AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 28,2001
OPINION
Spend It At The Fair
By now some of you should be receiving the much-anticipated and
welcome President Bush tax refund.
We read in the July/August 2001 newsletter, Rural Perspectives,
published by the Center For Rural Pennsylvania, that between
1994-2000, real bank deposits declined by $734 million in rural Penn
sylvania.
But many economists claim that rural Pennsylvania population
continues to grow.
This trend toward lower bank deposits is frightening. Some econo
mists insist that, essentially, Americans aren’t saving any money any
more. We’re in a debt economy.
So, if you’re not going to save the money, at least spend it wisely to
pay off debts. Any extra can go t 0... fairs.
Fair season is under way, with coverage of Shippensburg and Kim
berton this week. Next week is Lebanon Fair.
At fairs, many rural organizations provide exhibits and, along with
those exhibits, food (and other items). Spending some of that money
to help these organizations at the fairs would be a great way to put
some of that multibillion-dollar tax money to good use.
Speaking of food, did you know, according to the USDA Economic
Research Service (ERS), that the typical urban household, in 1997,
spent only slightly more money on food at home ($1,126) and slightly
less on food away from home ($641) compared to 1998 ($1,094 at
home and $679 away)?
(That information came by way of the July 2001 ERS Information
newsletter.)
Economists have insisted that we spend about half of our income on
food away from home. We wonder how many times we spend our
“eating outside the home” at the fair?
❖ Farm Calendar ❖
Southwest Regional Holstein
Championship Show, Fayette
County Fairgrounds, Union
town, 10 a.m.
Lebanon Area Fair, North
Cornwall, thru Aug. 4.
Maryland Holstein Association
annual picnic, Grantsville
Park, Garrett County, Md.
Sequoia Riders 4-H Club Open
Horse Show, Columbia
Riding Club Showgrounds.
Virginia Vineyards Association
Equipment Demo and Show,
Indian Springs Vineyard,
Woodstock, Va., (540) 456-
8298.
York County 4-H Jackpot
Show, 4-H Exhibition Center,
Bair, noon, (717) 235-3478.
Cattlemen’s Field Day 2001,
Sinclair Cattle Company,
Warfordsburg, Fulton
County, 9 a.m.- 4 p.m.
Maryland Ayrshire Field Day,
Frederick County Fair
grounds.
Troy Open Holstein Show, Fair
grounds, 9:30 a.m.
Botany Summer Course: Tropi
cal Treasures For The Pitts
burgh Landscape, Phipps
Conservatory and Botanical
Gardens, Pittsburgh, 9:30
a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Ohio Farm Tour, North Union
Farmers Market, Cleveland, 8
- a.m.-2 p.m.
Composting Workshop, Bar
nard S. Orchards, 10 a.m.,
2001 An Engineering Odyssey,
ASAE Annual International
Meeting, Sacramento, Calif.,
thru Aug. 1.
Maryland State Grange picnic,
Monty Snooks Park, 2 p.m.
Ohio Farm Tour, Northridge
Organic Farm, Johnstown,
Ohio, 2 p.m.
Schuylkill County Fair, thru
Aug. 4.
Clearfield County Fair, thru
Aug. 4,(814)765-4629.
Goshen Country Fair, Chester
County, thru Aug. 4, (610)
430-1555.
Morrison Cove Dairy Show,
thru Aug. 4, (814) 793-4775.
Potter County Fair, (814) 698-
2106.
Pasture Watering Systems Tour,
Kinsley Lane Farm, near
Jacobus, 6:30 p.m., (717) 755-
2966, ext. 191.
Floral Greenhouse Seminar,
Hendrick’s Greenhouses,
Lititz, 6:30 p.m.
USDA Natural Resources Con
servation Service Seminar,
Francis Scott Key Conference
Center, Frederick, Md., 9
a.m.-3 p.m.
Agllonzons^DtnTHolida
Harrisburg-Hershey.
Twilight Farm Market Work
shop, Weaver’s Orchard
Farm Market, Morgantown, 7
p.m.
Pasture Walk, Tioga and Brad
ford County grazing groups,
10:30 a.m.-l;30 p.m.
Agronomic Products Council of
Penn Ag Industries, State
Capitol Building, Room 60,
9:30 a.m.
Irish/New Zealand Pasture
Feeding Tour, Don Chamber
lain Farm, Mainesburg, 10:30
Joseph Musser Farm, Ship
pensburg, (717) 263-9226.
York County Holstein Show,
Research and Development
Center’s Vegetable Crop
(Turn to Page A2l)
To List Your
Farm Enterprise
On AgMap
Penn State has developed
AgMap, formerly known as
AgNet, to enable consumers,
farmers, and businesses to find
local producers of various agri
cultural commodities.
AgMap is a Website with a
Web-enabled database linked to a
geographic information system.
The Land Analysis Laboratory at
Penn State will maintain the da
tabase. This system will allow
you to search for farms and farm
products based on how close they
are to you. It will also enable po
tential customers who arc looking
for products you can provide to
locate your operation.
AgMap will allow these con
sumers to search for agricultural
BEYOND THE
BOTTOM LINE
Background Scripture:
Micah 3; 6:1-8.
Devotional Reading:
Proverbs 21:2,3*
The bottom line seems to have
become the supreme measure of
everything in our society today.
Essentially, this is a good ap
proach when we me evaluating
something and trying to make a
decision. The bottom line is
where we come out when we’ve
added and subtracted everything
else. It is also axiomatic that the
bottom line must prove that
whatever it is we are considering
must be cost-effective or return
the maximum profit.
The problem with this ap
proach is that it becomes the only
approach. It is good to calculate
the bottom line, to determine
whether what we are putting into
something will bring appropriate
results. The fact is, however, that
there are times when we must go
beyond the bottom line and do
things that are neither profitable
nor cost effective.
Some time ago I got a commu
nication from a denominational
office informing me that it had
been determined that it was no
Lancaster Farming
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services based on products, loca
tion, and service types. Potential
customers will be able to find
places off the beaten track that
offer locally grown produce,
trees, and other products. For in
stance, if you were looking for a
farm where you could pick your
own produce, you could visit the
AgMap Website, enter your home
location, and ask for a search of
all strawberry growers within a
20-mile radius.
AgMap will then supply you
with a list of all the farms that
meet your criteria and a map
showing how to get there.
In addition to helping consum
ers and farmers find each other,
AgMap provides a communica
tions network among agricultural
businesses in Pennsylvania. This
allows producers to contact other
producers who offer similar prod
ucts. This provides several bene
fits.
For market analysis, businesses
can use AgMap to determine lo
cations of competitors and find
gaps in services where a new
business startup may be success
ful. In emergency situations such
as drought, producers with prod
ucts for sale will be able to locate
other producers who need prod
ucts. In the case of disease out
breaks, producers will able to
contact other producers to de
termine how they are dealing
with the situation.
Those farm markets that are
listed in the Pennsylvania De
partment of Agriculture’s Farm
Market directory will be con
tacted in the near future to see if
they wish to be also listed in the
AgMap database. Participation is
voluntary. Information that will
be listed on the Website includes
longer “cost effective” to provide
retired ministers with health in
surance. I must confess that the
letter and its rationale bothered
me. During the 40-plus years that
I served churches in that confer
ence and paid into the health in
surance program, I never heard
any of my colleagues complain
because they were working for
salaries that were not “cost effec
tive” nor did I. We all knew
when we decided for the ministry
that salaries would be quite sub
standard, but we also were con
vinced that there are things
worth more than monetary remu
neration.
Neither low salaries or inade
quate pensions have changed that
conviction.
Different Values
I still believe that, but I am
sorry that so much of our society
today does not. Value and moti
vation today are so wholly
pegged to monetary value.
With my undergraduate edu
cation in finance and commerce,
I have always advocated finan
cial responsibility, matching
outgo with income and profit
with loss.
But I personally know of two
churches that would not have
been built if we had based our
plans solely on our financial
prospects. I can think of a lot of
worthwhile things we did that
would not have been done if we
had not taken a leap of faith.
Many people today say that it
is not “cost effective” to pursue
justice and equity for all. I was
troubled when I read in the news
paper today of 700 employees
being laid off from their jobs in a
firm whose profits have been slid
ing; yet, at the same time, the
board of directors paid an enor-
business name and owner name,
address, products, hours of busi
ness, Website, e-mail address,
and phone number. Once you are
entered you will receive a user
name and password to allow you
to change data and to enter addi
tional data as the database is ex
panded for each commodity.
Anyone who is a farm producer
can put his or her information in
the database. You do not need to
be listed in the PDA directory.
For more information on en
tering your farm business on
AgMap, contact Stewart Bn>ce at
(814)-863-7609.
To Prepare
For Drought
Recent dry weather has raised
concerns about the condition of
crops across the state. As is often
the case during dry weather, the
rains have been very spotty, so
some areas are seriously dry
while others are just showing the
first signs of stress. Although
there is still time for a few rains
to dramatically change our situa
tion, it is wise to begin planning
to deal with drought.
If you have a livestock opera
tion with large forage needs, you
may want to line up potential
sources of feed from those who
may have some to market. You
also should evaluate planting
some fall forage crops to supple
ment your supply. If you are a
com grain producer, it would be
wise to explore options for mar
keting your crop as silage this
year.
Quote of the Week:
“No occupation is so de
lightful to me as the culture of
the Earth and no culture com
parable to that of the garden. ”
Thomas Jefferson
mous bonus and stock options to
their CEO.
So, Micah does not seem out of
date: “Hear this, you heads of the
house of Jacob and rulers of the
house of Israel, who abhor justice
and pervert all equity, wno build
Zion with blood and Jerusalem
with wrong. Its heads give
judgment for a bribe, its priests
teach for hire, its prophets divine
for money; yet they lean upon the
Lord and say, ‘ls not the Lord in
the midst of us?”’ (3:9-11).
Well, it’s all cost-effective, isn’t
it?
What Pleases God?
“With what shall I come before
the Lord, and bow myself before
God on high? Shall I come before
with burnt offerings? Will the
Lord be pleascid with thousands
of rams?... Shall I give my first
born for my transgression, the
fruit of my body for the sin of my
soul?” Lord, just what is the bot
tom line you want?
Actually, when we come before
the Lord, it is a time for going be
yond the bottom line, beyond
being cost effective. There are
times to be a bean counter and
there are times when we are
called to the unprofitable and su
preme cost of the cross.
The bottom line? We already
know, don’t we? “He has showed
you, O man, what is good; and
what does the Lord require of
you but to do justice, and to love
kindness, and to walk humbly
with your God” (6:8). If you can
manage that, you don’t have to
count the cost.
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. Burgeaa Ganeral Manager
Andy Andrews, Editor
Copyright 2001 by Lancaster Farming