OPINION
Slow, Steady Farm Transition
Lancaster Farming has spent many months in the planning of our
first-ever conference, this one about farm family survival, as outlined
page one this issue.
We’re doing this because we recognize how important it is to start
planning for transition of the farm NOW.
We emphasize now, because waiting and refusing to discuss the
issue with your family can prove detrimental. We’ve heard too many
stories where families refuse to communicate, and as a result, transi
tioning the farm to the next generation can be traumatic.
Of course there are issues to be addressed in transitioning the farm.
In a multigenerational, multimember family, who will own it? Where
will the responsibilities lie?
But one saying is appropriate for family farm transition planning:
“early and often.” Speak with your family, sit down with a profession
al farm transition consultant, look at the options, and plan ahead.
Start the transition now it’s never too early.
And for some real advice, attend our first conference on Tuesday,
Nov. 13, at the Farm and Home Center. We believe you will leam
quite a bit about the realities of transitioning the farm, about what it
takes to survive as a farm, and whom to contact for answers.
New York Goat Nutrient Field
Day, Cornell University,
Ithaca, N.Y., (607) 254-6024.
4th Annual Susquehanna Old-
Fashioned Field Days, Conoy
Township Park, Bainbridge, 9
a.m., thru Sept. 16.
Maryland Wine Festival 2001,
Carroll County Farm Man
sion, Westminster, noon-6
p.m., thru Sept. 16, (410) 848-
7775.
Harvest Fair, Historic
Schaefferstown, Alexander
Schaeffer Farm, thru Sept. 16.
Garden State Sheep and Fiber
Festival, Warren County
Farmers Fairgrounds, Har
mony, N.J., thru Sept. 16.
Goat Expo, Randolph Farm Pa
Annual PennAg Convention,
Pocono Manor Inn and Golf
Resort, Pocono Manor, thru
Sept. 18.
Editor.
Terrorism coverage, like kids’
cartoons, has become addictive.
Many hours of TV bring the hor
rors of terrorism into our home.
Parents need to be concerned
about the possible effect this
non-stop coverage might have
on children. Even more import
antly, what can parents do to
ease a child’s fear?
Not long ago, the National
Association for the Education of
Young Children issued a warn
ing about media violence. They
went on record as condemning
violent television programming,
movies, videotapes, and com
puter games.
What is particularly danger
ous in the present situation is the
♦ Farm Calendar ♦
Mercer County Holstein Picnic,
4-H Park, Mercer, noon.
Mason-Dixon Gaited Classic
2001, Mason Dixon Fair
grounds, 9 a.m.
Gratz Fair, thru Sept. 22.
Susquehanna Old-Fashioned
Enek^av^OjSC^jirL-SDJn.
Beaver Community F? : ' thP'
Sept. 22.
Susquehanna Region Beef Pro
ducers Meeting, Boss’s Steak
and Sea House, Shamokin
Dam, 6 p.m.-9 p.m., (570)
784-6660.
Manure Field Day, Mountain
Breeze Farm, Shartlesville, 1
p.m.-3 p.m.
Chesapeake Bay Program, Ex
ecutive Council Annual Meet
ing, Washington Navy Yard,
Washington, D.C., I p.m.-
OmoFarm Science Review,
(Turn to Page A 11)
❖ Farm Forum ❖
apparent innocence or matter
of-factness of the TV program
ming. The nightly news or the
network news brief carries the
violent programming. It’s not
the hour long sitcom or weekly
shoot-em-up program.
Research has shown time and
time again that violence on TV
is not healthy for developing
children. Three problems are as
sociated with heavy viewing of
violence on television.
1. Children may become less
sensitive to the pain and suffer
ing of those around them.
Simply put, children who view
heavy doses of violence just “get
used to it.”
2. Children may become more
(Turn to Page All)
Aphid-borne viruses are causing
problems in some Pennsylvania
pumpkin fields. According to Dr.
Alan Mac Nab, department of plant
pathology, symptoms can be mild to
severe on foliage and the fruit.
Mild mottling can occur on both
the leaves and the fruit. The major
problem, however, is that normal rip
ening is delayed, resulting in the
need to harvest over an extended pe
riod. This delay can result in the loss
of opportunity to sell the fruit. If the
infection is severe, new leaves will be
stunted and distorted and fruit will
be bumpy with distinct dark green
and orange patches on mature fruit.
According to Mac Nab, there are
five distinct viruses that can infect
pumpkins. These are the cucumber
mosaic virus (CMV), papaya ring
spot virus (PRSV), squash mosaic
virus (SqMV), watermelon mosaic
virus-2 (WMV-2), and zucchini yel
lows mosaic virus (ZYMV). In Penn
sylvania pumpkins, WMV-2, ZYMV,
and PRSV were detected during a re
cent survey. WMV-2 accounted for
94 percent of infections, and was the
airPf
WHAT MAKES
JESUS ANGRY?
Background Scripture:
Mark 3:1-16: John 9:1-12.
Devotional Reading:
John 4:46-54.
“And he looked around him at
them with anger; grieved at their
hardness of heart..(Mark 3:5).
Although we might conclude that
Jesus was angry when he drove the
money changers out of the temple
(Mt. 21; 12; Mk 11:15; Jn. 2:14,15),
the only place in the gospels that spe
cifically stated he was angry is Mark
3:5. 1 imagine there were, in fact,
other times when Jesus was angry,
but the evangelists do not tell us
about them.
Some people we know have the ca
pacity to get angry over almost any
thing. To try to avoid angering them
is virtually impossible. But there are
others whose anger shows only on
rare occasions and we cannot help
but note what it is that moves them
to anger. In relating to these people,
it is helpful to know how to keep
them from becoming angry.
So, what was it that made Jesus
angry? Mark 3 indicates that it was
the hardness of heart of some of the
Lancaster Farming
An Award-Winning Farm Newspaper
• Keystone Awards 1993, 199 S • PennAg Industries 1992
• PACD Media Award 1996 • Berks Ag-Busmess Council 2000
• Recognized for photo excellence throughout the years by the
Northeast Farm Communicators
To Evaluate Your
Pumpkin Fields
For Virus Damage
most prevalent and widespread virus.
In addition, ZYMV was detected in
southeastern Pennsylvania, and
PRSV was detected in southwestern
Pennsylvania.
These viruses overwinter in bienni
al and perennial plants, including
many weeds. Aphids are the major
vectors that pick up the viruses from
virus-infected weeds and other plants
and then inoculate the pumpkin
plants when they probe and feed on
the plants. Some aphids are very effi
cient at inoculating plants. The time
needed for an aphid to transmit a
virus has been determined to be
about 30-seconds! Considering the
fact that aphids sometimes fly, and
can fie carried long distances by
wind, it is not surprising that aphid
borne viruses sometimes are a severe
problem.
None of the viruses detected dur
ing the recent survey of Pennsylvania
pumpkins is seed-borne. The only
virus of the five listed above that is
seed-borne is SqMV.
Control programs for this problem
focus on the source, the vector, and
plant resistance.
The first step is to eliminate or
control the source of the virus. This
can be done by controlling weeds in
and around plantings. Some weeds
are a source of viruses, and also har
bor the aphid vectors. For some
fields, where viruses are severe year
ly, it may be necessary to rotate pro
duction to fields where less inoculum
is present around the fields.
The next step in a control program
is to eliminate or minimize the num
ber of aphids that land on crop
leaves. Use of aphicides does not pro
vide adequate control of the virus,
presumably because at least some
aphids transmit the virus before the
aphids are controlled (since aphids
can transmit the virus in less than a
minute). In some crops, it is possible
to “repel” aphids by growing plants
on reflective mulch; however, this is
not effective for crops such as pump
kins which produce extensive vines
that quickly cover the ground. In
some crops, floating row-covers can
minimize number of aphids that land
on plants; however, this technology is
not feasible for large commercial
pumpkin fields.
people who witnessed his healing of
the man with “a withered hand.”
Without needing to hear his detrac
tors say so, Jesus knew that “they
watched him, to see whether he
would heal on the sabbath, so that
they might accuse him” (8:2). The
Jewish faith was the most compas
sionate religion in the world at the
time, so, if these men were faithful
Jews, they would be focusing with
compassion and joy on this man
whose withered hand was being
healed by Jesus.
But they did not care about the
plight of this man; their minds were
set only upon accusing Jesus of
wrongdoing in healing on the sab
bath. But Jesus put it to them in a
way they couldn’t answer: “ Ts it
lawful on the sabbath to do good or
to do harm; to save life or to kill?’
But they were silent’” (3:4).
Instead Of Rejoicing
This may seem an incredible situa
tion today, but I think this attitude is
still much with us. Some Christians,
instead of rejoicing when other
name-brand Christians do something
good and worthwhile, get “bent out
of shape” and look for something
they can criticize or even condemn.
They may overlook a good result be
cause, according to them, it wasn’t
done the “right way” “right,” of
course, as they define it.
We find a similar situation in John
9 and even some of the disciples run
the risk of incurring Jesus’ righteous
anger. Seeing the man who was blind
from birth, they ask, “Rabbi, who
sinned, this man or his parents, that
he was born blind?” (9:2). What au
dacity!
Because of their theology, they as
sume that his blindness is the result
of sin and they want to know whose
sin it was. Job’s “friends” had asked
him a similar question and for their
The best control in the future will
likely be resistance. Some seed com
panies are working on this now and
are making some progress with
ZYMV. Eventually, resistance to
multiple viruses should be available.
To Evaluate Feeding
Value Of Your
Corn Silage
The nutritive value of your com si
lage can vary greatly based on a
number of different factors. Accord
ing to Dr. Jud Heinrichs, the agron
omic factors include soil fertility,
weeds, plant population, and the
plant hybrid. An additional factor
which has substantial impact on the
feeding value of the silage is the
moisture content of the crop at har
vest. This will affect both the dry
matter content of the silage and the
digestibililty.
The silage moisture at harvest is
the biggest single factor affecting the
fermentation of the crop. Provided
there are ample sugars in the crop
and adequate bacteria present to di
gest these sugars, moisture de
termines the type and amount of fer
mentation that occurs. Moisture
content will also determine how well
the silage packs and eliminates oxy
gen.
if the silage is harvested drier than
desirable, there will be a decrease in
forage digestibility in addition to
packing problems. This means silage
that is too dry will not be suitable for
high-producing dairy cows because
of the lowered digestibility. However
it still will be acceptable feed for far
off dry cows or older heifers, pro
vided that it is not moldy and it is fed
as a part of a well-balanced ration.
Because your silage could vary in
feeding value greatly based on all
these factors, have your silage tested
to determine how best to use it in
your program.
Quote of The Week:
In light of the tragic events in our
nation this week, I offer these appro
priate words by the Apostle Paul:
“I urge, then, first of all, that
prayers, intercession, and thanks
giving be made for everyone for
kings and all those in authority,
that we may live peaceful and
quiet lives in all godliness and hol
iness. ”
(I Timothy 2:1-2)
impudence they earned God’s cen
sure. People are still likely to ask a
downtrodden “friend”: what did-Vop
do to get yourself into all this trou
ble?
Many of those who saw Jesus heal
the man born blind, instead of rejoic
ing that at long last he could see,
were more concerned just how his
sight had been restored. They seemed
to suspect that Jesus had done some
thing wrong, not something right:
“Then how were your eyes opened?”
they asked the healfcd man. But,
most odious of all, were the“’PhafrF'
sees: ‘This man is not from God, for
he does not keep the sabbath” (v. 16).
Hell’s Temperature
Someone once said, “Beware of
those who think they know the furni
ture of heaven and the temperature
of hell!” The same may be said of
those who are too sure they know
what is “of God” and what is not.
That is an attitude of arrogance, not
humility, and it leads some people to
substitute their own judgment for the
judgment of God.
Even though the evangelists record
only one clear incident of Jesus’
anger, they also suggest other occa
sions in which his response was any
thing but benign. There are 21 times
in the gospels of Mark, Matthew, and
Luke in which Jesus refers to “hypo
crite,” “hypocrites,” and “hypoc
risy.” Each of these suggest an angry
response to that which could make
Jesus angry; hypocritical hardness of
heart.
So, knowing what angers Jesus
do we?
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