AlO-lancaSter Firming, Saturday, June 18, 1994
OPINION
Lose Farming
And Our Freedom
Almost everone would agree that it is vital to protect our envi
ronment. But how to do this has been the subject of an increasing
number of disputes. And the large number of these controversies
that are being settled by government agencies, and the laws they
create, enforce, and adjudicate in clear violation of the principle
of separation of powers, has endangered another resource-our
liberty. i
Robert Ernst, an attorney from Salinas, California, recently
spoke at Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, Michigan, on the subject as
reported in the May, 1994, Imprimis, published by the college.
Ernst said that all too often these days, the laws designed to
protect our environment do more harm than good. The instances
in which environmental laws have led to incredible waste of
resources are legion. The laws favor false crises instead of real
environmental problems and even create greater problems than
they were made to eliminate. Scare campaigns against acid rain,
asbestos, toxic waste, carcinogens, global warming and global
cooling arc just a few examples.
Even worse, such laws arc instruments of tyranny. “According
to the modem view of environmental protection, men count not
more than the grass upon which they walk,” Ernst said. “It is no
wonder that this view attracts adherents who have little apprecia
tion or patience for the nuances of ordered liberty or that the laws
it produces arc actually contrary to the rule of law,”
The pantheism of radical environmentalists represents a near
complete rejection of the philosophy of America’s founders and
most of our farm community. It’s politically correct to ignore the
faulty theology, as well as faulty science behind the environmen
talists’ vision. The broadly-worded laws are left to executive
agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for
implementation. And our citizens, including farmers, arc
required to adhere to what is, in effect, a state-sponsored religion.
Let’s hope we don’t lose our farming and our freedom in the
effort to save the environment.
Farm Calendar
Sulli
Diseases. UMCP. thru June 21
VM *7 H" 1 1 1 ’
Monda>, June 20
PcnnAg Industries Annual Grain
Meeting, Eden Resort Inn, Lan
caster, 6 p.m.
Pa. Rivers Conference, Harrisburg
Hilton, thru June 22.
4-H Ambassador Conference,
University Park, thru June 22.
Five-County 4-H Camp, Camp
Blue Diamond, Petersburg, thru
June 23.
Lancaster County pesticide con
tainerrecycling, G&G Feed and
Supply, Manheim, also July 18,
Schnecksville, thru June 25.
Pesticide container recycling,
Adams County Nursery, also
July 19, Aug. 19, and Oct. 11.
Grain Crop Field Day, Landisville
Research Center. 1 p.m.-S p.m.
Lancaster County Honey Produc
ers meeting. Rainbow Apiaries,
Hughes Farm, East Earl, 6:30
p.m.
Shepherd’s Night, Vemago Co.
Extension Office, 5:30 p.m.
Summer Dairy Twilight meeting,
Phipp’s Farm, Kent Co., Md., 7
Crop Residue Management Prog
ram, Hoss’ Steak and Seafood
House. York. 5 p.m.
/p*K
'
Thursday, .June
Butler County Holstein twilight
meeting, 7 p.m.
Crop Residue Management Prog
ram. York extension office, 10
a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Pesticide container recycling,
Mountain View Reclamation,
Greencastle, repeats July 28,
Aug. 25, and Nov. 10.
SRBC Public Hearings on Water
Use, Fred L. Waterman Conser
vation Education Center, Hil
ton Road, Apalachin, N.Y.,
117th AG A annual meeting, Bur
lington, VL
Draft Horse and Mule Days, Elmer
Lapp Farm, Kinzers, thru June
25.
Pa. State Envirothon, PP&L Mon
tour Preserve, Turbotville, thru
June 25.
SRBC Public Hearings on Water
Use, Days Inn, River Ave., Wil-
Convention, Pittsburgh, thru
June 28.
Beaver-Lawrence Dairy Princess
Pageant and Ice Cream Social,
Westfield Grange, 7:30 p.m. '
14th annual Hickory Ridge Anti
que Farm Show, Horace Potter
Residence, Milford, Del., thru
June 26.
Benefit Auction, Solanco Fair-
grounds. 9 a.m.-S p.m.
‘A Celebration of Quilts,’ York
College of Pa., 10 a.m.-5 p.m.,
thru June 26.
Historic Schaeffers town Cherry
To Apply For
Liquid Fuels Tax
Notice and application for the
Pennsylvania Liquid Fuels Tax
Refunds ate in the mail.
This application must be Tilled
out and returned in order to receive
your tax refund. The application
covers the period from July 1,
1993 to June 30. 1994 that you
paid taxes on liquid fuels used in
agriculture.
Even though farmers pay 12
cents per gallon when purchasing
the fuel (gasoline, diesel fuel, etc.),
they are exempt from the tax and
must apply and request the refund.
Based on Pennsylvania Treasury
Department’s figures, only 20 per
cent of the state’s farmers applied
for the refund.
Last year the average refund
was $lB3. You need to have
records on how much fuel was
used in agricultural production. If
you do not receive an application,
contact the Board of Finance and
Revenue, Room SOOC, Finance
Building, Harrisburg, PA 17120 or
call (717) 787-6534.
Take the time now to request the
money due you. Remember, this is
your money the state of Pennsylva
nia owes you.
To Check Trusses
It is hard to believe that only six
months ago we were experiencing
one of the worst winters on record.
During this period, we saw sev
eral roofs collapse because of
snow loads and construction flaws.
The most common problem was
inadequate bracing of trusses.
Improperly installed braces and
not enough bracing were two main
reasons roofs collapsed.
Also, deterioration of nail plates
from rust will weaken the roof.
Now is a good lime to evaluate
your load bearing capacity of your
roofs and make the necessary
Fair, Schaefferstown, 10 a.m.-5
Pa. Junior Judging School, Butler
and Franklin counties, thru June
30.
On-Farm Composting Field Day,
Robert and Lois Keller Farm,
Implementing On-Farm Compost
ing Interagency Conference
and Tour. Penn State Harris
burg, Middletown, thru June
29.
Pesticide recycling program. Oyl
cr’s Orchard, Gettysburg, also
July 26, Aug. 23, Nov. 8.
SRBC Public Hearings on Water
Use, Pa. Game Commission
Headquarters, Harrisburg, 10
a.m. and at the SRBC Head-
(Turn to Pago ASS).
repairs. If you are adding more
insulation to your building, you
will want to cheek your trusses and
braces.
The added insulation will
increase the snow load for your
roof since less snow will melt
when it hits the roof. (Insulation
keeps the heat of the building from
reaching the roof.) By checking
your roofs, you could prevent a
major disaster this winter.
To Keep
A Diary
Experience is the best teacher.
For experience to be a teacher, we
must first take notes.
As lime passes, these notes
become more valuable. They act as
a refresher when we experience a
similar experience S. 10, or IS
years from now.
One way to keep notes is in a
diary. By using a 5-year diary, you
may quickly glance back to what
happened in the past
You may also want to keep a
production log. In this log you
would keep a record of new things
BY LAWRENCE W ALEHOUSE
’JHI
©assm
IS THIS FREEDOM?
June 19,1994
IS THIS FREEDOM?
Background Scripture:
Exodus 6:2-9; 11:1-3; 12:21-36
Devotional Reading:
Exodus 5:1-9
Can you imagine any more ex
citing news than what Moses
brought the people of Israel from
the Lord? “I have heard the groan
ing of the people of Israel whom
the Egyptians hold in bondage and
1 have remembered my covenant
Say therefore to the people of Is
rael, ‘I am the Lord, and 1 will
bring you out from under the bur
dens of the Egyptians, and. I will
deliver you from their bondage
. .. And I will bring you into the
land which 1 swore to give to
Abraham ... 1 will give it to you
for a possession’” (6:5-8).
This message of freedom came
to a people who for several gen
erations had been in grievous
bondage to the Pharaoh, a people
who could not personally remem
ber the freedom of their forefa
thers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Now, through Moses, God prom
ised that their burdens would be
lifted, they would escape from
Egypt and have a land of milk and
honey for their very own.
So how did they react to (his
good news? “But they did not lis
ten to Moses, because of their
broken spirit and their cruel bond
age” (6:9). It was too good to be
true. They had given up hope.
They could not believe the good
news. You and I may wonder at
their lack of faith, but that’s be
cause we Ure not in their shoes.
After all, they are only being re
alistic and logical, the two most
idolized attributes of human per
sonality.
BROKEN IN SPIRIT
Recently, in reading Schind
ler's List, I remembered that at the
close of World War 11, when some
of the concentration/extermina
tion camps were liberated by Al
lied Forces, the inmates stayed in
the camps even when it was no
longer necessary. They had been
prisoners so long and so thorough
you tried and their results and.
observations.
Now would be a good time to
walk your fields and observe crop
stand, effects of winter or hot
weather, insect populations, equip
ment performance, etc. Other
items to record would be dale of
last frost, first frost, tasselling date
for com, dates of hay cuttings, and.
other useful and interesting facts as
they relate to your farm.
' These records could be very val
uable to future generations as they
begin to farm.
I still remember several of the
observations may grandfather had,
that is, frost occurs around a full
moon, temperatures average out
if a cold winter, expect a hot
summer, etc.
Take time to study and learn
from the many areas that influence
farming. You. your children and
grandchildren will profit from
these observations.
Feather Profs Footnote: "In
the name of love, give a child a
dream."
ly that they did not know how to
deal with freedom. Like the Israel
ites in Egypt, they were “broken in
spirit”
I have also personally observed
in Poland, Latvia, Russia and East
Germany (DDR) that after 40
years of political bondage, many
of the people there do not know
what to do with the freedom for
which they had hungered.
Throughout Eastern Europe and
the countries of the former Soviet
Union people are having a terrible
time handling their newly-gained
freedom. Suddenly crime is ram
pant. Economic chaos is the com
mon experience. Moral decay is
everywhere. I pray that these peo
ple may not grow weeary of their
fearful freedom and once again
embrace bondage. By itself, free
dom can be every bit as frighten
ing and dangerous as bondage
perhaps even more so when we
are broken in spirit.
MORE THAN FREEDOM
Something more then freedom
is needed. Actually, the best news
that Mosses brought them was not
that they would be free, but that
God had promised “I will take you
for my people, and I will take you
for my people, and I will be your
God” (6:7). Faith in God, devotion
to a purpose higher even than per
sonal freedom, is the only thing
that can make freedom work. I am
hopeful because, while these
countries are faltering politically
and economically, there are evi
dences of a spiritual rebirth here
and there.
True freedom is in danger, not
only among people recently freed
of political tyranny, but also in
countries like our own where poli
tical freedom has been a heritage,
if,not a complete reality, for cen
turies. While the countries of East
ern Europe and the former Soviet
Union are struggling to make free
dom work, we ought to be no less
concerned with the slate of free
dom in our own land.
It is possible to be politically
free and spiritually or morally in
bondage. With all the freedom we
enjoy here, are we really free?
Lancaster Farming
Established 1055
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St
Ephrata, PA 17522 '
by
Laneaalar Farming, I no.
4 SMhmw BMapnbe
Robsn G. Campbell GenerW Manager
Evens a Meaanwngef Itoutf* Edfer
Copyright tees by Unoeeler Forming