AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 14,2001
OPINION
Never Enough Good News
Just for a brief time, perhaps we can set aside fears of hoof and
mouth disease, worries about the potential of BSE in domestic meat
products, avian influenza concerns in flocks, trepidation about poten
tial drought, or crop prices sharply down.
USDA’s Economic Research Service released its April 2001 Ag
Outlook this week, looking at the “U.S. Farm Picture In 2001.”
Some of it, on the surface, appears bleak, but a good deal of it
shows that farmers may have something to be happy about.
Though sheep and lamb inventory continues to decline, with lamb
and mutton production totaling about 217 million pounds (down 7
percent from 2000), market lamb prices were expected to peak during
the Easter/Passover season, averaging $Bl-SBS in the second quarter.
But it’s even better than that.
According to reports provided to us from New Holland, some
lambs were selling for as much as $2lO a hundredweight (some up to
$2.10 a pound). Two hundred dollars! This season brings a strong de
mand for iamb.
According to the USDA report, while the general weakness in agri
cultural markets of the past couple of years continues, noted the re
view, early signs of recovery are evident. Many farm sector indicators
remain favorable, according to USDA, including asset values and
debt levels, due in large part to record government payments.
Global stocks of major crops are not excessive compared with use,
prices of ag commodities are generally up, there’ll be modest increas
es in food prices, and reduced plantings in 2001 could lead to a fur
ther drawdown of stocks.
USDA remains optimistic, predicting better U.S. exports, further
gains in ag commodity prices, and rising farm income.
Not bad!
Just for a brief time, perhaps we can count our blessings.
May you have a wonderful holiday.
MarylanoStateHolstein Show,
Timonium Fairgrounds, 9:30
a.m.
Short Course In Basic Beekeep
ing, Dauphin County Ag and
Nature Center, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.,
and Saturday, May 19, noon-5
p.m., Milton Hershey Farm
Conference Center and
Apiary, Hershey.
Beef Tour To Ohio, Ohio Bull
Test Station and Research
Center, 6:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m.,
(724)287-4761.
Susquehanna County Holstein
Club Tour, Pump ’N Pantry,
Lenox, 8:15 a.m., and Green
Gables, New Milford, 8:30
a.m., Ames, Montrose, return
aster.
National Grange Week, thru
Pork Quality Assurance meet
ing, Line Mountain High
School, 7 p.m., (800) 254-
6470.
Water Forum, Holiday Inn
N.W., Bensalem, 6 p.m.
Foot and Mouth and BSE meet-
ing, Lebanon Expo Center, 7
p.m., (717) 772-2852.
Ag Boot Camp At Fort Indian-
WmeTeoimcluWorkshop 2,
Manatawny Creek Winery,
Douglassville, (717) 394-6851.
Stockholders Meeting, Mid A
tlantic Farm Credit, Best
Western, Westminster, Md.,
6:15 p.m.
Delaware County Cooperative
Extension annual meeting
and dinner, Towne House
Restaurant. Media, 6 p.m.,
(610)690-2655.
♦ Farm Calendar ♦
Water Forum, Days Inn Confer
ence Center, Allentown, 6
p.m.
Ephrata Area Young Farmer
pesticide meeting slide show,
Lincoln Family Smorgasbord,
6:30 p.m., (717) 721-9274.
Clarion Farm Forum On Foot
and Mouth Disease, Clarion
County Park, Shippenville, 7
p.m.
Foot and Mouth and BSE meet
ings, Lancaster Farm and
Home Center, 7 p.m., (717)
394-6851, also Crawford
County Courthouse, 7 p.m.,
(717)772-2852.
BedfordCi- Y''itnDr
. out! /ay,
Pennsylvania Holstein Associ
ation, noon.
Alleghenies Watershed Network
Conference, Penn State Con
ference Center, State College.
Pasture Walk, Pat and Jill
Maier, Mountain Trail Elk
Farm, (717) 724-7788.
Chester-Delaware Annual
Spring Banquet, West Fallow
field Christian Day School,
Atglen, 6:45 p.m.
Stockholders meeting, Mid A
tlantic Farm Credit, Level Fire
Hall, Level, Md., 6:15 p.m.
Susquehanna County Leaders’
Recognition Banquet, Mon
trose Bible Conference’s
Dryer Hall, 7 p.m.
Foot and Mouth Disease and
BSE Meeting, Schnecksville
Grange Hall, 7 p.m., also
Courthouse Annex, Indiana,
(717)772-2851^^^^^
Planwnting Workshop, Penn
State, 8 a.m.-noon, also April
20.
Horse Owners Program, Wayne
(Turn to Page All)
To Attend Meetings
On Foot-And-Mouth Disease
The Pennsylvania Department of
Agriculture has scheduled a series of
meetings on Foot-And-Mouth Dis
ease to update the agricultural com
munity on this disease and on Bo
vine Spongiform Encephalopathy
(BSE, or “Mad Cow Disease”).
The next meetings will be in Leba
non County April 16 and in Lancas
ter County April 17.
The Lebanon meeting will be at
the Lebanon Expo Center, 2120
Cornwall Rd., Lebanon and the Lan
caster event will be at the Farm and
Home Center, 1383 Arcadia Rd.,
Lancaster. Both programs will begin
at 7 p.m. If you are a livestock pro
ducer it would be wise to come to
learn about the disease and the steps
being taken to prevent an outbreak
in Pennsylvania.
To Place
Pheromone Traps
In Your Orchard
According to Penn State Entomol
ogists Greg Krawczyk and Larry A.
Hull, pheromone traps should be
placed in your orchard now.
Using pheromone traps for moni
toring can be an easy way to learn
HAS ANYONE HERE
SEEN JESUS?
Background Scripture:
Luke 24:1-12; Acts 9:1-31
Devotional Reading:
John 20:1,11-18.
If you compare the narratives of
the resurrection in all four gospels
and add to that the experience of
Paul on the Damascus Road in Acts
9, it is impossible to know precisely
what happened on that first Easter
Sunday and the days following, dur
ing which various disciples experi
enced the risen Lord.
Matthew’s and Mark’s accounts
are quite similar, except that in
Mark we are told the women “said
nothing to anyone, for they were
afraid” (Mk. 16:8) and in Matthew
the women “ran to tell his disciples”
(Mat. 28:8). Luke tells pretty much
the same story except that the words
of the “two men” are different;
“Why do you seek the living among
the dead?” (Lk. 24:5).
John’s telling, however, is quite
different. Mary Magdalene is joined
at the tomb by Simon Peter and “the
other disciple, the one whom Jesus
loved ...” (Jn. 20:2-4). Then, when
the disciples have returned to their
homes, Mary encounters the Risen
Lord, although she does not immedi
ately recognize him.
‘Do Not Hold Me’
Not only do the details of the res
urrection story vary, but the appear
ance or nature of the Risen Lord.
which moth pests are present in vari
ous orchards. It is very important
that pheromone traps be hung in the
orchard before moth flight begins, so
accurate degree-days calculations
can be used for timing control treat
ments.
Oriental fruit moth traps should
be placed in the orchard during the
first half of April and monitored
daily to establish the beginning of
the flight (biofix). Traps for codling
moth and tufted apple bud moth
should be placed in the orchard at
the pink stage of apple development
and also monitored daily until biofix
is set.
The biofix date is defined as the
first day of two consecutive days
during which moths were collected
in the traps. Also, if moths were col
lected during two nights out of three,
the first night is used for setting bio
fix.
After establishing biofix, all traps
should be checked at least weekly
and the number of moths should be
recorded. Good reliable trap records
can be used for the comparison of
pest pressure among various
orchards/blocks or even between dif
ferent years.
To Apply Lime,
Fertilizer For Spring
Alfalfa Seedings
Managing soil fertility for an alfal
fa crop is a process that continues
throughout the life of the stand. Ad
justing soil conditions to provide an
optimum growing environment be
fore planting is an important part of
that process.
A soil test is the best way to de
termine alfalfa fertility and lime
needs. The rate of limestone required
must be determined by a soil test
that has both the pH and lime re
quirement test.
Ideally lime should be applied six
months before planting to allow time
for the lime to react with the soil.
However, if you failed to apply lime
last fall, apply lime before plowing to
bring the soil ph to the 6.5 to 7
range. If the amount of lime required
is 1 ton or less, the lime should be
worked into the surface rather than
plowing it down.
It is important to remember that
According to Luke 24:13-35, two
disciples encounter him as a stranger
on the road to Emmaus and only
recognize him as Jesus when he
breaks bread with them and then
disappears. When he appears to
Mary at the tomb, he tells her: “Do
not hold me, for I have not yet as
cended to my father” (Lk. 20:11-18).
In Matthew 28:9,10, he appears to
the women coming back from the
tomb and we are told “they ... took
hold of his feet and worshipped
him.”
The Risen Lord comes to the as
sembled disciples, appearing and
then again disappearing from a lock
ed room (Jn. 20:19-23) and then
again when Thomas is present. He
tells unbelieving Thomas to touch
his wounds so that he may know he
is flesh and blood.
In another appearance at the Sea
of Galilee he eats breakfast with the >
disciples. ' ‘
In Acts 1 we are told that “/to
them he presented himself after his
passion by many proofs, appearing
to them during forty days.. ./Years
later, while Saul (Paul) wajr on the
road to Damascus, he sal a great
light and heard the ydice of the
Risen Lord and was blUHed for three
days (Acts 9:1-9). Hfcftraveling com
panions also heard jthe Lord’s voice.
Later, writing of this, Paul claims
it as an experience of the Resurrect
ed Lord on a Spiritual basis equal to
those of original disciples. Paul
recounts (fiat “he appeared to Ce
phas, /then to the twel
ve ....then ... more than five hun
dred'brethren at one time ... then he
appeared to James, then to all the
apostles ... Last of all as to one un
timely both, he appeared also to me"
(l:Cor. 15:5-8).
Persuasive
Differences
So what does all this say to us
about the Risen Lord? It tells us, first
of all, that no one saw Jesus in the
act of being resurrected; the various
disciples experienced him only after
not all limestone is equal. The rate of
application should be adjusted based
on the limestone’s neutralizing abili
ty. The neutralizing ability is given
as calcium carbonate equivalent
(CCE) of the limestone. Soil test rec
ommendations are made on the basis
of 100 percent CCE. Lower CCE
limestone can be used but the rate
needs to be adjusted.
The formula for making the ad
justment is as follows: Adjusted
Limestone Rec. = 100 X Limestone
Rec./CEC.
Alfalfa is the most sensitive forage
crop to the pH level. With legume
crops such as alfalfa, the significance
of proper pH is related directly to
the nitrogen fixation process. The
soil bacteria, which fix nitrogen, do
not function well at low pH levels
and the crop can suffer from nitro
gen deficiency. Planting time is also
the time that the soil fertility levels
should be corrected to provide for an
optimum growing environment for
the'alfalfa. Alfalfa is a very heavy
user of potash, and seeding time is a
good time to bring up the potash
level in your soil. Alfalfa has a heavy
demand for phosphorus as well.
Phosphorus and potash are relatively
immobile in the soil.
Phosphorus will move less than
one eight of an inch in the soil in a
year. To bring the root zone up to
the optimum level for phosphorus
and potash, these nutrients must be
thoroughly mixed in the soil. Since
there is no way to do this after the
crop is established, it is important to
bring up the soil levels to the opti
mum to high range before planting.
On livestock farms where manure
is applied to corn in a crop rotation,
phosphorus and potash levels tend to
accumulate during the corn years of
the rotation when manure is applied
to meet nitrogen needs of the com.
This buildup can provide soil test
levels in the high range for the alfal
fa planting. A soil test to monitor the
levels is an important tool in plan
ning for your soil fertility needs.
Quote of the Week:
“Think positively about your
self, keep your thoughts and your
actions clean, ask God who made
you to keep on remaking you. ”
Norman Vincent Peale
he was risen from the tomb. So we
have no idea how that happened
and we do not need to know.
The experience of Christ resur
rected is not something that can be
caught on film, motion detectors, or
infrared film, and then displayed on
the evening TV news. It was a spirit
ual experience that different people
experienced differently and reported
differently.
Paul’s experience was different
than what Thomas experienced, but
Paul held it just as valid, just as au
thentic. The discrepancies do not
bother me either; I would be dubious
if they all read alike.
Some may encounter the Christ in
a dream, a vision, a palpable physi
cal experience, a “heart strangely
warmed,” an ecstatic out-of-body en
/ counter, or even a simple growing
conviction that Christ lives in one’s
heart. Like the two disciples on their
way to Emmaus, it may take us a
while to realize that “It is the Lord!”
The real question is not just how it
happened then or happens today,
but what it meant and means to
those who experience it. The power
of the resurrection is measured not
in watts, volts, or megabytes, but in
how it changes and charges those
who encounter the risen Christ.
Has anyone here seen Jesus? If the
answer is “yes,” then we don’t need
to explain the “how.”
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
Andy Andrews, Editor
Copyright 2001 by Lancaster Farming