AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 7,2001
OPINION
Things Of Value
Editor’s Note: The following editorial was written by Scott M.
Barao, University of Maryland extension livestock specialist, and ap
peared in the Animal Agriculture Update Newsletter for May-June
2001.
The recent passing of a friend and cattle producer, Mr. John
Mazur, has triggered a number of thoughts and memories.
John was overall a very private person, but he always took time to
share his many talents in a number of ways. I met John in the late
1980 s when he joined the Maryland Cattlemen’s Association board of
directors. John served on the board for six years, two as president. He
made many important contributions toward the early growth and de
velopment of both our cattlemen’s association and beef council. John
and I grew to be friends and fishing buddies and I will miss him.
Mixed together with my thoughts and memories of John have been
reflections on the circumstances which led me to Maryland and to my
position as a livestock extension specialist.
Someone asked me recently what was the best part of my job. The
answer came quickly and easily. Far and away, the best part of my job
is the opportunity I am afforded to meet and work directly with beef
cattle producers and families across Maryland. I count my blessings
frequently for the many cattle producers and farm families I have
grown to know, respect, and count among my friends over the last IS
years.
My comfort with and attraction to this fine group of folks is largely
based on a common thread I have observed across the group. Simply
stated, the thread is a commitment to “service.” I watch you give so
freely of your time to sit on boards, lead 4-H youth groups, attend
meetings, coordinate events, chair committees, and share your talents
and gifts enthusiastically. These are things of value.
You have taught me many things and I am a better person today
because of the interactions I have had with so many of you. I have ob
served your leadership skills and I have learned more about courage,
character, conviction, and compassion than I ever thought possible.
These are things of value.
Your true commitment to service sets you apart from the crowd. I
believe in my heart that those who are happiest and feel most fulfilled
are those who have sought and found how to serve. What greater
value exists than to become a servant to the unfolding and flowering
of others. Thank you!
[aryland Hereford Association
Field Day, Mullinix Bros.
Cattail Connection, Wood-
Penn State Conservation Lead
ership School, Stone Valley
Recreation Area, State Col-
lege, thru July 21, (814) 865-
8301.
2001 Southeast Dairy Youth Re
treat, Asheboro, N.C., thru
NauonalJumorTngu^Sn^^
Denver, Colo., thru July 14.
Mason-Dixon Fair, Delta, thru
July 14.
Derry Township Fair, West
moreland Co., thru July 14.
Mercer County Grange Fair,
thru July 14. (724) 662-5203.
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
(SFI) Game of Logging
Course, Lancaster, and July
. 10.(814)867-9299.
Dairy Option Pilot Program,
Huntingdon County Exten-
sion office, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
(814)643-1660.
Landscape and Turf Pest Walks,
Lebanon Country Club, 5:30
p.m., (717) 921-8803.
Pasture Sheep, Grazing, and
Livestock Direct Marketing,
Dave and Holly Albert Farm,
Lycoming County, (570) 998-
8508.
tTy
❖ Farm Calendar *
Ephrata Area Young Farmers
Expanding Dairy Operation
Tour, David Zimmerman
Farm Builder, King Con
struction, 7:30 p.m.
American Society of Entology
and Viticulture, Eastern Sec
tion Annual Meeting,
Niagara-on-the-Lake, On
tario, Canada.
Lancaster County 4-H Holstein
Roundup, Solanco Fair
grounds, Quarryville, 9 a.m.-8
p.m.; show July 11 at 9 a.m.
4H-Day Camp, Mount Pisgah,
Bradford County, 9 a.m.-3:30
p.m.
low,
Farm Field Day, Mike and
Terra Brownback, Spiral Path
Farm, Loysville, 10 a.m.-3
p.m., (814) 349-9856.
Pasture Walk, Jerome Griebel’s,
7:30 p.m. (814)782-0033.
Perry County Holstein Summer
Picnic, Saville Brethern In
Christ Church, Ickesburg.
Pennsylvania Junior Holstein
Judging School, Somerset,
noon, also July 11.
PestNlanagement Field Day,
Landisville Research Farm,
10a.m.-2 p.m.
Ohio Berry Night, Ohio State
University Center, (614) 292-
4900.
Lancaster County Holstein
(Turn to Page A 22)
To Learn About No-Till Farming
Soil erosion is still a significant
problem on many farms in Lancaster
County.
Two field days have been planned
which will focus on using no-till
practices when farming with horses.
The first day event is planned July
12 from 9:15 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at the
A. K. and John Stoltzfus farm at 214
Peach Bottom Road, Peach Bottom.
The second event will be July 20, also
from 9:15 a.m.-12:30 p.m., at the
David Stolzfus farm at 462 White
horse Road, Gap. For more details,
call the Lancaster County Extension
Office at (717)-394-6851.
The potato leafhopper is the most
destructive insect pest to alfalfa in
Pennsylvania. It reduces yield, quali
ty (especially lower protein content),
and shortens the life of the alfalfa
stand. The stress to alfalfa caused by
the leafhopper can result in increased
roc' rot and stand failure. This is es
pecially true in new seedings.
This pest does not overwinter in
Pennsylvania but moves into the
state on storm fronts from the south
in late May or early June. Therefore
we escape leafhopper damage on the
How the people of Israel look
forward to The Day of the Lord, the
time when God would smite all their
enemies and make Israel prominent
among the nations. They saw it as a
time of recognition and reward, and
they could hardly wait. It would
mean vindication for them and
judgment for others. If that’s the
deal, who wouldn’t want it?
But Amos told the people of Israel
that was not the deal. The judgment
they so desired for other nations
would fall upon them as well. “Woe
to you who desire the day of the
Lord! Why would you have the day
of the Lord? It is darkness, and not
light” (5:18).
It is bad, not good news. For, like
their neighbors, they too will be
judged by God and the results of it
will be disastrous.
But how can that be? They are
such dutiful Israelites. They bring
their sacrifices to the temple every
morning. Wow! Every three days
they bring tithes. Wow again! They
To Monitor Alfalfa For Potato
Leafhopper Infestation
GOD, WHAT
DO YOU WANT?
Background Scripture:
Amos 4 Through 5.
Devotional Reading:
Malachi 1:6-14.
Lancaster Farming
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first cutting but it is new spring settl
ings and the second and third cut*
tings that receive most of the dam
age.
Potato leafhoppers are pale yel
lowish green, slightly wedge-shaped,
have wings and are only about Vt of
an inch long. The nymphs are similar
in appearance to the adults except
that they are smaller, have no wings,
and are yellow to cream colored with
the possibility of a slight tinge of
green.
Eggs are deposited in the stems
and leaf veins. In warm weather, it
takes only three weeks to develop
from an egg to an adult. Therefore
large populations can build up quick
ly. The adults are very active and fly
above the plants when disturbed. The
nymphs are also active and will
quickly move, usually sideways,
when disturbed. Although potato
leafhoppers can be found in your
field from late May until frost, most
of the damage is done from mid-June
until mid-August.
Both the adults and nymphs feed
on the plants. They insert their
mouth parts into the plant tissue to
extract plant juices. This feeding pro
cess distorts and causes blockage of
the tiny tubes that distribute the nu
trients within the plant. This block
age causes the typical leafhopper in
jury: triangular-shaped yellowing of
the leaves and stunting of the plants
commonly referred to as “hopper
burn.’’ Stunted plants do not recover
even after the leafhoppers have been
controlled.
To protect your alfalfa crop from
damage, monitor the situation in
your fields. In a square-shaped field,
monitor in a “Lr’-shaped pattern;
while in a rectangular field, an “I”-
shaped pattern is the best. In each
field, select five sample sites along
the “U” or “I” shape. Use an insect
net with a 15-inch diameter hoop
and a tightly knit bag such as muslin.
Within each of the five sample
sites, make 20 sweeps with the net
while walking in a zigzag pattern.
Don’t stop swinging the net until
each of the 20 sweeps are completed.
Sweep the net about 3-4 inches below
the tops of the plants.
After completing the 20 sweeps in
the first site, continue to swing the
net back and forth a few times to
force the insects into the small end of
the bag. Grab the net quickly about
10 inches from the small end to trap
the insects in a rather small area.
also cough up freewill offerings.
Wow to the third power! So, why
shouldn’t they eagerly anticipate the
day of the Lord? God, what do you
want from us?
Unanswered Messages
It’s not that God hasn’t warned
them. God has been sending them
messages which they haven’t heeded;
“cleanness of teeth in all your cities”
(food has been in short supply), and
rain has been withheld, spoiling the
harvest. He also sent blight and mil
dew and devastated their gardens
and fig and olive trees. He sent them
pestilence, political upheaval, and
military losses.
But they ignored all these signs:
“Therefore thus I will do to you, O
Israel... prepare to meet your God,
O Israel!” (4:12). And don’t think
that your rituals and financial sup
port at the temple are going to get
you off the hook. In fact, “The Lord
God has sworn by his holiness that,
behold, the days are coming upon
you, when they shall take you away
with hooks, even the last of you with
fishhooks” (4:2).
God’s judgment will not be a slap
on the wrist: “The city that went
forth a thousand shall have a hun
dred left, and that which went forth
a hundred shall have ten left to the
house of Israel” (5:3) This will hap
pen, not because they haven’t come
frequently enough to the temple nor
given enough in their offerings, but
because of the way they treat others:
“Therefore because you trample
upon the poor and take from him ex
actions of wheat, you have built
houses of hewn stone, but you shall
not dwell in them; you have planted
pleasant vineyards, but you shall not
drink their wine” (5:11).
The difficult part is identifying
and counting the potato ieafhoppers.
Count all the pale green adults (dis
regard . aqjj, brown ones) and the
nymphs. Slowly open the net and be
alert for adults that can leave the net
quickly without being noticed. After
counting is complete, make note of
the total. Then repeat this procedure
at the next four sites. This will com
plete 100 sweeps.
Now calculate the number of leaf
hoppers per sweep. For example, if
you collected a total of 60 leafhop
pers, divide 60 by 100 for an average
of 0.6 ieafhoppers per sweep. When
the number is very high (40 or more
per 20 sweeps) at the first site, there
is little need to spend anymore time
sampling the other four sites in the
field.
To Determine The Economic Injury
Threshold For Your Alfalfa Field
A number of factors need to be
considered when determining if
spraying to control the leafhopper
population is justified. The first fac
tor is the number of leafhoppers
present in the field. The second fac
tor is the development of the plants.
A relatively low number of leafhop
pers can inflict a serious amount of
damage if they are present when the
plants are small.
Greatest losses to the alfalfa crop
from leafhopper feeding occur before
the plants reach six inches in height.
Plants 12 inches and taller can toler
ate leafhopper feeding without high
losses resulting.
The third factor to consider is the
value of the crop. The higher the
value of the crop, the lower the eco
nomic injury threshold will be. Thus,
with an equal pest population, spray
application will be more profitable on
a crop of higher value. The final fac
tor to consider is the cost of the con
trol to be applied.
The variability in each of these
factors shows why the economic in
jury threshold is not a simple num
ber. A publication entitled “A Pest
Management Program for Alfalfa In
Pennsylvania” is available from your
county extension office. Consult the
charts in this publication for assist
ance in determining the economic
threshold for your alfalfa crop^,.
Quote of the Week:
“The nation that destroys Its
soil destroys itself. ”
Franklin D. Roosevelt
What They Lacked
The people of Israel at least the
upper class have power and
wealth. What they do not have is
God’s approval: “For I know how
many are your transgressions, and
how great are your sins you who
afflict the righteous, who take a
bribe, and turn aside the needy in the
gate” (5:12).
Religious rituals will not do it. “I
hate, I despise your feasts, and 1 take
no delight in your solemn assem
blies” (But Lord, that’s what we
thought it was all about!) “Even
though you offer me your burnt of
ferings and cereal offerings, I will not
accept them.”
“Take away from me the noise of
your songs, to the melody of your
harps 1 will not listen” (5:21-23).
So, if their power and wemth will
not save them, what will? Sod, what
do you want from us? The reply of
Amos is unambiguous: let jus
tice roll down like wafers, and righ
teousness like aiK ever-flowing
stream” (5:24). '
In other words*' what God really
wants is for theny'to stop ignoring the
plight of the pq6r, to cease exploiting
the weak, to refrain from cheating
the powerless, and to end their cor
ruption of justice.
So, what about feasts, solemn as
semblies, tithes, and offerings? They
are only the icing on the cake. Ren
der justice and compassion and then
your rituals and offerings will be
pleasing in God’s sight. But not be
fore!
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 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