AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 31,2001 OPINION Avoiding ‘ Agri-Heartburn * Some time ago, we reported about a farmer on a panel who de scribed his experience with “agricultural entertainment,” or what he calls “agri-tainment.” This gentleman, who farms close to Bedford, N.J, could not express the message he has learned any clearer: farmers’ market stand opera tors who want to expand into traditional pick-your-own operations, offer hayrides, build com mazes, and sell baked items may soon come under intensified federal scrutiny. The warning: invest in liability insurance and keep all lines of com munication between you and customers open, or face potential legal consequences. One farmer/panelist reminded the growers who attended the seg ment of the much-publicized Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Con vention at Hershey in early February of the travails experienced by one southeast Pennsylvania farm market that had to deal with an al leged e.coli problem linked to a petting zoo at the market. So, the message went, don’t wait for federal prosecutors to come knocking. Be preemptive. At petting zoos, install wash stations. Fol low all safety procedures. One manager noted a problem with parking at his farm market. People some with baby strollers and toddlers were crossing on a busy highway. He saw an accident waiting to happen. So the market manager changed the entire parking area scheme, removed the po tential hazards, posted the new routes, and clearly defined a parking “plan” that emphasized pedestrian safety. Good call. Have liability and customer safety plans installed on your farm market. Now that produce auction season is under way, also, have a great year! Delaware Valley College Green and Gold Spectacular, Eques trian Center, Doylestown, noon. Income Opportunities For Rural Areas, Adams County exten sion ottice, 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Goat Field Day, York County 4- H Center, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Income Opportunities For Rural Areas, Adams County Coop erative Extension, Gettys burg, 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Penn State College ol Agricul tural Sciences Open House, Agricultuial Sciences and In dustiy Building, University Campus, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Quality Deer Meeting Associa tion, Governor Mifflin Middle School, Shillington, 1 p.m.-4 p.m., (610) 856-1124. Bucks County Annual NFO Dinner, Plumsteadville Fire Editor: Did the dairy industry volun tarily yield to the soda industry in public schools? That’s cer tainly the way it looked when I started going over USDA statis tics showing the steady decline of milk and the rise of soft drink consumption these past 20 years. Soft drink companies have been actively targeting teen agers, offering large sums of money in exchange for the placement of colorful vending machines throughout public schools. Contracts often include quotas and the ability to with hold funds should quotasmot be ♦ Farm Calendar * House, 7 p.m. Daylight Saving Time begins. Animal Health and Biotechnol ogy and Trade, Antlers Adams Mark hotel, Colorado Springs, Colo., thru April 5, BQA Certification Workshop, Bedford and Somerset coun- ties, Bedford County Fair grounds, 7 p.m. Farm Website Seminar, Gate way Building, Columbia, Md., 6:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m., (410) 313- 6500. Poultry Sales and Service Con ference, Nittany Lion Inn, University Park, thru April 4, (814) 865-5573. Organic Crop Production, Boyertown Eatery, (610) 378- 1327. (Turn to Page A 3 8) ♦ Farm Forum ❖ met. In many schools, sales ap proach three cans a day per stu dent. The downside of high soda consumption is that it has re cently been linked to rising obesity levels by Lancet, a medi cal journal. And, obesity is tied to an increase in diabetes, heart and kidney disease among the teen-ago' population. Plus, the consumption of sodas and its levepof caffeine and phosphoric raises the issue of bone den sity problems among active ' teen-age girls and a possible flurry of early onset osteopo rosis. (Turn to Page A 39) To Topdress Small Grain Dr. Elwood Hatley in the agronomy department suggests the rate and timing of spring-ap plied nitrogen depends on several factors: • The first factor is growth stage. If the plants are at growth stage 2 (main stem and one or two tillers) or less, apply the ni trogen as soon as plants start “greening-up.” If the plants are past growth stage two, the nitro gen can be applied from “green up” to growth stage 5 (early erect growth). Refer to the Penn State 1999-2000 Agronomy Guide, page 160, for a description of growth stages. NO “MERE’ ANYTHING Background Scripture: 6:1 through 8:3. Devotional Reading: Micah 4:1-7. It doesn’t sound all that inter esting or important, does it? Waiting on tables a menial job, whether at home or in church. The twelve apostles in the post resurrection church of Jerusalem made it sound that way: “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables” (6:2). While we can not know exactly what the twelve meant, it does sound as if they are denigrating the task of wait ing on tables. Because there were rising com plaints within the church that the Hellenist (Greek-speaking) widows were not getting their share of the daily distribution of food, the apostles knew they had to do something to correct that condition. Their proposed solu tion was to appoint seven men to be responsible for this task, so that the apostles could devoted themselves to prayer, teaching, and preaching. Some regard this passage as the first demarcation in the church between laity and clergy, what some would deem between a “lower” and “higher” calling. Whether that is so or not, there does appear to be a qualita tive difference between these two vocations: one group would be servants of the word; the other, servants of the serving tables. • The nitrogen rate will de pend on anticipated yield, previ ous crop yield, previous fertilizer amounts, and .frequency and amount of manure applied. Each bushel of wheat grain produced will require 1.3 to 1.5 pounds of nitrogen. Estimating the amount of nitrogen that will be supplied by the soil is important. Exces sive nitrogen applications effect profitability, increase disease pressures, increase lodging po tential, decrease yields, and in crease the potential for nitrogen leaching. • Inadequate nitrogen also af fects profitability since it will re sult in reduced yield. • One of the major factors af fecting soil available nitrogen is frequency of manure applica tions. Research indicates that when fields are manured every one or two years, one should apply 0 to 30 pounds of nitrogen per acre. If applied every three to four years, one should apply 30 to 60 pounds of nitrogen per acre. When applied less frequent ly, one should apply 60 to 90 pounds of nitrogen per acre. • Winter barley has less resis tance to lodging then wheat; therefore, the nitrogen rates should be reduced accordingly. Keep the nitrogen rates between 45 and 60 pounds of nitrogen per acre when manure is not applied frequently to the field. When ma nure is frequently applied, use only 0 to 30 pounds of nitrogen per acre. Full Of The Spirit I am not certain, however, that the difference, isn’t more appar; ent than real. ' The contrast was not so much the spiritual quality of the two different groups, but of function. The qualifications laid down by the apostles is indicative: “ ... seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom” (6:3). Those sound like pretty heavy qualifications for people just waiting on tables. But then, where did we ever get the idea that preaching the word is quali tatively more advanced than serving the needs of fellow human beings? The calling of the clergy is not a higher calling, just a different one. First selected was Stephen, de scribed as “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” (6:5). That hardly represents a step down in spiritual qualifications, does it? And then the apostles “prayed and laid hands upon them” pretty impressive for men who were chosen “merely” to wait on tables and equitably provide food rations for the wid ows. If this was the first experience of church organization, it seemed to have been successful: “And the word of God increased; and the number of disciples multi plied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith” (6:7). Stephen was not called to preach, but that did not keep him from witnessing for his Lord: “Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people” (6:8). When he disputed with the members of certain synagogues, we are told that “they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke” (6:10). There was a lot more to Stephen than waiting on tables. First of all, he was a witnessing disciple to Jesus Christ. To Visit The Agricultural Analytical Services Laboratory Website The Agricultural Analytical Services Laboratory (AASL) has recently upgraded its Website and moved it to the following lo cation: http://www.aasl.psu.edu/. This Website contains a des cription of the services offered by the laboratory. It also includes online access to the Soil Test Recommendations Handbook for Agronomic Crops. To view the handbook, click on the “pro grams” button on the left panel of the screen and select “Soil Test Recommendations Hand book for Agronomic Crops” on the next page. Here you can now view the recommendation tables for all agronomic crops online and print them as needed. As any changes are made to the recommendations, the tables on this site will be updated. A sample soil test report as well as a multiple sample information form for agronomic crops are also available on this site for viewing or printing. Quote of The Week “Whoever is spared personal pain must feel himself called to help in diminishing the pain of others. ” Albert Schweitzer Angel Face Something else that we need to see is this man’s great spirituali ty The Council sat to examinf mis upstart and they weri amazed at him: “And gazing at him, all who sat in the councj) saw that his face was like the face of an angel” (6:15). Qf how many of the apostles was some thing like that said? Stephen went on to preach a sermon to his antagonists, but it was not the sermon, but what happened when it was over that settled once and for all that Ste phen was no “mere” anything. When his listeners evidence their rage and “ground their teeth against him,” Stephen responded with an act of discipleship that was neither clergy nor lay, apostle nor deacon it was the act of a true follower of Jesus Christ: “But he, full of the Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God ... And as they were stoning him, he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ And he knelt down and cried with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them’” (7:55,59,60). We do not know how the other disciples died or what they said in their last moments, but we may be assured that none of them rose above Stephen’s exam ple, for it was the example of our Lord Jesus Christ. When we live and die as he did, there is noth ing “mere” about our lives. Lancaster Farming Established 1955 Published Every Saturday Ephrata Review Building I E. Main St. Ephrata, PA 17522 —by— Lancaster Farming, Inc. A Steinman Enterprise William J. Burgess General Manager Andy Andrews, Editor Copyright 2001 by Lancaster Farming
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers