AlO-Lancastar Farming, Saturday, March 12, 1994
OPINION
Nutrient Management Board
Needs Support
The 15-mcmbcrs of the Nutrient Management Advisory Board
to the State Conservation Commission should be commended for
their work to assist in breaking new ground in the effort to put
together a workable system of nutrient management in the state.
Despite a Series of severe winter storms, the board has met in
almost full attendance in Harrisburg since the board first formed
last fall.
The only cancelation was in February, but it was not because
board members could not attend earlier and repeated
weather-caused work closings prevented the staff that supports
the board from getting all the information together to conduct a
complete meeting. It was felt that it would be more efficient to be
completely prepared for the the March meeting.
And they were.
Now, with the state Department of Agriculture accepting
applications for interim certification, the reality of the program is
starting to take shape.
The board members and the commission members are going to
need a lot of support from the public as they struggle with bring
ing to reality the ideology of nutrient management.
In effect, they are entering a never-traveled area.
Perhaps it would be easier if the state were already operating
on a watershed-to-watershed strategy with the management of
water resources instead of being managed according to bounda
ries created by commercial and political interests.
Local water cycles drive a lot of the movement of nutrients.
Understanding local water cycles would mean understanding dif
ferences in geologies, percolation rates, and, in general, much of
the specific conditions which affect the cycling of water locally.
Overlaying a nutrient management strategy on top of a local
water management plan would be a lot easier, because it would
provide a foundation for planning.
That lack of such a foundation begs the question, “If there is no
management of the local water cycles which help drive nutrient
flows and cycles, then how can effective nutrient management be
obtained?”
Perhaps it would be easier on the board, if the One-Plan Con
cept were more than a concept and the different agricultural agen
cies were already cooperating with a one-plan, one-farm system.
It would seem that planning nutrient flow on a farm would be
less of a task if it could be overlaid on top of an already existing
business plan.
Perhaps it would be easier, if American society was already
truly concerned about what happened to their own nutrient laden
waste once it was out of sight. That way when they saw manure
being applied to a crop field, they would know that just because
they can see and smell something doesn’t mean that’s all there is.
That doesn’t look like it’s going to happen.
Judging from the amount of discarded bottles, bags and wrap
pers which get tossed from bridges into streams, into pastures and
generally anywhere convienence dictates, and the relatively few
people with onlot septic systems who have any clue whether they
work or not, there are many people who operate on the out-of
sight, out-of-mind principal.
Perhaps it would be easier for the board, if people spent 22 per
cent of their income on food rather than for taxes.
Peihaps if it truly was a business advantage for a livestock pro
ducerto find and use adequate areas of cultivated soils for proper
ly utilizing excess nutrients, we wouldn’t have found a need to
create the Nutrient Management Act.
And, peihaps, if people would truly respect each other, them
selves and their children, we also wouldn’t have had a need to
make yet another law.
If all these other things were in place, the job of the Nutrient
Management Advisory Board and the State Conservation Com
mission would be much, much easier.
But, as we are without all those things, the board members
need all the understanding, patience and support they can get to
do the job well.
Farm Calendar
ih 1- |
York County Pork Producers
Association annual meeting
and banquet. Country House
Restaurant, Glen Rock, 7 p.m.
Tioga County Holstein Associa
tion annual meeting, Whitney-
/>c* r 7
villc Fairgrounds, Whimcyvil
-Ic, 7:30 p.m.
South Central N.Y. RC&D Grass
lands Expo, Howard Johnson’s
(Fred’s Inn), Norwich, N.Y.,
9:30 a.m.-S p.m.
Forest Owner Seminar and Tour,
NOW IS
THE TIME
By John Schwartz
Lancaster County
Agricultural Agqnt
To Cooperate
With Burning
Ordinances
This week 1 received a phone
call from ihc county fire chief ask
ing if farmers were exempt from
local ordinances on burning.
This incidence was a result of
many townships enacting a uni
form fire code which includes no
burning after sunset, notifying the
local fire company before doing a
control burning, etc.
The right to farm law, to the best
of my understanding, is untested in
this area. However, I hope we do
not have to test this provision.
Talking with this fire chief, he
was willing to let the farmer bum
the items in question provided the
farmer would notify him first
The reason for this is to prevent
the fire company from answering
an unnecessary call in the middle
of the night
As populations increase in rural
areas, farmers need to increase
their good neighbor policies. By
being good neighbors and talking
with our neighbors we can elimi
nate a lot of problems. Develop
and maintain a good relationship
with your township officials and
keep them informed on what you
are doing.
To Reduce
Neighbor Complaints
At our Nutrient Management
Meeting this week, Eton Robinson
of the Lancaster County Conserva
tion District presented a talk on
“Simple and Inexpensive Ways to
Keep The Public Off Your Back.”
Some ideas he presented
included keeping your farmstead
looking clean and neat
Outside appearance affects how
the public views you. Keep things
picked up and fixed up. Plant grass
strips around fields and next to
streams. This helps to keep soil
and manure off the roads and from
getting into the streams.
Plant trees around buildings
especially evergreens. This helps
to shield off the buildings while
helping to control dust and odors.
Invite the neighbors over to an
open house and tour. Serve
refreshments and talk. Ask them
to tell you in advance when they
are planning a picnic or party so
you may plan field activities and
manure spreading according.
Give them dates when you need
to spread manure so they will not
plan outdoor activities then. Ask
for vacation dates. When they are
away would be a good time to
spread manure, etc.
Knowing your neighbors and
being friendly will go a long way
in preventing problems.
Knox Fire Hall and Ferry’s
Tree Farm, Knox, 9:30
a.m.-3:13 p.m.
Dauphin County Conservation
District Awards Banquet, Ag
(Turn to Pag* All)
To Learn Lessons
From The
Winter of 94
The winter of 1994 will be long
remembered. Some people are
saying we will have similar ones
for the rest of the decade. This
weekend marks the anniversary of
the blizzard of 1993.
What have we learned from all
this?
It reminded us that snow will
slide off roofs with crushing force.
A fast that should dictate how we
attach extensions to existing
buildings.
Heavy accumulations of snow,
water and ice can collapse roofs
and push out supporting walls. We
may need to increase our snow
loading requirements for new
buildings.
Also, many people found out
they did not have the insurance
coverage they needed for snow
damage. Examine your policies
now and make necessary changes.
ar LAWRENCE W ALEHOUSE
\THt
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sn
THE CAUSE OR THE
RESULT?
March 13, 1994
Background Scripture:
Romans 3:21 thru 4:25
Devotional Reading:
Romans 2:4b-16
I was on jury duty this past
week and was selected for a jury
to hear a civil case between two
drivers who were involved in a
collision on a Dallas throughway.
A woman driver, whose car was
rear-ended by a man, was suing
him for negligence. According to
the judge, the burden of proof was
on the woman, the plaintiff, and
the case was decided against her
because the jury did not believe
that her lawyer had presented suf
ficient evidence.
I got the impression that many
of the jurors, like myself, were
sympathetic to the woman and
would have liked to have seen her
awarded something for her exten
sive hospital bills and damage to
her car. But we were not there to
be sympathetic; the case was to be
decided upon law and legal proce
dure and accordingly she lost out.
A court’s main business is justice
and equity, not compassion.
THE LEGAL MODEL
Paul’s approach to the question
of salvation, especially in
Romans, seems essentially a lega
listic one. People are called to live
by the law and, when they break
the law, they are pardoned only
because Jesus Christ has already
paid the price of their offense.
Like a plea bargain, they have
only to accept his offer of pardon.
So Paul uses the language of the
courtroom and temple sacrifice,
both legalistic systems: “law”,
“justified”, “redemption”, “righte
ousness”, and “reckoned”. When
we sin, we end up with either a
debt to be paid or an offense for
which we are to be punished. In
the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, says
Paul, the debt is paid for us and the
offense is blotted from our record
if we accept it.
My problem with this approach
is not so much Paul’s language
itself, but the way in which Christ
ians have subsequently made of it
a legalistic system, a kind of trans
actional salvation. So there have
been times in the history of Christ
ianity when Christians have
(Do not forget flood insurance!)
Cold weather, snow and ice may
disrupt deliveries, communica
tions and services. Keep your
inventories of food, feed, medica
tions, fuel and essential supplies
well stocked.
What happens when water, fuel
lines, feeds, manure and equip
ment freeze up or when the power
goes off?
Can you prevent these problems
or do you have alternative plans of
action?
Do you have extra storage for
milk, manure and other items? In
the event of a emergency, can you
get help, can you summon help and
can help get to you?
Some planning and action now
could prevent a major problem
latter.
Feather Profs Footnote:
"Excellence may be attained if you
expect more than others think is
possible."
argued bitterly over whether, once
a person had accepted the grace of
God, he or she can fall again into
sin. If. on Jesus’ account, God par
dons us, can we continue to sin
and retain our redeemed status?
And, if I say, yes, I accept the
grace of God’s forgiveness,
doesn’t my believing get me off
the hook?
That’s where the legalistic
model fails us. Salvation is not so
much a transaction, a contract to
which each of the parties must live
up to, but a relationship. Receiv
ing the grace of God is not a mat
ter of saying, “Yes, I receive it,”
but in living in dependence upon
God’s faithfulness. The “faith”
that was “reckoned to Abraham as
righteousness” was not a belief,
much less a verbal affirmation, but
a life that was founded upon the
grace of God.
GRACE, NOT WORKS
Although Paul is speaking out
of a legalistic model, the answer
he is proposing, the grace of God,
is a move from a legal system to
an experience of grace, the unmer
ited gift On legalistic grounds,
none of us could stand acquitted
before God’s judgment. None of
us can totally live up to the law or
be good enough to earn God’s for
giveness. What saves us is not a
legal system, but the free, loving
gift of God. It is ironic that Christ
ians who intellectually accept that
we are saved by grace instead of
works, use the acceptance of that
grace as the work that saves them.
How, then, do we accept the
grace of God? As Abraham did,
living his life in steadfast trust of
God’s promises. Living that way
was his faith. It was not what
Abraham said about his faith, but
what he did about it that Paul is
holding up for us. Like Abraham,
none of us can ever be good
enough to earn God’s love. None
of us can ever have that love by
accepting the idea of salvation by
grace through faith. But we can
have it by living every day as if we
are dependent upon that love.
Paul isn’t trying to get rid of
works, but he wants to put them in
their proper place. Instead of
being the cause of God’s love,
they are instead the result of it.
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St
Ephrata, PA 17522
by
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A SMhman Entmprim
Robert Q. Campbell General Manager
EverN R. Newamiißer Henaglng EdHor
CepyrlaM ISS4 by UneMer Farming