine
Show and Sale, Leesport Far
mers’ Market, show 9 a.m., sale
To Consider
Harvesting Soybeans
For Silage
Using soybeans as a forage crop
is not new. It was done up until the
mid-19505, according to Dr.
Elwood Hatley, Penn State
Agronomist
According to Hatley, soybeans
had been grown mostly in the
south and used as a forage. In the
19S0s, the production of soybeans
moved to the Midwest and soy
beans became a grain crop. Early
in the history of the crop, soybeans
were grown as a hay crop and may
still be used as a hay crop today.
Forage quality of soybeans is
satisfactory when harvested at the
correct time. Harvesting should
begin when the lower leaves turn
yellow and before too many drop
from the plant At this point the
pods should be filled but still
green. The feeding value should be
between 17 and 20 percent crude
protein and about 62 percent TDN
on a dry matter basis.
At this stage of maturity, the tot
al plant moisture of soybeans
should be about 75 percent It is
critical that the conditioner rolls be
set so the pods are not removed
from the plant. ‘
Precaution should be taken to
check the herbicide’s label for
those herbicides which were
applied to the crop before harvest
ing. Some products may restrict
the use of soybeans for a forage
crop.
Dr. William Curran, Penn State
extension weed specialist, lists the
following products as having label
restrictions: Assure, Basagran,
Blazer, Classic, Cobra. FusUade,
Galaxy, Pinnacle, Post and Post
Plus, Pursuit, Reflex, Scepter and
Storm. To be safe, check the label
of the herbicides you used to see
what the restrictions are.
To Be Aware
Of Prussic Acid
There are a number of feed
plants which may have toxic
amounts of prussic acid under the
right conditions.
The major plants of concern are
members of the sorghum family.
These include sorghum, sorghum-
Sudan crosses, and Johnsongrass.
Unionvillc, thru Oct. 9.
PSU Professional Landscape Man
agement Program, Focus On
Diseases of Ornamentals, Farm
and Home Center, Lancaster. 9
a.m.-3:30 p.m., continues Oct.
Scandcon Conference Center,
Princeton, NJ., thru Oct 11.
Choice Plus Club Calf Sale, Mer
cer Co. 4-H Park, Mercer, 7:30
p.m.
These plants may have toxic levels
of prussic acid in new growth
which follows either frost, a severe
period of drought, a period of
heavy trampling, or physical dam
age or abundant rainfall.
Prussic acid usually becomes a
problem around the time of a kill
ing frost. Poisoned animals show
signs of nervousness, abnormal
breathing, trembling or jerking
muscles, blue coloration of the lin
ing of the mouth, and respiratory
failure followed by death.
Keep animals away from par
tially frosted material until all
growth has been killed by frost.
Then it should be safe to graze or
feed animals.
To Be Aware
Of Acorn Poisoning
Speaking about animal poison
ing, another area to be concerned
about is acorn poisoning. Acorn
poisoning generally deals its most
severe blow in September and ear
ly October.
It seems cattle like newly fallen
acoms the best. If you are grazing
cattle in pastures with oak trees,
take some precautions to keep
The Rainbow Promise
Sept. 26, 1993
Background Scripture:
Genesis 3:14-24; 6:5-8, 11-27,
9:8-13.
Devotional Reading:
Psalms 36: 1-4, 7-9; 62:1,2
A TV program recently told of
yet another expedition to Turkey
to find Noah’s ark on the slopes of
Mt Ararat. At a time when the
world so desperately needs to
rediscover the meaning of the
story the flood and Noah’s ark, I
cannot help but wonder why any
one would spend so much time,
effort and money on finding the
ark itself.
For, even if this expedition
were to And the remains of a 5,000
year old sailing vessel on the
slopes of Ararat, it would prove
nothing and it would beneflt no
one. What we need is the message
behind the ark, not the ark itself.
This story, like some of the other
stories in Genesis, is one whose
truth is not historical so much as it
is eternal.
Not that I do not believe the
great flood actually took place.
There are stories of this sort
throughout much of the world, as
far away as Australia and the
Amazon. In the Middle East there
are epics of a great flood that pre
date Genesis. There are striking
similarities between some of
them, but the story in Genesis is
the only one with a specific mes
sage from God to human kind.
IN MAN’S IMAGE
So, there may be a historical
reality behind it but the story in
Genesis is not history. It is more
like the stories that Jesus told.
They had an important truth, but
not everything in the stories was to
be taken literally.
In the story of Noah this is par
ticularly true in the writer’s por
trayal of God. We are told that
“The Lord saw that the wicked
ness of man was great in the
earth.. And the Lord was sorry that
he had made man on the earth”
(6:5,6). If you take that to be a
UteralLY, you must conclude that
God realized that he had made a
mistake in creating humanity.
Humans make mistakes and regret
cattle from eating acorns. These
include removing cattle from pas
tures with oak trees when acorns
begin to fall or fence the cattle
away from a corns.
Acorn poisoning will not occur
until acorns start falling. Clinical
signs are loss of appetite, listless
ness, weakness, constipation early,
followed by diarrhea which may
be dark colored or bloody, and ani
mals will appear bowed in the
back.
Animals become weak and
eventually go down. Affected ani
mals may show yellow color,
dehydration, and bloody urine.
There are no specific treatments
except rumen stimulant (mineral
oil) and fluid for dehydration.
If possible, the removal of ani
mals from the source of acorns will
greatly reduce any loss and
increase the success rate of treat
ment The earlier the treatment
begins, the greater the success rate
of recovery.
Feather Profs Footnote: "The
difference between the impossible
and the possible lies in a person’s
determination." Tommy
Lasorda.
what they have done, but not the
all-wise, all-knowing Creator.
Voltaire who once said that if
God made man in his image, man
had certainly returned the compli
ment. It is typical for human
beings to project their own
humanity on to their God, but that
doesn’t mean that God is like us
with ups or downs, regrets and
remorse, and changes of mind.
Nor does he have to be reminded
of his purpose. All of these are
human traits, not divine. When the
flood story indicates that God
originally intended to destroy all
humanity, but was persuaded to
change his mind and save Noah
and his aik, I cannot help conclude
that we are looking inside the
mind of a human being, not the
God of the Universe.
SIN & REDEMPTION
What, then, is the message of
this story? Essentially, it is a story
about the consequences of sin and
the promise of redemption.
Whether a wooden ark rests mi
Ararat or not, that is truth now,
always has been, and always will
be.'
In the story of Adam and Eve
we saw that there were consequ
ences to there disobedience. They
lost the garden of Eden and their
existence would be a lot harder
and demanding because of it.
There is a cause and effect rela
tionship; God says: “Because you
have done this...” It is true also in
the story of the flood. Genesis tells
us, “Now the earth was corrupt in
God’s sight, and the earth was
filled with violence...” Therefore,
there would be great destruction.
Sin always exacts a terrible price.
But the end of the story of Noah
is one of redemption. Despite the
staggering evil of human beha
vior, God holds out to us his rede
mption not because we deserve
it, but because he desires to do so
out of love. Although humanity
has tried to deface the divine
image within and scuttle his great
plan, he offers us the rainbow
promise of his saving love.
Lancaster Farming
Established 19SS
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St
Ephrata, PA 17522
by
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A SMtvnin EnMpriw
Robert G. Campbell General Manager
Evans R. Wevnvnngw Manning Editor
Copyright INS by lama Mer Farming