AlO-L«ncaster Farming, Saturday, February 6, 1999
OPINION
Wearing A Noose
Farmers could lose valuable crop protection chemicals,
and consumers could see less variety and higher prices at
the grocery store if the Environmental Protection Agency
continues its current program of pesticide regulation,
according to two speakers at the recent American Farm
Bureau Federation annual meeting.
Bill Spencer, a Yuma, Ariz., citrus grower, pointedly said
he will be driven out of business if the Food Quality
Protection Act, the 1996 law mandated new ways to regulate
pesticides, isn’t changed.
Wearing a noose around his neck labeled “FQPA,”
Spencer said the “law fundamentally changes how you con
trol pests and, in turn, makes farming an even riskier busi
ness.” If FQPA isn’t “fixed,” Spencer said, farmers wouldn’t
be able to control pests or farm profitability.
Michael Fumento, a journalist and fellow with the
Hudson Institute, said FQPA is a flawed law that was
passed unanimously by Congress despite the fact that
“nobody bothered to read or debate the bill.” He explained
there was a “desperate need to get rid” of the zero-risk
Delaney clause that EPA was under a court order to enforce.
But along with that and other worthy provisions came some
bad ones and other measures “we don’t even know about
even now.”
Fumento said the way that FQPA is being implemented
threatens farmers’ ability to provide the “world’s safest and
cheapest food supply.” It will put farmers out of business
and increase the cost of fresh fruits and vegetables, he said.
Fumento, who wrote the book “Science Under Siege,”
blamed a minority of extreme environmentalists for the
FQPA predicament. He said they use “unscrupulous”
research, know how to work the media and develop allies
within the bowels of EPA to get their anti-technology views
into regulations.
The FQPA is just another in a series of problems con
fronting American agriculture with the likelihood that our
food in the future will be produced in other countries, coun
tries where the same chemicals are used and where food
safety regulations are almost nonexistent.
This only makes sense if you are trying the create the
demise of agriculture in this country and make our people
slaves to foreign food.
Ephrata Area Young Fanners
Annual Banquet, Mt. Airy Fire
Hall, 6:30 p.m.
Crops Day, Kane Sportsmen’s
Monday. i thriKin X
Act 6 Nutrient Management
Certification/Plan Writing
Seminars. Westmoreland/S.W.
Pa., Donohoe Center, Greens
burg, fertility; certification Feb.
15 and exam, Feb. 22.
Basic Dairy Farm Management
Workshop, Venango County
extension office, 7:30 p.m., also
Feb. 22.
Pest. Applicator Recertification
Meeting, McConnellsburg
High School. 7 p.m.-9 p.m.
Poultry Management and Health
Seminar, Kreider’s Restaurant,
Manheim. noon.
Solanco Young Farmer meeting,
dairy management, Solanco
High School, 7:30 p.m.
N.Y. Vegetable Conference, Sher
aton Four Points Hotel, Syra
cuse, N.Y., thru Feb. 11.
S4th Annual Pa. Landscape and
Nursery Conference, Holiday
Inn, Grantville, thru Feb. 10.
Act 6 Nutrient Management
Certification/Plan Writing
Seminars, Crawford/N.W. Pa.,
Crawford extension, Meadvil-
le, fertility; certification Feb. 16
and exam Feb. 23.
Lancaster County Crops Day,
Farm and Home Center, 9 a.m.
Ag Outlook Meeting, Gettysburg
Middle School, Gettysburg,
7:30 p.m.-9 p.m.
Cenex Local Membership meet-
ing, Dover Fire Hall, Dover, 10
a.m.
Pesticide safety meeting, Lincoln
Family Smorgasbord, 6:45 p.m.
Northeast Regional Fruit Growers
Meeting, Ramada Inn,
Chinchilla, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Soil Nutrient Management Work
shop, Schuylkill County Ag
Center, Pottsville, 7 p.m.-9
Keystone Pork Expo, Lebanon
Convention Center, Lebanon
Fairgrounds, 8 a.m.
Regional Potato Meeting, Imperial
Room. Mini Mall. Ebensburg, 9
a.m.-4 p.m.
Winter Fruit Meeting, Schuylkill
Now Is
The Time
By John Schwartz
Lancaster County
' ' Agricultural Agent
To Look at Ways to Im
prove Yields
Robert Anderson, Lancaster
County Extension Agronomy
Agent, offers the following ideas
on ways to improve yields and
profits. 1. Soil tests are an impor
tant key They point out nutrients
which are missing and need to be
added to bolster yields. They also
point out where fertilizer costs
may be reduced. 2. Select hybrids
and varieties based on perform
ance. Use test comparisons that
are done close to home under con
ditions and management similar to
your own operation Start the
evaluation procedure early each
year since the best varieties usu
ally sell out early. 3. Practice pa
tience. Do not be in a big hurry to
get into the field in the spring.
Avoid going into fields anytime
during late winter or early spring
when soil conditions are not fa
vorable. Soil compaction, espe
cially shallow compaction will
rob yields. Plant as early as pos
sible when soil conditions are fa
vorable, If soil conditions are not
suitable, keep the seed in the bag.
To Plant Seeds Correctly
Robert Anderson, Lancaster
County Extension- Agronomy
Agent, offers the following tips
on improving yields through
proper planting. 1. Plant accu
rately. Slow the planter down.
Research has shown that the dif
ference between planting com at 7
miles per hour (mph) compared to
5 mph may be as much as 10 to
15 bushels per acre in the com
bine.
2. Plant enough seed. Through
the years, the most consistent
variable in com yields is plant
populations. Research at Penn
State shows that com yields are
highest when plant populations
approaches 28 to 30 thousand
plants per acre The most recent
studies show that even 32,000
plants per acre can increase yields
3. Plant uniformly. Adjust the
planter so that each seed is planted
at the optimum depth. Planting
some seeds deep and other shallow
often affects when the plant
emerge and latter will affect polli
nation. The entire field does best
when every plant is at the same
stage of growth.
To Check Equipment
Check equipment before head
ing to the field. According to
Robert Anderson, Lancaster
County Extension Agronomy
Agent, late winter maintenance
that replace broken and worn parts
on equipment will decrease the
amount of down time during soil
County Ag Center, Pottsville, 9
a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Delmarva Dairy Day, Hartly Fire
Hall, Hartlv. Del.. 9 a.tn.-3 p.m.
(Turn to Page A3l) '
preparation and planting
Before planting, calibrate the
planter metering system. Over ap
plying or under applying an insec
ticide or fertilizer may affect yields
and profits Even when starter fer
tilizer is needed, increases in yield
usually occur with the minimum
amount of fertilizer Over applica
tion of pesticides is costly and
does not improve results
When planting, constantly be
LIVING IN
TWO WORLDS
February 7,1999
Background Scripture:
Romans 12:9 through 13:14
Devotional Reading:
Psalms 15:1-5
This week we deal with one of
the most controversial passages
in the New Testament: Romans
13:1-7. A quick reading will
illustrate why. There is nothing
controversial in Romans 12:9-
21, nor in 13:8-114. But, in
between there are seven verses
that, along with 1 Peter 2:13-17
and 3:13, have been problemati
cal for Christians since they
were penned. They do not really
answer, but only seem to make
much more difficult, the ques
tion of the Christian’s relation
ship to the state.
Had I a choice, I would not
have selected these seven verses
as the basis for a lesson on
“Civic Responsibility,” the title
suggested by the Uniform
Lesson guidelines. Why?
Because, by itself, this passage
conveys a very one-sided impres
sion that is in vivid contrast to
what scholar C.H. Dodd calls
“the virulent hatred of Rome
that runs through the
Revelation of John.” In Romans
13:1-7 Paul embraces the
Roman state as “instituted by
God” (13:1) to prevent evil and
uphold good. In Revelation the
state is seen as the enemy of
Christianity. As Dodd says, Paul
“saw in the Empire the provi
dential instrument by which the
coming of Anti-Christ was
delayed.” In Revelation, John
regards the Roman state as the
Anti-Christ.
ROMANS OR
REVELATION?
How can we explain and work
with these two drastically
opposing views? One explana
tion is that they were written at
different times and the situation
in these two periods was very
different. Romans was probably
written sometime between 54
and 58 AD, at a time when per
secution was not part of Rome’s
imperial policy. Revelation is
thought to have been written
sometime between 70 and 91
AD, a period when Roman per
secution was definitely imperial
policy. By the time of John the
church found that “Rome could
persecute as well as protect”
(John Knox).
So who is right, Paul or John?
The answer: both and neither.
Both were quite justified in their
views in the separate and differ
ent times in which they wrote.
Paul’s dictum, “Let every person
be subject to the governing
authorities” would have been
quite inapplicable to the church
in the • time of John, just as
checking to see seeds are being
placed properly and that the
planter is closing the furrow and
packer wheels are firming the
seedbed. By paying attention to
details, you should insure best
yields and results possible
Feather Prof.'s Footnote "In
the confrontation between the
stream and the rock, the stream
always wins. Not through
strength hut through persistence "
John’s hatred of the state would
have been inappropriate in the
days when Paul wrote Romans.
Neither of them exclusively
authoritative for any other situ
ations than those out of which
they wrote. When Germans in
the 1930 s and 40s quoted
Romans to confirm the authority
of the Nazi government, they
were misusing Paul and not for
the sake of Christ. When
Americans in the 1960 s anathe
matized protesters against the
Vietnam War with the same pas
sages, their use of Paul and
Romans was no more authorita
tive.
ANOTHER REASON
But there is still another
explanation for their radical dif
ference. Even apart from the dif
ference in their historical situa
tions represented by these two
New Testament books, there has
been a long-standing tension
between state and faith that
reaches back into Old Testament
times when sages worried that
the desire for a king would
undercut the authority of God.
The underlying theme of Samuel
I & II and Kings I & II is: “No
king but God.” In the days of the
Kings of Israel and Judah
prophets were often clearly dis
obedient to their rule. During
the days of Jesus and the early
church there was definite con
flict between Christ and his fol
lowers with both the Jewish offi
cials and Romans. As theologian
Emil Brunner reminds us, “It is
the State which crucified the
Lord Jesus and oppressed the
Jewish people.” It was the state
that throughout the Roman
world compelled its peoples to
bestow the Emperor the homage
that belonged to God alone.
So the tension we see
between Romans and Revelation
has always been with us. John
Knox says: “Under pressure
Christians have either granted
the ruler too much latitude, or
else have refused to concede him
what he is fully entitled to
claim. As a result they have
been unduly subservient in
some periods, while in others
they have allowed no satisfacto
ry place in their thoughts for the
necessary functions of the
state.”
Christians live in both com
munities, the state and the king
dom, with loyalties to both. The
state is instituted by God to
bring order, justice and freedom
into human life, but, as the Bible
has clearly shown, when the
state is unresponsive to the
divine will, God has the supreme
claim to our loyalty.
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 B. Main St.
Ephrata. PA 17522
-by
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A Steinman Enterprise
William J. Burgess General Manager
Everett R. Newswanger Managing Editor
Copyright 1999 by Lancaster Farming