AIQ-Lancast* Fanning, Saturday, October 10, 1998
opinion
A Wake-Up Call
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S.
Department of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have
recently issued a draft joint proposal for a unified strategy for
cleaning up the 40 percent of the nation’s waterways that do not
meet quality goals for either fishing or swimming. The document
marks an untraditional alliance between the EPA and USDA,
especially with regards to environmental issues.
Essentially, the document seems to indicate that all livestock
operations are expected to operate with a nutrient management
plan including contingency plans. The document differentiates
between those livestock operations which are currently required
to have these plans and those with too few animals to be consid
ered a major threat. However, the document does cite the prop
osed ability to require a mandatory nutrient management plan on
farms of any size livestock population, depending on the farm
operations and the proximity of livestock to water and techinques
used to provide livestock access to water.
At issue here is the potential for all farming operations to need
a permit to farm. In addition, the permitting process opens up the
issue of right of privacy, as the protection of an operation’s spe
cific detailed information cannot be granted if the permitting pro
cedure is open to general public comment.
This is a serious wake-up call to farmers. We seem to be
headed for a future that will push food production off-shore and
make us dependent on other nations (maybe even enemy nations)
for our food just like we are dependent on enemy nations for our
oil energy supply. This is not just a right-to-farm issue, our
national security is at stake. Not only farmers but every U.S. citi
zen should rise up and demand that food production not be sacrif
iced on the altar of the buzz word “environment,” especially since
nonpoint polution can also be blamed on industry and city waste.
Saturdax, October 10
47th Adams County Holstein Ban
quet, York Springs Fireball,
York Springs, 7 pjn.
24th Annual Choice Plus Club
Calf Sale, Mercer 4-H Park,
7:30 p.m.
Northwest Pa. Sheep and Wool
Fall Shepherd Picnic,
Warren 'County Fairgrounds,
Beef Skil-A-Thon, Berks County
Ag Center, 3 p.m.
Judged Obstacle Ride, Marsh
Creek State Park, 9:30 a.m-2
p.m.
Family Day on the Farm. Cliff and
Jacqueline England Bethel
Farm, Rising Sun, Md., 1
p.m.-5 p.m.
Safety Training Workshop. Holi
day Inn, Grantville, thru Oct.
12
| T 2
Md and Va. Milk Producers Meet
ing, Burnt Tree Grange,
Radiant, Va., 7 p.m.
Poultry Health and Management
Seminar, Kreider’s Restaurant,
Meeting, Hotel and Exit 37
(formerly Four Points Hotel
Sheraton), Liverpool, N.Y..
thru Oct 14.
ADADC Dist. 16 meeting. Troy
Fire Hall, Troy, 7:30 p.m.
Solanco Young Farmers Com Sil
age Management Meeting, Sol
anco High School, 7:30 p.m.
Southeast Regional Christmas
❖ Farm Calendar*:*
> 'u '
Tree Growers meeting, Penn
tion Educational Bus Tour,
leaves Farm Show Complex
Lot J, Harrisburg, 7:30 a.m.,
returns Harrisburg approx. 7
p.m.
Berks County 4-H Beef Club
Roundup, Leesport Farmers
Market, show 9 a.m., sale 4
p.m.
Red Rose 4-H Beef Club meeting,
Lancaster Farm and Home Cen-
Robert and Helene Dreisbach,
Shartlesville, 10 a.m.-noon.
Md. and Va. Milk Producers Meet
ing, Pleasant Valley Restaur
ant, Ft Littleton, 7 p.m.
Beef Quality Assurance Meeting,
Leesport Farmers’ Market,
Show, Uniontown, dim Oct 16.
Md. and Va. Milk Producers Meet-
ing, 4-H Activities Center, Fre-
derick, Md., 7 p.m.
Beef Quality Assurance Meeting,
Carlisle Livestock Market 7
p.m.
Southeastern Pa. 4-H Leaders For
um, Montgomery County 4-H
Center, Creamery, 9 a.m.-2:15
p.m.
Maryland’s First Limousin Club
Calf Sale, Four States Lives-
To Respect PTO Shafts
Power take off (PTO) entan
glements account for a large num
ber of the avoidable injuries on
the farm. A PTO shaft turns be
tween 540 and 1,000 revolutions
per minute. At that speed it will
entangle, wrap up and tear cloth
ing at a rate of 5 to 13 feet per
second. By the time you feel a tug
on your pants, it is too late to re
act. If you arc one of the lucky
people, the clothing will tear.
Studies at Purdue University
found a higher rate and more seri
ous injuries from PTO entangle
ments during the fall. This is due
to farmers wearing heavier cloth
ing which is more difficult to tear.
PTO entanglements happen more
frequently when shielding is miss
ing or damaged.
Power take off (PTO) accidents
are preventable! Common sense
safety rules must be followed. To
day’s laws will not over look un
safe working conditions on farms.
To prevent injuries associated
with the PTO shaft follow these
guidelines;
1. Keep all PTO shields in
place while equipment is operat-
ing
2. Repair or replace broken or
damaged shields immediately. 3.
Always turn off the PTO before
dismounting the tractor. 4. Avoid
working around spinning PTO
shafts. 5. Never step over a spin
ning PTO shaft, and 6. Avo>d
wearing loose fitting clothing
when working around PTO shafts.
lock Sale Grounds, Hager
stown, Md„ 7 p.m.
Blue Mountain Antique Gas and
Steam Engine Association
Annual Fall Harvest and Saw
mill Show, Jacktown Commun
ity Center, Bangor, thru Oct.
18.
Pasture Tour For Southern Mary
land Graziers, contact St.
Mary’s County extension
office.
Northwest Pa. Nursery Tour,
Johnston’s Evergreen Nursery,
bilides, Thomcroft, Malvern.
21st Annual Mule Show. Club on
Ben Davis Rd., Powellville,
Md., 10 a.m.
Somerset County Beef Producers*
Picnic and Quality Assurance
Meeting, Errer Hill Farm, 1
No-Till Symposium, held on open
ing day of ASA, CSSA, and
SSA meetings, Baltimore, Md.
Md, and Va. Milk Producers Meet
ing. Union Bridge Fire Hall,
Union Bridge. Md., 7 n.m.
To Prevent PTO
Accidents
(Turn lo Page A2SI
Lets keep this harvest season acci
dent free!
To Adjust Ventilation
Systems
According to Glenn Shirk,
Lancaster County Extension Dairy
Agent, current ventilation needs
on dairy farms are much different
than those of summer. In summer
we want to exchange a lot of air
rapidly (2 to 3 air exchanges per
minute) and provide a comforting
3 to 5 mile per hour breeze. This
amounts to about 2,000 cubic feet
of air per minute (cfm) per cow.
In cooler seasons, we still
need to exchange air continuously,
but at a much slower rate to keep
the air fresh, barn temperatures
around 40 to 50 degrees and pre
vent cold drafts. On the coldest
days air exchange rates need to be
SALVATION
THROUGH POLITICS?
October 11,1998
Background Scripture:
I Samuel 7:15 through 8:22
Devotional Reading:
I Peter 2:13-17
The other night on television
there was some extensive
footage of the national conven
tion of one of our major political
parties. I was amazed at the
emotional pitch of the delegates.
It doesn’t really matter which
political party was involved or
even the year it took place, for
this is par for the course in
American political life. It
appeared that these people had
just chosen, not a presidential
candidate, but a Messiah who
was going to bring in the
Kingdom of God.
“That’s just harmless politi
cal enthusiasm,” someone
assured me. But I am not really
certain that it is harmless.
Enthusiasm is one thing, but
false expectations are something
else. Too many people approach
politics as a way of salvation.
Elect the right candidate, they
believe, adopt the right political
deology and we will be able to
solve our most enduring and
deepest problems
I may once have believed
that, but I have learned that we
elect fallible human beings, who,
along with their virtues, have
weaknesses and failings like
those of us who elect them. To
pretend that they are something
else is to indulge in a kind of
idolatry that we have long been
warned against by our Judaic-
Christian heritage. As Dwight
W. Morrow put it, “Any party
which takes credit for the rain
must not be surprised if its
opponents blame them for the
draught.”
BECOMING THE ‘MESS’
In The Presidents’ Men,
Patrick Anderson speaks of the
emotions with which the outgo
ing administration views the
incoming team: “The departing
warrior’s only consolation, in
this dark hour, lies in the assur
ance that, as Emmet John
Hughes put it, those who come
to clean up the mess in
Washington will soon become
the mess in Washington.” Or
anywhere else.
Our approach seems to be
primarily a matter of deciding
about 70 cfm per mature cow.
This can be accomplished with am
small, continuously running fan.
On warmer days the exchange rate
may need to increase to 200 to
250 cfm per cow. This can be ac
complished with one or two addi
tional thermostatically controlled
fans.
For good distribution of fresh,
draft free air to all parts of the
bam requires a well designed air
inlet system strategically located
along all walls. They should be
self adjusting. Plans for a simple
self adjusting air inlet box ate
available from your county Penn
State Cooperative Extension of
fice.
Feather Prof.'s Footnote 1
"Eighty per cent of success is
showing up." Woody Allen
who are the “good guys” and who
are the “bad” ones. Once decid
ed, we assume that the “good"
guys can never be bad or be
wrong and that the “bad” guys
can never be good or right. So we
idolize the “good” politician and
demonize the “bad” one, ascrib
ing to the former a status that
belongs only to God.
Also, we tend to elevate ideol
ogy over theology, lb be sure,
once we have chosen our ideolo
gy—whether we style ourselves
as conservatives or liberals —we
drag in our religion to support it.
Some people assume that if you
are Christian, you must be a
Republican. Others would
assume you must be a
Democrat. I can make no such
assumption for I have never
found an ideology that is a
match for the gospel.
REJECTING GOD
All of the above is a kind of
introduction to 1 Samuel 7 and
8. People have often been puz
zled ac the attitudes of both God
and Samuel in this matter. The
prophet Samuel vigorously
opposes the establishment of a
monarchy in Israel. When
Samuel thinks that the insis
tence for a king is a rejection of
his leadership (which, in fact left
something to be desired when he
arranged for his sons to succeed
him), God tells him: “hearken to
the voice of the people in all that
they say to you; for they have
not rejected you, but they have
rejected me from being king over
them” (8:7).
What God is objecting to is
not a monarchy or any other
form of government, but the
assumption by a people that a
king will solve all their prob
lems. To put a king, president,
prime minister, dictator or any
one else in the place of God is
both a blunder for us and an
offense against God.
Yes, let us elect our leaders,
but let us also not forget that
they are human beings and
expect from them the salvation
that comes only from our God.
Political life and politicians can
bring us good, albeit human gov
ernment. But no administration
is the kingdom of God and salva
tion comes only from God.
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St.
Ephrata, PA 17522
-by
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A Stemman Enterprise
William J. Burges* General Manager
Everett R. Newswanger Managing editor
Copyright 1996 by Lancaster Farvng