A 1 ©-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 15, 1999
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Farmers Need To Know
The Real Market Value
Of Their Products
Since most producers of agricultural products are in the
position of being "price takers" rather than setting their own
prices, it is especially important that they have the best
information possible on the actual market value of their
products. Often market prices are published by the marketer to
the best advantage of the buyer. Or the price for the livestock
or produce to the farmer is not known until it is partly
processed and in the distribution chain before a price is set. In
this case, the farmer has no recourse if the price is not
satisfactory.
In this day of low commodity prices and tight markets, the
producers have little time to play guessing games about where
to market their products. Legislation that would provide a
price reporting system that supplies timely, accurate data on
what packers are paying would remove much of the guess
work producers have to go through in selling their products.
The reason we call for legislation is that we already have a
system of market reporting to be done by USDA, but the job
is not being done. With funding cuts, the time and scope of
unbiased market price reporting has become very limited. In
addition, the packers don't want the farmers to know what
they are paying.
Since an increasing number of livestock, both beef and
pork, are sold under some form of contract, it is extremely
important that information related to volume, prices paid, and
the terms of these contracts be reported in an accurate and
timely fashion. At the same time, most of these contracts are
linked to cash prices, so we need accurate and timely
reporting of cash prices as well.
Producers really need to know the procurement costs for
the packer rather than just the open market price being paid on
a particular day. Since fewer and fewer animals are being
bought on the open market system, plant procurement costs
would give producers a much better idea what the actual value
of their animals are to the packing plant.
This all boils down to the fact that farmers should have
access to competitive markets for price discovery that
accurately determines the value of their products. They also
need a reporting system that leads to the development of a
better farm-to-retail price series. Many producers felt cheated
by the prices they were receiving in relation to the retail price
being reported by USDA. And rightly so. But the fact is that
no one actually knows what the real price spread was during
this time when we saw such low prices at the farm gate. But it
is obvious that if a better formula were developed, producers,
processors, and consumers would benefit from having
information that more accurately shows the farm-to-retail
spread in prices.
6th Annual Manor FFA Benefit
Horse Show, Columbia Riding
Natural Landscapes and Habitat
Walk, Bruce Grimes and Gcof-
j ita Banquet, siu*jy
Crest Smorgasbord, Morgan
town, 6:30 p.m.
Farm Estate Planning Workshop,
Wcllsboro Courthouse, Wells
boro, 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Penn Jersey Extension Partnership
Pond Management Workshop,
* Farm Calendar ❖
Woody Ornamentals, Charles
Witman Nursery/Landscapc,
York, 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Eastern Member Relations Con
ference, Pa. Council of
Cooperatives, Radison Hotel,
Harrisburg, thru May 21.
Crop Walk, Jeff Werner Farm,
Lickdale, 10 a.m.
Crop Walk, Glen Krall Farm,
North Cornwall, 1 p.m.
Penn Jersey Extension Partnership
Pond Management Workshop,
Sussex County Farm and Horse
Show, Augusta, NJ., 7 p.m.-10
Run Conservation Demonstra
tion Area, North Warren, 5:30
(Turn to Pago A 33)
Kathy Heil, Lancaster County
Executive Director of the Farm
Service Agency, reminds all dairy
farmers that May 21 is the last
day to apply for their share of
payment under the Dairy Market
Loss Assistance Program. Each
farm operation producing milk in
the fourth quarter of 1998 may
apply. Farmers may use the
higher of the 1997 or 1998 milk
production, up to 2.6 million
pounds, to determine actual
payments.
United States Department of
Agriculture estimates a payment
of 18 to 20 cents per
hundredweight will be made to
qualified dairy farmers. To sign
up the producer will need to
provide the number of pounds of
milk they produced. Payments
will be made about three weeks
after the end of the sign up period.
Contact your local Farm Service
Agency office before May 21 to
process your application to this
program.=2o
To Understand Dry Weather
While it may be a little early to
call the past period of little ram a
drought, if may have been dry
enough that herbicides may not
work. Dry weather may affect the
performance of both soil applied
and post emergence herbicides.
According to Robert
Anderson, Lancaster County
Extension Agronomy Agent, all
soil applied herbicides require
some ram to activate them. In
general, a minimum of one half
inch of rainfall should occur
within 7 to 10 days after the
herbicide application or weeds
may emerge without being
controlled by the herbicide.
Less mobile herbicides like
Prowl, Atrazme, Scepter and
deeper germinating weeds like
nutsedge will require more
rainfall to be effective. When rain
is delayed beyond the 7to 10 day
period, herbicide performance
may be enhanced and small
germinating weeds may be
removed with a soil mixing
operation.
Two good options to mix the
herbicide into the surface layer of
the soil are the rotary hoe or spike
tooth harrow. The optimum time
for this is when the weeds are just
breaking through the soil surface
and the corn is less than 5 inches
tall or soybeans should be just
past full emergence.
If dry weather continues, post
applied herbicides may not work
either. Weeds under dry
conditions are not actively
growing, making them harder to
kill. This may be the year to get
the old cultivator out and make
sure it is in working condition so
when the time comes you are
ready.
To Produce High Quality
Alfalfa
Producing high quality alfalfa
at home means the dairy farmer
may reduce the purchase of off
farm feeds. Studies in
Pennsylvania over many years
have shown that one way to
maximize the quality of alfalfa
hay is to harvest early. According
to Robert Anderson, Lancaster
County Extension Agronomy
Agent, deciding when to harvest
is difficult, especially for the first
cutting of the year. Other farming
operations, like planting corn,
often interfere with the first
alfalfa harvest.
Research has shown that one
way to determine the optimum
time to harvest the first cutting of
alfalfa each year is by calculating
the number of growing degree
days (ODD) accumulated
beginning on April 1.
The ODD which works best is
base 41 degrees. ODD is
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Br IAWRtNCt W ALIHOUSf
©BEILS
A FRIEND OF JESUS
May 16. 1999
Background Scripture:
John 15:1-17
Devotional Reading:
Job 23:1-12
I attended a memorial service
for a former neighbor. The man
had garnered many titles and hon
ors during his life, but, said the
minister, this man chose to be
known simply as “a friend of Je
sus.” That said it all.
In those last days of his earthly
ministry, Jesus paid hid disciples
the highest of compliments: “No
longer do I call you servants .. .
but I have called you friends, for
all that I have heard from my Fa
ther I have made known to you”
(15:15).
We use the term “friend” so
variably and widely that it may not
necessarily convey all that we
mean by it When Jesus speaks of
his disciples as “friends,” he de
notes a much firmer, deeper rela
tionship. It is a friendship of mu
tual love, respect and service. A
friend is someone upon whom you
can depend when you need them.
Jesus chose an analogy from the
Old Testament to describe his
kind of friendship. In Ps. 80:8-16,
Jer. 2:21, Ezek, 5:1-8; 19:10-14
and Isa. 5:1-7, Israel is identified
as God’s tender vine that he plants
and nourishes. Jesus uses the same
analogy in the parable of the vine
yard in Mk. 12:1-12 (also Matt.
21:33-46; Lk. 20:9-19). In John
15, Jesus has carried this analogy
one step further: “I am the true
vine and my Father is the vine
dresser" (15:1).
‘I AM THE VINE*
He links the relationship be
tween God and himself with that
of his friends: “I am the vine, you
arc the branches” (15:5). Jesus’
discourse on himself as “the true
vine” and his disciples as the
“branches” is an artistic rather
than scientific description of the
Christian’s mystical relationship.
Several key words arc used re
peatedly like a weaver using dif
ferent strands in a tapestry, lie al
lusion “branches" occurs five
times, bearing “fruit” seven times
and “abide”/“abiding” 11 times.
Obviously the relationship be
tween God the “vinedresser,”
Christ the “true vine,” and his dis
ciples, the “branches,” is a very
close and deep one. Just as a vine
is a living thing that grows and de
velops, so there is a living, grow
ing connection between all three.
John uses terms which have usual
ly been translated into English as
“abide” and “abiding” terms
calculated by adding the high and
low temperature for each day and
then dividing by two to calculate
the average temperature for the
day. From the average you
subtract 41. The answer is the
number of GDD base 41 for that
day. By adding together each
day's GDD you obtain the
season's total.
Research has shown when the
season total reaches 700, alfalfa
will be near its maximum feeding
value. Local weather data for
Lancaster County shows that over
the last 12 years, the earliest 700
GDD was reached was May 13,
1991 and the latest was May 21,
1989. The average date was
reached between May 16 and 17
Feather Prof.'s Footnote:
"Businesses do not succeed,
people do."
not much used anymore. The only
times I can remember using it is in
reading the scripture or singing
“Abide With Me."
sn
My dictionary says that it can
mean any of the following: to re
main, continue, stay, dwell, re
side, continue in a particular con
dition, attitude, relationship, wait
for, endure, sustain, put up with,
tolerate, stand, accept without op
position. The Jerusalem Bible
renders “abide” as “Make your
home in me.” Moffet “remain.”
NEB: “Dwell." Living Bible:
“live in me” and “stay in me.”
TCNT: “remain united to me.”
Phillips: “You must go on grow
ing in me” and “share my life.”
ABUV: “continue." Knox: “if you
do not live on in me.” Wms; “re
main in union.” All of these indi
cate the very closest of relation
ships between Christ and his disci
ples, as well as between Christ and
the Father.
This relationship, however, is
not just something for us to enjoy.
As (with teal branches of a vine, it
is expected by both the vinedress
er and the vine that we will bear
fruit “As the branch cannot bear
fruit by itself, unless it abides in
the vine, neither can you, unless
you abide in me” (15:4). Bearing
fruit is not an optional activity for
the branch: “By this my Father is
glorified, that you bear much fruit,
and so prove to be my disciples.”
Fruit, not words, creeds, or de
clarations, is the proof of disciple
ship.
“If you keep my command
ments, you will abide in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s
commandments and abide in his
love” (10). And the command
ment? “This is my commandment,
that you love one another as I have
loved you. Greater love has no
man than this, that a man lay down
his life for his friends.”
This passage is both inspiring
and challenging. When we exam
ine our relationship with Christ,
we must ask ourselves if this rela
tionship is that of a true friend or
merely an acquaintance. As some
one has put it, “A friend is one
who comes in when the whole
world has gone out" That's the
friendship that Christ offers to us
and asks of us. Acquaintanceship
is not nearly enough.
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St.«
Ephrata. PA 17522
-by-
Lancaster Farming, Inc,
A Steinman Enteipnse
William J. Burqess General Manager
Everett R. Newswanger Editor
Copyright 1999 by Lancaster Farming
BE FRUITFUL