AlO-Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, May 5,2001
OPINION
Good Use Of Coupons
One legislator sees a program as a way to protect family farms
while ensuring a bountiful array of fresh, healthy food for everyone.
State Rep. Sara Steelman (D-Indiana), recently proposed an
amendment to increase the state food coupon program by $2.5 mil
lion, from $1.5 million to $4 million.
Especially notable: it expands the senior food coupon program,
which provides farmers’ market coupons for seniors. Seniors can use
the coupons to purchase fresh, healthy food grown locally, and sup
ports local farm markets.
“Farmers’ markets are a wonderful way to market fresh, whole
some produce and meats directly to the public,” said Steelman. The
markets are a viable source of revenue for farmers and can be “an
economic success story for the state.”
Farm market popularity is soaring, perhaps to all-time highs, and
the coupons work. They benefit our seniors and provide additional in
come for producers.
Properly guided programs such as this are what put Pennsylvania
produce and our farmers on the national map. We salute these ef
forts.
Berks County Dairy Princess
Pageant, Berks County Ag
Center, (610) 926-7825.
Mason Dixon Fair Association
Spring Antique Tractor Pull
and Yard Sale, (717) 456-
9936.
Manheim Historical Society
Annual Spring Craft and An
tique Show, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.,
(717)665-3652.
Pa. 4-H Forestry Field Day,
Laurel Haven Conservation
Center, Julian, (570) 265-
2896.
Spring Corn Festival, Museum
of Indian Culture, Allentown,
thru May 6, (610) 797-2121.
Ohio State Plant Discovery Day,
Ag R&D Center, Wooster,
Ohio, (330) 263-3761.
4-H Forest Resources Curricu
lum, Dauphin County Ag and
Natural Resources Center,
Dauphin, 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m.
MAHA Spring Classic Show,
Highland Cattle, Pa. Farm
Show Complex.
Erie County 4-H Youth Public
Auction, 4-H/FFA Youth
Arena, Waterford Fair
grounds, 9 a.m., (717) 825-
0900.
Spring Antique Tractor Pull,
Mason Dixon Fair, Delta,
Penn State Arboretum Open
llouse^Djnj-3£3oam^^^^
Second Eastern Pinot Noir Con
ference, Chadds Ford, thru
May 10,(717)394-6851.
York County Pork Producers
Pork Environmental Assur
ance Meeting, York Counjy
Annex Building, Pleasant
Acres, 7:30 p.m., (717) 840-
7408.
4-H Presentation Night,
Towanda Middle School, 7
Plan Review Workshop For All
Public Nutrient Management
Specialists, Pa. Dept, of Ag
Room 202, Harrisburg, 9
a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Pasture, Grazing, and Livestock
Direct Marketing meetings,
Bill Callahan Farm, Mifflin
* Farm Calendar *
burg, 7 p.m.
Sheep Meeting on Scrapie and
Grazing, Berks Co. Ag
Center, 7:30 p.m., (610) 378-
1327.
Whitneyville Fairgrounds, 8
a.m.. (5701-265-2896.
nderstanding 4-H Beef Proj
ects, Clarion County Park, 7
p.m.-9 p.m., (814) 782-0033.
Lancaster County Fruit
Growers’ Twilight Meeting,
Brooklawn (Erb’s Orchard),
Neffsville, 5:30 p.m., (717)
394-6851.
Careers in Agriculture Night,
York County 4-H Center,
Spring Grove, 6 p.m.-9 p.m.,
(717)840-7408.
Grand opening of Parker Food
Science and Technology
Building, Ohio State Univer
sity Campus, Columbus, (614)
292-6281.
Bradford County DOPP Pro
gram, extension office,
Towanda, 8 a.m., (570) 265-
2896.
Pennsylvania Fair at Philadel-
phia Park, thru May 28.
Susquehanna County DOPP
Program, extension office, 8
amfs7o)26|£437L^^^
Western P* - -, lvania All-
ennsy
Breeds Sheep and Lamb Sale,
Mercer 4-H Park, 5 p.m.
Beaver-Lawrence Farm Bureau
Golf Tournament, Stone
Crest Golf Course, Wampum,
S a.m.
Open Horse Show . Tioga \
Nichols, N.Y., 9 a.m.
Westmoreland County Penn
State Master Gardeners’
Plant Sale, Donohoe Center,
Greensburg, 8 a.m.-l p.m.,
(724)837-1401
Management and
try
Health Seminar, Kreider’s
Restaurant, Manheim, noon.
Wye Angus Bull Sale, Frost
ibursfcMcL^_____-iii^
Farm Succession Workshop For
Maryland Farmers, Maritime
(Turn to Page A4l)
To Monitor Your
Asparagus Field For
Asparagus Beetles
Asparagus is producing a sig
nificant quantity of spears after a
delayed start because of cool
spring weather.
Two types of asparagus beetles
are also present and can do sig
nificant damage to your crop.
Both the asparagus beetle and
the spotted asparagus beetle
overwinter as adults and begin
feeding immediately following
emergence. The asparagus beetle
emerges before the spotted aspar
agus beetle.
The adult asparagus beetle has
a black body with a metallic blue
head. On each wing cover are
three rectangular metallic yellow
spots that often have red mark
ings along the margin. The
spotted asparagus beetle adults
are orange with six black spots
on each wing cover. The adults
of both species range in length
from 'A to 4/10 of an inch in
length.
WHEN DOORS
ARE SLAMMED
IN YOUR FACE
Background Scripture:
Acts 13:4 through 14:28.
Devotional Reading:
Psalms 90.
Recently I celebrated my
birthday. In looking and think
ing back over my life, I saw it as
a series of doors some open,
some closed, and some locked. At
the time, I rarely recognized
them as doors. More often I saw
them as disappointments, losses,
failures, and sometimes even op
portunities.
Actually, in retrospect, I real
ize iha‘, whatever else they may
have been, they were all of them
also opportunities. Whenever one
was slammed shut, God opened
another one. Unfortunately, I
often failed to see the door God
had opened or, seeing it, did not
have the faith to cross its portal.
I imagine that you experience
this in your life, too.
Although I had often read it, I
had failed to learn the lesson Jo
seph imparted to his brothers:
“Fear not As for you, you
meant evil against me; but God
meant it for good, to bring about
that many people should be kept
Both begin laying eggs within
a week after emergence. The as
paragus beetle deposits its dark
brown, oval-shaped eggs on the
spears in rows of 3-8, and the
eggs are attached by one end to
the spear. The spotted asparagus
beetle lays its green eggs individ
ually. In three to eight days the
eggs hatch and the larva feed for
10-14 days as they develop
through four instars.
The larvae of the asparagus
beetle are dark gray with a black
head. The larvae of the spotted
asparagus beetle are cream-col
ored with a light brown head.
When fully developed, the larvae
crawl to the ground where they
burrow into the soil and spin a
silken cocoon. Here they pupate
for 5-10 days before emerging as
adults to complete the life cycle.
Typically there are two life cycles
completed in Pennsylvania each
year.
The asparagus beetles cause
damage to the crop in several
ways. Adults and larvae feeding
on the spears and tips cause scar
ring. Frass from both of the
stages can stain the spear, and
eggs on the spears are very unap
pealing. Any of these problems
can make the spears unmarket
able.
The spotted asparagus beetle
larva feed on asparagus berries.
This damage has little economic
significance in production fields.
It would be a problem in seed
production, however.
To Control
Asparagus Pests
In small garden patches, hand
picking can control the aspara
gus beetle adults. The larvae can
be controlled by brushing them
to the ground. The larvae usually
are not able to reclimb the stalks
and die on the hot soil. This will
not be practical, however, for
commercial production.
Many beneficial insects feed
on the various life stages of as-
alive” (Gen. 50:19b,20.) Joseph’s
brothers had slammed the door
in his face, but God opened an
other one and Joseph had the
faith to walk through it.
First Missionary
Journey
We see this same truth at work
in Acts 13 and 14, the account of
the so-called First Missionary
Journey of Paul and Barnabas.
Arriving first on the island of
Cyprus and then on the main
land of Asia Minor, Paul and
Barnabas, and for a time John
Mark, met with a variety of re
sponses. On Cyprus they were
well-received in the synagogues.
At Perga of Pamphylia, however,
after an initial positive response
in the synagogue, some of the
Jews turned against them so that
Paul and Barnabas declared: “It
was necessary that the word of
God should be spoken first to
you. Since you thrust it from
you ... behold we turn to the
Gentiles” (13:46). Eventually,
they were driven from the area
by force.
The same thing happened at
Iconium of Pisidia. Acts tells us
that the people were divided,
some siding with Paul and Bar
nabas, and some with their Jew
ish opponents. Despite an initial
overcredulous reception in Lys
tra of Galatia “The gods have
come down to us in the likeness
of men!” (14:11) Paul was
stoned by his opponents and left
Lystra under duress.
What God Did,
And Does
Finally the two missionaries
sailed back to their home base,
Antioch of Syria.
paragus beetles. Ladybird bee
tles, other predacious beetles, sol
dier bugs, wasps, flies, and
dragonflies all reduce the aspara
gus beetle populations.
Testrastichus asparagi is a tiny
wasp 1/16 of an inch long and
metallic green. It attacks the eggs
of the asparagus beetle. The
wasp could kill as much as 70
percent of the eggs and larvae.
The wasp chews and hole in the
beetle egg and drinks the liquid
or lays one of its own eggs in the
beetle egg. The wasp egg will
hatch and grow inside the beetle
larva and eventually kill it.
Sometimes the wasps are so
abundant that no insecticides are
needed. However, the empty egg
cases left by the wasp’s feeding
can be unsightly and make the
spears unmarketable as well.
Before deciding to use insecti
cides, you should monitor the
field for beetle activity. If 10 per
cent or more of the plants have
beetles present, control could be
warranted. However, the time of
day will have a large impact on
beetle activity. Beetles are much
more active during the warm
afternoon and evening hours. If
the scouting is done during the
early morning or during cool
weather, a 5 percent infestation
rate would be a better threshold.
The disadvantage of using an
insecticide is that beneficial in
sect populations will be reduced
as well as the pest populations. If
however you determine your bee
tle populations require control, a
number of products are labeled
for use. These include Lannate,
malathion, methoxychor. Am
bush, Pounce, and Sevin. Be sure
to follow the label instructions
especially the preharvest inter
val.
Quote of the Week:
“Farming looks mighty easy
when your plow is a pencil and
you’re a thousand miles from
the com field ”
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Now, how should they report
this effort for which they had
been sent out by the Holy Spirit?
In three important cities they
had met both receptivity and
harsh opposition.
Their opponents had harassed
and persecuted them from one
town to another. Yet, for all this
they had encountered, these two
had left behind a series of fledg
ling Christian communities. So,
when the church at Antioch
came together to hear of their ef
forts, Paul and Barnabas “de
clared all that God had done
with them, and how he had
opened a door of faith to the
Gentiles” (14:27). The doors of
the synagogues had been
slammed shut against them, but
the Lord had opened some Gen
tile doors instead.
In our personal lives as well as
the life of the Church, whenever
we hear or see a door being
closed or even slammed, it is im
portant for us to remember this
and look for the door of opportu
nity that God always opens for
us.
It is for God to open the door.
It is for us to go through it and
seize the opportunity the Lord
offers.
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