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
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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
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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
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