Lancaster farming. (Lancaster, Pa., etc.) 1955-current, October 10, 1998, Image 10
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