AlO-Uncastw Farming, Saturday, June 24, 2000
OPINION
Milk As Brain Food
A recent national news article reported on a new ad campaign
urging college students to replace their milk mustaches with beer
foam. This “Got Beer?” campaign argues that beer is healthier than
milk and the dairy industry is cruel to cows and calves.
Of course the mothers (and fathers) of American youth in colleges
are concerned and appalled with this supposed humorous play on
the successful “Got Milk” and “Milk Mustache” advertising.
“Strong drink” is the number one culprit credited with ruining
young people’s lives from the outcome of driving drunk or other in
humane things drunk people do to other people. Of course, this
comes at a time when binge drinking on campuses has reached new
heights.
Frankly, we have enough faith in the integrity of the younger
generation that this backhanded attempt to deify the sacred cow
will cause no increase in the consumption of alcohol on campus.
College students are a very intelligent group of people, not easily
hoodwinked into becoming pawns of the opponents of agriculture.
To put milk on your cereal each morning will feed your brain, not
stupefy it.
Saturday, June 24
Pedal To Preserve 2000, starts at
Donegal High School, Mount
Joy.
Maryland Grape Growers Field
Day, Bill Kirby Vineyard,
Cordova, Md.
Pennsylvania Holstein Heifer
Sale, Pennsylvania Holstein
Farm, Middletown, 11 a.m.
Pond Management For Private
Land Users, Beaver Creek
Conservation Area, 10 a.m.-
3:30 p.m.
SUN Area Dairy Princess Pag
eant, Susquehanna Valley
Mall, Selinsgrove, 7 p.m.
Harford County, Maryland Farm
Visitation Day, Pieper Dairy
Farm, Jarrettsville; Woolsey
Farm, Churchville; and North
Harford High School Ag Pro
gram, Pylesville, 1 p.m.-5 p.m.
Sunday,June 25
Pa. Ayrshire Picnic, Myron and
Teresa Pomraning Farm,
Delta, 11 a.m.
iwilil
Ambassador Conference, Penn.
State University, thru June
28.
Tuesday, June 27
Southern Branch Crop and Live
stock Day, Southern Branch,
Ohio.
Allegheny County Fair and Ex
position, thru July 2.
CCA Alfalfa Production School,
Landisville Research Farm.
Mercer County Dairy Princess
Pageant, Leslie N. Firth Edu
cational Center, Mercer, 6:30
p.m.
Southeast Regional Christmas
Tree Growers Meeting, West
lake Tree Farms, Pottstown, 1
p.m.-4:30 p.m.
4-H Livestock Judging, Middle
burg Livestock Auction, 9
a.m.
* Farm Calendar *
Wednesday, June 28
USA Junior Holstein Conven
tion, Columbus, Ohio.
National Holstein Convention,
Columbus, Ohio, thru July 1.
New York State Farmers’ Direct
Marketing Association Sth
Annual Summer Bus Tour,
Wayne County, starts at Long
Acres Farms, Macedon, 9
a.m., returns at 5:30 p.m.
PASA Farm Vegetable Technolo
gy Field Day, New Morning
Farm (Crawford Farm), 1
p.m.-5 p.m.
PennAg Industries Association
Conflict Prevent Training
Program, Perkins Restaurant,
Lewisburg, 8 a.m.-noon.
BCGN Pasture Walk, Madigan
Farm, noon-2 p.m.
Thursday, June 29
USA Junior Holstein Conven
tion, Columbus, Ohio.
Wolfs Comer Fair, thru July 4.
Ohio Muck Crops Day, Muck
Crops Branch, Celeryville.
Pa. Tobacco Association Member
Meeting, Solanco Fair
grounds, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, June 30
USA Junior Holstein Conven-
tion, Columbus, Ohio.
Butler Fair, thru July 8.
Saturday, July 1
Sullivan County Demolition
Derby, Forksville Fair
grounds, 9 a.m.
Kutztown Festival, Kutztown
Fairgrounds, Kutztown, thru
July 9.
USA Junior Holstein Conven
tion, Columbus, Ohio.
Sunday, July 2
Monday, July 3
Tuesday, July 4
Lancaster Farming office
closed
(Turn to Pago All)
To Understand
Corn Water Needs
The amount of water used
by com varies considerably
from planting to maturity.
The seedling (0 to 20 days
after planting) requires 0.06
inches per day compared to
0.33 inches per day during
silking and grain fill (70 to
100 days after planting).
However, adequate water at
each stage of development is
critical in achieving maxi
mum yields.
For example, water used by
the com plant in the eighth to
x ~ r
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PAUL’S SECRET
Background Scripture:
Phiiippians 4:4-20.
Devotional Reading:
1 Thessalonians 1:2-10.
The analogy of whether the
cup is half-empty or half-full is
probably overworked. Yet, it is so
relevant for the last chapter of
Paul’s letter to the Philippians
that I choose npt to use it once
again.
The fact remains that when
looking at a cup or life itself, we
must always decide upon what
we will concentrate its empti
ness or its fullness and that
choice will greatly affect whether
our cups and lives be more
empty or more full.
Some people regard this ana
logy as a strategy for avoiding
the negativities of life. For, in
truth, the cup that is half full is
also half empty. There is no
point denying either the empti
ness or negativities of life. They
exist, whether in a 50-50 balance
or some other ratio. Emptiness,
negativity, evil, tragedy, disap
pointment these are all too
real.
Unfortunately for so many
people, their preoccupation with
the emptiness of life obscures the
reality of its fullness. For some
reason inherent in our human
nature, we are more attracted by
bad news than good news. Bad
news sells in the newspapers,
television, books, magazines and
in the movies. Many people find
good news boring.
Good And Evil
So we know that life is filled
with both good and evil, but the
latter gets our attention faster
and longer. A perspective,
10th leaf stage is not as high
as during pollination. But this
is the period of time when the
number of rows of kernels
around the ear is being de
termined.
During the 12th to 17th leaf
stage, the ear length potential
is being determined. Any
stress between the eighth and
17th leaf stage will limit
needs.
Based on University of
Florida data, it is estimated
the com plant needs 25 inches
of water during the growing
season.
To Pack Silage
In Thin Layers
To have silage fully com
pressed so air is forced out
and kept out, heavy tractors
are needed.
Faster filling rates have
forced many farmers to go to
larger and/or more packing
tractors. An easy way to tell if
you are keeping up with
packing is to monitor how
much new, unconsolidated
forage you have under your
wheels at any one time, re
minds Kurt Ruppel, Pioneer
dairy specialist.
Survey results from a Wis
consin study found that thin
ner layers of silage result in
denser silage. A layer of six
therefore, that sees life as mostly
bad news is the real escapist de-
lusion for it crowds out the reali-
ty of the good news. What we
•> end up doing, then, is focusing
on one without necessarily deny
ing the other and what we focus
upon tends to shape our lives
accordingly.
Take your cue on life today
from the front page of your
newspaper or the television
“news” and there is little reason
to get out of bed.
So this is what Paul is writing
to the Philippians. The world is
telling them to “Despair! De
spair,” but Paul is saying. Re
joice! Rejoice! “Rejoice in the
Lord always; again I will say.
Rejoice” (4:4).
When you get out of bed in
the morning, do you groan or re
joice for the gift of life for anoth
er day? Try rejoicing all the way
to the breakfast table and make
it part of your prayer of grace
before you read the daily paper.
Your cup is at least half full
probably running over and
you can focus your attention on
that instead of dismal news of
disasters, violence, and corrup
tion.
Paul gives definite reasons for
rejoicing: “The Lord is at hand.
Have no anxiety about anything,
but in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known
to God.” And if we do that, what
is the result? “And the peace of
God, which passes all under
standing, will keep your hearts
and your minds in Christ Jesus”
(4:4-7)
The secret for achieving true
peace in our lives is to put our
trust in God and rejoice. I con
fess I do not always live up to
this principle negativity is a
hard habit to break but, when
1 do, I find that peace and secu
rity.
Think On
These Things
Paul then goes on to clinch this
teaching; “Finally, brethren,
inches or less is probably
needed for good compaction.
Based on field measure
ments using an electronic
scale, it was found for every
one inch of silage depth, the
weight of the tractor tire
reaching the scale was re
duced by about 10 percent.
So, at five inches, about one
half of the tractor weight is
felt in the silage.
To Control
Thistles
Conditions this past winter
and spring have favored rapid
growth of many weeds, in
cluding noxious weeds such as
thistles, according to Glenn
Shirk, Lancaster County ex
tension dairy agent.
To help prevent the pro
duction and scattering of this
tle seeds, cut thistles now. To
quickly halt seed production,
cutting is preferred to spray
ing.
Chances are most herbi
cides will not work fast
enough to halt seed produc
tion. Once thistles have been
cut, herbicides may be applied
to the regrowth to help con
trol future growth and possi
bly kill the plant.
Feather Prof.’s Footnote:
“Goals are the bridges that
span our dreams. ”
whatever is true, whatever is
honorable, whatever is just,
whatever is pure, whatever is
lovely, whatever is gracious, if
there is any excellence, if there is
anything worthy of praise, think
about these things” (4:8).
Paul would not deny that
there is a lot of garbage, evil, and
misery around us and maybe
even in our lives, but if we focus
upon grace instead of garbage,
we will have learned the secret of
finding peace of Christ in the
midst of everything.
The Apostle is his own best ex
ample, for he writes the Philippi
ans from prison, and does not
know whether life or death will
be his next episode. But Paul has
chosen to focus on the fullness of
his life rather than the emptiness.
Buoyed by their collection that
they sent to him, Paul assures
them that the secret is true:
"... I have learned in whatever
state I am, to be content. I know
how to be abased and I know
how to abound; in any and all
circumstances I have learned the
secret of facing plenty and hun
ger, abundance and want. I can
do all things in turn who
strengthens me” (4:11-13).
If you haven’t tried Paul’s se
cret, why not begin now?
Note; In the Steps of Paul to
Rome & Greece, an 18-day tour
conducted by Larry and Valere
Althouse, is scheduled for April
2001. If interested, please contact
us: 4412 Shenandoah Ave., Dal
las TX 75205/e-mail: althouse
s@aol.com; fax: (214) 521-9312.
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St.
Ephrata, PA 17522
—by—
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A Steinman Enterprise
William J. Burgess General Manager
Everett R. Newswanger Editor
Copyright 2000 by Lancaster Farming