AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 30, 1998
OPINION
No Chance To See The Beauty Of
Fail Foliage In These Forests
President Clinton hopes to make as many as 40 million
acres of federally owned forest off-limits not only to
development and lumbering, but he also wants to make them
visitor free by making them roadless areas. According to a
recent Associated Press news article the president was
traveling to George Washington National Forest in Virginia to
announce that the forest's Little River area, comprising 27,248
acres was to be off limits to people. This forest is known for
high ridges and knobs that offer stunning views of the
Shenandoah Valley, and is home to hardwood trees such as
oaks, hickories, poplar, and mountain ash.
Clinton is said to want this because he wants to leave a
permanent environmental legacy. This self-serving effort
totally refuses to recognize that federal forests are owned by
the American people and not by the president. In addition, if
a forest is left to it's own evolvement without proper
management it self-destructs and this powerful natural
renewable resource is lost to-the wealth of the nation and in
the end is lost to the enhancement of the environmental.
We believe it would be much better to provide scientific
forest management to protect the trees from disease and
decay, use the wood from some of the trees to increase the
wealth of the nation, plant two trees for every one we use, and
let the people enjoy the beauties of the national forests.
Nittany Lion Fall Classic Sale, Ag
Arena, State College, 11 a.m.
Dynamic Duo Spotlight Sale, Fre
derick Fairgrounds, Frederick,
Md., 7 p.m.
Octorara Area Young Farmers'
meeting, Octorara High School,
7:30 p.m.
Professional Dairy Heifer Growers
Association Northeast Region
al Conference, Gnmtvillc Holi
day hm, Grantville, thru Nov. 3.
Computer Seminar for Dairy Far
mers, Cony Higher Education
Council, Cony, 1 p.m.-3:30
pm.
Computer Seminar for Dairy Far-
Ki Cr Lab.
ram. Expo Center, thru Nov. 3,
8:45 ajn.-2:4S p.m. and 6:30
pjn.-9:30 p.m.
Computer Seminar for Dairy Far
mers, Kost Computer Lab,
Meadville, 10:30 a.m.-2:30
Lehigh Valley Horse Council
meeting, American Legion Post
367, Fullerton, 7:30 pjn.
Beef Cow Nutrition Seminar,
Maryland State Fairgrounds, 7
pjn.
Dairy Practices Council Annual
Conference, Radisson Lacka
wanna Station Hotel, Scranton,
thru Nov. 5.
Passing On The Farm Workshop,
Bradford County extension
office, Towanda, 9:30 ajn.-3
pjn.
Montgomery Agricultural Center
'lual Mi ’ P' ->unds,
.xity jpctk.
Extension Meeting, Schaeffer
stown Fire Hall, 7 p.m.
Adams County Extension Annual
Meeting, Heidelbutg Fire Hall,
6:30 p.m.
Armstrong Conservation District
Dairy Grazing Field Day, Mar
lin Stitt’s D&S Dairy Farm, 10
ajn.-2 p.m.
Leadership and Communication
Skills Workshop, Franklin
County extension office.
Banquet, Myers town Church of
the Brethren, 7:30 pm.
Food Animal Husbandly and the
New Millennium: Ethical,
Environmental, and Societal
Impacts, Auditorium, The Wis
tar Institute, Philadelphia,
10:15 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Warren County Holstcin/DHIA
Annual Meeting, Lander Fire
Hall, Lander, 8 p.m.
Bucks County Holstein Annual
Meeting, St Matthews Luthe-
ran Church, Kellers Church, 7
p.m.
NAILE, Kentucky Fair and Expo
Center, Louisville, Ky., thru
Nov. 19.
Lancaster County Farm Women
Convention, Farm and Home
Center, Lancaster.
Crawford County Holstein Annual
V ' Central F
Convention, Union town Holi-
To Be Y2K Ready
Farmers need to understand
how the millennium bug could
affect their farm equipment. Pork,
dairy and poultry operations need
to develop contingency plans.
Electronic scales, moisture
testers, grain drying equipment
and crop storage ventilation
systems used in grain elevators,
can all be affected by the
millennial bbug. Owners of pork,
dairy an poultry farms need to be
sure their climate control devices
will not collapse on New Year's
Day
Farmers with livestock
feeding or milking systems.
environmental control
mechanisms in barns or confined
feeding operations are advised to
contact manufacturers to find out
how they might be affected. By
doing some planning now could
save you a lot of problems on
January 1,2000.
To Set Farm Benchmarks
Benchmarks help you evaluate
how well you are doing in
comparison with other similar
farms, according to Glenn Shirk,
Lancaster County Extension
Dairy Agent. There are a variety
of data bases that may be used as
benchmarks.
The agricultural service people
you deal with including
accountants, veterinarians, feed
industry representatives and other
consultants may have summary
information for farms they work
with that are similar to yours. In
Extension Meeting, Star
Grange, Moorestown, 7 pan.
Poultry Management and Health
Seminar, Kreider’s Restaurant,
Manheim, noon.
Dauphin County 4-H Achieve
ment Night, Extension Center,
6 p.m.
Turf and Ornamental Meeting,
Lebanon Agriculture Center, 9
aan.-ll a an.
Fayette County Holstein Annual
Meeting, Growing Vegetables,
Ephrata High School, 7:30 p.m.
Bradford County DHIA $s In Your
Pocket, Edgcwood Restaurant,
Troy, 7:30 pjn., also Nov. 10.
Ag Services School, Meadville
Days hm.
PC Dart Training, Crawford Coun
ty extension office.
Odor Research Field Day, Jeff
Frey Swine Farm, Willow
Street, 10:30 ajn.-l:30 p.m.
Growing Your Dairy Facility and
Financial Planning for 21st
Century, Holiday Inn, Altoona,
9 a.m -5:30 n.m.
(Turn to Page A 29)
addition land grant universities,
cooperatives and businesses have
excellent data bases. Some of
these are on the internet.
Benchmark brackets include
profit per hundredweight of milk
sold, total farm profit, return on
investment, output per worker or
cow, etc. Look at the results of
dairy producers in the top 25
percent bracket. This can help jou
see what it might take for you to
get to that level. It also gives you
the opportunity to compare your
business with your stiffest
competition.
To Be Better Than Average
When you compare your farm
business with averages of other
farms, keep in mind that you
should strive to be better than
average if you intend to stay
ahead of the pack, according to
Glenn shirk, Lancaster County
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WHEN BAD MEMORY
IS A SIN!
October 31, 1999
Background Scripture:
Deuteronomy 8
Devotional Reading:
Psalms 85
“1 forgot” is one of the most fre
quent excuses we hear today. Of
ten, bad memory is an acceptable
excuse if it is evident that there
was no intention not to do what we
were supposed to or to do what we
were not supposed to do. We may
not be pleased that someone “for
got” but we are much less liable to
hold it against another person be
cause we all suffer from bad mem
ory from time to time.
At the same tiwm, “I forgot” is
not likely to be acceptable when
the consequences are hurtful to
others. “I forgot” is no justifica
tion for an airplane pilot whose
forgetting jeopardizes his or her
passengers. Nor is it acceptable
for a doctor whose bad memory
impinges upon his patients’
health. Forgetting your spouse’s
wedding anniversary is not likely
to be easily overlooked either.
Forgetting God has even more
serious consequences. He warns
the people: “Take heed lest you
forget the Lord your God ...”
(Deut. 8:11). How does one “for
g*r God? It is not a matter of for
getting that there is a God. We all
know that and are likely to re
member it If we forget an obliga
tion, it isn’t because it is no longer
in our memory, but because we
give our attention to something
else. That is the key to the bad
memory problem; we fail to re
member something because we
have not judged it important
enough to keep it in our con
sciousness.
“SHOW ME!”
Moses explains what consti
tutes “forgetting” the Lord: ‘Take
heed lest you forget the Lord your
God, by not keeping his com
mandments, and his ordinances
and his statues” (8:11). Failing to
keep these is the equivalent of
“forgetting” him. You can’t possi
bly remember God if you live in a
way that is contrary to his com
mandments. “Remembering” is
more a matter of “doing” than
“thinking.” Words that acknowl
edge “I remember you,” arc no
match for deeds that say the same
thing. As Eliza sings in My Fair
Lady, “Don’t speak of love,
SHOW ME!” God sings that same
song.
Moses gives the people of Israel
Extension Dairy Agent. Also, the
average farm may bear little
resemblance to your farm.
Thus, you may want to focus
on data for farms that are similar
to yours and to farms that are in
the top 25 percent performance
category. What makes other non
agricultural businesses
successful? Can we learn
something from them?
You may want to consider
benchmarking with some of them
as well. By keeping data you are
able to compare yourself with
other businesses while monitoring
trends in your own business. The
question is: Are you making
progress?
Feather Prof.'s Footnote: "A
bump in the road is either an
obstacle to be fought or an
opportunity to be enjoyed. It is up
to you."
a timely wanting: “lest when you l
have eaten and are full, and have
built goodly houses... and when
your herds and flocks multiply,
and your silver and gold is multi
plied, and all that you have is mul
tiplied, then ... you forget the
Lord your God ...” (8:13,14). In
the wilderness, as we noted last
week, it is fairly easy to remember
God because we know that we are
dependent upon his grace. But
when we are on Easy Street in the
Promised Land it is easy to forget
the Lord who put us there.
The abundance of things can
easily becomes false god. In those
days when die “free world” con
tended with the Soviet Union for
the minds and hearts of people, wc
frequently spoke of “godless
Communism.” Communism does
have a god, but it is not the God of
Jesus Christ Communism’s god is
materialism, the conviction that
happiness and fulfillment come
with an abundant supply of mater
ial things.
MORAL LEAVENING
Yet, does not our free capitalis
tic society offer die same recipe
for happiness and fulfillment:
things! I was educated in the
Wharton School of Finance &
Commerce of the University of
Pennsylvania. Capitalism, I con
cluded, is the best economic sys
tem the human race has yet devis
ed, but it did not descend from
heaven and it needs the moral
leavening of Christianity to keep it
from corrupting our souls. The
gospel of Jesus Christ proclaims
that there are values dial transcenc
materialism. Consumerism may
make some people a lot of money,
but it will not satisfy people’s
hungry spirits. The so-called
“laws of the market” shall not
supersede the Ten Command
ments of the Old Testament nor
die Great Commandment of the
New Testament
Material prosperity is seduc
tive. leading us from humility in
the face of God’s goodness to
inordinate pride in our own ef
forts. “Beware lest you say in your
heart. My power and the might of
my hand have gotten me this
wealth” (8:17). At that point we
have truly forgotten God’s grace
and have wandered away from
him. For what we follow, pretty
much determines where we go.
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Bphrat.a Review Building
1 E. Main St.>
Ephrata, PA 17522
-by
Lancaster Farming, Inc
A Stemman Enteipnse
William J. Burgess General Manager
Everett R. Newswanger Editor
Copyright 1999 by Lancaster Farming