AtO-UricMtw Farming, Saturday, August 26. 1995
OPINION
4-H Against Crime
In Pennsylvania, the state police commissioner says violent cri
among juveniles has reached alarming proportions. Teen-age hoou
lums, armed with deadly weapons, are terrorizing our streets and neigh
borhoods, committing senseless acts of brutality. Often their victims are
other teenagers, but these young criminals ultimately prey on all of us,
young and old alike.
Last year, 6,270 juveniles were arrested for violent crimes. And of
course, everyone is concerned. The state proposes a get-tough policy.
And as children grow up faster, they become liable to be treated as
adults earlier in life. But there is a better way. And this way has its toots
in agriculture.
We’re talking about the 4-H clubs and their volunteer leaders.
According to Lamartine Hood, dean, Penn State College of Ag Sci
ences, there are 117,000 young people who are in the 4-H system in the
state, with 12,000 4-Hers in Philadelphia and 6,000 members in Pitts
burgh. While there are no records to show if rural youth are more or less
likely to be arrested, we know that the young people who have a 4-H
experience certainly have an opportunity to learn and grow in the right
direction. To us, the recent crime reports only emphasize the need to
“train up a child in the way he should go.” And 4-H does its part.
It will never be known how many young people have been pointed
away from a life of crime into a productive adult life by the 4-H system.
But we believe the number is greater than you think.
It was Feb. on the farm and the year was ’94.
Dairy fanning was pretty good.
Milk prices were rising in the store.
Monsanto came out with a new product.
For short they called it BST.
Give the cows a shot every two weeks
And end up with IS percent extra for me.
The consumer put up quite a squawk.
They were concerned about safe milk to drink.
But I said I’m still going to use it.
I really don’t care what you think.
After my first set of shots production was up.
It was making milk at every turn.
So I said to my wife, “Let’s plan a vacation.
This year we’ll have money to bum.”
When I got my first milk check I noticed
That the total was lower than before.
That was because by using BST
Everyone was shipping much more.
But I said to myself that’s easy to solve
I’ll milk three times a day for another IS percent.
But on my next milk check the total was lower.
As on down the milk price went
Then my herd average shot to 24,000.
I was the talk of the local feed store.
But when I sub the 30 percent increase’
My average was lower than before.
I noticed my cows were getting thinner.
Getting them bred I couldn’t seem to do.
My feed rep said, “Oh that’s easy to solve.
Just feed more of my high energy brew.”
My feed bills began to go higher
And my ability to pay was slipping.
But I said to my wife, “Oh don’t be concerned
Just look at all the milk we’re shipping.”
Then one morning I woke up with chest pain
So I had the doctor check me out
He listened to my heart. X-rayed my lungs
And said, “I see what your pain is about.
You’ve got to cut back on your work load
If your grandchildren you want to see.”
I said, “But doc I just can’t
I’m making money with BST
So I’m going to decrease my hours
And milk two times a day instead of three.
With less milk around it should up the price.
And Monsanto you can keep your BST.”
Robert E. Martin
Strasburg
BST & ME
To Observe
Corn Maturity
One of the secrets to harvesting
high quality com silage is to
harvest the crop at the proper
maturity and moisture level.
This is something farmers need
to think about now because of all
the hot weather and possible
drought conditions we are
experiencing.
How fast com matures is deter
mined by growing degree days, not
by calendar. The warmer the days
and the nights, the greater the
growing degree days. This causes
the com to mature and dry down
more rapidly.
Hot, dry windy conditions may
cause com to dry down at an
accelerated rate. It may be drier
than what your casual observations
may lead you to think.
Check your com fields frequent
ly to monitor the rate your silage
com is maturing and drying down.
Also, you will want to check your
fields now to observe how well the
com has pollinated.
If some of the Helds you intend
to pick or shell did not pollinate
well, you may want to salvage
them as silage and harvest your sil
age Helds as grain. However,
remember that well-eared com
also makes the best quality silage.
To Consider
Cover Crops
Winter cover crops are often
overlooked nutrient managenyeql
tool thftt can provide numerous
benefits.
Many farmers need to empty
their manure storage units during
the fall season. This means these
crop nutrients are applied to crop
land at a time of year when they are
not needed by d growing crop.
Winter cover crops can take
advantage of these nutrients. If you
are applying manure to crop land
this fall, plan on planting a small
grain cover crop such as rye. The
rye will take up the available nitro
gen and hold it in the plant, pre
venting its loss to the water supply.
Farm Calendar
Northeast Lamb Pool, Troy Sales
Barn, grading 9 a.m., sale 3
p.m.
West Virginia Holstein Associa
tion Annual Cattle Sale, Mar
shall County Fairgrounds,
Moundsville, W.Va,
South Central District 4-H Dairy
Show, Farm Show Complex.
Maryland State Fair, thru Sept 4.
Susquehanna County 4-H Lives
tock Sale, Harford Fairgrounds.
1 p.m.
Southeast Pa. Fellowship of
Christian Farmers second annu
al summer picnic, Samuel Lew
(Turn to Pago All)
If the rye is harvested, the nutri
ents will be utilized as high quality
feed. If the rye is killed or plowed
in the spring, the nutrients will
become available to the following
crop.
the rye will also prevent nutri
ent loss by slowing soil erosion.
Rye can be planted as late as
November, but the earlier it is
planted the more nutrients it will
take up and the more it will yield in
the spring.
To Watch
Potassium Levels
Many of the fresh cow and early
lactation problems in dairy catde
could be related to excess levels of
potassium in the dry cow ration,
especially in the weeks preceding
calving, according to Glenn Shirk,
extension dairy agent.
Excess potassium can tie up cal
cium and magnesium. A lot of this
BY IAWMNU W Al I HIM,At
“mb
A BANQUET OF
CONSEQUENCES
August 27,1995
A BANQUET OF
CONSEQUENCES
August 27, 1995
Background Scripture:
II Kings 17:1-23
Devotional Reading:
Deuteronomy 8:11-20
Someone has said. “Sooner or
later we all sit down to a banquet
of consequences.”
That’s what happened to the na
tion of Israel.
Keep in mind that when King
Solomondied, the Hebrews split
into two nations: Israel in the
north and Judah in the south. In
722 after a considerable siege,
Shalmaneser V, king of Assyria,
conquered Israel and carried off
more than 27,000 of its inhabitants
to faraway lands. He also brought
foreign peoples to settle in what
had been Israel, which is also call
ed Samaria. That is one of the rea
sons why in Jesus’ time there was
such hostility between Jews and
Samaritans.
The fall of Israel was not some
thing that had happened over
night. For years the prophets had
been warning the people that their
disobedience to God would bring
his judgment upon them. Obvi
ously. these prophetic messages
had not much effect upon them
then in 722 the prophecies were
fulfilled. The Samaritans were a
polyglot mixture of peoples.
It is important to realize that Is
rael was carried off into captivity
from which it never returned not
because of the sheer might of the
Assyrian nation. The cause of Is
rael’s fall was its moral decay;
Shalmaneser V and his Assyrian
armies were only the means
whereby the consequences of this
decay were carried out The prob
lem of Israel in the Bth century
B.C. was not the danger without,
but the one within.
INTERIOR DECAY
Nations and individuals are
more likely to fall from interior
decay than exterior perils. For Is
rael the inner decay included the
worship of idols, debauched beha
vior, disobedience to the com
mandments of the Lord, human
sacrifice, and the practice of sor
cery. All of this corrupted the
moral fiber of the nation. Israel
potassium could be coming from
feeding forages that are high in
potassium.
Heavy applications of manure
and/or the application of potash
fertilizers can elevate potash levels
of legumes, grasses, com. and
other crops.
What is the solution to the prob
lem? Shirk recommends purchas
ing grass hay for dry cows. This
grass hay should be high quality
and not grown on heavily manured
or heavily fertilized land.
Feed anionic salts such as cal
cium sulfate, magnesium sulfate,
etc. to counteract high potassium
levels in the ration. Finally,
balance the fresh cow ration for
calcium and magnesium, as well as
for other nutrients.
Feather Prof.'s Footnote:
"Excellence can be yours if you
rise every time you fall."
would fall, not because of God’s
anger, but as the natural conse
quence of their own depravity.
Unfortunately, when we decay
from within we are not likely to
notice it until too late. By the time
the inner decay surfar.es, the con
sequences may be inevitable.
But Israel had lots of opportuni
ty to escape the inevitable. Yet the
people were oblivious to the moral
decay of their nation. God had
sent Isaiah and others to alert the
people to what was happening.
Isaiah had reduced it to a simple
formula: “... cease to do evil,
learn to do good; seek justice, cor
rect oppression; defend the father
less, plead for the widow”
(1:16,17). Israel had the oppor
tunity to recognize its sin, repent
and receive God’s forgiveness.
God’s invitations were very pre
cise: “Come now, let us reason
together, says the Lord: though
your sins are hike scarlet, they
shall be white as snow; though
they are red like crimson, they
shall become like wool” (1:18).
IF YOU’RE WILLING
The thing about prophecy is
that its predictions are not inevit
able if we need and change. “If
you are willing and obedient you
shall eat the good of the land; but
if you refuse and rebel, you shall
be devoured by the sword”
(1:19,20). So prophecy is not in
tended to pronounce doom, but to
inspire repentance. It becomes
doom only if we refuse to hear and
respond to the message.
In Israel’s case it was doom that
was chosen. “But they would not
listen, but were stubborn, as their
fathers had been, who did not be
lieve in the Lord their God” (II
Kings 17:14). An old eastern pro
verb says that calamities sent by
heaven may be avoided, but from
those we bring on ourselves there
is no escape.
While all this was happening to
Israel, their southern cousins in
Judah were watching. One would
think they would leant a lesson
from Israel’s tragic example and
realize that the same banquet of
consequence; would be their fate
as well unless they repented
and changed their ways.
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
IE. Main St
Ephrata, PA 17522
—by—
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A Stetnman Enterprise
Robert a Campbell General Manager
Everatt R. Newawanger Managing Editor
»
Copyright 1995 by Lancaster Farming