AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 16, 1998
MHBTfT-Hiri
OPINION
A Faithful Dependence
Veterinarians, fanners, and makers of animal medicines share
the concern of public health officials that the injudicious use of
antibiotics on the farm can contribute to the increase of antibiotic
resistant bacteria being transferred to people via uncooked food.
Even though the data are still only suggestive and not defihi&ve,
everyone must take this issue seriously. We applaud the animal
medic industry for continuing efforts to work with government
regulators, public health officials, and all other stakeholder
groups to develop new prudent-use guidelines and education
programs. These efforts go a long way to assure antibiotics are
used wisely, safely, and responsibly.
Everyone needs to remain attentive to scientific evidence as it
develops. But we must also be aware that whenever a change or
reduction in antibiotic use in food animals is made, some other
consequence of importance may emerge. As one agriculture
researcher said recently, “When we push down on one risk but
ton, often another pops up in the background.”
The challenge is to base decisions and regulations on a faithful
dependence on science, not manufactured emotions.
Bedford County Dairy Princess
Pageant, Denny’s Restaurant,
Bedford, 7:30 p.m.
Blue Mountain Antique Gas and
Steam Engine Show Swap
Meet, Jacktown Community
Cento', Bangor, thru May 17.
4-H Spring Show, Wills Fair,
Howard County Fairgrounds,
sth Annual Manor FFA Benefit
Horse Show, Columbia Riding
shop, Smethport Country Club,
Farm Pond Management Work
shop, Laurel Mountain Winery,
Chester County Conservation Dis
trict Anniversary Banquet,
Brandywine Valley Associa
tion, West Chester, 7 p.m.
Strawberry Study Circle: A Dis
cussion With Larry Yager,
Extension Marketing Agent,
Swamp Fox Farms, Glen Rock,
6:30 p.m. tour, discussion 7
mMBSBmBBEmM
Wyoming/Lackawanna Dairy
Princess Pageant, Mehoopany
Township Building, Mehoo
pany, 7:30 p.m.
Atlantic National Angus Show,
Maryland Sr P' inds.
Classic, Butler County Fair
grounds, thru May 24.
4-H Spring Show, Southern Md.,
Charles County Fairgrounds,
LaPlata. thru May 24.
Moiuia\. Ma\ 25
Memorial l)a>
inning office closed.
On Science
❖ Farm Calendar ♦
Tuesday Ma\ 26
Septic System Management and
Well Protection Workshop,
Penn State Fruit Research
Laboratory, Biglerville, 7:30
Cream Ridge Twilight Tour Meet
ing and Strawberry Breeding
Showcase, Rutgers Fruit
Research and Extension Cen
tg^reamßidge^LL^^^
Philadelphia County Fair, Phi-
Saturday. May 30 ID
Cecil County Breeders Fair, Cecil
County Fairgrounds.
Boring Fire Company Gas Engine
Show, Boring, Md., thru May
31.
Lebanon County Dairy Princess
Pageant, Lebanon County
Career and Technology Center,
7:30 p.m.
Blair County Dairy Princess
Pageant, Logan Valley Mali
Altoona, 7 o.m.
Southeast Pa. Fruit Growers Twil-
Huntingdon County Dairy Prin
cess Pageant, Huntingdon Area
Clinton County Dairy Princess
Pageant, Porter Township,
Lamar. 2 o.m.
pi milk?
To Save Alfalfa Leaves
Dr. Mike Collins, University
of Kentucky, has completed ten
years of studying ways to save al
falfa leaves during harvest. He
found hay should be raked into
windrows before the moisture con
tent drops below 40 per cent.
This will allow the maximum
number of leaves to be kept on
the plant. He says leaf loses may
increase to as high as 20 per cent
if hay approaches storage moisture
before it is raked. Hay preserva
tives are very useful if trying to
avoid rain damage.
The economic pay back is
mainly in those cases where the
use of an effective preservative al
lows the producer to avoid rain
damage. To be effective, make
sure you apply enough product
and distribute it uniformly
through the hay.
Monday. .liiiu* S
Ephrata Area Young Fanners
meeting. Therapeutic Riding
Program, Greystonc Manor, 7
Centre County Wool Pool, Grange
Fairgrounds, Centre Hall, 7
a.m.-ll:30 a.m., and 1 p.m.-2
Lancaster County Poultry Associ
ation Golf Outing, Foxchase
Golf Club.
Franklin County Dairy Princess
Pageant, Lighthouse Restaur
ant, Chambersburg.
Indiana County Dairy Princess
Pageant, Marion Cento 1 Pre
sbyterian Church, Marion Cen
ter, 7:30 p.m.
Cumberland County Dairy Prin
cess Pageant, Ember’s Conven-
Ephrata Area Young Fanner 4th
Annual Farm Family Safety
Day Camp, Ephrata Communi
ty Park, 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
Lancaster County Dairy Princess
Pageant, Farm and Home Cen
ter, Lancaster, 7 p.m.
Beaver-Lawrence County Dairy
Princess Pageant, Old Prince
ton School, Princeton, 8 p.m.
SUN Area Dairy Princess Pageant,
Susquehanna Valley Mall.
Ringgold.
To Plan On Using Cover
Crops
With the increased Interest in
environmental effects of agricul
ture, farmers need to increase
their use of cover crops. Cover
crops keep soil erosion to a
minimum in the winter and act as
a nutrient bank, according to Rob
ert Anderson, Lancaster County
Extension Agronomy Agent
This is especially true for ni
trogen. Cover crops are capable of
using left over nitrogen from the
previous crop. In the spring, when
the cover crop is killed with a
herbicide or plowed down, the ni
trogen is released back into the
soil during the growing season for
the next crop to use.
Cover crops also add organic
matter to the soil. Organic matter
adds water holding capacity to the
soil, provides food for soil mi
crobes, improves soil structure
and increases the soil's ability to
hold some nutrients.
To Control Parasites
Glenn Shirk, Lancaster County
THE DIVORCE
QUESTION
May 17, 1998
Background Scripture:
Mark 10:1-12
Devotional Reading:
Genesis 2:18-24
The Pharisees raised a question
that people ate still asking; “Is it
lawful for a man to divorce his
wife?” (Mark 10:2). Apparently
this was a much debated question
in Jesus’ time, just as it used to be
in our society in decades gone by.
Mark teels us that the Pharisees
asked Jesus this question “in order
to put him to the test” They
wanted to catch him in saying
something that they could use
against him. They probably
thought they aleady knew how he
would answer. If he said no as
they suspected they could ac
cuse him of speaking against the
Jewish law given by Moses, who
had clearly said that it was lawful
for a man to do so.
Jesus, however, rarely an
swered within the strict confines
of his enemies’ questions. As Hal
ford E. Luccock put it, “Jesus
transferred the whole discussion
from the realm of is it lawful? into
the higher realm of the purposes of
God ...” Turning the tables on
them, he asked: “What did Moses
command you?” They must have
been reluctant to answer, “Moses
allowed a man to write a certifi
cate of divorce, and p put her
away” (10:4). That ended the
question of legality. Of course it is
legal for a man to divorce his wife.
YES, IT IS LEGAL
Jesus went on to say, however,
‘Tor your hardness of heart he
wrote you this commandment. But
from the beginning of creation,
‘God made them male and fe
male.’ For this reason a man shall
leave his father and mother and be
joined to his wife, and the two
shall become one.’” (10:5-9). Yes,
it is legal, says Jesus, but this is
not what God intends for us.
How interesting, then, that
while Jesus changed the question
from legality to God’s purpose,
somewhere along the line Chris
tians changed it back to a legal is
sue, making a new law out of Je
sus* words which woe intended to
go beyond legality. Despite both
Extension Dairy Agent, reminds
us a variety of parasites may affect
animals throughout their lives.
These may he internal parasites
such as intestinal worms or exter
nal parasites such as lice.
Intestinal worms are generally
more of a problem with cattle that
are pastured. Calves and heifers are
more susceptible to worm infesta
tions than older cows. They may
need to be dewormed every three
months, especially if they are pas
tured
There are a variety of dewor
mers on the market. Some are
slow release capsules. Others need
to be administrated several times
starting in early spring with a
second dose soon after. Read and
follow label directions. It is also a
good practice not to graze heifers
after older cows. Older cows may
develop immunity to worms but
they may still be shedders.
Feather Prof, 's Footnote: "For
every obstacle there is a solution -
over, under, around or through."
the words of Jesus and Moses the
churches held that divorce was il
legal. Instead of concentrating on
the purpose of God, we have con
centrated on divorce as a legal
problem.
It is easy to see that one of the
things that bothers Jesus here with
the Pharisees’ legal approach is
that it gives men a right which was
denied to women. Men could ter
minate their marriages, but their
wives could not. For women it
was eternally binding; for men it
was a matter of temporary con
venience or pleasure. This was
most certainly contrary to the di
vine intention.
NO, NOT GOD’S
INTENTION
Divorce is always a denial of
God’s plan for the pennenency of
marriage. The law of Moses does
not change that fact. Divorce al
ways represents human failure and
the law represents an accommoda
tion to it as Jesus said, because
of “your hardness of heart.” The
law was an attempt to deal with
that “hardness of heart,” not to en
courage it. Unfortunately, the law
of Moses often ran counter to the
purpose of God, making both mar
riage and divorce too easy.
I have read recently of a law en
acted in another state that will
make it harder and a more lengthy
process to obtain a divorce. It
seems to me that we should make
it both hard to divorce and harder
to marry. If, in seeking marriage,
we were more concerned with
God’s purpose, the legalism of di
vorce would not be so much a
problem.
When I was a very young man,
divorce was almost unknown in
the congregations I attended. To
day it is very commonplace in
most churches. Neither of those
legal extremes are very helpful to
the Christian. Yes, it is legal for
Christians to divorce and remarry.
And, no, that is not God’s inten
tion for us. The answer is to be
found not in legalism forbid
ding or permitting divorce but
in grace, the manifestation of
God’s mercy in the midst of his
judgment
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St
Ephrata, PA 17522
-by-
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A Stelnman Enterprise
Robert G. Campbell General Manager
Everett R. Newawanger Managing Edltoi
Copyright 1991 by LucmUt Fanning