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OPINION
Already Critical
Dairy farmers are going out of business in alarming numbers.
Prices paid to fanners for milk have not kept pace with costs of
production. This year, especially, high feed prices have eroded
any little increase that did exist
In a recent news release The New York State Grange saluted
National Ag Secrectary Glickman for signing the enabling legis
lation of the New England Dairy Compact. This Compact is
designed to develop a means for stabilizing prices to provide a
reasonable profit margin for the farmer. The commission that
oversees the Compact includes consumer representatives so both
the consumer and the farmer sides of the pricing situation are
heard. Stablization on a regional basis is necessary now that the
federal government is less involved.
But as usual, when someone takes the side of the farmer, the
public is fed a line of bull. A New York Times editorial claims
that this legislation favors the New England Dairy Farmer’s
“Cartel” over the poor. This appears to be reminiscent of Dan
Rather and the “milk additives” where the misinformed
instructed the uninfotmed.
Concentrating the control of any product into an increasingly
small number of individuals has never been sucessful in retaining
fairprices. This does not seem to be a direction to take with some
thing as critical as our supply of food. American consumers still
enjoy one of the lowest percentages of food cost of any nation in
the worid. This has been possible by maintaining a large number
of individuals in the business of fanning.
It is a much better strategy to provide reasonable prices and
maintain an adequate supply rather than to continue with a lower
price, force producers out of business and wait until the situation
becomes critical before something is done. With many markets
undersupplied right now, we may have already reached the criti
cal point.
South Central 4-H District Dairy
Show, Pa. Farm Show Com
plex, Harrisburg.
Pa. Holstein Southeastern Champ
ionship Show, Schuylkill Fair
grounds, Summit Station, 10
a.m.
115th Maryland State Fair, Timo
nium, Md., thru Sept. 2.
Susquehanna County 4-H Lives
tock Sale, Harford Fairgrounds,
1 p.m.
Bucks County Farm and Conser
vation tour, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Southeast Cattlemen’s Associa
tion Beef Grazing Tour, MAP
Farm (the Fires tines), Womels-
Indiana County Fair, thru Aug. 31.
Maryland Organic Food and Farm
ing Association’s Annual Field
Day, Summer Creek Farm, Fre
derick County, Md., 2 p.m.-6
West End Fair, Gilbert, thru Aug.
31.
Annual Rural Development Con
ference, Lancaster Holiday Inn
Big Knob Grange Fair thru Aug.
31.
Allentown Fair, thru Sept. 2.
Greene-Dreber-Sterling Fair, thru
Sept. 2.
Centre County Holstein Show,
Fairgrounds, Centro Hall, 9:30
a.m.
Car-Den Holstein Farm Pasture
Walk, Arden Landis Farm,
Kirkwood, 10 a^m.-noon.
Ing, Saturday, August 24, me
Controlling Feed Costs Through
Building, Harrisburg, 10 a.m.
South Mountain Fair, thru Sept 1.
Stoneboro Fair, thru Sept 2.
Sullivan County Fair, thru Sept. 2.
Wyoming County Fair, thru Sept.
2.
50th Anniversary Convention of
the Nadonal Association of
Animal Breeders, Cheyenne
Mountain Resort, Colorado
Springs, Colorado, thru Aug.
30.
Pork Quality Assurance meeting,
Lancaster Farm and Home Cen
ter, supper 6 p.m„ meeting 6:30
Juniata County Fair, thru Sept 7.
Mon Valley 4-H District Dairy
Shr F r Cot Fp :
Timonium.
Cambria County Fair, thru Sept 7.
Spartansburg Community Fair,
thru Sent. 7.
Show, Timonium.
Waterford Community Fair, thru
Sept. 7.
Glenn Shirk, extension dairy
agent, reminds us when milk
prices increase, butterfat and/or
protein differentials increase.
When base building time is here
(Federal Order 4 shippers), it is
time to produce more milk and
milk with normal component
levels.
Aim for efficient levels of high
milk production per cow rather
than going to the expense of
increasing herd size. Aim for nor
mal levels of milk components
instead of the highest fat test or
highest protein lest
When milk is $l3 per hundred
weight ($0.15 per pound) and but
terfat differential is $0.14 per
pound, you cannot afford to give
up more than a one percent drop in
milk production in an effort to
raise fat tests 0.1 percent. That is
not much of a drop. For a 60 pound
per day producer, that means a
drop of only 0.6 pound of milk per
day. So be sure you are striving for
the right goals.
NDAR ♦
Glenn Shirk, extension dairy
agent, states dairy farmers should
strive for normal fat tests.
Think of fat tests as the rumen’s
thermometer. When tests are low.
the rumen is not normal.
Cows may be acidotic, appetites
may be depressed, and cows may
West Alexander Fair, thru Sept. 7.
Ox Hill Community Fair, thru
IMMfWiiMffliniißi
Chysburg Farm Show, thru Sept
Jamestown Community Fair, thru
Sent. 7.
Bellwood-Antis Farm Show, thru
Sept. 7.
Luzerne County Fair, thru Sept. 8.
Outstanding Farm Family awards
banquet, Fleetwood Grange
Pike County Fair, thru Scot 8.
York Inter-State Fair, thru Sept.
14.
40th Annual Thurmont & Emmits
burg Community Show, Thur
mont, Md., thru Sept. 8.
Mason-Dixon Historical Society
Steam and Gas Roundup Show
Days, Carroll County Farm
Museum.
MjstCentral4^^
Dairy Show, Lycoming County
Fairgrounds.
Northwest District Dairy Show,
Crawford County Fairgrounds,
Meadville.
Show Series. Grazing Acres Farm,
New London, 8:30 a.m.
To Produce Milk
To Produce
Normal Fat Milk
be more prone to get ketosis, lami
nids, etc. Feeds ate digested less
efficiently with more nutrients
ending up in the gutter rather than
in milk.
To return fat tests to normal, you
need to:
■ Feed ample amounts of good
quality forage that supply adequate
amounts of effective fiber. The fib
er should be digestible and long
enough to stimulate a lot of cud
chewing activity.
• Feed a balanced ration.
• Avoid slugging the rumen
with more than eight pounds of
grain at any one time. Feed TMR
mixes. If that is not possible, feed
forages ahead of grains and feed
grains at more frequent intervals.
• If necessary, feed additives
such as buffers, yeast cultures, and
rumen microbials. Be sure to com
pare costs to returns for these
additives.
To Control
Feed Prices
The recent rise in feed prices has
created challenging times for
livestock and poultry fanners.
ON SAVING THE WORLD
August 25,1996
Background Scripture:
Psalms 96
Devotional Reading:
Psalms 98:1-9
As a minister I’m afraid that all
too often in my pastorates I urged
people to come to our worship ser
vices out of loyalty to God and the
Church. I probably gave some
people the impression that the pur
pose of worship is to satisfy some
requirement that God places upon
us. If we are not regular in wor
ship, we assume that God and the
pastor are displeased, although
maybe not in that order.
In other words, worship is all
too often regarded as an obliga
tion. We do it from time to time to
keep God happy or to keep God
from getting too angry or disap
pointed with us. It is easy to see
why some people regard attending
worship on the same level as visit
ing their dentist they know it is
good for them, but at best it is un
comfortable.
Read the 96th Psalm and you
will see that the psalmist didn’t re
gard praising God as an obliga
tion, but as a blessed opportunity.
It is not self-discipline that mo
tivates him but the joy of celebrat
ing the glory of God’s kingship.
“O sing to the Lord a new song
... Sing to the Lord, bless his
name; tell of his salvation from
day to day" (96:1,2).
WHO NEEDS IT?
So, we worship God, not be
cause he requires it of us, or be
cause he is flattered by it In fact,
we do it because we need it Wor
ship does something for us. When
the psalmist shouted, “Declare his
glory among the nations, his mar
velous works among all people!”
he was being lifted up above his
normal state of consciousness to
an experience that transformed
him.
By focussing upon the Lord, the
worshipper is transformed. Maybe
that’s why many of us still don’t
enjoy worship and praising God is
so difficult for us. We are so self
centered that we think of God only
in terms of using him for our own
ends. In worship, just for one brief
The new crop forecasts indicate
we will continue to see high feed
prices for a long time.
We have entered a new level of
grain usage. As the world standard
of living increases as a result of
free world trade, the demand for
food will increase.
One way farmers can control
feed costs is through hedging. On
Tuesday. Aug. 27 from 1 p.m. to 4
p.m., Lou Moore and Dr. Jim
Dunn, Penn State agricultural eco
nomists, will discuss how you may
use the futures market to control
feed costs.
Com and soybean meal make up
the largest portion of feed. Even if
you do not mix your own feed, you
still can hedge your feed costs by
buying com and soybean futures
that offset the amount they com
pose of your ration.
The meeting will be held in the
lower level meeting room of the
Farm and Home Center, 1383
Arcadia Road, Lancaster.
Feather Prof.'s Footnote:
"When called to lead, do so with
foresight, courage and
character."
hour we have the opportunity to
forget ourselves and become im
mersed in Him whose glory has
the power to make us better, truer,
more loving people. President
Calvin Coolidge once said, “It is
only when men begin to worship
that they begin to grow.” Warship
opens us up to spiritual growth.
It is obvious that what the
psalmist is experiencing, worship,
is something rather different than
simply attending worship. It is a
time when our eyes can be lifted
up beyond die four walls of the
church sanctuary, a moment when
we can grow beyond our own nar
row range of concerns, and catch a
vision of what life was created to
be.
MORE THAN CHURCH
GOING
The psalmist is caught up in a
vision of the whole of creation
praising God and celebrating his
glory. He calls, not just to his own
people, but everyone everywhere:
“Ascribe to the Lord, 0 families
of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord
glory and strength.. . Say among
the nations, ‘The Lord reigns!’”
(vs. 7,10 a). The psalmist sees all
nature joining in this celebration:
“Let the heavens be glad, and let
the earth rejoice; let the sea roar,
and all that fills it; let the field ex
ult, and everything in it! Then
shall all the trees of the wood sing
for joy before the Lord...” (vs.
11,12).
Going to church will not trans
form the world, but worship will.
Many years ago Archbishop Wil
liam Temple said this in a broad
cast in the USA: “I am disposed to
begin by making what many peo
ple will feel-to be a quite out
rageous statement. This world can
be saved from political chaos and
collapse by one thing only, and
that is worship. For to worship is
to quicken the conscience by the
holiness of God, to feed the mind
with the truth of God, to purge the
imagination with the beauty of
God, to open up the heart to the
love of God, to devote the will to
the purpose of God.”
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St.
Ephrata, PA 17522
-by-
Lancaster Farming. Inc.
A Stemman Enterprise
Robert G. Campbell General Manager
Everett R. Newawanger Managing Editor
Copyright 1996 by Lancaster Farming