Aio-Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, July 22, 2000
OPINION
Increase Farm Income
Corn growers took another step toward higher incomes with
the recent announcement by the National Corn Growers Associa
tion (NCGA) of a $2.5 million research project to create new,
higher valued consumer products for corn fiber or bran.
“We’re looking up the value chain for corn products,” says Lee
Klein, a farmer from Battle Creek, Neb., and president-elect of
NCGA. “This research will create a process that will take corn
fiber or bran that’s currently going into the market as low-priced
feed that we’re practically giving away and instead convert bran
into feedstocks for consumer products such as paint and plastics
and into ethanol. And reducing the supply of corn ultimately im
proves prices.
“It’s another example of NCGA’s stewardship of checkoff dol
lars. Growers will get the benefit of the entire project and leverage
their investment of checkoff dollars 10 to 1. That’s an enviable
return on investment. NCGA will manage the project in a cost
sharing partnership with Archer Daniels Midland of Decatur, 111.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is contributing $1.7 mil
lion and Battelle Pacific Northwest National Laboratory of Rich
land, Wash., will be a subcontractor for this project,” says Klein.
This is a milestone on the road to having renewable resources
claim 10 percent of the consumer chemical feedstock market by
2020. The 10 percent is the Vision for the Agricultural Industry of
the Future program sponsored by DOE. In 1996, the agricultural
and chemical industries and the DOE, with leadership from
NCGA, developed the Plant/Crop-based Renewable Resources
2020 program to achieve the 10 percent level. This DOE grant is
part of the agency’s Bioproducts and Bioenergy Technology pro
gram. This is a new effort that develops opportunities in biopro
ducts, biopower and biofuels and supplements the Ag Vision
program that focuses only on bioproducts.
“If plants were the feedstock for 10 percent of the chemical
market today, farm income would be more than $5 billion
higher,” says Klein. Furthermore, the increased use of renewable
resources in chemical feedstocks would decrease oil imports,
reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create new industries in the
U.S.
We know livestock farmers depend on low feed costs to pro
duce milk and meat. But we believe there should be enough
margin in the food chain to support both higher grain prices and
higher milk and meat prices.
leen England, Millerton.
Cecil County Old Time Farm
Days, Fairgrounds, thru July
23.
Cecil Co. Fair, Elkton, MD
Editor:
The movie “Chicken Run”
has certainly brought agricul
ture and specifically poultry
production into the spotlight of
the American public. As a poul
try industry, we welcome the op
portunity to share our advances
in consumer food safety, animal
welfare, and environmental
stewardship. A recent letter to
the editor which contained some
significant misleading facts and
implications about poultry cer
tainly warrants a response with
some of the real facts on poultry
in Pennsylvania.
It is fully disingenuous to
imply that this poultry is
“packed with antibiotics, hor
mones, pesticides.” There are no
hormones used in poultry pro
duction.
The author is correct in stat-
♦ Farm Calendar ❖
thru July
Jeii^^^iowns^pnrairTtnni
etferson
July 29.
Kimberton Community Fair,
♦ Farm Forum ❖
ing bacteria, specifically Sal
monella, can be found on
poultry products as well as
many other things, including
vegetables. As with any raw food
product, proper handling plays
a big role in keeping the food
safe.
In fact, every package of raw
poultry meat contains a label
with proper food handling in
structions including washing
your hands before and after
cooking, don’t cross contami
nate, keep the product cold, and
cook the product thoroughly.
With a few simple food safety
practices, poultry remains one of
the safest and most nutritious
foods in the market.
James A. Shirk
Assistant Vice-Present
of the Poultry Council
PennAg Industries Association
To Be Aware Of
Corn Rootworm Beetles
Adult corn rootworm beetles
usually begin emerging about
July 4th, however, this year they
were emerging almost 10 days
earlier because of the warm
weather, reports Robert Ander
son, Lancaster County Exten
sion Agronomy Agent. When
adult rootworms begin to
emerge from the soil, most of the
root feeding has been completed.
At this time some are adult,
most are in the transition pupa
stage and only a few are still ac
tively feeding larvae. When
feeding stops, the corn plant will
begin generating new roots
above the feeding zone. Within a
short period of time, the new
roots will almost hide the feed
ing damage. If this root growth
is sufficient before a storm, it
may not cause the corn plant to
lodge. Depending on the
weather and the extent of root
feeding, yields maybe impacted
without seeing the damage of
lodging corn.
To Scout For
Corn Rootworm Beetles
Scouting now for next year is
a way to determine where to
spend pesticide dollars to pre
vent crop damage next year, ac
cording to Robert Anderson,
Lancaster County Extension
Agronomy Agent. Based on the
number of beetles found by the
farmer now, a good estimate
maybe made if a rootworm in
secticide should be applied in
that field next year. The thresh
old for continuous corn is an av
erage of two northern or one
western adult beetle per plant.
For first year corn in a field, the
threshold is an average of three
northern or one and half west
ern adult beetles per plant.
To Prepare For Storms
The recent thunderstorms re
minds us that high winds, light-
thru July 29.
Shippensburg Community Fair,
thru July 29.
Troy Fair, thru July 29.
West Central District Dairy
Show, Butler County Fair
grounds. Prospect.
SgHonzons 2000 Confr
Holiday Inn, Grantville.
Lehigh County Horse Council
meeting, Reining, Willow
Brook Farms, Catasaqua,
7:30 p.m.
Field Crops Day, Northwestern
Branch, Custar.
Adams County 4-H Swine and
Sheep Show and Sale.
Penn Allied Nursery Trade
Show, Fort Washington Expo
Center, thru July 27.
Native Plants In the Garden
Short Course, Pittsburgh
Garden Place, thru July 27.
Farm Tour, We Grow With The
Seasons, Norbert Kohlmeyer,
Hopewell Junction, N.Y., 1
p.m.-3 p.m.
(Turn to Pag* A 32)
ning and falling trees can cause
unpredictable interruptions to
electric service. The following
precautionary measures will
help minimize the inconven
ience of an interruption of elec
trical service. Keep a battery
powered radio, flashlight and
plenty of fresh batteries in hand
where you can find them in the
dark. Avoid the use of candles.
Mishandled or unattended can
dles could cause a fire at a time
when all public safety resources
are strained. Keep a radio or
light plugged in and turned on
so you know when the power is
restored. Turn off or disconnect
appliances such as air condition
ers, computers, heat pumps,
WALKING THE
WALK
July 23,2000
Background Scripture:
Ephesians 5 through 6:4.
Devotional Reading:
Ephesians 5:6-20.
Let’s start with the hard part:
“Wives be subject to your hus
bands as to the Lord. For the
husband is the head of the wife
as Christ is head of the chur
ch...as the church is subject to
Christ, so let wives be subject in
everything to their husbands”
(Eph. 5:21-23).
It’s in the Bible then the
husband is the head of the wife
and wife shall be subject to the
husband. Is this an authoritative
teaching for all Christians? I do
not believe it is.
There are other teachings in
the Bible that Christians do not
count as authoritative. In Levi
ticus, Moses, speaking for God,
commands the people of God to
abstain from certain foods that
are “unclean.” (Lev. 11). In Lev
iticus 20:10 we are commanded
that “If a man commits adultery
with the wife of his neighbor,
both the adulterer and the adul
teress shall be put to death!” In
Deuteronomy 2:14 the father
and mother of “a stubborn and
rebellious son” are commanded
to bring the son to the elders at
the city gate “and stone him to
death with stones.”
I do not know of any Chris
tians today who obey these com
mandments even though they
appear unequivocally in the
Bible. Though these command
ments are represented as the will
of God, and although nowhere
in the gospels does Jesus revoke
them, we do not hold them to be
authoritative for us. My own ex
perience of Jesus Christ does not
permit me to live by these rules.
What Is Authoritative?
Sometimes we rationalize this
problem in holding that the New
Testament supersedes the Old.
But there are also many Old
Testament teachings that we do
hold authoritative for us the
Ten Commandments, for exam
ple.
Ference,
Furthermore, there are some
teachings in the New Testament
that we do not regard as authori
tative for our lives in Christ. For
example: the prohibition against
divorce (I Cor. 7:10,11), the
stricture against marrying “un
believers” (2 Cor. 14), and the
acceptance of slavery (Eph. 6:5),
among others. Although Paul
counseled the Romans to “let
every person be subject to the
governing authorities” and “he
who resists the authorities re
sists what God has appointed...”
televisions, washers and dryers.
If all these appliances begin op
erating at the same time after
power is restored, your dwell
ing’s fuses could blow or circuit
breakers could trip. Fill a tub,
several large bottles or pots with
water. Your water supply could
stop if your home uses a well
and pump. A fully loaded
freezer can keep food cold for 36
to 48 hours if the door remains
closed. Remember, touching a
vehicle, fence, person or water in
contact with a downed line is
dangerous.
Feather Prof, ’s Footnote: “No
one can make you feel inferior
without your consent." Eleanor
Roosevelt.
(Ro. 13:1,2), in the days of the
Third Reich, some German
Christians resisted the godless
Nazi regime as a matter of
Christian conscience.
My point is not to deny the
Bible’s authority, but to honestly
acknowledge that no one lives in
literal compliance with all the
teachings and commandments
we find there. All of us interpret
the scriptures in accordance
with what we believe to be the
spirit of Christ. Often we may
not agree on what is authorita
tive in the Bible. Much as we
love and respect it, our loyalty is
not to a book, but the Lord
whom we encounter within it.
So, Paul’s view of the superior
role of the husband over the wife
simply reflected the male
dominated society in which he
worked. Because he believed
that the triumphal return of
Christ was near, he did not at
tempt to change the structure of
that society. Instead he sought
to infuse that structure with a
new spirit: “Therefore be imita
tors of God, as beloved children.
And walk in love, as Christ
loved us and gave himself up for
u 5...” (Eph. 1:2).
Imitating God
The teaching in Ephesians is
so radical, so revolutionary that
it transformed all human rela
tionships: husbands, wives, chil
dren, slaves and masters. If we
imitate God, we find in emulat
ing the self-giving love of Jesus
that there can ultimately prevail
no injustices, no inequalities,
and no subjugations.
The emphasis is not upon how
we talk the faith, but how we
walk it “Walk as children of
the light (for the fruit of light is
found in all that is good and
right and true) and try to learn
what is pleasing to the Lord”
(5:8a,9,10). Walking is following
Christ. Walking is witnessing.
It is said that one day St.
Francis of Assisi invited some of
his monastic colleagues to go
with him into town to help him
preach to the people. Through
out the whole excursion he
spoke not a word to the people
and his disciples were con
founded. “But, Master,” they
said at last, “you said we would
be preaching as we went, but we
never spoke to them.” St. Fran
cis then explained to them that
the way they walked through
the town was the preaching the
people needed.
We can witness with words,
but often the witness of the way
we walk with Christ is more con
vincing.
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St.
Ephrata, PA 17522
—by—
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A Stemman Enterprise
William J. Burgess General Manager
Everett R. Newswanger Editor
Copyright 2000 by Lancaster Farming