Aio-Uncwfr Farming, Saturday, Saptambar 2, 1995
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OPINION
New Era Of Farm Policy
While the details of the 1995 Farm Bill won’t be known well
into fall, it’s likely that the legislation will represent a dramatic
change from past policy, says an Ohio State University agricul
tural economist. More than in any other year, the bill will be dri
ven by budget concerns.
“There will be less tolerance of smoke-and-mirror techniques
that appear to cut spending, but actually have little impact,” Carl
Zulauf says) “The implication is that farm spending will be cut,
and the cuts will be real and significant.”
Farmers should expect an increase in planting flexibility and a
decrease or elimination of income supports, Zulauf says.
A sense of optimism over increased exports to Asia has made it
easier to argue that income supports can be eliminated or
reduced, especially if they are phased out over many years and
the larger cuts are held off until the later years.
Farmers could find setaside programs minimized or eliminated
as well. Agribusinesses have persuasively argued that taking U.S.
land out of production reduces employment here and helps global
competitors.
However, farmers could see some sort of farm income safety
net included in the legislation. While the form is unclear, leading
candidates include subsidized crop insurance, a marketing loan
with loan rates tied to a moving average of past prices or a
revenue insurance program that combines price and yield risk.
Environmental concerns will continue to weight heavily in
farm bill debate.
While some in the farm community believe that the 1994
Republican landslide means environmental restrictions on agri
culture will be reduced, there is no talk of eliminating conserva
tion compliance, conservation reserve, wetland provisions, and
sodbuster provisions. The wetlands provisions will probably be
weakened, but the basic environmental thrust that emerged in the
1985 farm bill will largely remain intact.
However, change is in the wind. The new farm bill could have
a bigger impact on farming than any farm bill in recent memory.
Farmers and agribusinesses should carefully evaluate what the
forthcoming policy decisions will mean to them. Short of an eco
nomic depression in the U.S. or a major shift in the Chinese gov
ernment back to self-sufficiency, nothing else is likely to have a
greater impact on which farmers and agribusinesses will be in
business during the early 21st Century than how they handle the
changes enacted in the 1995 farm bill.
Juniata County Fair, Port Royal,
thru Sept. 9.
Mon Valley District 4-H Dairy
Show, West Alexander
Fairgrounds.
Northwest District 4-H Dairy
Show, Crawford County
Fairgrounds.
Southwest District 4-H Dairy
Show, Fulton County
Maryland Holstein Futurity,
Timonium, Md.
Cambria County Fair, Ebensburg,
thru Sept. 9.
Spartansburg Community Fair,
Ox Hill Community Fair, Home,
thru Sept. 9.
West Alexander Fair, West Ale-
xander, thru Sept. 9.
Waterford Community Fair,
i^^
Claysburg Farm Show, Claysburg,
thru Sept. 9.
Jamestown Community Fair,
Jamestown, thru Sept. 9.
Grazing meeting, Bill Callahan
Farm, Forest Hill, Union Coun-
Reading Fair Awards Banquet,
Fleetwood Grange Hall.
Bellwood-Antis Farm Show, Bell
wood, thru Sept. 9.
Luzerne County Fair, Dallas, thru
Sept. 10.
New Potato Cultivate For South
east Pennsylvania, Tim Geiger
Farm, Neffs, Lehigh County,
6:30 p.m.
Pa. Plastic Pesticide Container
Recycling Program, Agro
nomy. Inc., Mercersburg, 9
a.m.-11:30 a.m.
Pa. Plastic Pesticide Container
Recycling Program, Chester
Horst, Greencastle, 12:30
p.m.-3 p.m. .
Pike County Fair, Matamoras, thru
Sept. 10.
York Inter-State Fair. York, thru
Sept. 16.
Computer Record Keeping Work
shop, Uniontown, also Sept 14.
Ohio Swine Day, DARDC’s West
ern Branch, South Charleston,
Clark County.
Farm Records Made Easy, Fayette
To Make
Quality Corn Silage
The fall harvest season is upon
us.
It is a little early, but the heat of
the last month has matured com
faster than usual.
The first consideration in mak
ing quality com silage is to insure
maximum yield is reached. Com
plants continue to grow and add
dry matter content until they reach
maturity. Harvesting at maturity
will insure the maximum yield
possible.
In addition, plant maturity is
important in determining what will
happen while the crop is in storage.
When silage is made from plants
which are immature and too green,
much of the feeding value may be
lost in the seepage which runs out
of the silo.
When silage is harvested 100
dry, storage problems may arise.
Harvesting com silage that is too
dry is the number one problem
encountered in the production of
quality silage.
Dry com silage is difficult to
pack, increasing the amount of air
in the silo and slowing the fermen
tation process. The air also
increases the possibility of molds
developing in the silage.
To Make Silage
At Right
Moisture Content
What is the proper moisture
content of com silage and when
does the com plant reach that stage
of development?
The proper moisture content for
com silage depends on the type of
structure it will be stored in. Bunk
er or pit silos store com silage best
when the moisture level is between
65 and 70 percent.
For conventional upright silos,
the moisture content should be
between 63 and 68 percent and for
oxygen-limited silos the moisture
content should be between 50 and
60 percent.
llie com kernel itself is usually
a good indicator of whole plant
moisture. When the kernel reaches
full dent, the whole plant moisture
is around 74 percent; at half milk
stage, the whole plant moisture is
near 68 percent; at quarter milk
•stage, moisture content is near 64
percent; and when no milk exists,
moisture content is near 61
percent
The com kernel dries from the
crown downward, not from the cob
outward. To check for the milk
line, break a few cobs in half and
examine the side opposite the
germ.
County Fairgrounds, Dunbar,
9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., also Sept
14,
th Annual Thurmont and
(Turn to Pago A 22)
However, the best way to check
moisture content is to chop several
stalks from the field and check
moisture using a scale and drying
apparatus. Hot, dry weather will
often cause the plant to be drier
than is normal when using kernel
moisture content.
To Be Aware
Of Silo Gas
With silo filling comes the hid
den danger of silo gas.
Silo gas is framed by the natural
fermentation of chopped forages in
the silo. In a conventional up right
silo, nitrogen dioxide is the major
gas formed. This gas is character
ized by a strong bleach like odor
and low lying yellow, red or daik
brown fumes. It reaches a peak
about three days after rilling and
quickly begins to decrease shortly
thereafter, especially if the silo is
ventilated. After two weeks it is
unlikely that any more gas will be
found but some could still be pre
sent if it was dapped and unable to
escape the silo.
Nitrogen dioxide is dangerous
because it causes severe irritation
to the nose and throat and could
BY IAWRtNCf W ALTHOUbt
If M!B!yS
GETTING IT RIGHT
Septembers, 1995
Background Scripture:
Acts 1
Devotional Reading:
Acts 1:21-26
Just because the disciples
walked daily with Jesus, exper
ienced His betrayal, trial, death,
resurrection, and the ascension of
Christ doesn’t mean that they were
now fully enlightened. Unfortu
nately. they still didn’t really
understand what it meant to follow
Jesus.
We see this in the ascension
when they question Jesus, “Lord,
will you at this time restore the
kingdom to Israel?” (1:6). Surely
they should have understood by
now that he had not come to re
establish the temporal kingdom of
Israel. Nevertheless, the risen
Christ is gentle with his reply; “It is
not for you to know the times or
seasons which the Father has fix
ed...” (1:7).
We can be sympathetic, for we,
like them, often want God to spell
out in advance for us “the times
and the seasons” of his will. But
God does not give us the long
range view, just the short-range
one; “But you shall receive power
when the Holy Spirit has come
upon you; and you shall be my wit
nesses...” (1:8). Do the job God
gives you and leave to him the
future course.
IN THE WRONG PLACE
When Jesus ascended, once
again they demonstrated that they
did not really understand. “And
while they were gazing into
heaven as he went, behold two
men stood by them in white robes,
and said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do
you stand looking into heaven?
This Jesus, who was taken up from
you into heaven, will come in the
same way as you saw him go into
heaven’ ” (1:11). Do you recall the
resurrection day experience in
Luke 24:5? “While they were per
lexed by this, behold, two men
stood by them in dazzling apparel:
...‘Why do you seek the living
among the dead?’ ” (Luke 24:5).
So, once again, the disciples were
looking for the risen Christ in the
cause inflammation of the lungs.
Although death may occur imme
diately, a fanner could breathe the
gas without any immediate serious
symptoms and then die in his sleep
hours lata: from fluid collecting in
his lungs.
Many victims have relapses one
to two weeks after the initial expo
sure, with symptoms similar to
pneumonia.
If you are exposed to the gas, it
is critical that you seek medical
attention!
Ideally, everyone should avoid
the silo during the critical period
when gases are forming. Since this
is not always possible, it is best to
use a self-contained breathing
apparatus when entering during
the danger period. This is the only
breathing device that is certain to
protect you from all silo gases.
Dust masks and chemical cartridge
respirators do not provide suffi
cient protection.
Also, make sure silo is well ven
tilated before entering, especially
around the base of the silo.
Feather Prof.'s Footnote:
"Excellence can he yours if you do
not major in minor things."
wrong place. Just like us.
Jesus plainly told them what
their role was to l«: “...you shall be
my witnesses...” (1:8). Some of the
disciples didn’t understand what
Christ wanted of them. Note,
Christ did not say he wanted them
to be his defenders, but his witnes
ses. There is a big difference
between these two roles and a lot
of us today still don’t seem to be
getting it right. We think of
ourselves as Christ’s defenders
as if Christ cannot defend himself
or that we could do that for him. It
is arrogant for us to think that
Christ needs us to do that We
don’t have to go to battle for him,
grapple with his opponents, and
stifle those who do not accept him.
Christ is quite able to defend
himself.
DEEDS, NOT DEFENSES
What he wants from us is wit
ness to simply share with others
what Christ has done for us. If we
arc not eloquent or gifted with
words, we can witness best
through our acts of compassion
and deeds of love. The best way to
defend Christ is not to defeat his
enemies, but to demonstrate his
love through our own lives. I sus
pect that many of us end up
defending Christ instead of wit
nessing; is that because defending
is perhaps more fun. Human
beings love conflict But witness
ing is what we’re called to do.
The disciples also had trouble
understanding power. They
wanted temporal power “Lord,
will you at this time restore the
kingdom to Israel?” But the
power Christ offered them was
spiritual power, the power of the
Holy Spirit. “But you shall receive
power when the Holy Spirit has
come upon y0u...” Unfortunately,
what many of us prefer is temporal
power, the power to compel others
to do what we think is right But
what he offers us is the power to be
his witnesses, the power to inspire
others to follow Christ.
There is still a big difference.
Isn’t it time we got it right?
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
I E. Main St.
Ephrata, PA 17522
—by—
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A Stelnman Enterprise
Robert S. Campbell General Manager
Everett R. NeMrawangar Managing Editor
Copyright 1995 by Lancaster Faming