AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 14, 2000
OPINION
Be Careful, Or There’ll Be Consequences
Insect resistance management.
Corn growers are becoming ever more acquainted with this termi
nology. They ought to be. Because if they don’t observe the proper
kind of program, the high-technology corn that keeps bugs low and
crop yields high could become a grower’s nightmare.
In the section of Com Talk, published in this week’s issue of
Lancaster Farming, Penn State entomologist (“insect expert”)
Dennis Calvin provides some strategies to deal with new varieties of
transgenic com. The new com has “stackable” genes meaning
ways to deal with com rootworm and European com borer are built
into the plant.
For Pennsylvania growers, that amounts to 20 percent of com
acres should be “non-Bt” corn to act as a refuge to deter resistance.
However, corn varieties with a combination of com borer and
rootworm traits could make managing them complex, because of
the insects’ different life cycles. Researchers and the marketplace
itself are going to have to work on ways together to come up with
the best management strategies. It’s going to be touch-and-go until
those strategies are worked out.
The National Com Growers Association (NCGA) has set up an
information site on the Web. Just go to their Website,
www.ncga.com, and click on the left-hand icon under Insect Resis
tance Management.
We urge all corn growers to be careful in using those varieties.
What with environmental concerns being the front-burning issue of
today, only by acting wisely and responsibly can we continue to
make biotechnology even more valuable.
Biotech has brought us some great herbicide-tolerant com crops,
too. According to Bob Hartzler of lowa State University, Australia
faces some of the worst herbicide resistance problems in the world.
As a result, they’ve launched a major research and extension pro
gram called the Western Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative
to address this issue.
Why has this happened? Because of the mindset of growers, he
noted, that herbicide resistance is something that can be dealt with
after the fact rather than something to manage prior to emerging as
a problem.
If you read a paper published by the Initiative, according to them,
growers “down under” believe in herbicide exploitation until resis
tance develops. They’re not thinking about tomorrow, they just
want the weed-free crops today.
We have to think differently in this state and this country.
Science could bring us com that could prosper in drought, ward
off all insect pressure, and that you could spray once for weeds and
forget it. All the while producing yields, perhaps, into the hundreds
of bushels per acre.
But that could all be 'ost unless these critical first few years of
biotech are treated with respect and proper management is em
ployed.
EORDC, Caldwell, Ohio.
Backyard Composting Work
shop, 4-H Building, Troy
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Editor:
Your opinion column (“Ac
countability Is Key”) in the Oct.
7 issue was called to my atten
tion by some local pork produc
ers.
Accountability to producers
for the use of checkoff funds is
something on which there is
whole-hearted agreement. How
ever, what is accountability in
* Farm Calendar *
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Tour, 1 p.m.-5 p.m.
York County 4-H Recognition
Program, York County 4-H
Na* : al Poultry Waste Sympo-
fationai
(Turn to Pag* A 36)
♦ Farm Forum ♦
the mind of the producer and
what cost/benefit will be accept
able?
As an example, the following
is a list of a few accountability
items that are in place in the
pork industry:
• A board of directors is of
which the members are elected
by their peers
• A producer board that
makes decisions on the projects
(Turn to Pago A 29)
Corn may be damaged by cold
weather anytime the tempera
tures remain below 32 degrees
for 4 to 5 hours or anytime the
temperature drops to 28 degrees
for only a few minutes, reported
Robert Anderson, Lancaster
County extension agronomy
agent.
The amount of yield loss is di
rectly related to the stage of ma
turity when the frost hits.
The following are the expected
yield losses based on corn matur
ity when the killing frost hits:
• Black layer formation: 0
percent yield loss
• Hard dent: 5 percent yield
loss
• Dent: 9 percent yield loss
• Soft dough: 15 percent yield
loss
DAVID’S LAMENT
Background Scripture:
1 Samuel 31:1 through 2 Sam
uel 1:27; 1 Chronicles 10.
Devotional Reading:
Psalms 77:1-9.
You might think it strange
that it is David who leads Israel
in lamenting the death of Saul,
Jonathan, and their soldiers on
Mount GUboa.
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Although David and Saul had
once been close, Saul’s bitter jeal
ousy of David had forced him to
flee and hide for several years.
Had Saul captured David it is
likely he would have had him ex
ecuted.
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Still, Saul’s animosity did not
seem to evoke the same response
from David, who refused to take
Saul’s life even when he had sev
eral opportunities (1 Sam. 24,26).
Perhaps David’s memories of
their past friendship restrained.
Maybe it was because of his
strong friendship with Jonathan,
Saul’s son. Another reason is
suggested in 2 Samuel 1:14,16,
when, questioning the Amelekite
sojourner, David calls Saul “the
Lord’s anointed.”
Despite everything, the Lord’s
choice of Saul as king was more
important to David than the
danger that Saul represented to
him.
Relationships between people
are often strained and ruined be
cause of the malign or careless
acts of one or more of the per
sons. Yet, often we ought not to
write off these people. We need
to remember the good times as
well as the bad and try to rebuild
the relationship on that basis.
Sometimes, when people come
To Look At
Frosted Com
• Late milk: 36 percent yield
loss
• Silking: 100 percent yield
loss.
As with grain yields of frosted
com, silage yield will also be re
duced, depending on the stage of
maturity of the com plant when
the killing frost occurs.
The earlier the frost kills the
plant, the lower the grain yield
will be. In addition to low yields,
frosted com that is not mature
will have low grain test weight
and will dry very slowly in the
field.
To Consider Ensiling
Frosted Cora
A frosted com crop may be
salvaged for silage on many
farms, according to Robert An
derson, Lancaster County exten
sion agronomy agent.
When frosted com is put in
the silo, the first concern is that
com that has been killed by frost
will appear dryer than com with
similar maturity that has not
been frosted.
Several sunny days after a kill
ing frost will cause com leaves to
brown, giving the appearance of
mature com. However, the stalk
and ear will still contain a high
percentage of moisture. Special
care is needed to make sure that
the whole plant moisture content
is in the proper range for silage
in the type of structure it will be
stored in.
For conventional upright silos
the optimum moisture content
for com silage is between 63 and
68 percent moisture. For a shal
low trench, the moisture content
increases to between 68 and 72
percent moisture and for sealed
structure the moisture content
to me for marital counseling, I
find that they are focused only
on the bad times in their mar
riage, not the good ones. I often
ask them to tell me about an ex
perience when they felt good and
positive about their mate. These
recollections often trigger warm
feelings that have been long for
gotten.
Some Good Things
Saul’s death was tragic for
several reasons. Despite all his
failings, Saul had done some
good things for Israel: “Ye
daughters of Israel,” says David,
“weep over Saul, who clothed
you daintily in scarlet, who put
ornaments of gold upon your ap
parel” (2 Sam 1:24).
For all his weaknesses, Saul
had been a mighty military lead
er:, “How are the mighty fallen!”
(19,25).
And, most important of all,
Saul was the Lord’s anointed. It
was doubly sad because, despite
the Lord’s anointing, Saul had
seldom risen to the occasion. His
nagging self doubt was stronger
than his trust in God, so that
when he faced difficulties, he
saw them not as challenges to be
met but dangers from which he
hid. So Saul never became the
man he was created to become.
Do we?
David also expressed freely
his own personal sorrow: “I am
distressed for you, my bother,
Jonathan” (1:26). Despite Saul’s
bitterness against David, his son
and David remained the best of
friends. Jonathan’s loss was
tragic because, unlike his father
who brought his ruin upon him
self, Jonathan died because of
his intense loyalty to his father
and family. Jonathan was loyal
both to his father and family and
David, his friend a standard
all too uncommon today.
In the American Revolution,
Tom Paine wrote of the “sun
shine patriots.” What about
“sunshine friendships”?
decreases to between 45 and 55
percent.
A second problem could occur
when the moisture content of the
com is too low. If com is too dry
for proper ensiling, consider add
ing water to it at the silo. De
pending on how dry the silage is,
it takes between 50 and 75
pounds of water per ton of silage
to increase the moisture content
one percent. A gallon of water
weighs about 8.3 pounds,
therefore it takes between 6 and
9 gallons of water for each one
percentage increase in moisture
content.
To Pick Up
Farm Show
Premium List
The premium list for the 2001
Pennsylvania Farm Show is
available at your county Penn
State Cooperative Extension of
fice.
This year’s Farm Show will be
Jan. 6-11.
The premium list includes the
rules for the show, classes, prizes,
and entry deadlines. There are
several divisions that have Nov. 2
deadlines, including dairy, live
stock, poultry, and hay. Others
have a Dec. 15 deadline.
The premium list also has a
tentative schedule of events. This
year the Farm Show will be of
fering $300,648 in premiums, an
increase of about $26,000 more
than the 2000 show.
So pick up your premium list
today. Make your entries and
plans for the 2001 Pennsylvania
Farm Show.
Feather Prof’s Footnote:
“We cannot change yesterday.
We can only make the most of
today and look with hope to
ward tomorrow.”
How Are The
Mighty Fallen
2 Samuel 1:18 indicates that
David’s poem of lamentation
was preserved in the Book of Ja
shar, an anthology of the early
poems of Israel. Although we no
longer have it today, in addition
to this poem of David there are
in the Old Testament (Josh.
10:13 and 1 Kings 8:13) two
additional extracts from that
book. That David’s poem was in
clusion in the Book of Jashar is
strong evidence that it is original
with David, for in it there is a
marked absence of religious feel
ing. If editors had thought'it was
not original with David, they
probably would have not in
cluded it in 2 Samuel.
David is a strong man, but this
strong man is able to do what
many people cannot: he publicly
expresses his grief— for Saul, for
Jonathan, and for the nation.
“David lamented with his lamen
tation over Saul and Jonathan
his son..(1:17).
Apparently David’s country
men did not think it unmanly or
weak of him to grieve publicly
for Saul and Jonathan. So why
does that point of view not pre
vail today? Why do we want to
hide and play down our grief?
David says that his lamenta
tion “should be taught to the
people.” Expressions of grief can
be a learning experience for us, a
chance for all of us to grow as
David and the people of Israel
did when they unashamedly
grieved over their tragic loss.
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