AlO-Lancasler Farming, Saturday, August 20, 1994
OPINION
GATT Initiative Commended
We applaud the momentum growing in the U.S. Senate for a
bill to capture agricultural export subsidy reductions required by
the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and rein
vest them in agricultural programs permitted under the GATT.
The bill S. 2312 has gained 22 co-sponsors since being intro
duced on July 22 by Senator Tom Daschle (D-SD). Thirteen of
the 18 Agricultural Committee members are included among the
co-sponsorsj
The growing support for this bill indicates that Congress is rec
ognizing the need to provide assurances that the cost of the GATT
will not fall unfairly on U.S. Agriculture. This bill allows agricul
ture to maximize the opportunities that the GATT was designed
to provide and not put die United States at a competitive disad
vantage with other countries. Our competitors intend to use
GATT-legal programs, and the United States must be poised to
do so as well. These GATT-legal programs include export credit
guarantees and foreign market development and promotion. Also
allowed are food assistance programs such as The Emergency
Food Assistance Program.
Twenty-four food and agricultural groups have joined in a
coalition to support this move. They are also pleased that a simi
lar bill in the House of Representatives, H.R. 4675, is also gaining
support. It has more than SO sponsors.
U.S. agriculture is the most productive in the world, and should
not be required to pay more of the cost of GATT than its fair share
related to the benefits received. We commend Congress for the
growing support of the position of most national agricultural
organizations.
Farm Calendar
Pa. Holstein Association Central
Championship Show, Fair
grounds, Huntingdon, 6 p.m.
Northeast 4-H Dairy Show,
Wyoming County.
Warren County Holstein Sale,
Pittsfield Fairgrounds.
Central Championship Show,
Huntingdon Fairgrounds, 6
p.m.
Southeastern Pennsylvania Chap
ter of Fellowship of Christian
Farmers picnic, Samuel Lewis
State Park, Wrightsville, 11
Somerset County Fair, Meyers
dale, thru Aug. 27.
Crawford County Fair, Meadville,
thru Aug. 27.
Cameron County Fair, Emporium,
thru Aug. 27.
Franklin County Fair, Chambers
burg, thru Aug. 27.
Westmoreland County Fair,
Harford Fair, Harford, thru Aug.
27.
Fulton County Fair, McConnells
burg, thru Aug. 27.
Mountain Area Fair, Farmington,
thru Aug. 27.
Pa. Tobacco Growers meeting,
Southeast Field Lab, Landisvil-
Blue Valley Farm Show, Bangor,
thru Aug. 27.
Perry County Fair, Newport, thru
Aug. 27.
Transfer Harvest Home Fair,
Greenville, thru Aug. 27.
Elizabethtown Community Fair,
Elizabethtown, thru Aug. 27.
Hookstown Fair, Hookstown, thru
Aug. 27.
Pa. Holstein Association North
east Championship Show, Fair
grounds, Troy, 10 a.m.
Beef Cattle Pasture Walk, Conrad
1
and Bonnie Fisher’s Farm,
Green Lane, 7 p.m.
Ephrata Area Young Farmers
meeting, Harold Martin Farm,
48th Annual Convention National
Association of Animal Breed
ers, Hershey Lodge and Con
vention Center, Hershey, thru
Aug. 26.
Marketing and Use of Compost,
Montgomery County Com
munity College, thru Aug. 25.
Perry County Holstein Show, Fair
grounds, Newport, 9 a.m.
Potato Growers field meeting,
Central Maryland REC Field Day,
Beltsville Facility, 8 a.m.-2
p.m.
Southeastern Championship
Show, Fairgrounds, Kutztown,
10 a.m.
Crawford County Holstein Show,
Fairgrounds, Meadville, 9 a.m.
Franklin County Holstein Show,
Fairgrounds, Chambersburg,
5:30 p.m.
10th Annual Olde Tyme Days
Great Grangers Interstate Fair
and State Plowing Contest,
Blaine Rentzel Farm, Manches
ter^hn^ug^B^^^^^^
Centre County Fair, Centre Hall,
thru Sept 1.
South Central 4-H Dairy Show,
Farm Show Complex,
Harrisburg.
Southeast 4-H Dairy Show, Kutz
town Fairgrounds.
PASA Field Day, Endlich Acres,
Butler.
Pasture Walk, Wood Dairy,
Osceola, 1 p.m.
Lebanon County Holstein Club
Sale, Lebanon Fairgrounds, 7
p.m.
Northeast Lamb Pool, Troy Sales
Bam, Troy, 3 p.m., also Sept
To Test
Private Water
Supplies
You should test your private
water supply at least once a year
for bacteria, nitrate, sulfates, total
dissolved solids, and pH. This will
help you to insure the water your
family and animals drink is safe.
There are many laboratories
capable of testing your water. Con
tact the laboratory and they will
provide you with a test kit and
instructions.
Be sure to follow the instruc
tions carefully to ensure a rep
resentative sample and to avoid
contamination.
In addition to testing your water
yearly, a water test should be done
when you drill a new well,
changed the pump or plumbing, or
notice a change in appearance,
taste, cv odor of the water.
To Disinfect
Wells Properly
Every new well or existing
water supply system that has been
disrupted for service or repair
should be disinfected before it is
returned to use.
Water in the well and storage
tank should be treated with a
strong chlorine solution to destroy
disease organisms.
All pipelines and fixtures in the
distribution system should be
rinsed and flushed with chlori
nated water.
The source of chlorine may be
ordinary household bleach (about
S.2S per cent available chlorine).
You need at least 100 parts per mil
lion of chlorine to destroy essen
tially all waterborne disease
organisms.
You may consult a dilution table
or use a minimum of one half gal
lon household beach in wells up to
8 inches in diameter and less than
80 feet of water or one gallon in
similar size wells with more than
30. Nov. 4. and Dec. 2,
Saturday, August 27
Maryland State Fair, Timonium,
thru Sept. IS.
West Virginia State Holstein Sale,
Marshall County Fairgrounds,
Moundsville, W.Va.
Susquehanna County 4-H Lives
tock Sale. Harford Fairgrounds,
1 p.m.
Multicounty Livestock Tour,
Northumberland County, starts
Rural Registration Conference,
Nebraska City, Neb., through
Aug. 30.
Indiana County Fair, Indiana, thru
West End Fair, Gilbert, thru Sept
Dairy Day at the New York State
(Turn to Pago A 27)
80 feet of water in the well.
Mix the required amount of
bleach in a plastic bucket with a
few gallons of water and pour it in
the well. For maximum effective
ness, the chlorine must be mixed
with the water in the well. This
may be accomplished by connect
ing a hose to a faucet beyond the
pressure tank and circulating the
water from the tank back into the
casing for IS minutes.
Open each faucet on the distri
bution line individually until you
smell chlorine. Keep this water in
the pipeline for at least six hours,
then start the pump and flush the
system.
For more information on water
treatment, contact your local
extension office.
To Tighten
Fan Belts
This week I was measuring fan
output at a poultry farm. It was the
fust time I had a chance to really
evaluate the results of a loose fan
belt on fans.
BY IfIWmNCE W ALIHOUSE
irur
WHAT'S THE MEANING
OF THIS?
August 21,1994
Background Scripture:
Deuteronomy 6
Devotional Reading:
Deuteronomy 7:6-9, 12
I don’t recall that my children
ever asked me why we went to
church, had family devotions and
celebrated various Christian holi
days. But, even if they never ask
us. I’m certain most, if not all,
children wonder about their fami
ly religious life. Why do we do
this? What’s the meaning of it?
So the writer of Deuteronomy
gives clear instructions so that
parents will know what to answer,
“When your son asks you in time
to come, ‘What is the meaning of
the testimonies and the statutes
and the ordinances which the Lord
our God has commanded you?’
then you shall say to your son,
‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in
Egypt...” (6:20,21). I’ve been a
guest at several Jewish Seders—
the home observance of Passover
—and I remember children parti
cipating by asking this very
question.
Is this just an ancient ritual? No,
I think it is also an opportunity for
teaching, for passing on the faith
from one generation to another.
Too often. I’m afraid, our parental
religious instruction does not go
much beyond telling children
what to do and what not to do. We
are often remiss in helping our
children to understand why.
WHAT GOD HAS DONE
1 once heard a little girl ask her
father why she had to go to church
and the father's reply was:
“Because, if you’re a member of
this family, that’s what we do on
Sunday mornings.” The answer is
OK as far as it goes, but it didn’t
go far enough. What he needed to
tell his daughter was why, beyond
being a family habit or tradition,
“this family” goes to church on a
Sunday morning. We need also to
tell our children why we pray,
read the Bible, and try to live the
Christian life. We need to iell and
show them what it does for us.
The Hebrew father answered
his son’s question by telling him
what God had done for his people:
We had seven flans with loose
belts. After measuring the cubic
feet per minute (cfm) of each fan,
the farmer took time to tighten the
fan belt on each fan.
We than took a second reading.
By tightening the belt, we
increased the number of cfm per
fan by 25 percent That was the
equivalent of adding two more
fans to the house.
A quick look at the fans indi
cated there was no need to tighten
the belts. The fans were running
and air was leaving the house.
However, by stopping the fans and
tightening the belts, the farmer
increased the amount of air leaving
the house by 25 percent.
This could be a big advantage
during hot weather. Take time now
to check and service all fans
including removing dust, making
sure louvers open completely and
tightening belts.
Feather Profs Footnote:
"Good education is the essential
foundation of a strong
democracy."
‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in
Egypt; and the Lord brought us
out of Egypt with a mighty hand;
and the Lord showed signs and
wonders...against Egypt and
against Pharaoh ...before our
eyes..." (6:21,22).
Some of the best religious
teaching we can do in our homes
is to tell our children what the
Lord has done for us. individually
and as a people. We don’t have to
be eloquent or exceptionally wise
to tell how God has acted in our
own lives. So why is it we so sel
dom talk about these things?
WHAT GOD WANTS
DONE
After telling his son what God
has done and will do. he goes on to
tell his son what God expects of
us: “And the Lord commanded us
to do all these statutes...” (6:24).
Note that the commandments and
statutes come only after the
remembrance of what God has
done. Living his commandments
is our response to what he has
done. When our children ask us
why must we do this or why can’t
we do that, “because I say so”
isn’t nearly as satisfactory as
“because we are thankful to the
Lord for His goodness to us."
There is another clue in this
passage as to what lies behind the
commandments and statutes:
“And the Lord commanded us to
do all these statutes...for our good
always.” We frequently have the
wrong idea about God’s
commandments— they are not for
the purpose of restricting us per se
or to make him feel better, but for
our own good. He requires us to
do this or not do that because it is
for our own well being in the long
run. When we break the com
mandments, ultimately it is
ourselves who suffer the most —
lying, stealing, adultery, killing,
covetousness and so forth. Even
dishonoring our parents hurts us
even more than it does them—in
the long run. Breaking the com
mandments breaks down our lives
and society as well.
That’s why we do these things.
Lancaster Farming
Established 19SS
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St
Ephrata, PA 17522
by -
Lancaster FarmlnOi Inc.
A SHtmin EMwpribe
Robert G. Campbell General Manager
Everet R. Newnwnger Managing Edhor
Copyright ISS4 by Lanctalar Farming