Lancaster farming. (Lancaster, Pa., etc.) 1955-current, March 05, 1994, Image 10
Al»fein<M»f'ftnnHij^flaiturdiy,'lß«refr^iW4 OPINION The Management Hat With so many variables in the business of agriculture, it’s a struggle, even in a good season, to make a profit. Successful farm operations are run by good managers, and good managers have certain traits in common. Ed Kee and other members of Delaware Cooperative Exten sion’s newly formed FARM (Family Agribusiness Resource Management) Team have developed a list of qualities they feel distinguish the long-term successful farm operator. They are as follows; * • Good farm managers pay attention to detail and delegate the responsibility of those details to key employees or family members. • Good farm managers monitor field fertility and make wise choices about manure applications or purchased fertilizer. They recognize that balanced soil fertility is the first step in achiev ing economical, environmentally sound, productive soil management. • Good farm managers maintain machinery to avoid costly breakdowns and delays. They plan ahead and give daily atten tion to equipment, which saves money and time. • Good farm managers employ timely pest management. They anticipate and immediately act upon disease, insect and nematode problems, which saves money and promotes higher yields. • Good farm managers practice sound marketing. Though their options often are limited, they find a buyer and ensure dependable delivery of a quality product. • Good farm managers hire consultants for a range of ser vices from insect scouting to a total farm plan encompassing soil fertility, pesticide recommendations and scouting. They -make clear what’s expected and recognize when a consultant’s recommendations are prudent and reliable. • Good farm managers make time for family. A commitment to quality family time is established first by working together as a team during the busy season. They understand the need for and respect vacation time, off-season travel and an occasional day off during the season. A farmer must wear many hats. Banker, Veterinarian, and Agronomist come to mind. But the greatest of these is the man agement hat. As one farmer told us recently, it costs as much to do a job late as it does to do a job on time. In planting and harvesting the cost is greater when you do the job late. A good manager is needed on every farm. 7-jr—“ Farm Calendar Central Md. Chapter of Fellowship of Christian Farmers Outreach Luncheon, Wilhelm LTD., Westminster, Md., noon. Ninth Annual Winning Ways Clin ic, Ag Arena, Penn State, thru March 6. Pa. Yorkshire, Duroc, Hampshire Association Show and Sale, Lebanon Fairgrounds, show 10 a.m., sale 3 p.m. Regional Christmas Tree Seminar and Trade Show, Rustic Lodge, Philadelphia Flower Show, Phi ladelphia Civic Center, thru March 13. Maple Sugarin’ Festival. Hashaw ha Environmental Appreciation Center, Westminster, Md., American Forage and Grassland Council Annual Conference, Lancaster Host Resort, thru March 9. Central Penn 4-H Swine Club organizational meeting, Cum berland County Extension Office, Carlisle, 7:30 p.m. PDA pesticide exam, Lancaster Farm and Home Center, 8:30 a.m.-noon. Huntingdon/Blair Dairy Day, Alexandria Fire Hall, Alexandria. Northeast Dairy Producer Confer ence, Rochester Marriott Thru way Hotel, Rochester, N.Y., thru March 10. Washington County Cooperative Extension meeting, Lone Pine Community Center, 7 p.m. Landowner Water Resource Awareness Workshop, Farm and Home Center, Lancaster, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Mid East UDIA meeting. Holiday Inn, Wapakoneta, Ohio. Bradford County Food Safety Course, Wysox Fire Hall, 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. N.W. Pa. Cattlemen’s Association annual meeting, Mercer County Extension, Mercer, 7 p.m. Dairy-MAP, Mercer County extension office, Mercer, also March 15. Trade For For Farm Markets, Holi day Inn, Kingston, N.Y., thru March 10. Clearfield County Dairy-MAP, Ramada Inn, Dußois. BST, EAYFA meeting, Ephrata High School, 7:30 p.m. Lancaster County Bee Producers kickoff meeting, Farm and NOW IS THE TIME By John Schwartz Lancaster County Agricultural Agent To Understand Shift In Ag Policy Debate on the 1995 Farm Bill will start soon. The Farm Bill used to be the only major agricultural legislation in Washington. However, this bill will only be a small part of the legislation affecting agriculture. The Clean Water Act, The Clean Air Act, Coastal Zone Man agement, and Food Assistance Act are a few of the new laws directing agricultural policy. Different groups have become involved in agricultural policy development. Environmental, consumer, and urban citizens have developed an active interest in changing farm policy. Their interests are in preserving the environment, improving the safely and quality of food, and transferring shrinking federal dol lars from agricultural programs to other areas. As a result, farmers need to do a better job of commu nicating their messages to nonfarmers. Consumers want more informa tion on how their food is being pro duced and steps farmers are taking to insure the food they produce is high quality with no chemical and bacterial residues. Farmers need to do a better job of building coalitions with groups that have similar interests. These include hunters, small business owners, environmental groups, etc. Finally, farmers need to support organizations and businesses when they need farmers to talk to policymakers. We have a choice. Either we become more involved in public policy making or someone else will make policies for us. To Spend Some Time With Family We have just experienced the Potato Day, Schnecksville Grange Hall, 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Susquehanna County Food Safety Course, Montrose United Methodist Church, 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Sustainable Ag Conference, Mil lersville University, Lancaster. Delaware FFA Statewide Conven tion, University of Delaware, Clayton Hall, Newark. Pa. Veterinary Nutrition Forum monthly meeting. Days Inn, Lancaster. Pa. Association of Future Home makers of America State Lead ership Conference, Harrisburg, thru March 11. Integrated Pest Management Con (Turn to Pago A3l) 14th snowstorm of the year. These storms have caused much stress, financial losses, and great challenges. On the other hand, they are pro viding us with some additional family time. Why not lake a day and spend it with the family? Consider building snow sculp tures and forts, spend time inside reading, putting puzzles together, or making up a play and perform ing it. These are just a few ideas. This is an excellent time to renew a family tradition. This is an old-time winter. Our children need to experience the things we did as children. The important thing is take this time and use it to allow family members to get know each other better with fun. To Review Grazing Management During the past several years, livestock producers have shown an increasing interest in the use of pastures to provide a major source of feed for ruminant livestock. Management flexibility may be the most important concept to maximize forage use in a grazing system, according to Edward Ray- I*l »i>»ti/ | by tAWBtNce w auhouse m 3331 LS DOES GOD EMBARRASS YOUf March 6, 1994 Background Scripture: Romans 1:1-17 Devotional Reading: Romans 1:18-25 Writing to the Christian com munity in Rome. Paul says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel” (Rom. 1:16). John Knox, who was one of my seminary professors at Union Theological Seminar in New York, suggests that the rea son Paul brings up this matter is that he must have experienced some temptation to be ashamed of the gospel. Why else would he make a point of saying he is not ashamed of it? I understand that, for there are times when I. too, am led to affirm the very things with which I have wrestled. Whenever I read this Pauline affirmation, I end up asking myself, “What about me? Have I been tempted to be ashamed of the gospel?” At this very moment as I write these words, it is easy for me to join with Paul; No, “...I am not ashamed of the gospel.” But hon esty compels me to admit that there have been times when I have acted as if I was ashamed. EMBARRASSING CORRUPTION To be sure, sometimes it has been a matter of being ashamed not of the gospel but of the church. When the church speaks or acts in a way that the gospel is cheapened or corrupted, that is embarrassing. I am still embarrassed by the Inquisition. During the 1940’s I was embarrassed for all those- in German Christendom who either supported or failed to oppose the Holocaust. I remember back in the 1960’s when I felt keenly embarrassed by the churches’ indifference and sometimes resis tance to the civil rights struggle. But that isn’t what Paul is talk ing about. He’s talking, not about what churches and professed Christians do or say, but about the essential ewe of Christian procla bum of West Virginia University. The rate at which forages grow varies during the growing season. On the average, the cool season perennial grasses commonly grown will produce nearly SO per cent of their total growth during April through June. That compares to about 33 percent of their growth during July and August and 16 per cent from September through the end of the growing season. Stockpiling the excess growth during the spring growing period through mechanical harvesting is necessary to maximize livestock feed on per-acre basis. This makes rotational grazing a must. Rayburn suggests that all graz ing systems need an area for feed ing livestock during periods when pastures are short of growth or too wet to allow livestock to graze without destroying the paddocks. For more information on graz ing, refer to the 1993-1994 Penn State Agronomy Guide or pick up agronomy fact sheets on forage crop production and pasture man agement at your local Penn State Cooperative Extension office. Feather Profs Footnote: "Excellence may be attained if you dream more than others think is practical." ■nation and teaching: salvation by the grace of God as through the cross of Jesus Christ. Have I ever been embarrassed by the gospel itself? (gospel, an old English term used to translate the Greek term evangelion, meaning “good tidings”). sn THE IMPLICATIONS I’ve thought long and hard on this question and my first inclina tion is to say; no, not of the gospel itself. But it occurs to me that 1 there have been times when I have been embarrassed, not so much by the formulation of the gospel, as * by the implications of it. It is easy and safe to proclaim “salvation by grace through faith,” but it is something else to live as though I believe that to be true. If I believe the gospel, then what effect should it have on the way I live my daily life on the way I perceive and treat other people, on the way I respond to those in need, on the values that I hold and follow, on the goals 1 pursue, and on the sources to which I look for my satisfaction or deliverance? The gospel is based upon love, grace and faith and I must admit that, there have been times when I have found this an embarrassment in a culture that is founded upon material gain, worldly success, and popular approval. Embarrassed because love is not “in,” I have hastened to agree with other people that love is often not very practical or realistic. I have sometimes bent over backward to conform to worldly standards of success instead of Christian faith fulness. Fearful of being thought “weak” through the practice of Christian grace, I have spoken “tough” to prove to others that I do not let the gospel get in the way of common sense. Yes, there are times when I have acted as if God was an embarrassment. What about you? Lancaster- Farming Established 1955 Published Every Saturday Ephrata Review Building 1 E. Main St Ephrata, PA 17522 by Lancaster Farming, Inc. A SMmtn EMiprit* Robert Q. Campbell General Manager Everett R. Newmenger Managing Editor CapKrisht IN4 by Lancaatar Farming