S:iliii d;i\, .Ini' 3 Sullivan County Rodeo and Truck Pulls, Sullivan County Fair 3d Annual Natural Colored Wool Growers Association (NCWGA) Wool and Sheep Show at Derry Agricultural Fair, New Deny, Pa., thru July 10. Judging Contest, Lebanon Conference, Allenbeny Resort, Boiling Springs, thru July 9. Southeast 4-H Regional Meats Judging Contest, Stoltzfus Meats, Intercourse. Northeast Dairy Compact Com mission Meeting, Eastern States Exposition Gate 2, West WANTED Highest Prices Paid Will Pick-Up Minimum 50 Also: Dwarfs & Mini-Lop - Bunnies 609*887«6800 Leave Message won’t knock it over • Leveling stand • Pull by hand, tractor, etc, • Salt block holder * 150 gal &50 gal sizes Also available: steel float-bracket w/1” male fitting Levi’s Welding 1851 Mine Rd., Paradise, PA 17562 717-442-3077 Mon & Tue 8-8:30 AM With 20 trucks ready to serve you, Mt. Joy Co-Op Can Provide You With A Quality Milk Market To Meet All Your Needs. Give Us A Call Or Talk To A Neighbor Who Is Already A Member. public hearing. White Church Meeting House, 7 p.m. Ccntrc/Clinton County Holstein Club Barbecue and Twilight Mi >th Si Summer Field Tour and Family Get-Together, coffee and donuts at the Vegetable Crop Research Farm, Frecvillc, and Bus Tour begins at 10am.-3:30 Barhecw \t Stewart Lake Seminar, Jackson’s Mill, Wes ton, W.Va., thru July 10. Adams County Holstein and DHIA Associations Summer Twilight Meeting, Jeff King Farm, York Springs, 7 pjn. Annual Keystone Stud Ram Show and Sale, Harrisburg, thru July 10. 10th Annual Fawn Grove Olde Tyme Days, Fawn Grove, thru Odgen’s Farm, Lawrenceville, f 1 45’ Trailers J STORAGE s loo o Vr [ TRAILER month rental Sales 8t 48’ Trailers Rental $ 120 00 per month rental • Dry Howard E. • Safe Gro ff Co. • Clean m estate st. Quarryville, PA 17566 717 1, [ f 786-2166 1 717-2166 J When Farmers Retail Where Construction You Industry Want For Mount Joy ,v-' '"O »c#-: . 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Roth Farm Festival, Roth Farm of Del Val College, Neath Wales, Congress, Great Plains Coli ' and Fr ‘ ids, Lawtor Nutrient Management for Part time Farmers, Elktoo Library, Leadership Conference, Albright College, Reading, thru July 16. Penn State Weed Tour, PSU Agro- nomy Farm, Rock Spring. Franklin County Holstein Associ ation Field Day, Marcus and Chester Martin Farm, Mcrccrs burg, 10 am. Jacktown Fair, Wind Ridge, thru July 17. Living Mulch Research and Demonstration Tour, Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center, Rock Springs, Twilight Meeting, Georiie and Stephen Hoartzcll Farm, Slip pery Rock, 7 p.m. Somerset County Holstein Show, Meyersdale Fairgrounds, Mey ersdale, 7 p.m. Pa. Vegetable Growers’ Associa tion Field Tour to South Jersey, departs 7 a.m. from Home (Turn to Page ASS) simple response curve lots of high school science students do those in their science fair projects. What ecology and biology questions does this lab study raise? It is posible that in most com fields a sublethal rate of the Bt pollen may be present. Couple that with the fact that most cornfields have good to excellent weed control so that milk wee, is not found right in com fields. What is factor of distance from the com field and the pollen spread to the milkweed site? What do in-field studies show about the mortality of Mon archs? How much of an increase is there from the Bt pollen mortality compared to other sources of caterpillar pathogens and predators (the background mortality)? Are there any other important lepidoterans being affected? How old do the mon arch caterpillars in the field have to be to be sensitive? Remem ber that the larger the caterpillar is, the less sensitive it is to the Bt toxin in the pollen. To paraphrase another sage called Para celsus "the dose makes the poison." What about the timing of milkweed emergence, the caterpillar’s life cycle and the time of pollen shed? When, where and for how long do these three points overlap to give us a window? Lots of questions no answers (yet). Milkweed was out in my fields for the past week but I am a long ways away from com tasselling. Besides I did not plant Bt com not a problem. Com in our area will not be knee high by the 4th of July due to the lack of rainfall we have had. But it will in Lancaster County. So there are obvious loca tion effects and differences. Then there are a whole separate group of questions that re late solely to the biochemistry of the Bt toxin. I’ll only pose a single one. How long does the toxin actually remain viable in the pollen? Farmers know that the pollen itself is viable for only 12 - 36 hours after being shed from the tassel. Its viability depends on the temperature and humidity. Remember that the BT toxins are proteins that denature or break down some thing every high school biology student also teams about. In summary, we cannot relate Losey’s lab results to the more intricate field questions. John Losey was the first researcher to publish data on the no-target effects Of Bt com technology. That makes him a pioneer in his field. (There is a pun I couldn’t resist.) However, rest assured that he will not be the last. Like many lab studies, his work raises more questions than it an swers, especially about what happens out in nature. Remember, Bt com sales have not been overwhelmingly successful in our state. Only 8 percent of the seed sold is Bt com because com borer is not as big a pest problem here like it is down south. So even when the field data on monarchs comes in you will not be able to compare Kansas or Georgia to Pennsylvania. P.S. This information didn’t come as any surprise. Extension agent Chuck Gale and I discussed the pros and cons of biotech nology usage and the question of non-target effects with over 500 farmers this past winter during Penn State’s series of pesti cide training sessions. It is an example of how farmers who arc licensed to apply restricted use chemicals and use other related biotechnology methods are required to keep ahead of the learn ing curve, thanks to the land grant university system. (I am sure you will hear a lot about it from the seed salesmen next winter.) The second issue of trade sanctions by the Europeans against the genetically engineered herbicide resistant crops we also predicted at that time remember jokes about the banana wars? With that I am two for two, making my crystal ball pre dictions from last March that makes it a good time to quit. > » V VM* >WH ' * SWPfcfc MOUNT FARMERS ZZtuUity ?f(e£4, 00-860-6569 • 717-653-5431 l-l Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 3, 1999-A27 The Two-Sided Sword Of Biotechnology (Continued from Pago A 10) JOY CO-OP
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers