AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 14, 1994
OPINION
Disporportionate Share
The Uruguay Round world trade agreement was formally
signed by more than 100 member nations in Marrakesh, Mor
occo. But a coalition of farm groups is concerned that the cost
of the agreement could fall unfairly on U.S. agriculture.
Some estimates show that by reducing tariffs on imports, the
agreement could reduce U.S. government revenues by $l4-$lB
billion. Such estimates, the groups noted, are highly subjective
and fail to consider the potential for increased economic activi
ty, which help create jobs and an expanded tax base.
To make up the difference the Clinton administration has un
der consideration various proposals, including requiring signi
ficant reductions in current farm and related programs, to help
offset a major proportion of such revenue losses. This is despite
the fact that tariff revenue losses from agricultural imports ac
count for only about 5 percent or less of the estimated total.
The administration has repeatedly assured faim organiza
tions that the new GATT agreement would not require any fur
ther reduction in domestic income and price-support programs.
The coalition is concerned, however, that payment for the
GATT agreement will fall disproportionately on the agricultur
al sector, which already has seen significant spending cuts in
recent years.
Under the negotiated GATT agreement, tariffs in participat
ing countries would be reduced on a wide range of products.
But while the agreement tequires countries to reduce their use
of export subsidies, it allows them to maintain or even in
crease their support for certain non-trade-distorting pro
grams. The coalition uiged the president to shift current fund
ing from reduced or disallowed programs to those that are per
mitted.
Other agricultural support programs include market develop
ment and promotion, export credit, food aid and other related
programs. The budget currently under consideration would sig
nificantly reduce many of these programs, even though they are
permitted by GATT.
We believe that unless these concerns are addressed, it is
hard to envision how U.S. agriculture stands to gain as a result
of the new GATT agreement.
The GATT agreement was negotiated over a seven-year per
iod. Before it can take effect, most participating countries must
bring their own domestic laws into compliance with the GATT
agreement. The U.S. Congress may take up this implementing
legislation later this year.
Certainly agriculture should not be asked to bear a dispro
portionate share of the cost of the General Agreement on Tar
iffs and Trade.
Farm Calendar
Eastern Pa. Fanners Union Spring
Berks County 4-H Horse Council
Open Horse Show, Berks 4-H
Nutrient Management Confer
ence, Atlanta Airport Hilton
Hotel, Atlanta, Ga., thru May
18.
Lancaster County 4-H Horse Pro
duction Club Reorganization
Meeting, home of Samara
Shuster-Edelson, Manheim, 7
National Dairy Promotion and
Research Board 10th annual
meeting, Park Hyatt, Washing
ton, D.C., thru May 19.
Lancaster County Honey Produc
ers meeting. Dale and Barbara
Pa. Fair at Philadelphia Park, Ben
salem, thru May 30.
Poultry Education and Research
Center Dedication, Penn State
/ 7
aw-J
University Park, 11 a.m.
Christmas Tree meeting. Conifer
Saturday, May 21
York County Dairy Princess
Pageant, 4-H Center, 8 p.m.
Organizational meeting of Green
Valley Cooperative, ASI Build
ing^PermStateMt^m^^
Monday, May 23
Lehigh Valley Horse Council
meeting. Pleasant Hollow
Farms, Coopersburg, 7:30 p.m.
Spinning and Weaving Demon
stration, Lancaster Farm and
Friday, May 27
Atlantic National Angus Show,
(Turn to Page A3l)
To Watch
Potassium Levels
In Feed
According to Glenn Shirk,
extension dairy agent, many of the
fresh cow and early lactation prob
lems could be related to excess
levels of potassium in the dry cow
ration, especially in the weeks pre
ceding calving.
Excess potassium may tie up
calcium and magnesium. A lot of
this potassium could be coming
from feeding forages that are high
in potassium.
Heavy applications of manure
and/or application of potash fertil
izers may elevate potash levels of
legumes, grasses, com, and other
crops. So, what is the solution to
this problem?
Purchase good quality grass hay
not grown on heavily manured or
fertilized fields for dry cows. Soil
test and adjust manure and fertiliz
er application rates. Feed anionic
salts such as calcium sulfate, mag
nesium sulfate, etc. to counteract
high potash levels in the ration.
Farm Forum
Editor;
The page one article, “High
Production Agriculture Can Save
The Planet,” on May? was just the
advice the American farmer needs:
produce more by spending more
for high-tech inputs.
Former U.S. Secretary of Agri
culture Earl Butz told the Ameri
can farmers, “get big or get out.”
Many did get bigger and soon got
out involuntarily, of course.
1 just cannot comprehend the
twisted logic of urging farmers to
produce more in times of declining
market prices. All that I can see is
the farmer working harder, hand
ling more product, and getting
deeper into debt
1 recall as a lad, before World
War 11, a local bakery delivered
bread to our door (on the farm) at
10 cents a loaf—and a larger loaf
than we buy today. Wheat sold at
my uncle’s mill for 90 cents per
bushel. One bushel of wheat
bought nine large loaves of bread.
Today, it will buy about two and a
half at the chain store grocery
shelf.
(Back then) one thousand
bushels of wheat would pay for a
good two-plow tractor. Today it
will take the same amount to buy a
good medium-sized lawn tractor.
Yes, of course we produce
more, but we pay much more for
inputs, for taxes, for hired labor,
for normal living expenses, and for
our equipment and vehicles, not
even to mention the land costs,
which is our factory.
The question is, has our quality
(Turn to Pag* A3l)
Balance the dry cow and fresh cow
ration for calcium and magnesium,
as well as for other nutrients.
To Look At
Mastitis Research
Research workers at Cornell
University have been successfully
controlling some kinds of mastitis
infections with proteins known as
bacteriocins.
Two bacteriocins which have
been particularly effective against
strep and staph bacteria are lypos
taphin and nisin. In their research
trials, cure rates for staph infec
tions have been 66 percent and
strep infections have been 95
percent.
These bacteriocins look promis
ing as an effective alternative to
the use of antibiotics. Another nice
thing about them is, when con
sumed. they are digested as protein
in the intestines. Nisin is already
approved by Food and Drug Admi
nistration as a food preservative.
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""bbihui
THOSE ELEMENTAL
SPIRTS
May 15, 1994
THOSE
ELEMENTAL SPIRITS
Background Scripture:
Galatians 4:8-31
Devotional Reading:
Titus 2:11-13, 3:1-8
If I had been Paul I probably
would have put off writing the
Church at Galatia as long as I
could. It was one of those com
munications most of us would ra
ther not have to make. Even forth
right Paul seems to be struggling
in this letter. This is a church with
whom he always enjoyed a good
relationship. They had treated him
most kindly during his missionary
stay with them: . . though my
(physical) condition was a trial to
you, you did not scorn or despise
me, but received me as an angel of
God ...” (4:14).
Most of us would rather remain
quiet and maintain the relationship
than speak up and risk its disinte
gration. But Paul knew the risk
was worth it: he had to tell the Ga
latians the truth about what was
happening to their faith. “Have I
become your enemy by telling you
the truth?” he asks (4:16). Every
preacher knows that is a risk he or
she must take. So, it is a risk that
all Christians must take. To hide
or blunt the truth for the sake of
keeping the esteem of others is
one of the worst mistakes we can
make. A friendship that cannot
stand the truth is not a friendship.
Now, that doesn’t mean we have
to run all over town telling friends
and acquaintances “truths” that
buried inside give us moral indi
gestion. Paul will at another place
say “speaking the truth in love.. .
“(Ephes. 4:15) although in Gala
tians that is not explicit, it is cer
tainly implicit Paul is speaking
the truth in love. It is love that
compels him to say, “O foolish
Galatians!” (3:1).
ELEMENTAL SPIRITS
It is also love for them that mo
tivates him to ask “... how can
you turn back again to the weak
and beggarly elemental spirits”
(4:9). These are the lesser gods
and powers they once worshipped.
That doesn’t mean they have offi
cially renounced God in Christ,
To Be Careful
Moving Equipment
With spring planting season
finally arriving, every fanner
needs to be careful when moving
equipment on highways.
All farm equipment should be
marked with a clean slow moving
vehicle (SMV) emblem, reflectors,
and flashing amber lights. SMV
emblems need to be replaced cveiy
three to four tears to be effective.
They need to be placed on the trac
tor and any trailing equipment.
When traveling major high
ways. have someone follow you in
a car or truck with flashing lights.
When crossing busy roads, have
someone stand lookout and help
you in making the crossing.
Taking a little time to be safe
could prevent a very costly and
injury producing accident
Feather Profs Footnote: 'The
most valuable of all talents is that
of never using two words when one
will do." Thomas Jefferson
but that while hanging on to
Christian beliefs they have gone
back to depending on some of the
powers of their past, too. In a
sense, they have made the equa
tion “Christ*” but Paul tells them
that when you add these “elemen
tal spirits” to Christ, you subtract
Christ from the equation entirely.
Why did the Galatians fall away
from the gospel that Paul had
preached to them? Answer: for the
same reason we do. It is easier to
believe and trust in human things
and systems that we can see, than
in a Christ wecan’tsee. The prob
lem is not just that the Galatians
had added some old “elemental
spirits” to their Christianity, but
that we all do. We devise rituals,
symbols, denominations, architec
ture, creeds, dogmas and polities
to give us the assurance and se
curity that we fail to achieve with
our faith. Like the Galatians we all
add extras to our Christianity as
crutches.
THOSE CRUTCHES
Of course, it would be wonder
ful if none of us ever needed any
of those crutches, but most of us
feel vulnerable without them. The
problem is not that we have Christ
plus a few crutches, but that our
crutches leave no place for Christ.
“You observe days, and months,
and seasons, and years! I am
afraid I have labored over you in
vain” (4:10). There is nothing
wrong with our Christian seasons
and special observances so long as
they do not become a substitute
for Christ
I don’t know of any crutches
that we add to Christ that don’t
come mostly from our humanity.
They are rituals designed by hu
mans. Creeds invented by hu
mans. Polities that arise from hu
man minds. Dogmas that speak
more of the human ego than the
Divine presence. We cling to our
own “elemental spirits” with an
arrogance that shuts Christ out
And this we do generally "in the
name of Christ.”
Here’s the deal: you can be a
slave to the “elemental spirits” or
a servant of Christ.
You decide.
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St.
Ephrata, PA 17522
by
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A SMunan Entmprim
Robert G. Campbell General Manager
Event a Nawmanger Managing Editor
Copyright ism by Laneaalar Firming