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
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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
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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
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When Farmers
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For Mount Joy
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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.
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MOUNT
FARMERS
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00-860-6569 • 717-653-5431
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Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 3, 1999-A27
The Two-Sided Sword
Of Biotechnology
(Continued from Pago A 10)
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CO-OP