AIQ-Lincaster Farming, Saturday, May 6, 2000
OPINION
Not That Much
More Important
Did you have any feelings of exhilaration this week, like a
dozen high-tailing heifers that have just found a hole in die pas
ture fence? But you didn’t know why you felt this way?
It could be you were experiencing a psychological reaction to
Tax Freedom Day that came and went on Wednesday. May 3,
2000 has been declared the day when the average American
taxpayer has earned enough to pay for his or her government—
federal, state, and local.
The Tax Foundation, an independent Washington DC group
follows such things and notes that since 1992 the total tax bur
den has grown markedly. And while state and local taxes have
grown somewhat, the lion’s share of the increase has been the
rapid growth of federal tax collections.
Of special interest to farmers will be the figures that put the
tax bite into perspective. Americans will spend more time work
ing to pay their taxes than they will spend working to provide
food, clothing, and shelter combined. For food alone, Louis
Moore, Penn State professor, ag economics, says we spend
about 10 percent of our income. This means citizens need to
work only about 38 days out of the year for food but they need
to work 124 days for taxes.
Sure we need government, just like we need food. But gov
ernment isn’t that much more important.
Saturday, May 6
Registered Highland Cattle Show
and Sale, York 4-H Facility, 10
a.m.
Spring Fling Scavenger Hunt,
Ludwig’s Comer Riding and
Driving Club, Marsh Creek
Park, Glenmoore, 9 a.m. (rain
date May 7).
Forensic Forestry, Florence Lock
hart Nimick Nature Center,
Recto' 10' --3
Seminar, Kreider’s Restaurant,
Manheim, noon.
Pa. State Grange Week Legisla
tive Luncheon, Radisson Hotel,
Camp Hill, 11:30 a.m.
Tuesday. May 9
Regional Twilight Fruit and Small
Fruit Meeting, Blyler Orchards,
Barbara Haas Orchard, Col
lumsville, supper 5:30 p.m.,
meeting 6:45 p.m.
Friday, May 1 2
Pa. Fair at Philadelphia Park,
thru May 29.
Saturday. May ,1 3
Western Pa. Sheep and Club
Lamb Sale, Mercer County 4-H
Park, Mercer, 6:30 p.m.
Northeast Production Select IX
Sale, Hereford Sale, Coopera
tive Extension, Morrisville,
N.Y., 12:30 p.m.
Old Bedford Village Spring Cele
bration and Plow Day, 9 a.m.-S
p.m.
Farm and City Day, North Muse
um, Lancaster, 9 a.m.-S p.m.
Sunday, May 14
Willowdale Steeplechase, Kennett
Square.
Nature Walk at site of future ar
boretum, Penn State, comer of
Bigler Rd. and Services Rd.
near Penn State Hort Trial
Gardens, 1:30 p.m.
Monday, May 1 5
PennAg Industries Spring Poultry
Banquet, Hershey Lodge and
Convention Center, Hershey.
Tuesday. May 1 6
Current Advancements and Issues
In Equine Health, Holiday Inn,
Phillipsburg, N.J., 9:30 a.m.-4
p.m.
Chester County Cattlemen Meet
ing, New Bolton Center, Ken
nett Square, 7 p.m.-9 p.m.
Wednesday. May 17
Horse Pasture Management
Workshop, East Hanover
Township Municipal Building,
Shellsville, also May 24.
Twilight Fruit Meeting, Heilig Or
chards, Richwood, N.J., 6:15
p.m.
Small Grain Twilight Meeting,
WREC, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday. May 1 8
Strawberry Twilight Meeting,
Wye Research and Education
Center, 6 p.m.
Fuday, May 10
Gettysburg Fair, thru May 21.
Saturday, May 20
Lebanon County Rabbit Conven
tion, Lebanon Fairgrounds.
Capitol Area Beekeepers Short
Course on Basic Beekeeping,
Milton Hershey Farm Confer
ence Center and Apiary, Her
shey, noon-5 p.m.
To Develop A Learning
and Quality Initiative
To be successful in business
today you need to develop a cul
ture for your business.
Recently, I came across sever
al initiatives one of the county’s
leading agribusinesses has de
veloped for their company. I be
lieve -these initiatives should be
the part of the culture of all
farms.
The Learning Initiative states
“We must continually increase
our learning ability as individu
als and as an organization. We
need to develop leaders to take
our expertise to the next level of
excellence.
Our success depends upon in
dividuals with high emotional
SHJ
BY LAWRINCt W AITHOUSf
sanjiLS
RAINING ON
YOUR OWN ‘PARADE’
Background Scripture:
2 Corinthians 1 through 2.
Devotional Reading:
2 Corinthians 1:3-11.
Churches often do have aro
mas. My first hill-tune pastorate
would always have the aroma of
chocolate during Lent and Easter
the by-product of weeks of Eas
ter candy-making by ladies of the
church. Some churches I remem
ber by their rich aromas of highly
polished pews and vinyl cushions.
In the Middle East I remember
the churchly aromas of incense.
Other churches always smelled
like restaurants and still others
were musty like long-neglected at
tics.
Some of these aromas were
pleasing; some of them not. It is
often suprising to me in talking
with people who no longer attend
church that their remembrances
of church are colored by aromas
usually not pleasant or inspiring.
That aroma may be figurative
or metaphorical instead of literal,
as in 2 Cor. 2:14b,15: when Paul
says “...and through us spreads
the fragrance of the knowledge of
him everywhere. For we are the
aroma of Christ to God among
those who are being saved and
among those who are perishing...”
Paul is not speaking of a physical
aroma, but an inner one.. A
STENCH THAT REPELS Many
churches give off a most distress
ing aroma when we do not handle
well disputes and differences with
in the life of the church. These di
visions are like an unpleasant
aroma, indeed a stench that repels
people who might otherwise be at
tracted to the Christ. Currently,
that is the effect of the various di
quotients (EQ) working and
sharing together. EQ are indi
viduals who make sound deci
sions, admit their mistakes and
put what is best for their peers
and the organization ahead of
their personal agendas.”
The Quality Initiative states
“We must embrace quality in all
that we do. We believe our cus
tomers have two perceptions.
We have a quality product and
quality permeates our organiza
tion.
However, quality and efficien
cy must go hand in hand. Great
er accuracy and accountability,
as required by the customer, will
result in the need for higher lev
els of quality control.
To Understand
The Food Chain
Developing alliances with
customers and suppliers that
form a food chain will be one of
the most important decisions
farmers will have to make over
the next couple of years.
Farms will need to be an inte
gral part of the food supply
chain. We will need to challenge
ourselves to understand the
needs of our suppliers and our
suppliers’ suppliers, our custom
ers and our customers’ custom
ers.
Farmers will need to partner
with those who enhance the
strategic advantage for the en
tire food chain of which they are
a part. Then and only then will
value be added to the entire food
chain and enhancing the bottom
line of that chain.
In the process, farmers must
align themselves with suppliers
visions and schisms with Chris
tendom, the ’people of God,’ lay
and clergy alike, washing their
dirty laundry in public so that it is
evident that, despite what we may
profess, our churches are not
about sacrificial love and grace,
but contention and bitterness.
Note, when I speak of ’divisions,’
I am not thinldng of the many
and various denominations, but of
the conflicts that nurture hostility
between the members of Christ’s
body.
Several mainline denomina
tions—United Methodist, Presby
terian, and Episcopal—are facing
schisms within because of the
growing hostility between church
members mostly, but not solely
over the issue of homosexuality.
However sincere and well-inten
tioned these conflicts may be, the
disputes are turning away pro
spective disciples, branding the
church with a disputatious image
If the churches cannot find peace
fid and constructive means to
handle disputes, they really pres
ent the Gospel as a lie. This is just
as true within congregations as
within denominations.
How many people of the last
two millennia have been lost to
God in Christ because their domi
nating experience of a Christianity
in a local congregation was one of
knock-down, drag-out conflicts? I
have experienced several churches
of which it could be said they
would rather fight than pray or
perform sacrificial service.
IN-FIGHTING In 1 Cor. 1 and
2 we can pout together a picture
of the in-fighting that took place
in the Corinthian church. Appar
ently Paul had been shamefully
opposed by a member of that con
gregation, causing Paul to delay
his planned stop at Corinth from
Macedonia. Though Paul post
poned this visit for good reason,
the postponement became another
obstacle in relationships in the
church. This was not some slight
affront, for Paul speaks frequently
of the considerable pain this man
caused him. What saves the situa
and customers who think the
way they think and focus on the
same core values they do. The
business of tomorrow must be
able to assemble the strengths of
many partners to become far
more nimble and responsive.
To Develop An
Environmental Initiative
One of the county’s leading
agribusinesses has established
an initiative to be the leader in
meeting environmental con
cerns.
Stewardship is the individu
al’s responsibility to manage his
life and property with proper re
gard to the rights of others.
They recognize the need to ac
cept the responsibility and own
ership for providing solutions to
environmental problems.
Science is on our side.
Through research and future
discoveries, we will find differ
ent methods which will help
solve the environmental chal
lenges at hand.
At the same time we, as an in
dustry, need to do a better job
educating the consumer of our
stewardship efforts and our de
sire to improve the land and the
environment. We will need to
document our efforts in order to
demonstrate our efforts are real
and scientifically sound.
Good stewardship is a com
mitment, a commitment which
will lead us to the inevitable
conclusion that one must devel
op and promote sustainable ag
riculture.
Feather Prof.'s Footnote:
“Together we can accomplish
the unimaginable. ”
tion, however, is Paul’s two-fold
attitude. First, he refuses to take
this dispute personally and for
gives the offender. Secondly, be
lieving that the man has been
punished enough, he urges the
Corinthian church to forgive and
comfort him. Paul does not over
look what has happened nor does
he close to his eyes to the painful
result, but he commends the
church to forgiveness and recon
ciliation. How often do we see that
in out churches where doctrinal
purity and procedural correctness
are too often more highly valued
than bearing the cross of loving
service with and for other Chris
tians? Paul calls to mind the well
known image of a victorious
Roman general and his troops
marching in procession along an
avenue leading to a temple where
an aromatic sacrifice will be of
fered. That is the analogy he pres
ents to us. Let the church move
forward as a triumphal throng
and let its gracious, self-sacrificial
behavior provide for our world
“the aroma of Christ to God
among those who are being saved
and among those who are perish
ing.” Let’s not “rain” on our own
“parade.”
Note: In the Steps of Paul to
Rome & Greece, an 18-day tour
conducted by Larry & Valere Al
thouse, is scheduled for April,
2001. If interested, please contact
us: 4412 Shenandoah Ave, Dallas
TX 75205/e-mail: althouse
s@aol.com; fax: (214) 52109312.
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St
Ephrata, PA 17522
—by—
Lancaster Fanning, Inc.
A Stemman Enterprise
William J. Burgaaa Ganaral Managar
Evaratt R. Nawawangar Editor
Copyright 2000 by Lancaster Farming