f '9 'X 'J '‘A v- < ” f '•>* .‘(s' 4 ■r> i ' AlO-Lancaater Farming, Saturday, March IS, 1997 OPMON Growing Better , Whether producing leaner cuts of meat, protecting the envi ronment or providing consumer education, American agricul ture is more responsive than ever to the desires of the consum er. National Agriculture Week. March 16-22,1997, will cele brate this consumer focus with the theme “Growing Better Everyday ... Together.” ‘Today moip Americans are emphasizing a healthy lifestyle and are concerned about protecting the environment,” says Ron Vavrina, chairman of the Agriculture Council of America, Ag Day coordinator. “American agriculture is focused on meeting those consumer desires in a myriad of ways.” As America has become more health conscious, farmers and ranchers are producing meat lower in fat and cholesterol. For example, today’s hogs are bred to be 50 percent leaner than those of 20 years ago. In fact, a barbecued pork loin sandwich has just 8 fat grams compared with 22 fat grams in a tuna salad sandwich. In the same way, leaner cuts of beef, with 27% less fat than 20 years ago, are standard offerings in today’s retail meat case. Of course, fruits and vegetables are always associated with a healthy lifestyle and for good reason. Research and advance ments in biotechnology are now in the marketplace in the form of tastier fruits and vegetables that stay fresh longer and are not damaged by insects. Among those consumers most associated with healthy eat ing, we find tofu to be a standard part of their diet. Tofti is a soybean product that has been shown to reduce the risk of some cancer and heart disease. The concern for the environment that is so strong throughout America is equally reflected in the agricultural sector. Just as urban families recycle glass, newspapers and aluminum cans, fanners are recycling chemical containers, feed bags and food by-products. More and more, city waste is finding its way to the farms as useful products instead of ending up in landfills. For example, agricultural researchers are testing the benefits of spreading pelleted waste paper on farm ground to act as an artificial mulch to reduce wind and water erosion. What’s more, numerous agricultural associations and orga nizations have created programs and seminars to deal with environmental needs in areas such as air quality, water quality and soil erosion. Today consumer desires are coming together with agricul ture’s desire to satisfy them. Certainly American agriculture is “Growing Better Everyday ... Together.” Penn State Master Gardener Sym posium, Farm and Home Cen ter, Lancaster, 8:45 a.m.-3:15 p.m. Cumberland County Holstein Association Annual Meeting, Bonanza Restaurant, Carlisle, 11 a.m. Northeast Regional Christmas Tree Growers’ Meeting and Trade Show. Mountain Laurel Resort and Conference Center, Frederick County Extension Office. Maryland, 10 a.m.-noon. Mercer County Sheep and Wool Growers Meeting, Mercer Cr E: Cf Mr Association Annual Banquet, East Beilin Fire Hall. 7 p.m. Together - ❖ Farm Calendars TeenagofTractor Safety, Lehigh County Ag Center, Allentown, 7:30 p.m. Delaware DHIA Annual Meeting, Felton Fire Hall, 6 p.m. Crawford County Ag Day, Allegh eny College, Meadville, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Integrated Pest Management Con ference, Penn State-Wilkes Bane Campus. Lehman, 8:30 a.m.-4:14 p.m. Bradford County Agronomy Day, Wysox Fire Hall, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Dairy Agrißusiness Meeting, Mountain View Inn, Greens burg, 7:30 p.m. and Butler County Extension Office, March 19, 7:30 p.m. “Quality Milk Workshop Meeting, Wayne County Cooperative Extension Meeting Room, Courthouse, Honesdale, 11 id, . counties), Coudcrsport. To Tighten Up Biosecurity Avian Influenza (A. 1.) virus is still circulating, around poultry farms. For those who can remember 1983, there are a lot of similarities between the winter of 1997 and 1983. Mild, foggy weather with the first case of A.I. in late winter. Positive blood samples have been in found in both commercial and backyard flocks. Based on this history, every poultry farmer should increase and tighten up his biosecurity. According to Dr. David Kradel, Pennsylvania Poultry Federation, this is a virus that is easy to control through a good biosecurity prog ram. If everyone is practicing good biosecurity, there is no reason for this virus to spread in commercial poultry flocks. Let’s stop this virus in its tracks before it causes large loses. The recent cases of AI are rea son for serious concern. The future will be determined by the level of biosecurity each farmer institutes. Do not take chances. For more information on biosecurity, con tact your service person or the Lan caster County Cooperative Exten sion office at (717) 394-6851. To Understand Early Milker Detachment According to Glenn Shirk, Lan- Lancaster County Honey Produc ers’ Meeting, Farm and Home Center, Lancaster, 7 p.m. Open House Greenhouse Calf Bam, Bruce and Brenda Hem sarth’s, Millville, 10 a.m.- noon. Mushroom Review Program, Penn State Scanticon Conference Center, 7: 30 a.m.- 5 p.m. Central Susquehanna Direct Farm Marketing Seminar, Inn, South Williamsport, 9:45 :y Ag Center, 2 p.m.-4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.-8;30 p.m. Dairy Grazing Management Workshop, Schuylkill Co. Ag Cento 1 . Northeast Coop Council Annual Meeting and Coop Leaders’ Forum, The Desmond, Albany, N.Y., March 20-21. Cornell Swine School and Trade Show, Morrison Hall and Livestock Pavilion, also March 21. Adams County Conservation Dis trict Celebration Banquet, York Springs Community Fire Hall, 6:30 p.m. Basic Landscaping for Homeow ners, Carroll County Extension (Turn to Page A2l) caster County dairy extension agent, one of the newer trends in milking cows is early detachment of milker units. There can be less stress on the teat end, less liner slippage, fewer teat impacts, less transfer of infec tious organisms into the teat, reduced infection rates, greater parlor flow of cows, and improved labor efficiency. The goal still is to get the cows milked out rapidly, gently, and fairly completely. The results can be variable from farm to farm and from cow to cow. To ensure die greatest success from this technique, do a good job preparing the udder and stimulat ing milk letdown. Also, align the units properly for uniform, rapid, and complete milkout and. SCC levels and infection rates should be fairly low. To accomplish early detach ment, some farmers are adjusting their automatic take-off settings from 0.7-pound flow and a 13-sec ond delay to a 2-pound flow rate and a 3-second .delay. BY LAWRENCE W. ALTHOUSE 'Nf sasiLS HOWTO ‘HANG IN THERE’ March 16, 1997 Background Scripture: 2 Thessalonians 1 Devotional Reading: 1 Timothy 1:1-8 Being a follower of Jesus Christ in Thessalonika was not for sissies or the faint-hearted. Many of the local citizens regarded these Christians as heretics and heaped abuse, both verbal and physical, upon them. The lamp of the gospel did not go out there, but if flick ered violently. Yet, despite all this conflict, Paul could write and commend the Thessalonians “because your faith is growing, and the love of every one of your for one another is increasing” (1:3). Paul and his associates gave thanks to God for the steadfastness of the Thessalo nian Christians in the face of “all your persecutions and the afflica tions which you are enduring” (1:4). So far, the church at Thessalo nika was hanging in there, as we say today. But how long could they continue to hold on and still grow in faith and love? At the point he writes this letter, there is no end in sight to the suffering they are enduring. Paul can’t send them an army or police detach ment to protect them. He can’t call on the government to protect his Thessalonian Mends. There seems to be nothing he can do to help them. MAKE YOU WORTHY But Paul knows there is some thing that can be done and he does it: he prays “that our God may make you worthy of his call and may fulfill every good resolve and work of faith by his power, so that the name of the Lord Jesus may be glorified in you ...” (1:11). The word “worthy” here could be a stumbling block, for in the rest of his epistles Paul tells us we cannot be worthy of God’s grace. But I think that the worthiness he is praying for the Thes salon ians is not to be equal to the grace of God, but up to the challenge that confronts them. Actually, these words of Paul To Evaluate Topdressing Winter Grains Robert Anderson, Lancaster County agronomy agent, reminds us that winter grain crops which are starting to grow may be in need of additional nitrogen fertilizer. When additional nitrogen is needed, best response is obtained when applied prior to growth stage 6. Stage 6 is when the first node becomes visible. The rate of nitro gen to apply is governed by several factors, including yield potential and the field’s fertilizer and man ure history. When annual applications of livestock or poultry manure are applied to the field or a legume crop was grown last year in the field, little or no benefit can be expected by adding additional nitrogen. Winter barley will lodge badly if high rates of nitrogen are applied or if the soil contains high amounts of residual nitrogen. Feather Prof's Footnote: "Atti tudes are contagious. Is yours worth catching?” can be helpful to us when we seem uncertain how to pray for some one. We’re currently praying for a friend who was laid off from his position and has been searching for a new job for too many months. When we pray for him, we do not tell G6d what to do about our friend, but we ask that he may be equal to the challenge that confronts him and fulfill the potential God has placed within him. GLORIFIED IN US When, like the Christians at Thessalonika, we are confronted by affliction, it is natural that we ask God to let this cup pass from us. But at its highest level, our prayer must be to help us to be equal to the challenge “so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ” (1:12). Instead of asking for the easiest and fastest way out of our afflic tion, let us ask that whatever God sends the name of Jesus may be glorified in us. That’s a very tall order, 1 know. In my life God has permitted me to escape some of my afflication, while others I have had to see through to the very end. Given a choice, of course, I would, prefer the former option. But the latter is sometimes inescapable and it is in these that we have the greatest opportunity to be his faithful dis ciples to witness to the world what can happen when we let him shine through us. There is no bet ter way to witness for Jesus Christ than to let him shine through us when we walk in a dark place that we cannot avoid. So, what is the prescription for 'hanging in there’ when we are faced with a rock and a hard place? First, pray that Cod will help you to be up to the challenge and you will be. Second, ask him to let Christ shine through your handling of that challenge. More than that we cannot or need not ask. Lancaster Farming Established 1955 Published Every Saturday Ephrata Review Building 1 E. Main St. Ephrata. PA 17522 -by- Lancaster Fanning, Inc. A Steinman Enterprise Rohan G. Campbell General Manager Evaratt a Newawanger Managing Editor Copyright 1997 oy taeaultr Farming
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers