K
AlO-Uncastar Farming, Saturday, April 18, 1998
OPINION
Celebrate Earth Day
America’s agricultural community will come together for
the first time to officially celebrate Earth Day with events high
lighting agriculture’s successful environmental practices and a
public rededication to conserving and protecting the more than
1 billion acres of land used for producing food and natural fiber
in the U.S. ( The USDA, local and state governments, and many
interested organizations that have partnered with the ag com
munity to actively support these efforts have joined in the na
tional celebration from April 14 - 22.
Agriculture and the Environment: A Growing Partnership is
a celebration that is moving across the countiy in a series of
events and will culminate April 22 in Washington, D.C., with a
public event at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It will in
clude remarks from national agricultural leaders; the kick-off
of a major USDA public outreach campaign; and the public
launch of a pledge drive that will reach out to the entire agricul
tural community and all its supporters through Earth Day 1999.
“Our country’s two million farmers and ranchers face the
daily task of helping provide food and natural fiber to families
in the U.S. and around the world," said U.S. Agriculture Secre
tary Dan Glickman. “And every day they take pride in protect
ing and enhancing our natural resources for today and for fur
ther generations.”
A national poll showed that 89 percent of Americans believe
that farmers are committed to protecting the environment The
poll was conducted by Penn + Schoen Associations on behalf
of the National Council of Fanner Cooperatives.
The agricultural community is continuously working with
each other, various government agencies, and private com
panies to devise innovative programs that enable them to con
serve soil and water resources and protect wetlands and wild
life habitat And Earth Day gives us another opportunity to fo
cus on our unity instead of our differences.
Maryland Jersey Association All-
Breed Calf Sale, Carroll County
Ag Center, Westminster, Md.,
noon.
Pennsylvania Pleasure Walking
Horse Association Spring Clin
ic. Fox Field Farm, Reinholds.
Northeast Highland Cattle Associ
ation N.YyPenn Sale, Empire
Livestock, Bath, N.Y., noon.
Mid-Maryland Black and White
Sale, Middletown Fire Com
pany Carnival Grounds, Mid
dletown, Md., 2 pjn.
Meat Goat Production Confer
ence, McHenry, Md.. 9
a.m.-3;30 p.m.
Identifying Trees Course, Leonard
Harrison State Park, Wellsboro,
10 ajn.
2d Annual Eastern Alpaca Jubilee,
Sussex County Fairgrounds,
Augusta. NJ., 9 ajn.-S p.m.,
Moikl;i\. April 20 |
4-H Capitol Days. Harrisburg, thru
April 21.
Elk Creeks Watershed Association
presents “New And Innovative
Techniques In Conservation
Design Storm Water Manage
ment,” Elk Township Building,
ram, York Pleasant Acres Com
plex, also at various extension
sites, also April 28.
Dairy Farmers Of America Info
❖ Farm Calendar ❖
Meeting On Fed. Order n,
Ramada Inn, Watertown, N.Y.,
1 p.m.
Dairy Farmers Of America Info
Meeting On Fed. Order H. Ag
Center, Cooperative Extension
Office, Morrisville, N.Y., 7:30
p.m.
Basic Livestock Evaluation, Berks
County Agricultural Center,
7:30 p.m,
Lancaster County Honey Produc
ers meeting. Lancaster County
Park Conservation Center, 7
p.m.
Pa. Poultry Federation Annual
Fund-Raising Banquet, Her
shey Convention Center, Her
shey, 7 p.m.
Environmental Fund For Pa. Earth
(Turn to Pago ASS)
Editor:
In early April, there was a hear
ing of the State Senate Agriculture
and Rural Affairs Committee in
Williamsport, Pa. Both fanners
and agri-businesses were there to
testify in favor of Pa. joining the
Northeast Interstate Dairy Com
pact. This compact will help to
Now Is
The Time
By John Schwartz
Lancaster County
Agricultural Agent
To Evaluate Starter
Fertilizer
Fanners are aware of two key
factors associated with fertilizer
these days. First, it is expensive
and second, too much is not good
for the environment. Robert An
derson, Lancaster County Exten
sion Agronomy Agent, reminds
us, with these two considerations
farmers must carefully weigh the
benefits of using a starter fertilizer
when planting corn.
Starter fertilizer is usually
most beneficial in cold, wet soils
where nutrients are not always
available to small plants. If starter
fertilizers are applied, they supply
the small plant with a small
amount of easily accessible nutri
ents. As the soils warm and the
plant grows, it is able to receive
the required nutrients from the
soil.
Deciding when to apply starter
fertilizer should be based on
weather conditions and fertility
level of the soil. Corn is most
likely to show a response to
starter fertilizer when planted in
cool soils which will remain cool
based on the weather forecast.
To Look at Phosphorous
Levels
Robert Anderson, Lancaster
County Extension Agronomy
Agent, states corn is most likely
to show a response to starter fer
tilizer on soil with a low phos
phorous level. Soils with opti
mum or high levels of phospho
rous are less likely to show a re
sponse.
When soils have an excessive
level of phosphorous, even under
cool growing conditions, com is
not very likely to show a re
sponse. Dr. Doug Beegle, Penn
State Agronomy Department,
states starter fertilizers rarely pro
vide a benefit on soils that test
high or excessive in phosphorous.
With the growing concern
about phosphorous, farmers
should be very careful when ap
plying phosphorous fertilizers to
soils that have high leve's of
phosphorous. Let the plants help
you in reducing the levels already
there.
stabilize milk pricing to Pennsyl
vania’s dairy farms. The Compact
is already operating successfully
in six New England states.
However, as usual, there was
also testimony opposing the Com
pact, which has prompted this let
ter. Mr. Charles Markham, a
(Turn to Png* All)
To Look At Seed Corn
Treatment
Last spring many com fields
had the seed in the ground for long
periods of time before the seed
germinated and green foliage ap
peared above the ground. Any
time seeds spend long periods in
the ground not growing, increases
the potential for insects and dis
eases to attack the seed, according
to Robert Anderson, Lancaster
County Extension Agronomy
Agent.
Now is an excellent time to
look at the seed labels to see what
the seed is treated with. The pos
sible treatments include Captan,
CHECK THE
EXPIRATION DATE!
April 19. 1998
Background Scripture:
John 6:1-59
Devotional Reading:
Isaiah 55:1-11
Thirty-one years ago I pur
chased and read a remarkable
book. Twelve Baskets Full, by
Margaret T. Applcgarth. Es
sentially it is a bode of unique and
profound story medications
based upon the account of Jesus
feeding the 5,000. Few bodes
have excited and inspired me as
this book, the obvious intention of
which is to help us see deeply be
yond the raw details of the story.
This whole sixth chapter of
John is written to help us look to
the deeper and abiding meanings
lurking below the surface of the
obvious. We know the facts. Jesus
and his disciples are beside the
Sea of Galilee where they have
been hunted down by a large mul
titude of people who have wit
nessed or heard about Jesus’ signs.
But these people will be hungry,
and neither Jesus nor his little
band have the bread to feed them
cr the money to buy it
Then Jesus performs another
sign: using a lad’s five barley
loaves and two fish, Jesus is able
to feed the whole crowd of 5,000
people. And even more signifi
cantly, when all have eaten their
fill, there are enough fragments
left over to fill 12 baskets. I find it
significant that this is the only so
called “miracle’’ (Jesus called
them “signs”) to appear in all four
gospels.
A GREATER ‘SIGN’
Despite the spectacular nature
of this “sign,” the deeper signifi
cance is an even greater “sign”
and “miracle.” If the evangelists
were simply telling us that Jesus
had the power to feed 5,000 peo
ple with five barley loaves and
two fish, that’s pretty impressive
but I’m not sure what it has to
do with me and my life. The real
meaning is so much more spec
tacular and mind-boggling than
the mere multiplication of matter.
Although that is quite a feat, it de
serves the rank of “mere” beside
the real meaning.
The next day people, finding
him and his disciples gone, get in
to boats to find him on die other
side of the lake. Puzzled, they
want to know: “Rabbi, when did
you come here?” (They really
meant “How?" not “When?").
But, as he so often does, Jesus ig
nores the superficial level of their
question and cuts to the heart of
the matter. ’Truly, truly I say to
you, you seek me, not because you
Apron and'Maxim or a combina
tion of these products. lowa State
looked at, the per cent emergence
of early planted com using no seed
treatment, Captan, Captan plus
Apron and Maxim plus Apron.
Results of this two year study
showed no treatment resulted in a
48.9 per cent emergence. Captan
alone had 82.1 per cent emergence
and combination treatments had
85.9 per cent or better emergence.
Feather Prof.'s Footnote:
"Knowledge without com
mon sense is like having a
well without a method of
drawing up the water."
saw signs, but because you ale
your fill of the loaves” (6:25,26).
This response by Jesus always
puzzled me, because it seemed to
me that they followed him to the
ather side precisely because they
did see his “signs.” But today it
accurred to me for the first time
hat he is really saying that,
ilthough they saw the signs they
lidn’t really see that toward which
he signs were pointing. These
leople had seen only the multipli
;adon of loaves and fishes. The
multiplication was only the
medium, not the message.
NO EXPIRATION DATE
Then Jesus proceeds to what
hey had apparently missed: “Do
tot labor for the food which per
shes, but for the food which en
lures to eternal life ..." (6:27).
We are no less blind than they
were, for we too labor for food
which perishes, instead of that
which nourishes us to eternal life.
so. the first thing Jesus says to
hem and us is that there is a bread,
i source of nourishment that, un
ike the things of this world, does
lot perish.
Jesus is not just talking about
Head or even food in general here,
>ut all material things. No matter
low wonderful they may taste or
'eel. they are fleeting in their satis
action and sustenance. If you
ook carefully there is an expira
tion date on each one of them!
Again and again they need to be
replenished. “Your fathers ate the
manna in the wilderness, and they
died” (6:49). So it is with the
things we buy to eat and drink, the
playthings we get to amuse our
selves, the objects we accumulate
to persuade ourselves that we are
getting somewhere in life.
Not only is there a bread which
does not perish, Jesus tells them:
“V am the bread of life... if any
one eats of this, he will live for
ever .. .”(6:48,51). You and 1
know today that Jesus was speak
ing figuratively about himself, but
many who heard him were out
raged to hear him say that they
must “eat” this “bread.” They
could not stretch their minds to
think of anything except the bla
tantly material which could not
satisfy them or sustain them. But
they could not be induced to look
at the spiritual behind the material.
So whatever it is that you desire
and set your heart on, check the
expiration label before you spend
too much for it There is only one
reality that has no expiration date:
eternal life with Christ
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
EphraU Review Building
IE. Main St
Ephrata, PA 17522
-by-
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A Steinman Enterprise
Robert 0. Campbell General Manager
Everett R. Nawewanger Managing Editor*
Copyright 199€ by Laacutor Fanning