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