AKRancisler Farming, Saturday, April 1, 1995
UaWweTWiM
OPINION
Regulatory Common Sense
Now would be a good time to have regulatory reform that was
based on “common sense.” This should happen on both the state
and national fronts. For example, the paperwork involved in
many of the regulations put on fanners is burdensome, to say the
least. Agencies should be required to conduct an extensive
review of their regulations to reduce paperwork and reporting
requirements. And they should have more flexibility in their
requirements to al’ow farmers to adopt different or more cost
effective approaches to reach regulatory goals.
The most pressing area of needed reform comes in the form of
overlapping, conflicting, and outdated regulations. Each agency
should conduct an internal review to compile a list of regulations
and recommendations that should and could be eliminated. Reg
ulations should be based on science rather than emotion. Some
times, if you dig deep enough, you And a hidden agenda that has
little to do with the stated purpose of the regulation.
In Pennsylvania we have been given hope that our new gover
nor, Tom Ridge, will fulfill a campaign promise to make the regu
latory agencies in the state more “user friendly” to agriculture.
We look forward to this change of attitude.
Phil French, vice president of the National Council of Farmer
Cooperatives, says the annual impact of regulations on agricul
ture and related industries is estimated to be as much as $BO bil
lion or more. “This is not to say that all regulations are inherently
bad,” he said. “We recognize the need to provide a safe work
environment, to protect employee health, to ensure consumers a
dependable supply of safe and wholesome food and to protect the
environment. However, there is a need to bring “common sense”
into the process.
“Oftentimes there is a complete lack of justification in terms of
the costs relative to any preconceived benefits. Instead of grading
any agency by how many fines it imposes, more productive mea
sures of success could include progress toward compliance and
the agency’s willingness to assist those who arc trying to
comply.”
Pa. Holstein Showcase Sale, Pa.
Holstein Farm, Middletown,
10:30 a.m.
Beginning Sheap Shearing Clinic,
T&R Center Sheep Unit.
Bucks County annual NFO dinner,
Milford Township Fire House,
Milford Square, 7 p.m.
Pa. Cattlemen’s Association
Breakfast, Toftrees Resort,
7:15 a.m.
Alfred State College’s Flower and
Garden Show, thru April 2.
Pond Management Workshop,
Western Md. Research and
Education Center, Keedysville,
National 4-H Conference, Chevy
Chase, Md., thru April 8.
Delaware Valley Milk Goat Asso
ciation meeting, Little
Rockspring Farm, Telford, 1:30
Keystone Farm Credit annual
meeting. The Holiday Inn in
Lehigh Valley, Allentown, 7
p.m.
Pa. Farm Bureau legislative tour
and banquet Banquet Harris-
Ijur^loiel^jSJMun^^^^
Poultry Sales and Service Confer
ence, Nittany Lion Inn, Univer
sity Park, thru April's.
Keystone Farm Credit annual
meeting, Yoder’s Restaurant,
New Holland, 7 p.m.
Cedar Crest Young Farmers ban
quet, Schaefferstown Fire Hall,
7 p.m.
Clearfield County Ag Forum, Vo-
Tech School, Clearfield, 7:30
p.m.
Adams County Dairy Tour,
dMtttftsGettvsbur^ajin^
Southeast Regional Christmas
Tree Growers meeting, Berks
County Ag Center, 7 p.m.
Dairy bam meeting. D.H. Lonehill
Farm, Dave Homing, Honey
Brook, 1 p.m.-3 p.m.
Dairy bam meeting, Pima Lane
Farm, Tim Barlow, Cochranvil-
Bureau spring banquet West
Fallowfield Christian School,
6:45 p.m.
Tractor Safety Training, Lehigh
Ag Equipment, Chapmans,
5:30 p.m.
Mid East UDIA annual meeting at
ley Flock, Campbelltown, thru
April 8.
Maryland-Delaware Sheep Shear
ing School, Steve Shortall
Farm, Queen Anne, Md., thru
To Turn
Clocks Ahead
Saturday night is when we turn
our clocks ahead one hour to take
advantage of longer hours of sun
light. This was one of Ben Frank
lin’s ideas to save money and
increase productivity.
Also, daylight-saving time
reduces car accidents, injuries, and
deaths. When advancing your
clocks, it is a good idea to replace
the batteries in your smoke
detectors.
However, you will not want to
change your clocks in poultry
houses. By changing lighting and
feeding schedules could cause egg
production problems. Poultry pro-
April 8.
Sheep Shi
School, Whi
Expo. Penn State Ag Arena.
Maryland Holstein 2Sth annual
State Spring Show, Timonium.
Southwest Pa. Equine Sympo
sium, David Lawrence Con
vention Center, Pittsburgh.
Income Opportunities For Rural
Areas Workshop, Garrett Com-
munity College, McHenry, Md.
6th Annual Forest Stewardship
Landowners’ Workshop, Man-
Pasture Management Program,
Frederick County CES, Freder
ick^dj^ls^rajn^n^6.
Dairy Council annual meeting.
The Buck Hotel, Feasterville, 9
a.m.
Ohio Veal Convention, Akron Hil
ton Inn, Akron, Ohio, thru April
Satin cla>, \pril 15
Annual Consignment Auction,
Dr ohin Cr Cr
Berks 4-H Center, 11 a.m.-4
p.m.
ducers usually keep the clocks in
poultry houses on standard time
and make all adjustments based on
standard time.
Do not forget to turn your clocks
up one hour Saturday night so you
will not be late for church on
Sunday.
To Beware Of
Spontaneous Combustion
Could you have had a fire in
your stored poultry litter or man
ure? Charred sections within the
manure pile are signs of incom
plete ignition and combustion.
They are warning that you may
need to take steps to control spon
taneous combustion-self ignition
of a material.
In most of the reported fires,
multiple aged litter was involved.
The boundary between dry and wet
litter from different flocks appears
to where the fire starts. Dry and
wet layers of organic materials can
produce the conditions which sup
port spontaneous combustion.
According to the University of
Maryland Cooperative Extension,
if there is a problem, it takes two to
six weeks for the spontaneous
combustion to occur. Then it
occurs two to three feet deep inside
the pile. It appears that moisture
levels from 30 to SO percent are
critical.
I~T:
BY
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HAVE YOU GIVEN YOUR
GIFTYETT
April 2,1995
Have You Given Your Gift Yet?
April 2. 1995
Background Scripture:
I Corinthians 12
Devotional Reading:
Ephesians 4:4-16
Christians have always had a
problem with religious ecstasy.
Those few who experience it seem
to let it get out of control—at least
in the eyes of those of us who have
never experienced it. The rest of
us are so frightened by the pros
pect of it that we do all we can to
“make sure it doesn’t happen
here!”
The problem is not with the
ecstatic religious experience per
se, but with the abuse of it. If it
becomes a substitute for all other
religious expressions, gives rise to
religious snobbery or pride, is
pursued for itself alone or used as
an escape, then it is a clear danger
to true Christian spirituality.
That’s what concerns Paul in I
Corinthians 12. He has observed
two kinds of religious ecstasy that
are harmful. The first of these are
the orgiastic practices of some of
the contemporary pagan religions
of his day. “You know that when
you were heathen, you were led
astray to dumb idols, however,
you may have been moved”
(12:2). These dumb idols stimu
lated worshippers to religious
frenzy, but they could not answer
prayer.
Ecstasy’s Source
Secondly, Paul was referring
also to Christians who demon
strated religious ecstasy, primarily
those who spoke in tongues. Obvi
ously this phenomenon was caus
ing divisions in the churches—just
as it does today—because some
were claiming that it should be the
mark of all true Chistians, while
others condemned it as sheer emo
tionalism. The problem is that
ecstatic experiences seems to
denote spiritual authority. But
To Prevent
Spontaneous
Combustion
Fires started by spontaneous
combustion in poultry litter can
result in entire sheds and stored
equipment being lost. Some sug
gestions to prevent spontaneous
combustion in poultry litter or
manure are:
• Do not stack dry and wet
layers.
• Do not let dry and wet bounda
ries meet.
• Check stored poultry manure
daily for temperature elevations
greater than 160 degrees Fahren
heit, with a 4-foot-long stem dial
thermometer.
• Remove liuer from storage
and spread it if temperatures reach
190 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Keep fire control equipment
with you when removing heated
material.
• Minimize external packing of
the litter; it will settle on its own
weight.
• In case of fire, remove the
material. Adding water will not
necessarily extinguish it, but may
actually make it worse.
• Make sure you have fire
insurance.
Feather Prof.'s Footnote:
"Make yours an idea whose time
has come."
Paul is saying that ecstasy alone—
no matter how dramatic—is not
enough unless it is by the spirit of
God that we are moved. Is the
ecstasy from God or from some
other source?
In Paul’s day there were appa
rently some who asserted that
Christian discipleship cannot be
authentic unless it is stamped with
the approval of the experience of
speaking in tongues, an assertion
still made or suggested by some
today. But Paul says no, there are
“varieties of gifts,” not just one:
the utterance of wisdom, know
ledge, faith itself, healing, work
ing of miracles, prophecy, ability
to distinguish between spirits, to
speak in and interpret tongues. (Is
it by chance that Paul lists tongues
and interpretation last?)
For The Common Good
The acid test, says Paul: ‘To
each is given the manifestation of
the Spirit for the common good”
(2:7). If the gift doesn’t build up
the church, —as opposed to tear
ing it down—it is not of God. God
gives us his gifts, not to divide us,
but to bring us together.
Note that Paul says, “To each is
given...” All of us are given gifts
by God to share with the church.
There isn’t one of us who is not
gifted. There isn’t one of us who
doesn’t have some contribution to
make to the life of God’s people.
It is true that with our human lim
itations we may assume we have
no gift or that, in the light of some
one else’s more dramatic gift, it is
not worth much. But Paul wants
us to know that God sees us diffe
rently. If our gift seems poor to us
we must not make the mistake of
thinking it is of little or no
consequence.
So, the question is not whether
we have a gift to give, but whether
we have yet begun to give the gift
that we have. Have you given your
gift yet?
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St.
Ephrata, PA 17522
—by—
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A Stelnman Enterprise
Roberta. Campbell General Manager
Everett R. Nawtwangar Managing Editor
Copyright IB9S by Lancaster Fanning