AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Fsbruary 28, 1998
OPINION
Cost Effective Practices
Also Good For
Animal Well-Being
Animal agriculture has a sincere interest in providing optimum
care and management of the animals that supply the food and fib
er for our society. Not only do farmers have a vested interest, they
have a heart for animals as well.
Accenting to Glenn N. Slack, executive director of the Lives
tock Conservation Institute, initiatives are now in place to pro
vide consistency in improved handling practices among indus
tries. Most of these have evolved from quality assurance prog
rams, which typically have a multi-faceted approach. Others
have developed separated guidelines for the appropriate handling
and care of their particular species group.
While a study of quality assurance education programs by
researchers at Penn State concluded that these programs primari
ly address food safety and carcass quality, the net result is that
animal well-being has also been considerably enhanced too.
By far, the largest segment of society genuinely concerned
with animal well-being are the farmers and ranchers who are pro
ducing these animals. We must not forget, however, that food
animal production is a business. As business operators, those
same farmers and ranchers arc also seeking to decrease the cost of
production. The great fact about this cost reducing effort is the
results. Good animal husbandry practices result not only in better
animal well-being, these practices also lower cost.
We believe America’s farmers and ranchers will continue their
progressive efforts to provide appropriate animal husbandry
practices, and as new methods and technologies are shown to be
effective, they will be applied to every day production.
Northeast Regional Produce
Marketing Seminar, Holiday
Inn, Bartons villc, 9 a.m.-4 pjn.
Weatem Pa. Gardening and Land
scaping Symposium, Pitts
burgh Civic Garden Center, 8
ajn.-4 p.m.
4-H Home Economics Extravan
ganza, Penn State Extension,
Dauphin County, 9 a.m.-l:30
p.m.
Maryland Jersey Cattle Club
Annual Banquet, Woodsboro
Activities Hall, 10:30 a.m.
1998 Eastern Cattlemen’s College
and Symposium, Holiday Inn,
Meadowlands.
National Cattlemen’s Beef Associ
ation speech on “Mad Cow Dis-
Breeders Annual Convention
held in conjunction with
National DHIA, Hyatt Regen-
Coir ibr Ohf thr
ner, Mercer County Extension
Center, 6:30 pan.
Octonro Young Farmers FFA
Awards Dinner, West Fallow
field Christian School, 6:45
pjn.
Focus on the Future, Somerset
County Vo-Tech School, also
March 9.
Farm Assis
tance Program, Middleburg
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❖ Farm Calendars
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Schnecksville, 9:30 a.m.-3:30
pan.
Appalachian Fruit Growers’ Wint
er meeting, Irene’s Family
Restaurant. Blair County. 8
a.m.-4 p.m.
Farming For A Better Tomorrow
Conference, Chesapeake Col
lege, Wye Mills, Md., 9 a.m.,
thru March 4.
Pesticide Review and Exam, Cla
rion County Extension Office, 7
pjn.-9 p.m., exam March 4,
Clarion County Extension
Office, 7 p.m.
Central Susquehanna Valley Turf
and Ornamental Meeting, Best
Western Country Cupboard
Inn, Lcwisburg, 9 a.m.-4 pan.
Cambria Crops Meeting, Exten
sion Office, Ebensburg, 9
ajn.-3 p.m.
Focus on the Future Workshop,
Erie County extension office.
also March 10.
Focus on the Future Workshop,
Westmoreland and Indiana
counties, Donohoe Center,
Greens burg, also March 10.
Alternatives ’9B, Chesapeake Col-
ville Holiday Inn, thru March 5.
1998 Potato Growers’ Institute
meeting, Penn Stale Nittany
Lion Inn, Slate College, thru
March S.
IPM Bi-Control Conference. Vil
lanova University, thru March
On-Farm Composting Conference
and Tour Challenges and
Opportunities, Farm and Home
In December 1997, amend
ments to Pennsylvania's Domestic
Relations Law went into effect.
This brings Pennsylvania in com
pliance with the Federal Welfare
Reform Act of 1997. The law re
quires creation of a national data
base to support the enforcement of
paternity and child support activi
ties.
All employers are required to
file a report with the state within
20 days of the hiring or rehiring
of an employee. Farmers are not
exempt from this law. The new
hire date is defined as the first day
services are performed for wages
by an individual.
Since farmers are exempt from
many taxes and reports contained
in the databases, many farm em
ployers may not be aware of these
new requirements. Fines for not
reporting new hires range from
$25 for each employee not re
ported to $5OO for filing false re
ports. Reports are to mailed to
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
New Hire Reporting Program,
P.O. Box 69400, Harrisburg PA
17106. For more information, call
the Department of Labor and In
dustry at 1-888-PA- Hires.
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According to the Pennsylvania
Farm Bureau, February 9 was
Food Check Out Day. This
marked the day the average Ameri
can has earned enough money to
pay for his or her family's entire
1998 food supply. Last year this
date fell on February 10. Accord
ing to statistics from the United
States Department of Agriculture,
American families spend on aver
age 10.9 per cent of their dispos
able income for food.
Center, 8:30 a.m. thru afternoon
tour.
Tri-County Agronomy School,
Gratz Elementary School, 9
a.m.—3 p.m.
Focus on the Future, Washington
County, Hugo’s Restaurant,
ajn.-3;30 p.m.
South Central Young Coopera
tor’s Day, Area Restaurant,
Sheep Management Series, York
4-H Center, Bair, 7 p jn.-9 pm.
Focus on the Future, Brown’s
County Kitchen Restaurant,
Portersville, also March 12.
Southeast Pa Grazing School,
Penn State Cooperative Exten
sion, Lebanon County, 7:30
pm.-9 pm.
Small Fruit Series from Blair
County, Holidaysburg Brethren
Church, 7 pm.-9 p.m., also
To Report New Hires
To Celebrate Food Check
Out Day
In comparison to Food Check
Bedford.
(Turn to Rags A 43)
Out Day, Tax Freedom Day, the
day the average American earned
enough money to pay their fed
eral, state and local taxes, was
May 9 last year, according to the
Tax Foundation. Affordable food
is a product of our successful food
i production and distribution sys
j tem. The per cent of disposable
income spent on food has declined
over the last 25 years. In 1970,
Food Check Out Day would have
been 11 days later, February 20.
This speaks well of our na
tion's increasing standard of liv
ing, which would be certainly re
, duced without the affordable, do
mestic food supply produced by
America's farmers.
To Evaluate Varieties
Differently
Deciding which variety to plant
this year and in the future will
take careful study by the farmer.
DROP EVERYTHING!
March 1. 1998
Background Scripture:
Mark 1:1-20
Devotional Reading:
Acts 10:34-43
The beginning of the gospel of
Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Mark begins by saying, in ef
fect, this is how the gospel began.
Of course, Mark wrote in Greek,
not English, so, instead of “gos
pel” he uses a Greek word, euan
gelion. In Latin, the word is evan
gelium, which in Anglo Saxon
was rendered as “god-spell,”
meaning a story from or about
God and was understood as
“good” or “glad tidings.” In the
Revised Standard Version of the
Bible euaggelion is rendered as
“good news.” (You can see how
the Greek euangelion was the
source of “evangel," “evangel
ism,” and “evangelical.”)
The gospel was not the books
which Matthew, Mark, Luke and
John wrote about Jesus, nor is it
even his teachings. Instead, it is
the good news that God has acted
through Jesus Christ to save us.
Grammatically, it is a noun, but
actually it is much more a verb for
it tells us what God has done and
will do through Christ
Although Jesus preached to
great crowds and taught Ips close
band of followers, the gospel was
and is essentially a personal invi
tation. That is one reason that it is
good news. This is an invitation
that comes not as “to whom it may
concern,” but to you in all your
individuality: “The time is
fulfilled, and the kingdom of God
is at hand; repent and believe in
the gospel” (1:15).
HERE’S A GIFT!
Halford Luccock has written,
“Christianity is not primarily a de
mand. It is first of all, a gift. It
does not say first ’Do this’ or ‘Go
there.’ It says. ‘Here is the gift of
Christ in God.' Its first words are
not ‘Do’ or ‘Go,’ but ‘Come’ and
‘Receive’.” What Jesus of Nazar
eth is offering us in the beginning
of Mark’s gospel is the greatest
possible gift we could ever ima
gine. That too is why it is such
good news.
Accepting the gift requires a re
sponse from us: “Repent and be
lieve in the gospel” (1:15). Even
the call to “report” is a gift be
cause it is a way out of our sin and
guilt And that too is good news,
for whether or not we acknow
ledge it sin and guilt are the two
according to Robert Anderson,
Lancaster County Extension
Agronomy Agent. With the intro
duction of com, soybean and al
falfa varieties which are resistant
or tolerant to certain insects or
herbicides, it has become no easy
task to decide which variety to
grow.
Once the selection could be
based solely on the variety which
produced the most. Now consider
which produces the most, allows
the control of a problem pest,
how much the seed costs, cost of
the herbicide and insecticide you
will need to use and the cost of
the herbicide and insecticide you
will not have to use due to the
new technology.
Feather Prof, 's Footnote: "The
wise man has long ears, big eyes
and a short tongue." - Russian
Proverb
most destructive realities in our
lives. I know, there are people
who don’t believe in sin. They feel
it is demeaning and disheartening
to think of themselves as sinners.
But that is only true if there is no
way out and there is a way out
Quite contrary to what some of
us may think, “Repent” means
quite a bit mote than penitence.
Penitence by itself means only
that we are sorry about our sin.
(Sorry we’re caught in it? Sony
for die consequences it costs us?
Sorry it hurts our self-esteem?)
Being sorry is not enough. One of
the things that keeps some of us in
a pattern of sin is the release we
think we get from being “sorry.”
We sin, we’re sorry, we go and sin
again.
BEYOND ‘SORRY’
Mark uses the Greek word>
metanoia, which, according to The ’
Interpreter's Bible, Vol. Vll,
means “a complete change of
mind, a new direction of wdl,an
altered purpose in life.” Being sor
ry is the beginning of die process,
but, unless it calls for some pro
found changes in our attitude and
sends us forth in a different direc
tion, it is not repentance.
The second response we are
called to make invitation is “Be
lieve in the gospel.” The call of
John the Baptist was to repen
tance. but the challenge of Jesus
calls us beyond repentance. The
Living Bible renders this as ‘Turn
from your sins and act on this
glorious news,” while E.V. Rieu
(The Four Gospels ) translates it as
“put your trust in the Good
News.” Mark is not talking about
believing in an idea, but of putting
your trust in a promise.
Note how frequently Mark uses
the word “immediately” 41
times in his gospel, nine times in
this first chapter. It is characteris
tic of Mark’s compelling style.
When Jesus calls Simon, Andrew,
James and John, all four immedi
ately leave their nets and follow
Jesus. The call of Christ to diem
and to us is an urgent one. It is so
imperative that, instead of tucking
it into our calendar at some con
venient place, we need to drop
everything and respond im
mediately!
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrat* Review Building
IE. Main St
Ephrata, PA 17522
-by-
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A Stelnmn Enterprise
Robert 0. Campbell General Manager
•veiett a Nawewangar Managing EdHo
CopyOfl* 199 C by UncuMr Fmnnin*