AlO-Lanoster Farming, Saturday, June 4, 1994
OPINION
Reasonable Increase Needed
Last year about this lime, we wrote about the gradual reduc
tion of stale support that has been affecting ag extension and ag
research at Penn State. Thankfully, most of the cuts threatened
last year were restored. But that still leaves our state’s land-grant
college without a funding increase for the last three years. This
has resulted in a loss of 99 faculty and staff positions and curtail
ed research and extension in a number of areas important to Pen
nsylvania agriculture.
Recently, the advisory council to the College of Ag Sciences
spent a day discussing the public policy issues affecting agricul
ture. A broad range of issues were discussed. But there was also
a clear consensus that increasing regulation, little understanding
of the food system on the part of the public and policy makers
and no understanding of the production technology behind our
safe and inexpensive food threaten all of acriculture. Good
answers to these threats demand the objective information that
comes from ag extension and research. They also demand
trained people to work in agriculture and related industries.
As the state increases the regulations on manure and nutri
ents, as the number of students choosing agricultural sciences is
increasing rapidly, and as the need to be profitable becomes
more important than ever, there should be increased state sup
port for ag extension and research.
The benefit in this stale support is not only for Penn State or
agriculture alone. Every citizen in the Commonwealth depends
in one way or another on the food, jobs, sales taxes, and agri
business activity generated from our number one industry.
Increased funding was found for the Department of Agriculture
and the Animal Health Commission. We hope the legislature
can find a reasonable increase for ag reaearch and extension at
Penn State as well.
Farm Calendar
Md. State 4-H Horse Judging Con
test, Howard County
Fairground.
Md. 4-H Dairy Youth Fun, Freder
ick County 4-H Camp and
Activities Center, thru June 5.
Lycoming County Dairy Princess
Pageant, 7:30 p.m.
Landis Valley Fair, Landis Valley
Ag Technology Day, Early Sum
mer Crop Management Field
Session, Westmoreland Fair
grounds, 1 p.m.-4 p.m. and 7
p.m.-9 p.m.
Southeast Pennsylvania Regional
Fruit Growers Twilight meet
ing, Wolf’s Orchard, New
Smithvillc, 6:30 p.m.-9 p.m.
Solanco Young Farmers barn
meeting, Scott and Clair Mull,
near Spring Valley Rd., 7:30
Pa. Veterinary Nutrition Forum
monthly meeting. Days Inn,
Lancaster.
Caiawissa Valley Fair, Catawissa,
thru June 11.
Pesticide container recycling prog
ram, Spring McGee and Smith
Enterprises, Spring Run,
repeats July 13, Aug. 11., and
Sept. 8.
York County Beekeepers meeting,
home of Fred Keeny, Glen
Allen Weickscl Farm, Peach
Bottom, 10:30 a.m.
Lancaster County pesticide con
tainerrecycling, Martin Ag Ser-
/>>,* ■
vice. New Holland, also July 8,
Lancaster County pesticide con
tainer recycling, Little Britain
Agri Service, Quarryville, also
Columbia-Luzerne Holstein
picnic.
Clinton County Herb and Craft
Festival, Clinton County Fair
grounds, Mackeyville, 10
Monday, June 13
Poultry Management and Health
Seminar, Kreidcr’s Restaurant,
Manhcim. noon.
■*-
Tiifsciin, .luiu' 14
Has l>ay
Pesticide container recycling prog
ram, Mason Dixon Farms, Get
tysburg, also July 12, Aug. 10,
Cumberland Wool Growers Wool
Pool, Carlisle Fairgrounds,
Pesticide container recycling prog
ram, Cumberland Valley Co-
Op, Shippensburg, also July 21,
Dclmarva Chicken Festival and
Cooking Contest, Delaware
Slate U., Dover, Del., thru June
18.
Eastern Regional Shorthorn Show
and Judging Contest, Howard
County Fairgrounds, thru June
18.
Franklin County Dairy Princess
Pageant, Lighthouse Restaur
ant, Chambcrsburg, 7 p.m.
Lancaster County pesticide con
tainer recycling, Henry Hoover,
Ephrata, also July IS, Aug. 16,
To Salute
Dairy Farmers
June is Dairy Month. This is the
month we salute our nation’s dairy
farmers and recognize the impor
tance of milk and dairy products in
our lives.
Wc will be seeing additional
dairy promotion activities this
month to inform consumers about
the dairy industry.
This is an excellent opportunity
to educate consumers about food
production, food safety, and how
their dairy products are produced.
People are quick to criticize
what they do not know and under
stand. As we plan dairy month
activities, make sure we know
what message and image we are
presenting.
Let’s be proud and enthusiastic
about our product and make people
want to consume more dairy pro
ducts. Nutrition, diet, and health
are major consumer issues. Maybe
we need to compare the nutritional
labels of milk with soft drinks, ice
tea, and coffee.
The public needs to know how
their milk is tested in order to
ensure drug residues are not pre
sent Dairy farmers need to tell
their successes and how agricultur
al research and education contri
buted to these successes. Ameri
cans are poor students of history
and we have short memories.
“June Is Dairy Month” promo
tions gives us the opportunity to
educate a very interested consumer
audience. Let’s make the most of
it.
Here is a glass of milk salute to
all our hard working and dedicated
dairy farm families.
To Store
Pesticides Safely
Robert Anderson, extension
agronomy agent, reminds us to
store pesticides safely.
Most producers are nearly fin
ished spraying for the year and
probably have some spray material
left over. Many of these can be
held over until next year with good
results.
When storing spray materials,
always keep them in their original
container and away from children,
pets, and livestock. These spray
materials should be stored in a
separate room or building
designed for pesticide storage.
Wetable powders are easy to
store. However, emulsions and liq
uids may be harmed by freezing
weather and may need to be kept in
a heated building.
and Nov. 2.
| S.itm (l.i\, .luiU 1 IH
Simd.u. I lint- 1')
11 ;ip p \ liilhci's l).i\!
Northeast Conference On Avian
Diseases, UMCP, thru June 21.
(Turn to Pag* A3l)
Read the label and follow
instructions for proper storage. Do
not store pesticides near feed sup
plies. To avoid accidents, costly
mistakes and tragedies, keep pesti
cides in their own room or building
under lock at all times.
To Know Daily
Water Use
How much Water do use every
day on your farm? Most farmers
properly have no idea since they
receive their water from their own
wells.
However, the Susquehanna Riv
er Basin Commission has prop
osed rules which will affect far
mers using 10,000 gallons of water
per day or more. Farmers using
10.000 gallons or more will need
to register with the commission
and farmers using more than
20.000 gallons may be required to
pay a water use fee to the
commission.
Some estimates of daily water
consumption are 35 gallons per
dairy cow, 8 gallons per 100 laying
hens. 6 gallons per 100 broilers. 12
BY IftWRtNU W ALIHOUSE
SS3IBILS
LEMONS INTO
LEMONADE
June 5,1994
LEMONS INTO LEMONADE
Background Scripture:
Exodus 1 & 2
Devotional Reading:
Exodus 2:16-23,24
Two teams of entertainers were
playing a charity baseball game in
Hollywood. Groucho Marx was
the coach of one of the teams and
as the game began, he told his first
batter to “Hit a home run.” But he
grounded out to third base, so
Groucho gave the same instruc
tions to the second batter, who
popped out to center field. Simi
larly advised, the third batter
struck out “That’s it!” shouted
Groucho, “I refuse to coach a team
that won’t follow instructions!”
Do you ever feel like that? You
are looking for home runs from
family, friends and community,
but instead you get singles, strike
outs and double plays! People, the
world, life, God they don’t co
operate! Our children don’t turn
out the way we wanted them to.
Our career just never took off as
we expected it would. Our mar
riage is not the “and-they-lived
happily-ever-after” experience we
expected.
So, we’re unhappy because life
hasn’t turned out to be the bowl of
cherries we thought we were
promised. Instead, we find that
someone has handed us a lemon.
Many of us become resentful and
bitter because we don’t under
stand that the essence of life is not
periodically getting a bowl of
cherries, but of turning our lemons
into lemonade.
MAN PROPOSES
This may seem very simplistic,
but I find it woven into the entire
story of the Bible. Even from
God’s point of view: he has a will
and a purpose for us and the
world, but we keep giving him
lemons, in the Garden of Eden and
out of it. It would seem that we are
constantly thwarting his plans.
But God takes the lemons we
hand him and turns them into lem
onade. He takes our disobedience,
our hardness of heart, our rebel
gallons per 100 turkeys, 12 gallons
per horse, steer or hcirer, and 4 gal
lons per hog. Liquid manure and
flush systems would add to the dai
ly water use.
Sprinkler irrigation will use
about 10,000 gallons per day on
2.4 acres and drip irrigation will
cover approximately 10 acres.
These are rough estimates that will
be influenced by crop and other
factors.
Ten thousand gallons per day
would equate to 125,000 layers,
285 dairy cows, or 166,000
broilers.
Remember, if you have more
than one type of livestock or poul
try on your farm or irrigating
crops, you will need to add all uses
together.
Water is a very important aspect
of farming and farmers need to
insure there will be adequate water
for their use. Now is the time to
study water use issues and make
public comment at the hearings.
Feather Profs Footnote:
"Don't find fault. Findaremedy."
Henry Ford
lion and our failures and make of
them something that still accom
plishes his will. As Ludovico
Ariosto said centuries ago: “Man
proposes, God disposes.” And
William Shakespeare had Hamlet
proclaim: “There’s a divinity that
shapes our ends, rough-hewn
them how we will.”
God brings the people of Israel
to Egypt for a purpose, but the
Pharaoh throws a monkey-wrench
into those plans when he decides,
“Come, let us deal shrewdly with
them (the people of Israel), lest
they multiply ...” (1:9). So, the
Pharaoh “set taskmasters over
them to afflict them with heavy
burdens ...” That should have
stymied God, but it didn’t; “...
the more they were oppressed, the
more they multiplied and the more
they passed abroad.” Even when
Pharaoh commands the Hebrew
women to kill every Hebrew male
child as he is bom, God’s will pre
vails. So he commands the Egyp
tian people to kill every newborn
male child.
GOD DISPOSES
Then a child is bom to a He
brew couple and, fearing for his
life, they hide him in the bulrushes
of the river where the Pharaoh’s
daughter comes to bathe. Once
again we see the Pharaoh propos
ing and God disposing, the divini
ty shaping the end. not only of that
child, but also the people of Israel.
That is not to say that God did it
all by himself. The Pharoah’s
ruthless decision shaped the situa
tion, but Moses’ mother’s self
sacrifice, Miriam’s initiative, the
Pharaoh’s daughter’s compassion,
and the adult Moses’ identifica
tion with his own people, accom
plished God’s purpose when it
deemed the most powerful man on
earth, the Pharaoh, would surely
prevail. The Pharaoh proposed,
but God disposed.
That’s what God does with the
obstacles we put in his way.
That’s what we can do with the
lemons life hands us.
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
t E. Main St
Ephrata, PA 17522
by
Laneaeter Farming, Inc.
A SWman finMpriw
Robert G. Campbell General Manager
Evens R. Nemvnngar Managing Edtor
Copyright IH4 by Lancaalar Farming