OPINION Hard To Tell Fact, Opponents of agriculture find many ways to educate the public to their way of thinking. Some of these ways arc very subtle. Sometimes false scientific information is given, or emotional appeals are presented. The big journalistic productions like the “60 Minutes” Alar scare probably do the most damage. But have you noticed how some television sitcoms have interesting ways to incorporate negative farm ideas into their dramas? Negative references to and beautiful fur coats that turn into blood at the fashion review have been part of recent TV fare. Now we have a motion picture ready to appear across the coun try that will make dairy farmers see red or worse. Previews of “I Love Trouble” indicate the story is about two newspaper repor ters trying to scoop each other. The story they are after is about a pharmaceutical company that markets a hormone called LDF and enables dairy cattle to begin producing milk by nine months of age. Trouble is, the milk will cause cancer to consumers who drink it. What can we say? Fiction writers have their license. But we admit, this story is a little too close to the BST controversary to be comfortable. Farm Calendar Schaefferstown Annual Folk Fes tival, Schaefferstown, thru July 17. Goat Field Day, Windy Hill Goat Dairy, Jacob Fisher’s, Bucknoll Rd„ 1 mi. east of Rt 72, 1 Jefferson County Fair, Brookville, Maryland Holstein Association Central District Show, Howard County Fairgrounds. National Institute On Cooperative Education Conference, Shera ton Washington Hotel, Washington, D.C., thru July 21. N.E. District 4-H Dairy Judging and Dairy Bowl Contest, Alpa i*)nPark^9ai in i^^^^^^ Southeast FFA Dairy Show, Leba non Fairgrounds. Maryland Nutrient Management program course on fundamen tals of nutrient management, Annapolis Ramada Hotel, thru July 20. Southeast Pa. Twilight Fruit Growers’ Meeting, Northbrook Orchards. West Chester, 6:30 p.m. Rotational Grazing Field Day, Lindenhof Farm. Oxford. I \\VdrK*sd;»>, .lul\ 20 Greenhouse Systems Conference, Hyatt Regency Hotel, New Brunswick, NJ., thru July 22. State 4-H Horse Jamboree, Queen Anne’s County 4-H Park, thru July 21. Pa. Vegetable and Small Fruit Field Day, Research Farm, Rockspring. Lycoming County Holstein Show, Fairgrounds, Hughesville, 10 a.m. Jefferson County Holstein Show, Fairgrounds. Brookville, 9 a.m. Kent County Fair, Md. York County 4-H Fair, 4-H Center near Bair Station, thru July 23. PASA Nutrient Management Field Day, Reist Farm, Huntingdon County, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. Field Day-Small Scale Organic Vegetable Production and Composting Systems, Sam and Fiction 7 Katy Reist’s Blue Moon Farm, Huntingdon. 3:30 p.m. Grounds Managers Field Day, Williamson Free Trade School, Plainfield Farmers Fair, Nazareth, thru July 24. Progress Through Communica tions For Agriculture tour and picnic, James Hoopes Farm, Ulysses, 2 p.m. Northampton County Holstein Show, Fairgrounds, Plainfield, 10 a.m. Erie County Holstein Show, Waterford Fairgrounds, 10:30 a.m. Pa. Holstein Board of Directors meeting. Holiday Inn, State College, 10:30 a.m. Soil and Water Conservation Soci ety Keystone Chapter Annual Conference, Holiday Inn, Dun more, thru July 23. Penn State Agronomic Field Diag nostic Clinic Industry Appreci ation Day, Rockspring Research Center, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Black and White Show, Plainfield Fair, 10 a.m. Tuscarora Valley Heritage Days, Carnival Grounds, East Water ford, thru July 24. Southeast Regional Christmas Tree Growers’ Meeting, J. C. Hill Tree Farms, Orwigsburg, 1 p.m. Dairy Pasture Walk, Nevin Mast York County dairy roundup. Penn State Professional Landscape Management Program; Focus On Landscape Design, Farm and Home Center, Lancaster, continues July 29, Aug. S, Aug. 12, and Aug. 19. 4-H Dairy Roundup, Plainfield Fair. 10 a.m. Pasture group meeting, Mark Mapes Farm, New Berlin, 10 a.m.-noon. Virginia Hblsteiiu Annual Field Day, Windcrest Holsteins, TTOmberville^a^^^^^^^ York County Holstein Show, York Fairgrounds, 10 a.m. (Turn to Pago A3O) To Manage Beef Under Drought Conditions Chester Hughes, extension livestock agent, offers the follow ing advice for cow-calf operators experiencing drought conditions. First, early wean the calf crop. The nutritional needs of the beef cow herd may be reduced and feed resources may be more effectively used by early weaning the calf crop during drought conditions. For most spring calving cows, peak milk production has passed and these cows have produced 90 per cent of all the milk they will pro vide to the calf. The annual nutritional require ments of the herd are at their low est immediately after breeding and lactation. Thus, less feed will be needed for the cows. To replace the milk for the calf, feed a grain mix (one half to one percent of the calf’s body weight) of 60 percent com, 30 percent oats, and 10 percent soybean meal with enough molasses to prevent sort ing of the grain, plus a good quality hay or pasture. Second, to optimize pasture use, the cattle must be rotated. Given the opportunity, cattle will eat the best grass first and save the rest till latter. By rotating pastures, the cattle will tend to use more of the total forage available, particularly in short-term grazing cells of a day in length. Finally, when feed resources are short, a cow that is wintered with out a chance of having a calf next year is a economic drain on the beef enterprise. Have a veterina rian palpate the cow and cull those cows that are not pregnant. To Manage Alfalfa Hay Fields We have been blessed with a lot of good haymaking weather this spring. As a result, a lot of excel lent quality hay and haylage has been made and stored. Glenn Shirk, extension dairy agent notes the alfalfa was cut at a young, nutritious stage, in the pre bud and bud stage of maturity. To protect the vigor and life of these early cut alfalfa stands, let the second cutting come into bloom. Removing the second cut ting too soon could weaken or kill the stand. Shirk also recommends testing the forage to determine its quality. You will then be able to use the alfalfa the most effectively in the ration. Excellent quality forages are a valuable asset, especially during tight economic times. Do not waste high quality forages on cattle that do not need them. Chances arc, these forages will be very high in protein, high in ener gy. and low in fiber. In fact, you may have to add additional, good quality fiber to the ration. To Evaluate Your Management Dr. David Kohl, Virginia Tech, gave some very good advice at the Animal Housing Expo this week. How good of a cost control man ager are you? With today’s declin ing egg, pork and milk prices, cost control becomes very important. Your goal should be $1 or more revenue generated for every $0.65 of expenses. Look for ways to reduce costs. Some of these are repair before buying new, paying bills on time or in cash, shop around and check bills for errors in math, items not received, correct price, etc. Do not woric too many hours. A av si KHf _ sn THE “C-WORD” July 17,1994 THE "C-WORD” July 17, 1994 Background Scripture: Exodus 19:1 thru 20:17 Devotional Reading: Deuteronomy 5:2-20 My grandson, James Paul Har rison, was baptized today. For lots of peopple baptism is just a name giving ritual with religious trap pings. For others it is a ritual that is essential for the child’s being part of the church. I have known people who believed that, if a child died before baptism, he or she would be denied salvation. Still other Christians believe that baptism is only valid for adults who have made their decision for Christ. It is not my purpose to get into a controversy over the meaning of baptism; I respect the various dif ferent views on this subject But, regardless of the theology of bap tism, there is a common thread that runs through all or most bap tisms. It is the dreaded “C-word,” commitment (you remember that word, don’t you?). Not that the word itself appears in the rituals, but that commitment is what bap tism is all about and lots of other things beside. James was committed to the Lord until such time as he can per sonally confirm that commitment Our daughter and her husband made commitments to bring James up in the knowledge of God and the life of the church. So did the godparents. The rest of us family and friends also com mitted ourselves to provide as we can for James’ spiritual welfare and the church through its priest made a similar commitment A PIECE OF PAPER It seems that there are lots of couples today who do not seek baptism for their children because they are reluctant to make the commitments it requires. This re luctance also undermines the insti tution of marriage. People who live together “without benefit of clergy” sometimes tell me their living-together relationship gives them everything that marriage can offer, but without being “tied down to a contract,” as one man farmer wii time time job should work no more than I,ooohours per year on the farm. A full-time farmer should not work more than 3,000 hours per year on the farm. If you work more than these hours, you will lose one or more of the following: your health, your family, or your job or farm. Good farm managers are now developing strategies on how to handle a 3 percent rise in interest rates, a 10 percent decline in revenue, and a 3 percent increase in costs. Some ways this will be achieved is by having an increase in productivity per production unit, holding family living costs in line, limiting debt, and avoiding killer toys (expensive hobbies). Now is the time to start controll ing costs and work at being the most efficient producer possible. Feather Profs Footnote: "Energy and persistence will con quer all things." put it. “We don’t miss out on any thing,” he assured me. The whole question of marriage vs. non-marriage relationships is too big and broad to tackle in the space of this column. But I am convinced that usually the one thing most likely to be missing in a relationship without marriage is commitment “I don’t want to feel that I have to do this.” said one person, “I’d rather do it because I want to.” Another person told me that she wanted a “relationship,” not a piece of paper. Yes, it would be nice if every thing we need to do would be done because we wanted to do it But there are times when we need to do what we may not feel like do ing. (If I had done only those things that I really wanted to do, there would have been a lot more people let down. There are times when we need to act not because we are magnanimously motivated, but because we know we have made a commitment. MORE THAN FEELING? 1 think the reason people have problems with the “C-word” is be cause they also misunderstand the “L-word." Lots of people assume that love is essentially a feeling. When we feel a certain way, we will act a certain way. We will do good things when we feel a certain way, we will act a certain way. We will do good things when we feel like doing them and we will do evil things when we feel like being evil. But that isn’t what love is all about; it also encompasses what we do when we may not necessari ly feel loving. When we respond to loving feelings, that is a lower level of love than when we re spond despite the lack of living feelings. You can have love without a piece of paper but you cannot real ly have love without commitment. And that is the basis of the rela tionship that God proposed be tween himself and his people. Each would commit to the other: “Now therefore, if you will obey my voice, and keep my covenant, you shall be my own possession among all people" (19:5). The world—and us—needs to ~ediscover the “C-word.” Lancaster Panning Ettablkhtd 195 S Published Every Saturday Ephrata Review Balding 1 E. Mein St Ephrete, PA 17522 by Lenoeeter Farming, Ina a Biaamaa a sigmiaf cnißpiav Robert Q. 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Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers