AlO-Umcastor Fanning, Saturday, Octobar 28, 2000
OPINION
Thoughts On Saving The Farm
Just the other day I had the opportunity to be a chaperone on a
field trip taken by my daughter’s kindergarten class. Our trip was to
an apple orchard where the children were treated to a farm tour via
a hay ride and the chance to learn a few simple facts about the
apple industry. They also had an opportunity to pick some apples,
see those apples turned into cider, and even sample some tasty
apples, cider, and cookies. What a treat.
The trip was wonderful for many reasons, not the least of which
was the well-spoken and sincere presentation to the children and
their adult chaperons delivered by the farm owner and his wife. As
we traveled across the farm en route to the apple trees, we heard
how the farm had survived and been improved over several
generations in the same family. We learned of the challenges that
this family has faced over the years as they worked to continue
farming not enough rain, too much rain, rising input costs, govern
ment taxation, regulation and intervention, static market prices,
and urban encroachment. Much of the message was targeted to the
many adults, but I am sure also sowed a few seeds of thought in the
children’s fertile minds. I know my daughter asked some pretty in
teresting questions as we rode the bus back to school.
On our ride back to school, my thoughts were focused on just how
shortsighted we have become with regard to food and fiber produc
tion. All but one of the 18 or so parents who chaperoned this trip
were relative newcomers to Carroll County. To them, Sykesville,
Eldersburg, Rt. 140, and Westminster have always looked the way
they appear today. They have no point of reference to appreciate
the overwhelming loss of farmland to development or understand
the cost of “progress.” They moved from the city to the country but
brought the city with them.
Today we have fewer than 2 million farms in the U.S. This is
down from an almost 30 million farms at the turn of the last cen
tury. Agriculture has undergone enormous change and has had to
compete with residential and commercial development to the point
that the future of our agricultural land base is threatened. Yet, we
continue to convert approximately one million acres per year from
agriculture into urban, suburban, and rural development. When will
it stop?
In my view, one of the most overused and frustrating mantras is
“farmland protection.” What does this mean? In too many cases it
means maintaining green space so that the city folks who moved to
the country still have some “country” left to look at. Anyone who
thinks that Farmland Protection is equivalent to protecting the
farmer is sadly wrong. At some point in the debate and conversa
tion, we must raise the ugly specter of profitability. There is no ques
tion that farming requires farm land but the farmer (remember
him/her?) requires profitability.
During our apple tour, our host spoke of the emotional and physi
cal stress associated with the production challenges his family has
faced over the years. He shared how hard it was to know there was
not enough income to pay his workers a reasonable wage in some
years and what a joy it was to be able to share the wealth when
times were better. There was no question that this man and his fam
ily loved farming, yet the reality of having to make a living stood
starkly in front of him each day.
I recently saw a list of “Reasons to Save Farmland.” I won’t in
sult you with its content —just know it wasn’t written by a farmer.
Nittany Lion Fall Classic Sale,
Agricultural Arena, State
College, 11 a.m.
Pa. Simmental Fall Classic Sale,
Greene County Fairgrounds,
Waynesburg.
Fall Harvest at Pepperbox,
Laurel, Del., 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Dynamic Duo Spotlight Sale,
Maryland Shorthorn, Here
ford, and Angus associations,
Frederick Fairgrounds, Fred
Daylight Saving Time ends,
Eastern Standard Time re
turns.
PACD/SCC Joint Annual Con
ference, Hilton Valley Forge,
Valley Forge, thru Nov. 1.
Scott M. Barao
Extension Livestock Specialist
University of Maryland
From the
Sept.-Oct. 2000
“Annual Agriculture Update”
Newsletter
♦ Farm Calendar ♦
Grantvilie, thru Dec. 31.
Pa. Association of Conservation
Districts 2000 Conservation
Expo, Grand Ballroom,
Hilton Valley Forge, 9 a.m.-8
p.m.
Prospective Student Open
House, Penn State University,
thru Nov. 2.
National Professional Heifer
Growers, Northeast Meeting,
Akron, Ohio, thru Nov. 2.
Cambria County Annual Exten
sion Meeting, United Church
(Turn to Pago ASS)
To Control Winter
Annual Weeds
Populations of winter annual
weeds in alfalfa seem to be increas
ing, according to Paul Craig, Capitol
Region Extension forage crops
agent.
Weeds such as common chick
weed, henbit, purple nettle, and ma
restail have been difficult to manage
in the spring and may significantly
affect haymaking in first cutting.
Work at Ohio State and Penn
State indicate that herbicide treat
ments in late fall (November) seem
to be more consistent than spring
treatments, especially when dense
stands of winter annual weeds are
anticipated. Weeds are smaller in the
fall and weather maybe more condu
cive for herbicide activity.
A late fall treatment that controls
WHEN A‘HOUSE’
IS NOT A HOUSE
Background Scripture:
2 Samuel 7; 1 Chronicles 17.
Devotional Reading:
1 Kings 8:15-21.
When is a “house” not a
house?
In 2 Samuel 7, there is a play
on the various meanings of the
word “house.”
In 7:1,2 house means the “pal
ace” of David the king: “Now
when the king dwelt in his
house ” Then King David
says to Nathan the prophet,
“ ‘See now, I dwell in a house of
cedar, but the ark of God dwells
in a tent.”
No longer do the tribes of Isra
el wander in the wilderness.
They have put down roots and a
kingdom has been established by
David. Surely, God now needs a
permanent house, a place for the
Lord to dwell.
We can easily understand Da
vid’s reasoning, for we might
very well make the same
judgment. We are human beings
and human beings have an edi
fice complex.
The religion of Israel, while
very vital, has been in human
terms somewhat chaotic and dis
organized. The tent or tabernacle
that was carried through the wil
derness was now seen to have
been intended as a temporary ar
rangement. Now is the time to
put up an edifice that will be a
worthy house for God to dwell
and here the word house means a
“temple.”
A House
To Dwell In?
That is the meaning when God
says, “Would you build me a
house to dwell in? I have not
weeds present should provide near
complete winter annual control
through first cutting and eliminate
the need for a spring burndown.
The decision to use herbicides for
weed control in alfalfa stands should
be based on the degree of weed in
festations, the type of weeds present,
and the density of the existing alfalfa
stand.
Remember, alfalfa does not spread,
into open areas. By removing winter
annual weeds from infested stands
often leads to new infestations of
summer annual weeds. Care must be
taken by the applicator to ensure the
alfalfa stand has entered fall dor
mancy, the herbicide program is la
beled for the target weed and crop,
application rates and carrier are con
sidered, and grazing, harvesting, and
feeding restrictions are followed.
The Penn State Agronomy Guide
lists herbicide options, effectiveness,
and restrictions. Take time this fall
to evaluate your alfalfa stands and
determine if an herbicide program is
needed this fall.
To Control Hay
Crops For
Spring Rotations
If you plan to rotate an old
alfalfa/grass field into no-till com
next spring, fall is an excellent time
to kill the alfalfa and grass, accord
ing to Robert Anderson, Lancaster
County extension agronomy agent.
Fall applications of Roundup or
Ranger are generally more effective
in killing cool season perennial
grasses such as orchardgrass, fescue,
and quackgrass than are spring ap
plications of the products. However,
early fall applications are more effec
tive than late fall applications.
With a mild fall or winter, the ap
plication may be delayed but the best
rule is to apply the herbicides as
soon as possible. Fall applications of
dwelt in a house since the day I
brought up the people of Israel
from Egypt to this day.. .”(7:6).
In the early days of Israel, the
tent was not regarded as the
dwelling place of God, but as the
place where he came to meet his
people through Moses. God was
not limited to a tent. But, some
where along the line, some (all?)
Israelites came to believe that,
when they moved the tent, they
moved God. They would not
have put it so baldly, but that
understanding was very much
behind the way they conceived
of God and it is obviously the
basis for David’s desire to build
a suitable dwelling place for the
Lord.
David’s intention was obvi
ously quite sincere and there was
only thing wrong with his plan
it was not God’s plan! He re
mins David and the people of Is
rael that they are his servants,
not the other way around. “Thus
says the Lord of hosts, / took
you from the pasture... and /
have been with you wherever
you went... and / will make for
you a great name... and / will
appoint a place for my peo
ple ...” (7:8-10). (For emphasis I
have bold-faced the repeated “I”
statements. For more of the
same, see 7:10 through IS.)
He is reminding David that
his ascendancy was God’s plan,
not David’s. Although his inten
tion was sincere, David’s plan
was susceptible to the danger of
institutionalizing religion. If you
can build a dwelling for God
rather than a place to meet him
you have some control of the
relationship. As Ganse Little
writes: “That which is honestly
meant to be a means to the more
effective worship of God so easi
ly degenerates into an end in it
self. The devotion which should
be given to God alone becomes
attached to the maintenance and
the preservation of a hallowed
structure, the traditional ritual,
the system of ecclesiastical pre
rogatives, the power of a priestly
hierarchy.”
Davidic Offspring
God promises, “Moreover the
Banvel or 2,4-D or a combination of
these products were found to be
more effective in killing established
alfalfa plants.
To Manage
Frost-Damaged Cora
Appropriate management of frost
damage corn can help to reduce
yield losses and maintain feed value,
according to Robert Anderson, Lan
caster County extension agronomy
agent.
Frost damage corn will have small
and misshapen soft kernels. The in
complete development of the starch
structure will cause a pithy kernel,
resulting in a high percent of kernel
breakage during handling and low
test weight (below 45 pounds per
bushel). It will result in low protein
levels and low digestibility.
Amino acid levels will be very
variable. Negligible losses will occur
if the com has already dried to 35
percent moisture or below, even with
a severe frost. If any green leaves re
main after a frost, even leaves that
are below the ear, the com plant will
continue to live and mature.
This will increase its dry matter
content. A good rule of thumb to re
member is let frosted com stand as
long as there are green leaves and
the ear has not formed the black
layer.
The best use of frosted corn is ani
mal feed. However, it should be
tested so that the feeding program
may be supplemented with addition
al protein and amino acids. In addi
tion, fungi may present a problem
with frosted com. You should con
tinue to check for fungi during stor
age. Expect storage time to be re
duced as much as SO percent with
frosted com.
Feather Prof’s Footnote; “Wis
dom is knowing what path to take
next and integrity is taking it. ”
Lord declares to you that the
Lord will make you a house”
(7:11). Here is another meaning
for house in this case it means
a “dynasty.” This is the kind of
house that God wants to estab
lish with David, generations of
Davidic offspring, not an edifice.
Historically the dynasty of David
ended in 587 or 586 BC., but
spiritually, we see the Davidic
line culminating in the person of
Jesus Christ and the teaching
that the temple was superseded
by the living temple of the Chris
tian church.
It is well and good for us to
erect structures “to the glory of
God” and fashion church rituals
and polity to continue the work
of the gospel, but it is more a tent
ministry than a temple system to
which we are called. Cathedrals
are beautiful tributes to God, but
the church is always in danger of
a “cathedral psychology” or an
“edifice complex.” None of the
most important and significant
events in the life and ministry of
Jesus took place in a temple.
Even the Last Supper was held
in an “upper room, furnished.”
In David’s response, he asks:
“What other nation on earth is
like thy people Israel... ?”
(7:23).
The gods of the other nations
were bound to their people by
kinship and represented a deifi
cation of the nation’s character.
But God chose Israel not the
other way round and the only
tie that bound him was his own
choice. God’s plan was that Isra
el should reflect his character.
And all who respond to that
grand invitation become mem
bers of the household of God.
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St.
Ephrata, PA 17522
—by—
Lancaster Farming. Inc.
A Slemman Enterprise
William J. Burges* General Manager
Everett R. Newswanger Editor
Copyright 2000 by Lancaster Farming