OPINION
Large-Scale Victories
In the past two weeks, in which all of us have had to deal with the
gloomiest news since the outbreak of World War 11, in which victories
have been few and far between, large-scale agriculture advocates may
have something to cheer about.
PennAg Industries Association, in their release about a recent “Ag
Days” program that focused on agriculture and municipalities, pro
vided a feature topic presentation on “Agricultural Law Zoning,
Farmland Preservation, Nutrient Management, and Local Ordi
nances” (see story last week on page A2B). Christine Kellett, professor
of law at the Penn State Dickinson Agricultural Law, Research, and
Education Center, spoke.
PennAg outlined that Kellett advised township officials to consult
the ag community, conservation district, and township solicitors when
formulating ag ordinances to stay “within the realm of the law and
avoid conflict.”
Kellett informed township officials about a recent decision by the
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in June 2001, Naylor v. Township of
Hellam, “determining that a township had no actual or incidental
power to impose a moratorium on building approvals.”
In other words, townships can’t simply decide they don’t want
large-scale agriculture from appearing on the landscape and start to
reformulate existing laws, or even go against established, overriding
state or federal laws.
In the case opinion, on page four, it’s noted that “Municipal cor
porations have no inherent powers and may do only those things that
the Legislature has expressly or by necessary implication placed with
in their power to do.”
Municipalities “are creatures of the state” and the “authority of the
Legislature over their powers is supreme,” according to the opinion,
posted by Mr. Justice Zappala on June 20,2001.
The ruling could “affect townships considering moratoriums on
large-scale agriculture,” according to the PennAg release.
Many agricultural advocate organizations have been drawn into
this war between small-minded opponents of family-based or small
company-based large-scale, environmentally responsible operations.
And it looks like large-scale agriculture is coming out on top, smiling.
The ag economy is the heart and soul of business in many small
communities. It’s a small world already, and we have to work togeth
er.
❖ Farm Calendar ♦'
2nd Annual Fawn Grove Olde
Tyme Days Fall Gas Engine
and Garden Tractor Show
and Swap Meeting, southern
York County, thru Sept. 23.
Penn State Poultry Science
Alumni and Friends Reunion,
noon-3 p.m.
Northeast Small Farm and
Rural Living Expo and Trade
Show, West End Fairgrounds,
Gilbert, thru Sept. 23, (908)
475-6581.
Washington County Cattle
men’s Association Feeder
Calf Show and Sale, Wash
ington County Fairgrounds,
Meadowlands, (724) 239-
3556.
Bloomsburg Fair, thru Sept. 29.
First State Antique Tractor Club
Show, Yoder Farms, Green
wood, Del.
Ephrata Fair, Ephrata, thru
Sept. 29,(717)733-4451.
Deer In Your Woods, Bradford
County Extension Allen Hall,
Mansfield University, 9 a.m.
All American Dairy Show, Farm
Show Complex, Harrisburg,
thru Sept. 27.
Pa. Dairy Princess Pageant, 4
Points Sheraton, 6:30 p.m.
Farm Safety Day Camp, 4-H
Center, Bedford County Fair
grounds, Bedford, 9:45 a.m.-2
p.m.
Southwest Pa. Watershed Con
ference, University of Pitts-
_ - 1 " " X
burgh Greensburg Campus
Penn’s Comer Conservancy.
(724)834-9063.
Farm Days, Ohio State Univer
sity Unger Farm, Bucyrus,
Ohio, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Lancaster Farmland Trust
Annual Picnic, Bob and
Debbie Wenger, Quarryville,
1 p.m.-5 p.m.
Dairy Antiques and Collectibles
Show, Farm Show Complex,
Fa. All-American Df : ‘ Show,
Farm Show Complex, Harris-
burg, thru Sept. 27.
Food and Crafts For Profit Sem-
inar, Keystone College, 9
a.m.-2:45 p.m.
ADA District Meeting, Elks
Lodge, Nalliston, N.Y., 7:30
Fa. Holstein Fall Championship
Show, Farm Show Complex,
Harrisburg, 9 a.m.
Fall Family Living Day, Trinity
Lutheran Church, William-
sport.
Morrison Cove Community
Fair, thru Sept. 28.
Ephrata Fair, thru Sept. 29.
Dairy Feeder’s Training Work
shop, Lebanon County exten
sion office, 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m.
ADA District Meeting, Dela
ware and Greene Counties,
(Turn to Page A4l)
This year’s dry weather has
limited forage supplies with hay
crop and com silage yields both
being less than normal. Many dairy
producers are going to need to pur
chase forages to have sufficient
feed for this year.
Virginia Ishler, program assist
ant in the Penn State Dairy and
Animal Science Department, re
ports that hay supplies are tight in
the western states as well, so hay
prices are expected to be very high
this year. However, cottonseed pro
duction is expected to be up 16 per
cent from 2000, which would be
the largest production on record.
Many dairy producers are accus
tomed to feeding whole cottonseed.
However, the fat content in cotton
seed limits the amount that can be
used in a dairy ration. According to
Ishler, cottonseed hulls can make a
very satisfactory forage substitute
WITH NOTHING
BUT FAITH
Background Scripture:
Matthew 15:21-31.
Devotional Reading:
Luke 4:16-21.
Going from Israel to the district
of Tyre and Sidon was not like
going from Texas to Oklahoma or
from Pennsylvania to New Jersey.
Israel was the home of monotheis
tic Judaism, and Tyre and Sidon
were cities of a polyglot pagan pop
ulation, including some Ca
naanites. Jesus was journeying
from one world to another. Ap
palled as the disciples were when
they found him conversing with a
Samaritan woman (John 4), they
were even more shocked when
Jesus was approached by a Ca
naanite woman.
airy
This nameless woman had no
background in Judaism she
knew nothing about the preaching
and teaching of Jesus. All she knew
was that this man was purported to
be the Jewish Messiah and a gifted
healer. So she came to Jesus, say
ing, “Have mercy on me, O Lord,
Son of David; my daughter is se
verely possessed by a demon”
(15:21). She had nothing to offer
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To Stretch Feed
Supplies With
Cottonseed Hulls
that provides effective fiber. Addi
tionally there is a product on the
market that combines cottonseed
meal with the hulls and this makes
a good substitute for average quali
ty alfalfa hay. With a current price
of about SISS-160/ton, this could
help stretch limited forage sup
plies.
In several research projects con
ducted at Penn State, straight cot
tonseed hulls have been success
fully used both in early lactation
diets and dry cow rations. The
early lactation study compared
cows fed four pounds of cottonseed
hulls with 23 pounds of com silage
to a diet containing 29 pounds com
silage. The ration with the hulls
contained 47 percent concentrate
and the no hulls ration contained
43 percent (percent of the total ra
tion dry matter). Milk production
was very similar with both diets.
For both of the diets, milk produc
tion averaged 105 pounds with 3.5
percent butterfat. Dry matter in
take averaged 60 pounds on the
hulls ration compared to 56
pounds without hulls.
If you are in a situation where
you find your forage supplies are
limited, consider cottonseed hulls
as an option in your program. As
always, when evaluating a new
feed ingredient, have, your nutri
tionist evaluate its availability and
its fit for your situation.
To Plant
Cover Crops
Many farmers need to empty
their manure storage units during
the fall season. This means these
crop nutrients are applied to cro
pland at a time of year when they
are not needed by a growing crop.
Therefore these nutrients are vul
nerable to being lost to the environ
ment because of soil erosion and
leaching.
Winter cover crops are a valu
able tool farmers can use to pre
vent this economic loss of valuable
nutrients and prevent the environ
mental .damage also caused. If you
are applying manure to cropland
but her love for her daughter and a
dogged persistence.
The first few times I read the fol
lowing dialogue with Jesus, I was
puzzled.
The replies that Jesus made to
her seemed totally out of keeping
with the compassionate Jesus of
Nazareth I had encountered up to
this point. Then it occurred to me
that what Jesus was voicing were
not his own thoughts, but those of
his disciples and others. In a sense,
Jesus was putting on the Canaanite
woman, fencing verbally with her
so as to prod the prejudices of his
disciples.
The Silent Response
To her initial plea, Jesus “did
not answer her a word.” From time
to time, Jesus responded with si
lence as he was silent when he bent
to write with his finger in the earth
before the woman taken in adul
tery, as he stood silent before both
Herod and Pilate and on other oc
casions. His silence triggered an ur
gent request from his disciples and
perhaps that was his intention:
“Send her away, for she is crying
after us.” They were embarrassed
lest anyone should think she was
one of their band. As if to support
this request, Jesus finally answers
the woman: “I was sent only to the
lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
That probably would have chas
ed away most others, but not this
persistent woman. Instead of being
repulsed by his words, she came
even closer to him and knelt before
him, saying, “Lord, help me.” No
tice that she does not reply to his
argument about being sent only to
the “lost sheep of the house of Isra
el.” Her focus is much more simple
than that; “Lord, help me.” This is
not theological but personal.
Jesus responds with a bit of rea-
this fall, plan on planting a small
grain cover crop such as rye.
The rye will take up the avail
able nitrogen and hold it in the
plant, preventing its loss to the
water supply. If the rye is harvest
ed, the nutrients will be utilized as
high-quality feed. If the rye is
killed or plowed in the spring, the
nutrients will become available to
the following crop. The rye will
also prevent nutrient loss by slow
ing soil erosion. Rye can be planted
as late as November but the earlier
it is planted the more nutrients it
will take up and the more yield it
will produce in the spring.
To Protect Yourself
From Frauds, Scams
And Rip-Offs
Cathy Bowen from the Penn
State Department of Ag and Ex
tension Education reports there are
a number of frauds, scams, and
rip-offs designed to separate you
from your money. Some of the
more common ones are work-at
home schemes, sweepstakes offers,
investment scams, and advance-fee
loans. And free gift offers are rare
ly free.
If someone asking for money
contacts you, the chances are good
that you may be getting scammed.
Bowen suggests some signs to
watch for are pressure to make a
quick decision, demand for imme
diate payment, too-good-to-be-true
offers, or charging a fee to recover
lost money. Never give out your
credit card, checking account, or
social security number to someone
who contacts you.
If you suspect fraud, contact the
Pennsylvania Attorney General’s
Consumer Protection Hotline at
(800)441-2555.
Quote of The Week: In light of
the ongoing recovery efforts after
last week’s tragic events, I offer the
following words of Dr. Albert
Schweitzer:
“ Whosoever is spared personal
pain must feel himself called to
help in diminishing the pain of
others.”
soning that may have reflected the
thinking of his disciples: “It is not
fair to take. the children’s bread
and throw it to the dogs.” That’s
what Jews called the Canaanites,
“dogs.” That must have been what
his disciples were thinking, .so
Jesus brought it out into the open.
As the disciples probably saw it,
this woman did not deserve to
make any requests of their Master.
But they had forgotten that no one
is deserving of God’s grace.
Crumbs Under The Table
The Canaanite woman was un
deterred by Jesus’ terrible an
nouncement and she replies, “Yes,
Lord, yet even the dogs eat the
crumbs that fall from their mas
ter’s table.”
Persistent, she was nevertheless
humble. She did not demand to be
treated as an equal, but rather
pleaded for the grace of God. Then
Jesus rewarded her faith and per
sistence: “ ‘O woman, great is your
faith. Be it done for you as you de
sire.’ And her daughter was healed
instantly.”
What did Jesus mean when he
said, “... great is your faith”? How
could this Canaanite woman have
any kind of faith? Here again the
word “faith” means “trust.” She
had no theology, no belief system,
but she trusted this man Jesus and
that trust was the opening through
which healing was brought to her
daughter.
She was only a Canaanite
woman. She had only love, faith,
and persistence.
And it was enough.
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