AlO-Lencasw Firming, Saturday, January 25, 1997
bansaK
OPINION
One of the best kept secrets seems to be that dairy fanners have
not paid for the milk mustache ads we have been seeing on TV
lately. In these effective ads various people of different ages are
shown drinking milk and the final shot is a close-up photo of a big
half-ring of milk on the upper lip of the model.
In a recent survey, 85 percent of the dairy farmers thought
check-off money from their milk check paid for this advertising.
But for once, dairy farmers did not pay for this advertising.
In December of 1993 milk processors approved a $.20 per
hundred weight assessment on themselves (for those processors
who process more than 500,000 pounds of milk per month). It
was this processor check-off that paid for all those smiling milk
mustaches.
Daily fanner dollars pay for the award-winning “got milk?”
ads on TV, radio and billboards. These ads depict humorous situ
ations when people run out of milk in order to remind them to
purchase milk. For the second year in a row, USA Today readers
voted the “got milk?” campaign as one of the top five for the year.
This all makes us feel very good that farmers’ money and pro
cessors’ money is working together to create such a good image
of dairy products. But then we are pulled up short in our thinking
as we hear of dairy farmers going out of business right and left,
many of them the bright young minds in the dairy industry,
because they can’t make a living on the dairy farm anymore.
We can’t help ask this: would dairy farmers be any worse off if
we left the millions and millions of dollars of check-off money in
the milk checks across the nation to be spent at the fanners’ dis
cretion rather than put into the economy through well-paid adver
tising and public relations directors? Everybody says we would
be worse off. But bow much worse could it be when many of our
beloved dairy farm friends are already gone from the farm? And
many more don’t know what to do next. You tell us!
EquxneLccture Scries, Centre Hall
Lions Club, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Bradford County Holstein Associ
ation annual meeting, Bonanza
Northeastern Pa. Maple Syrup
Producers’ Association annual
meeting and dinner. Pleasant
Valley Grange Hall, Hones
dale, 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Elk/Cameron Crops Dtty. Bava
rian Hills Golf Course, St
Doylestown, repeats Feb. 4,11,
18, 25 and March 4 and 11.
FSA Borrowers Training, Farm
Production Management
Workshops, Berks Ag Center,
also Jan. 30 and Feb. 4,6, 11.
and 13.
1997 Pa. Vegetable Conference
and Trade Show, Hershey
Lodge and Convention Center,
Hershey, thru Jan. 30.
Chester County Crops Day, East
Brandywine Fire Hall,
Guthricsville.
Graduate Cooperative Directors
School, Penn State Scanticon,
thru Jan. 30.
Turf and Ornamental Day, Leba
non Fairgrounds. 8:30
a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Franklin County Com Clinic,
Kauffman Community Center,
9 a.m.-2:45 p.m.
Estate Hanning Workshop, Ruri
tan Club, Davidsonville, Md., 9
a.m.-3 p.m.
JP — *
You Tell Us!
Franconia, 9:30 a.m.-3:15 p.m.
1997 Farm Business Financial
Management School, Lancaster
Chamber Southern Market
Cento*. 9 a.m,-4 p,m.
York County Com Clinic, 4-H
Center, Bair Station, 9 a.m.-3
p.m.
Dairy MAP Training, Lancaster
Farm and Home Center, and
Feb. 6.
Warren Coiinty Cooperative
Extension and Conservation
District annual meeting. Holi
day Inn, Warren, 11:30 a.m.
Beef Management meetings,
Wesley Grange. Barkeyville, 7
p.m.-9:30 p.m. Also Feb. S and
12.
Agriculture Group of Lebanon
Valley National Bank Lunc
heon Seminar. Lebanon Valley
(Turn to Pago All)
Editor,
If anyone thinks that the plight
the farmer now faces means
nothing to them, then they had bet
ter look twice when they sit down
to eat
If the farmer doesn’t directly
affect people by the business he or
To Understand
Cow Economics
According to Glenn Shirk,
extension dairy agent, before you
can break even, you must first cov
er your overhead costs and basic
cow costs.
Your overhead costs may be
stated on a per-cow cost. This per
cow cost is the farm rent or the tot
al costs of Depreciation, Interest,
Repairs, Taxes and Insurance (the
DIRH five) divided by the number
of cows.
Once you place a cow in the
herd, you acquire basic cow costs.
These costs remain relatively con
stant per cow regardless of produc
tion. They include cow loans,
labor, supplies, breeding, testing,
vet, herd replacement and medi
cine plus feed required for body
maintenance, pregnancy, and
growth.
The total of these two costs
gives your break even price. The
amount of milk required to break
even will vary from farm to farm
and from year to year depending
on how you control the DIRTI five
costs and the basic cow costs.
To Feed For
Maximum Profits
The hugest single cost of pro
ducing milk is feed, according to
Glenn Shirk, extension dairy
agent
It is generally a good practice to
reduce feed costs when possible.
However, there are times when
cutting feed costs might cut your
profits.
First you need to determine
your break-even level of milk pro
duction. The next increment of
production above this break-even
level is the cheapest milk you will
ever produce.
About the only additional cost
of producing this additional milk is
the additional feed required. You
need to manage this increased pro
duction in a manner that will keep
the cow healthy.
Generally, one pound of addi
tional dry matter intake should
produce a an additional 2.S pounds
of milk worth about $0.28 to
$0.38. If you can achieve this
she is in, then they surely have an
affect on the foods that our bodies
need and enjoy.
If the government can and does
regulate the amount of money that
the dairymen are allowed to make
on their product, then they should
(Turn to Pago AST)
response, that means you can still
afford to encourage cows to con
sume more feed, even if it is
expensive.
When milk prices drop and feed
prices escalate, the temptation is to
reduce feed intakes to reduce feed
costs. This could be a costly mis
take. This could cut off the most
profitable levels of milk produc
tion. The production you need
most!
Do not shortchange good cows
and do not waste good feed on
unprofitable cows. Observe pro
duction responses, costs, and
returns closely to determine what
level of milk production is the
most profitable for ybu.
To Manage
Red Clover
In Pasture
To improve the feeding value of
pastures, many farmers have
added red clover to their pastures.
Robert Anderson, extension
agronomy agent, reminds us keep
ing clover in the pasture presents
some management problems.
BY LAWRENCE W ALTHOUSE
sasiLH.
JUDAS IN YOUR HEART
OF HEARTS? *
January 26.1997
JUDAS IN YOUR HEART
OF HEARTS?
January 26, 1997
Background Scripture:
Matthew 26:14-16, 20-25, 47-50;
27:1-5
Devotional Reading:
Matthew 27:1-10
There are at least eleven per
sons in the Bible with the name
Judas, but only one of them, Judas
Iscariot, has managed to blacken
the name for all eternity.
Judas Maccabeus was one of
the greatest of Jewish heroes.
Although one Judas was an apos
tle and the son or brother of James
the Apostle, none today would
name a son ‘Judas* and there are
no churches bearing the name ‘St.
Judas.* In fact, the name Judas,
when applied to others in the early
church for example, the writer
of the Epistle of Jude—is usually
rendered as Jude so that there can
be no misidentification.
Although the New Testament
tells more about Judas than most
of Jesus* other followers, he is still
for us a mystery and an enigma.
Some scholars believe the name
‘lscariot’ means “man of Ker
ioth,” a town in southern Judea,
making him the only Judean in a
band of eleven Galileans. Still
others believe that his name may
mean “man from Sychar” (a
Samaritan), “man of Issacher”
(one of the tribes of Israel), “man
from Jericho,” “carrier of the
leather bag,” and “false one, liar,
hypocrite.” Take your pick.
A MOTIVE?
Was this man destined to be the
betrayer of Jesus of Nazareth?
Was he helpless in fulfilling a role
for which God had chosen him? I
think not. True, his betrayal
fulfilled scripture, but prophecy is
predictive, not fate. I do not '
believe it was God’s will for Judas
to betray the Master; I think he
had a choice and he, not God,
made it.
But what was his motive. I
believe Jesus saw favorable poten
tial in him; after all, he had been
made treasurer of the group. East
ern church tradition indicates that
his name was once third tv sixth in
the list of apostles. Was he disap
pointed because Jesus’ messianic
ministry was not turning out as he
The following management
strategies may help keep clover in
the pasture:
Top dress with fertilizer each
spring according to soil tcstrecom
mendations. Keep the pH at 6.S or
above by spreading lime. Avoid
heavy nitrogen applications.
Excess nitrogen will encourage
grass growth which will out com
pete the clover. Pastures with over
SO percent clover will produce all
the nitrogen they need without
adding any additional nitrogen.
Broadcast 3 to 4 pounds of clov
er seed per acre each spring. Mow
pastures from late May through
early July to keep grasses from
going into heads and producing
seeds and to control woody
vegetation.
Do not overgraze. Leave 2 to 3
inches of stubble after each graz
ing. Grazing pastures for a short
period of time followed by several
weeks of rest to allow for regrowth
helps clover to survive.
Feather Prof's Footnote: "Do
more than read. Absorb."
expected? Was he. as some have
suggested, trying to force Jesus
into a display of messianic power?
Or was he testing Jesus to see
whether he really was the Mes
siah? I doubt that it was the thirty
pieces of silver, which today
would be equal to $2O, a trivial
sum for a treachery so great
Jff
We will never know the answer
to these questions, but it at least
seems apparent that Judas could
not accept the nature of Jesus’
ministry. Jesus did not turn out to
be the one whom he expected the
Messiah to be. Jesus’ knowledge
of the kingdom of God was prob
ably much at variance to Judas’. In
other words, it may well be that
the motive for Judas’ betrayal
grew out of his disappointment
with the way of Jesus.
DISAPPOINTMENT WITH
JESUS?
Is that so hard for us to under
stand? Who among us is totally
comfortable with the way or ways
of Jesus 100% of the dme? Who
among us doesn’t think from time
to time consciously or uncon
sciously that we know better
than Jesus? Who among us
doesn’t dismiss some of Jesus’
injunctions to love, forgive and
make peace because we don’t
think they are practical or logical?
Have you never been Judas in
your heart of hearts?
And, if thirty pieces of silver
was too paltry a sum for Judas to
betray his Lord, how much have
we held out for? Judas betrayed
Jesus with a kiss; so how do we do
it?
Here, I’d like to say an unaccus
tomed word for Judas: he lived to
be sorry for his deed. Matthew
tells us, “When Judas, his betray
er. saw that he (Jesus) was con
demned, he repented and brought
back the thirty pieces of silver to
the chief priests and elders saying,
T have sinned in betraying inno
cent blood” (Mt. 27:3). Simon
Peter denied Jesus, yet was forgi
ven and became a pillar of the
church. So, is Judas accused for all
eternity? I pray not
Lancaster Fanning
Established 19SS
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St.
Ephrata, PA 17522
-by
Lancaster Fanning, Inc.
A Stelnman Enterprise
Robert G. Campbell General Manager
Everett R. Nawawangar Managing Editor
Copyright 1996 by Lancaster Fanning