AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 21,2001
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OPINION
Large-Scale Agriculture Opponents
For some time, radical environmentalists have been actively work
ing against owner/managers and proposed owner/managers of
large-scale, family owned, confinement operations.
These opponents of high-production agriculture seek out any legal
means necessary to stop large-scale operations from appearing on the
farm landscape. Yet time and again, it has been proven that these
large-scale operations which critics have been calling (unfortunate
ly) “factory farms” are necessary if family farms are going to pros
per.
These opponents blame large-scale operations for the demise of the
Chesapeake Bay. In the past decade, radical environmentalists, work
ing closely with township managers, have pushed enough laws
through to “tie the hands” of owners of the large-scale operations.
Farmers have always been the “first environmentalists,” because of
their own belief in land stewardship. It’s the radical (mostly unin
formed) environmentalists that concern us the most.
People who sign restrictive laws into place obviously don’t worry
very much about how much household income is spent on food. Or
maybe it’s even more simple than that perhaps they believe food
doesn’t come from a farm but from the mini-mart or the chain gro
cery store down the road.
The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay notes in their newspaper, the
Bay Journal, for April that EPA’s Office of Water is looking at draft
rules that “could result in major changes in the way animal waste is
managed in the Bay states and elsewhere in the watershed.”
EPA is looking at hundreds of pages of proposed rules, noted the
Journal. These rules would regulate and create a permitting process
for the concentrated animal feeding operations, also known as
CAFOs.
More regulations and “hand-tying” are not what producers need.
But more insidious activity has already been taking place in several
townships and boroughs across the state. Several ordinances have
been “rewritten” by board members, using templated legal docu
ments, by many who don’t appreciate or understand agriculture, to
prevent large-scale animal operations from starting up.
They do so because of protests from a loud minority who simply
don’t understand or care about the necessity for large-scale animal
enterprises. Even though the days of the Old MacDonald farm with
two cows and a pig are history (out of sheer economic necessity), radi
cal environmentalists simply don’t care.
What is so dreadfully sad is the astounding lack of knowledge
these opponents of large-scale animal agriculture have. They don’t re
alize the outstanding environmental stewardship programs that these
large-scale farms are required to follow. They don’t realize how
prominent animal welfare plays in protective confinement after all,
animals lost hits the producers in the wallet.
But the ignorance is the shame of it all, really. It flies in the face of
farm viability.
9th Annual Horse Farms Open
House.
Delaware Valley College Live
stock Judging Contest, Dela
ware Valley College, (215)
489-2321.
Dairy Exposition and Little In
ternational Livestock Exposi
tion, University Park, 6 p.m.,
Editor.
I read your story in the April 7
issue quoting surveys from the
International Food Information
Council. My first reaction was to
ask where this organization gets
its funds. If it is truly a nonprofit
❖ Farm Calendar ♦
alumni dinner dance, (814)
863-4198.
Deer in Rural Woodlands, Sulli
van extension office, Dushore,
8:30 p.m.
Seminar on Growing Small
Fruits, 4-H Center, Creamery,
9 a.m.-noon, (610) 489-4315.
Cecil County Farm Museum
Antique Tractor Demonstra
(Turn to Page All)
♦ Farm Forum ❖
organization not beholden to in
dustry or consumer groups, why
does it take any position on la
beling of bioengineered foods? 1
quote your article, “IFIC is a
nonprofit organization whose
mission is to communicate
(Turn to Page A 11)
To Prepare For
April Frost Protection
With alternating periods of
warm, sunny weather and cold,
frosty mornings, April is typical
ly a time when fruit growers and
gardeners need to be prepared to
frost-protect to save flowers,
buds, and tender vegetation.
Strawberries usually need frost
protection because they typically
bloom in April. The crop is very
low-growing, where tempera
tures are usually the lowest.
Strawberry growers should
monitor their crop so they can
make preparations for frost pro
tection as needed. It is important
to remember that buds can be de
stroyed by cold weather, so just
because your crop is not yet
blooming does not mean you are
not in danger.
It is important to know the
critical temperatures for straw
berries based on the stage of de
velopment. The critical tempera
ture for a tight bud is 22 degrees
WHAT HAS GOD
SHOWN YOU?
Background Scripture:
Acts 10:1 through 11:18.
Devotional Reading:
Galatians 3:11-14.
It is an old story: we encounter
God. Then we think about the
encounter and try to put it in
some kind of mental concept.
Next, we devise ways and means
of perpetuating the experience or
at least its meaning to us. From
earliest times of human existence
this is how people have theolo
gized, ritualized, and attempted
to organize spiritual phenomena.
There is nothing wrong in this
in fact, God has designed us to
do just this so long as we re
member that the theologies, ritu
als, and ecclesiastical structures
are not the “treasure” but the
“earthen vessels” of which Paul
is writing, when he says: “But we
have this treasure in earthen ves
sels to show that the transcen
dent power belongs to God and
not to us” (1 Cor. 4:7).
The divine “treasure” is the
encounter with God, while our
even our most inspired and crea
tive attempts to understand, du
plicate, and capture it are but
human means. Too often we
cling to the “earthen vessels” and
let them become a substitute for
the “treasure.”
We need to keep this in mind
Fahrenheit (F), for a popcorn
bud it is 26.5 degrees F, for flow
ers it is 30 degrees F, and for
fruit it is 28 degrees F.
A strawberry producer needs
to calibrate any temperature
monitoring device to make sure
it is accurate. Simple liquid-in
glass thermometers are the least
expensive tools for this task and
are effective. More expensive
electronic systems, which mea
sure temperatures at remote lo
cations, are also available from
scientific instrument companies.
Whatever temperature-sensing
equipment you choose must be
calibrated to ensure accuracy.
This can be done by submerging
the sensor or thermometer bulb
in a container filled with crushed
ice and water. This mixture
should be stirred and there
should be more ice than water.
After 30 minutes, read the de
vice. It should read within 1 de
grees of 32 degrees F. Adjust the
instrument as necessary.
Buds, blossoms, and berries
can be protected by frost protec
tion with overhead irrigation.
This works because as water
freezes, heat is released by the
freezing process. As long as the
bud, blossom, or berry is covered
by a layer of freezing water, the
temperature will remain at or
near freezing.
The amount of water needed
to get adequate frost protection
will depend on the air tempera
ture, humidity, and wind speed.
Generally the lower the air tem
perature and dew point and/or
the higher the wind speed, the
greater the rate of freezing. This
will then require a higher rate of
water application to get adequate
protection.
At a wind speed of 2-4 mph, a
relative humidity of 50 percent,
and a temperature of 24 degrees
F, 0.30 inches of water per hour
must be applied. To determine
when we Approach the story fof
Peter’s dream and his summons
to the home of Cornelius, the
Roman centurian. When on the
housetop Peter begins to dream
and hears a voice telling him to
satisfy his hunger by selecting
something to eat from among the
creatures in a great sheet lowered
from the heavens, we can under
stand and appreciate Peter’s re
sponse: “No, Lord; for I have
never eaten anything that is com
mon or unclean” (10:14). Peter’s
response was not one of preju
dice or religious pride per se, but
his attempt to remain true to the
Jewish dietary laws which were
an expression of his covenant
with God.
What God Has Cleansed
The dietary laws were not in
herently evil, but they could be
come and often were a barrier to
hearing God’s truth that pushes
us beyond our creeds, rituals,
and regulations. “What God has
cleansed, you must not call com
mon,” said the voice from heav
en three times, the author of
Acts assures us. We can under
stand why Peter was troubled by
this dream: “Now while Peter
was inwardly perplexed as to
what the vision he had seen
might mean, behold, the men
that were sent by Corne
lius ... stood before the gate...”
(v. 17).
We must also try to under
stand what a challenge these
men presented to Peter. They
were Gentiles and Peter’s faith
forbade him to associate with
non-Jews.
So, ordinarily, he would have
refused to accompany them, but
when they told him an angel had
directed Cornelius to send for
him, Peter found he had to lay
aside the earthen vessel of his re
ligion and respond to the inter
what you need to apply under
your conditions, consult charts
available from your irrigation
supplier or in the “Penn State
Commercial Berry Production
Pest Management Guide.” The
guide is available for $lO at your
county cooperative extension of
fice.
To Comment On
Federal Concentrated
Animal Feeding Operation
(CAFO) Regulations
At the end of March, Environ
mental Protection Administra
tion (EPA) Administrator
Christie Whitman announced an
extension of the public comment
period on proposed regulations
designed to reduce water pollu
tion from large animal feedlot
operations. The comment period
was extended through July 30.
EPA proposed new water pol
lution permitting controls in Jan
uary that would apply to large
concentrated animal feeding op
erations (CAFOs). CAFOs are
defined as having 1,000 cattle or
comparable “animal units” of
other livestock.
Eight public meetings were
conducted by EPA across the
country in March to provide in
formation and receive public
comment on the proposal. EPA
is providing the additional public
comment opportunity based on
comments received at these
meetings, asking for more time
to study and comment on the
proposed Clean Water Act per
mitting requirements and CAFO
definitions.
For more information, visit
EPA’s Website at http://
www.epa.gov/owm/afo.htm or
contact your county extension of
fice.
Quote of The Week:
“No man is justified in
doing evil on the ground of ex
pediency. ”
Theodore Roosevdlt
ventio&oMtod. Wheahc arrived
at Cornelius’s he demonstrated
that he at last understood the
meaning of his rooftop experi
ence: “God has shown me*that I
should not call any man common
or unclean” (10:28).
No Partiality
The light of God’s “treasure”
was able to break through the
wall of “earthen vessels”
“Truly I perceive that God shows
no partiality, but in every nation
any one who fears him and does
what is right is acceptable to
him” (vs. 34,35).
While Peter was preaching to
the people, God gave him a sign
that he had understood rightly:
“And the believers from among
the circumcised who came with
Peter were amazed, because the
gift of the Holy Spirit had been
poured out even on the Gentiles”
(v. 45).
Good for Peter, we may want
to say. But this story is not just
about Peter, but us as well.
Knowing myself and other disci
ples of Jesus Christ as I do, I can
hardly believe that you, my read
ers, are not clinging to at least a
few “earthen vessels” that keep
you from realizing the “treasure”
God wants to give us. The ques
tion is not “what did God show
Peter?” but what is God trying to
show us?
Lancaster Fanning
Established 1955'
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St.
Ephrata, PA 17522
—by—
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A Sleinman Enterprise
William J Burgess General Manager
Andy Andrews, Editor
Copyright 2001 by Lancaster Farming