A 1 Farming, Saturday. July 15, 1995
taafitnipiee&w
opinion
Immediate Call For Reform
In the aftermath of last week’s Supreme Court ruling uphold
ing federal rules requiring habitat protection on private land
under the Endangered Species Act, die American Farm Bureau
Federation pledged to secure stronger safeguards for private
property rights when Congress revises the 1973 law.
In a 6-3 ruling, the court said the ESA provides “comprehen
sive protection for endangered and threatened species” and reg
ulations protecting habitat are reasonable. The Interior secret
ary has “reasonably construed the intent of Congress when he
defined ‘harm’ to include ‘significant habitat modification or
degradation that actually kills or injures wildlife,”’ the justices
said.
The decision in the Sweet Home endangered species case
prompted an immediate call for ESA reform.
“Since the court ruled the law will dictate whether habitat
modification is allowed on private land, the law must be
changed,” said Dean Kleckner, American Farm Bureau Federa
tion president. “As the law stands, you can face prosecution for
the lawful use of your property if that use unintentionally modi
fies the habitat of an endangered species that may not actually
occupy that land. That clearly is not acceptable.
“The Supreme Court decision is a devastating setback for
landowners and their constitutional property rights,” Kleckner
said. “The 6-3 ruling will likely galvanize the call for common
sense reform of the Endangered Species Act. As the justices
indicated, the ruling was based on the belief that habitat protec
tion on private land should be addressed in the usual course of
the law. The problem is the current law extracts far too heavy a
toll on those people unlucky enough to own endangered species
habitat.
“This ruling gives us added impetus to change the Endan
gered Species Act itself and the flawed regulations that are
based on the law,” he added. “The act’s days of ineffective spe
cies protection through negative regulations are numbered. We
will work with members of Congress to reform the law into one
that allows landowners a positive role in species recovery
efforts.
“Through voluntary incentives, proper recognition of consti
tutionally guaranteed property rights and a good measure of
common-sense reform, the management of endangered species
habitat on private land will be transformed into a source of
pride, rather than a source of fear and concern.”
Lancaster County Conservation
District Conservation Expo,
demonstration farm, Lancaster
County Central Park.
Bradford County 4-H picnic, ML
Pisgah State Park, 11:30 a.m.
SchaefTerstown Annual Folk Fes
tival, Schaefferstown, 10
a.m.-S p.m., thru July 16.
Cattlemen’s Field Day and Junior
Show, Haven Woods Farm,
Grove City.
Gratz Area Antique Machinery
Association Third Annual
Show, Gratz, thru July 16.
Pa. Simmental Association Field
Day, Haven Woods Farms,
Jefferson County Fair, Brookville,
thru July 22.
Mason Dixon Red and White
Dairy Cattle Association annu
al picnic, Medovue Farm, Jack
and Vicki King, Warfordsburg,
1 p.m.
Bradford County Holstein Club
picnic, Hombtook Park, 1 p.m.
1995 International Flying Fanners
Convention, Sheraton Berk
shire, Reading, thru July 23.
Mondin, ,)uh 17
Annual Fore FFA Golf Tourna
ment, Fox Chase Golf Club,
Stevens.
Warren County Ag and Learning
Center Open House, Youngs
ville, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. arid 7
p.m.-9 p.m.
Conference On Mile-A-Minute
Weed, Olde York Valley Inn,
■BSBSEBDSMQiH
Pa. Vegetable Growers Associa
tion Summer Field Tour, Blair
and Bedford counties, leaves
Howard Johnson’s Motel,
Altoona.
EAYFA summer meeting and pig
roast, Johh Zimmerman Farm,
Ephrata, 7:30 p.m.
Southeast FFA Dairy Show, Leba
non County Fairgrounds.
Pa. Plastic Pesticide Container
Recycling Program, Jarzinko’s
Ringtown Mill.and Hardware, 9
t.m.-ll:30 a.m.
Pa. Plastic Pesticide Container
Recycling Program, Helena
Chemical Company. Mifllin
ville, 12:30 p.m.-3 p.m.
Milkhouse Wute Water Field
Day, Rodrick and Trudy Hinish
To Keep
Swine Cool
Hot weather reduces swine per
formance more than cold weather,
resulting in significant economic
loss to the pork producer.
While producers have little con
trol over current depressed hog
prices or certain disease outbreaks,
steps may be taken to keep hogs
cool and comfortable.
Larger pigs and hogs begin to
feel the effects of heat stress at
about 70 degrees F. If tempera
tures remain above 85 degrees F
for more than a short time, sub
stantial losses in performance and
in reproductive efficiency may
result unless some type of cooling
relief is provided.
Evaporative cooling from the
body surface is very effective if
some type of artificial wetting of
the pigs is provided along with
adequate air movement over the
animals.
To Deworm
Pastured Heifers
Heifers that are plagued with
parasites are unthrifty and less pro
fitable. When young heifers are
pastured, the risk of them acquir
ing internal parasites is great, espe
cially if the pastures were grazed
by heifers the previous year.
To protect these heifers from
internal parasites, deworm them
about three weeks after initial
grazing. Equally important is
deworming a second time,
about three to five weeks after the
first deworming, depending on
label instructions.
Dairy Farm, Williamsburg, 10
a.m.
Jefferson County Holstein Show,
Fairgrounds, Brookville, 9 a.m.
Northampton County Holstein
Show, Fairgrounds, Plainfield,
10 a.m.
York County Holstein Show, Fair
grounds. York, 10 a.m.
Somerset County Holstein Show,
Fairgrounds, Meyersdale, 6:30
p.m.
Westmoreland County Grazing
Clinic, Long Farm, Crabtree.
Plainfield Farmers Fair, Nazareth,
thru July 22.
Capitol Area Perennial Plant meet
ing. Quality Greenhouse,
Mechanicsburg, 9 a.m.-12:15
p.m.
Pa. Plastic Pesticide Container
Recycling Program, Ag
Resources, Turbotville, 8:30
a.m.-ll;30 a.m.
Pa. Plastic Pesticide Container
Recycling Program, Belleville
Agway, Belleville, 9
a.m.-noon.
Master Gardener summertime
tour, Thomas Frair, Lewis Run,
(Turn to Pag* **s
Select a product that is effective
against adult worms. If you We
any questions on dewotming and
effective products, consult your
veterinarian.
To Be A
Business Person
The times are changing in
American agriculture. Federal
programs are being eliminated,
reduced, or changed.
Allied businesses are reducing
staff and expanding territories of
remaining people. Free services
are now requiring fees. This means
farmers must mature as business
people.
In a recent article by Penn State
agricultural economist Gregory
Hansen on improving communica
tions with farmers and lenders, he
details areas farmers must improve
their business skills.
These are:
1. Good farm records are needed
to provide accurate and reliable
information about the status of
farm production and costs. In the
future, farmers will be increasing
ly required by lenders to have up to
Br LAWKtNU W AllH(UJ',l
mwm
m
HOSE A: PATSY OR HERO?
July 16,1995
HOSE A: PATSY OR HERO?
July 16, 1995
Background Scripture:
Hosea 1:1 through 3:5
Devotional Reading:
Romans 5:1-11
I’ve heard it said that Hosea
was a weak man, because he took
back his wife Corner after she had
so shamelessly betrayed him. In
the eyes of his compatriots and no
less the eyes of our own society
today, he sacrificed his honor for
the sake of love. He went beyond
love’s reasonable limits. But I be
lieve Hosea must have been one of
the strongest men who ever lived.
He had the courage to demonstrate
in his own life that love has the
power to redeem even the worst of
us. Hosea proved that love has no
“reasonable limits.” And what
others may have preached, Hosea
demonstrated with his own life,
the most powerful of all preach
ing.
Notice, nowhere in this passage
do we learn of Hosea’s feelings
for Corner. We don’t know what
he felt for her before he mar
ried her, nor afterward. Apart
from her harlotry, we don’t know
anything about her. Was she an
accomplished homemaker? A
good mother? An attractive wife?
All the book does suggest is that,
despite what she had been, there
was something worth saving in
her. God told Hosea to take her
back, not because she deserved it
she didn’t but despite the
fact that she didn’t
LOVE UNDESERVED
This concept of love which Ho
sea demonstrated, not argued,
shows that true love is not given
on the basis of demonstrated
worth. As a child of God, Comer
was worth something, even
though her life so far had obscured
that worth. Hosea drew this analo
gy from God’s love of the people
of Israel God loved Israel, not be
cause they had demonstrated their
woth, but despite the fact that their
lives kept hidden the image of
date records that can flag develop
ing problems early on.
2. Farmer-prepared financial
statements that are comprehensive
will become a standard feature.
Bankers can no longer afford to
take time to develop farm financial
statements when they must service
SO to 100 or more accounts. The
farmer is the expert on the farm’s
position and can best prepare a
projected cash flow or balance
sheet
3. A quarterly visit or call to
your lender instills confidence
with both parties.
Farming is becoming a bigger
business every year. As your busi
ness grows, so must your business
skills.
Now is the time to start impro
ving your financial, legal, and
other business skills along with
your production skills. Remember,
it is your business you are trying to
keep profitable!
Feather Prof.'s Footnote:
“Excellence can be yours if you
strive to exceed your
expectations."
God within them. On the basis of
what they had done, they were not
lovable. On the basis of what God
knew they could be. he loved
them.
Something else Hosea demon
strates about love: it persists, even
when there seems to be no reason
to do so. In I Cor. 13 Paul said,
“Love bean all things, believes all
things, hopes all things, endures
all things” (13:7). Hosea’s life is
proof of that It appears that even
after Hosea redeemed Corner
from a life of prostitution, even af
ter she had borne him three chil
dren, she left him to resume her
degrading life. Shouldn’t that
have been the final blow to Ho
sea’s love? No, no more than it
was the final blow for God’s love
of his people.
ENDLESS LOVE
Comer somehow had become a
slave and Hosea buys her back.
That’s how persistent love is!
That’s why Paul says, “Love nev
er ends” (13:8). Everything else
ends, but not love. Like God, it
never gives up. It continues to
woo and pursue us, no matter what
we have done and been.
That doesn’t mean that Hosea
felt loving toward Comer. The
book with his name on it tells us
nothing of his feelings. It tells us
rather of his actions. Comer may
not appear very lovable, but Hosea
rises above his feelings and does
the right and redeeming thing.
I wish we knew what happened
to Comer after Hosea’s heroic act
of love, I wish we could say that
she changed and became a perfect
spouse. But Hosea doesn’t tell us.
He did not love Comer because he
was assured that she would re
spond accordingly and become
worthy of his love. Not do our ef
forts to do the loving thing carry
with them the promise that, if we
do, everything will work out all
right. Love’s only promise is that,
if we love, we will be doing pre
cisely what God does with and for
us. Loving is its only reward, for it
above all else links us to God and
his love.
Lancaster Fannin,,
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
IE. Main St
Ephrata, PA 17522
—by—
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A SMnnwt Enttrpri—
Hobart O. Campbell Qanaral Hamper
Copyright 18SB by Lanoamr Farming