Alft-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 7, 1998
OPINION
Gave Away More Than We Got
Earlier reports came to our attention that cattle from farther
south than Mexico are being imported into the U.S. But our inter
national agreements with our southern neighbors limit imported
cattle to only those animals that originate in Mexico. The intent
was to exclude the glut of beef cattle produced, for example, in
South America.
However, more than a year ago, we edi totalized our fear that
cattle are being brought into Mexico from the south, housed in
paddocks for a few days or weeks, and then shipped north as
Mexican cattle.
Our fears were not alleviated when again this week a report
was brought to our attention by a local beef farmer that Mexico is
importing cattle from Australia. More than 30,000 head of Aus
tralian cattle have been imported by Mexico. A recent shipment
included 8,700 feeder cattle, 2,100 head of beef breeding cattle
and 1,500 head of dairy breeding cattle.
The Australian Cattle Council is working with Mexican offi
cials to streamline quarantine protocol in order to facilitate easier
shipment of feeder cattle.
According to the report, U.S. officials are concerned that the
feeder cattle may eventually find their way into the United States,
potentially endangering the general health of the American beef
herd. These officials should be afraid. And the concern should go
much deeper in the U.S. beef industry and food production chain.
Not only is the health of the beef herd endangered, the health of
those who eat beef originating under less stringent food safety
regimens are endangered. And our U.S. farmers who must com
pete in a market flooded with these imports are endangered to the
point of going out of business.
We always did think we gave away more with NAFTA and
GATT than we got. We still think so.
MSBA 59th Annual Honey Show,
MDA Headquarters,
Annapolis.
Nittany Lion Fall Classic Sale, Ag
Arena, State College, 11 a.m.
25th Annual North American
International Livestock Expo,
Kentucky Fair and Expo Cen
ter, Louisville, Ky., thru Nov.
20.
NOFA-NY Workshop On Alterna
tive Animal Health Practices,
NYS Grange Building, Cort
land, N.Y., 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m.
Farm Safety Awareness For Fami
lies, Concmaugh’s Norcam
Community Health Center,
Carrolllown, 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m.
Bucks County DHIA Banquet, St.
Matthew’s Lutheran Church,
National Farm Animal Identifica
tion Symposium, Reinaissance
St. Louis Hotel, St. Louis, Mo.,
Dauphin County Cooperative
Extension Meedng, Milton
Hershey School Founders Hall,
Hcrshey, 7 p.m.
Maryland and Virginia Milk Pro
ducers Meeting, Hartly Fire
Hall, Hartly, Delaware, 7 p.m.
Poultry Health and Management
Seminar, Kreider's Restaurant,
Meedng, Four Points Hotel,
Hagerstown, Md., 8:30 a.m.
Northeast Greenhouse Seminar,
Luzerne County Community
* r ,
* Farm Calendar ❖
S'* k
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College Conference Center,
Nanticoke, 8:30 a.m.-3:15 p.m.
Public meeting to discuss ag pre
servation, County Annex
Building, East York, 7:30 p.m.
Bedford O
City, Mo., thru Nov. 14.
Beef Quality Assurance Meeting
hosted by York and Adams
County Catdetnen's Assoca
tion, York 4-H Center, 6:30
p.m.
Pa. DHIA Delegate Meeting,
Bonanza Restaurant, Franklin,
Centre/Clinton Counties Holstein
Annual Meeting, Logan
Grange Hall, Pleasant Gap, 7
p.m.
Bradford County Holstein Club
Tour and Royal Winter Fair,
Canada, thru Nov. 13. Departs
Wysox 4:45 a.m., returns mid-
night Nov. 13 (approx.)
Chester County Extension Annual
Meedng, The Stone Bam, Ken-
nett Square, 7 p.m.
Berks County 4-H Recognidon
Night, Berks County 4-H Cen
ter, 6:30 p.m.
Pa. DHIA Delegate Meeting, Fam
ily Restaurant, Mifflintown,
9:30 a.m.-3 p.m.
Nadonal FFA Convendon, Kansas
City, Mo., thru Nov. 14.
Monroe County Cooperative
Extension Assocadon Dinner
and 4-H Leader Recognidon,
Cook’s Touch Restaurant,
A recent article in a Lancaster
County agribusiness newsletter
raised the question "What makes
the Mid-Atlantic region differ
ent 7 ". It stated the owners of the
company have attended meetings
all over the country during the
past ten years. At these meetings
they are constantly being asked
why this region’s agricultural
leaders so aggressively pursue
policies that agriculture tradition
ally opposes.
They cite the egg quality as
surance program, environmental
legislation crafted by a partnership
of environmentalists and agricul
ture, food refrigeration and numer
ous Best Management Practices
(BMP). They state there are good
reasons why these agricultural
partnerships have developed the
progressive attitudes that resulted
in definable programs.
Finst, it is the right thing to
do! The science we know and the
technology we employ provide us
with the opportunity to produce
safer food and enhance our envi
ronmental stewardship. Our mar
kets expect the best from us and
our neighbors must trust us.
Thus, it is very- important for
every farmer to be willing to "do
the right thing”. Only by main
taining this progressive attitude
can we continue to grow our agri
cultural operations.
To Enroll In Pork Qual-
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>
' i «>>
Chester Hughes, Lancaster
County Extension Livestock
Agent, states today'spork producer
must recognize that what is done
on the farm can affect theirproduct
all the way to the consumer's ta
ble. To keep the pork industry
competitive with other meats, the
role of the farmer as part of the
porkfood chain must be recog
nized.
In an expanding and competi
tive market the production of a
safe, quality, consumer friendly
product is dependent on each link
of the pork food chain performing
to the best of its ability. Prevent
ing tissue residues is nothing new
to pork producers. They have long
been required to follow the guide
lines of the Food and Drug Ad
ministration (FDA) that define
Mountainhome, 6 p.m.
Penn State Cooperative Extension
of Northumberland County
Annual Meeting and Banquet,
Parish Hall, Sunbury, 6:30 p.m.
Lebanon County Conservation
District Awards Luncheon,
Timbers Restaurant, ML Gret
na, 11 a.m.
Bradford County DHIA Banquet,
Bonanza Restaurant, Wysox,
To Understand Ag
Uniqueness
ity Assurance Program
Wolfe’s Crossroads Lutheran
(Turn to Page A 34)
their responsibilities when using
anti-microbial or other health care
products.
The Pork Quality Assurance
(PQA) program has helped pork
producers comply with FDA
guidelines since the program
started in 1989. Now there are hog
slaughter plants requiring pork
producers to be PQA Level 111 cer
tified.
You may achieve this certifi
cation by contacting a PQA veri
fier. This could be your veterinar
ian, county extension agent or vo
cational agricultural teacher. By
becoming PQA certified, you will
update yourself regarding issues
on proper dfbg administration,
swine handling and appropriate re
cord keeping. Now is the time to
become PQA Level 111 certified.
To Rake Leaves
Leaf raking is never much fun,
according to Robert Anderson,
Lancaster County Extension
Agronomy Agent. It may even be
WHEN ‘BAD GUYS’
PROSPER
November 8,1998
Background Scripture:
Psalms 73
Devotional Reading:
Psalms 27.1-14
The Psalmist may have said it a
bit differently, but at some time
or other most, if not all, of us find
ourselves thinking or even saying
what he confesses; "All in vain
have I kept my heart clean and
washed my hands in innocence"
(Ps. 73:13). To put it in a more
contemporary way: “What good
is it to be ‘good’?”
The Psalmist was not just feel
ing resentful because his good
ness was unrewarded, but because
the sinfulness of arrogant men
seemed to go unpunished. If we
are good and see no advantage
over those who are evil, it is logi
cal that we should question be
ing good. Not only were the
wicked not being punished, but
they were prospering while he
was not! “For I was envious of
the arrogant, when I saw the pros
perity of the wicked” (73:3). Not
being rewarded for our goodness
is even worse if someone evil is
seen to be rewarded.
He was thus challenging the
same popular religious concept
that occasioned the writing of the
Book of Job. if goodness is to be
rewarded and evil punished, how
do we explain the good person
who suffers and the evil person
who prospers?
GLARING EXCEPTIONS
These ancient questions are just
as current today as they were then.
Some Christians assume that
goodness is always rewarded and
evil is always punished. But, al
though that often is tnie, there are
glaring exceptions. Not every
Mafioso dies unhappy and regret
ful. In fact, we arc told that some
of them die smiling. On the other
hand, there are lots of good people
who die unjustly. At the top of that
list, we must remember, is the
name of Jesus Christ!
It becomes apparent that being
a Christian, obeying God’s com
mandments is no guarantee of jus
tice and satisfaction. In fact, do
ing the right thing may even bring
us pain, anguish and even death
So, Christians have learned to
answer these questions with the
more of a chore once you have a
fairly good size pile of leaves
which you must either continue to
rake or pick up and move.
An article in Penn State's
PENpages, A Bundling Tool For
Leaf Cleanup, may help make the
job easier. You need a plastic or
cloth sheet approximately 3 feet
by 5 feet, an old broom handle or
similar wooden object which is
cut into two pieces. The short
edges of the sheet are each
wrapped onto one of these pieces
of wood and stapled in place. After
raking the leaves into a pile, bring
the scooping tool down over the
leaves, resting the ends on the
ground. Next, push the handles
together to form a tight roll. The
more leaves you scoop, the easier
it is to carry them.
Feather Prof, 's Footnote: "The
truth of the matter is that you al
ways know the right thing to do.
The hard part is doing it." Norman
Schwarzkopf
assurance of justice and retribu
tion in the life beyond death. If
God is just and loving, he cer
tainly cannot permit an evil per
son to escape punishment on the
other side of death.
In the Psalmist’s day, however,
not many Hebrews believed in a
life after death and so they could
not comfort themselves with the
hope of ultimate punishment for
evil and reward for good. (We
could say this with more certainty
if we knew precisely when this
psalm was written.) In fact, it was
this enigma that helped to inspire
the beginnings of belief in the life
hereafter. The Psalmist’s convic
tion that the evil are eventually
punished perhaps is leading him
to speculate upon punishment in
a life beyond death.
MY GREATEST DESIRE
When he “went into the sanctu
ary of God” during a time of wor
ship he found some answers to his
problem. He discovered that, as a
man who tried to live rightly, he
had found something the wicked
person could never have: the
promise of God’s eternal near
ness. “Nevertheless 1 am continu
ally with thee; thou dost hold my
right hand. Thou dost guide me
with thy counsel, and afterward
thou wilt receive me to glory” (23-
25).
The Psalmist decides that, to
have that assurance of God’s eter
nal presence, is far more impor
tant than all the riches and power
of the wicked. “And there is noth
ing upon earth that I desire be
sides thee” (v. 25). When we can
say and mean that, the enigma of
evil/righteousness/pumshment
and prosperity may not be solved
so that we understand it, but our
assurance of God’s presence is
better than a logical answer.
When bad guys prosper, what
can we do? Instead of throwing
in the towel we can, like the
Psalmist, determine that their
prosperity and power cannot
match for a moment the glory of
knowing that God is with us for
ever. With the Psalmist, we then
confess; “My flesh and my heart
may fail, but God is the strength
of my heart and my portion for
ever" (v. 26).
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St.
Ephrata, PA 17522
-by
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A Steinman Enterprise
William J. Burges* General Manager
Everett R. Newtwanger Managing Editor
Copyright 1998 Lancaster . Farming