AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 12,2002 OPINION Maybe It Is Time To the surprise of few, southcentral Pennsylvania is once again experienc ing a drought situation. With Pennsylvania recording drought conditions in four of the last six years, maybe it is time to look beyond our typical band-aid approach of emergency water conservation such as reducing water consump tion in our homes, and turn to more long-term conservation practices. We are not suggesting that individual water conservation measures are not important. They are! What we are suggesting is that our past and current conservation actions have not been enough, and maybe it is time to tackle the tough and controversial issues of how we use our land and abuse our water re sources. There are those individuals who would argue that we are going through a natural cycle concerning the frequency of our droughts and that, soon enough, all will be well. This may very well be a natural cycle it may be 10 or 15 years until we have another serious drought. Or, the drought trend could be indica tive of a larger problem. However, no matter what the case, a drought is the only time when many people realize the limited aspects of our fresh water and, therefore, it is the best time to decide our actions concerning the future of that water. What we do now will have a serious impact on the severity of any future droughts. Many people realize the limited aspect of other natural resources such as oil, but fail to acknowledge the same limitation of our clean, usable freshwa ter. Our water resources are not unlimited! They are affected every day by de velopment, pollution, and population growth. In 1900, each of the six million people living in Pennsylvania used about five gallons of water per day. Since then, our population has doubled to almost 12 million people and our water consumption has increased to an average of 62 gallons per day. Part of this 900 percent increase in water use is obviously due to the many modern water-using conveniences in our homes, but nevertheless indicates that we could be in serious trouble, soon! Each year we drill 10,000 new wells in Pennsylvania that are, to a great extent, unregulated. Simple math shows that the severity of our current drought will probably be much worse in 10 to 15 years when we could have as many as 100,000 or 150,000 additional wells drawing water from our underground aquifers. To further compound the problem, each day we are converting more land to paved parking lots and rooftops (impermeable surfaces), thereby increasing runoff and decreasing natural ground infiltration that would normally help to recharge our groundwater sources. Maybe it is time: • To seriously consider our surface waters and groundwater as a natural resource with limits. • To employ best management practices that will help to minimize the ad verse impacts of new development by providing more ground infiltration, water quality treatment of stormwater runoff, etc. • To promote land use decisions that are in the best interest of a watershed and the people that live within it, rather than viewing land planning as what is best for individual municipalities within the watershed. • To make tough land use decisions that would protect stream valleys, floodplains, and riparian buffers in the interest of all. • To change our thought processes from viewing key land parcels along streams, in aquifer recharge areas, and in stream valleys for their value as po tential tax revenue. Instead we should view them for their value to protect and enhance water quality and quantity. • To dedicate our efforts-to make every citizen realize that we all contrib ute to our problem and therefore all need to recognize that everyone is an inte gral part of the solution to water concerns. It is important to understand that the conservation district is not an agency that is against development and economic growth. We recognize that both must and will occur. However, even economic growth and development de pends on a clean and abundant water supply. What we promote as a conser vation district is responsible development, growth and land planning, and a recognition of the importance of our surface and ground waters in all of the decisions relating to this growth. We can and must develop a better way of doing business and making deci sions. In 10 or IS years, or even next year, when the next drought occurs, will we look back and say “We are so glad we took the actions that we did to pro tect our water resources?” Or, will we be in the middle of another drought emergency with mandatory restrictions as the big solution? Maybe it is time? No, it is time. ❖ FarmC ALENDAR ❖ Dauphin County Annual meeting, Old Country Buffet, Harrisburg, 11 a.m. Ohio Eastern Ohio Forest Wild life Conference, New Phila delphia, Ohio, 8:30 a.m.-4 rMiu(74OV732-238E^^ SparusnCourseior Dairymen, Lancaster and Gettysburg, Penn State Extension, Jan. 14-April 8, every Monday, (888) 472-0261, ext. 312. James Patches Growers’ Meet ing, Schaefferstown Fire Hall, 9:45 a.m. and 6:45 p.m., (717) From Earthtones The Newsletter of the Dauphin County Conservation District 949-3860. Ohio State Extension, USDA program, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Wooster, (330) 264- 8722. Lime and Fertilizer Conference, Penn State. Eastern Regional' Nursery, Landscape Seminar, Dela- ware Valley College, Doyles town, (610) 489-4315. Vegetable Growers’ Association Annual Meeting and Trade Show, Atlantic City, thru Jan. 17,(856)985-4382. Tuesday Talk, Equine Medical fTurn to Page A 11) To Analyze Milk Production Costs No one seems to enjoy preparing the records needed to file income tax reports. However, one benefit of this process is it forces us to summarize information about our operation’s in come and expenses. Glenn Shirk, extension dairy agent in Lancaster County, points out that while you are doing this work you should take this opportunity to learn as much as possible from these re cords. As a business person, it is impor tant to know what your itemized costs of production are. Do you know? It is very simple to calculate. Simply take the itemized list of ex penses from your tax return and di vide it by the hundredweight of milk shipped last year, which appears on your last milk check stub for the year. Don’t forget to include depreci ation and make adjustments for pre paid expenses and changes in ac counts receivable and accounts payable. Also, exclude income and expenses related to nondairy related enterprises such as cash cropping, a custom operating business, other ani mal enterprises, etc. You may want to lump all crop-re lated costs together, including the crop share of rent or mortgages, THE EMPTINESS Background Scripture: Isaiah 55. Devotional Reading: Psalms 85:4-9. Last evening we went to a party and there was a magnificent buffet. I had some of this and some of that, in total quite a bit more than our nor mal evening meal. Still, when we got home from the party, I felt strangely unsatisfied. Instead of filling my emptiness, the great abundance of food left me feeling that I was lack ing something. Have you ever experienced some thing like that? Maybe not with food, but with something that promised to fill-a void within you, but didn’t? It is well known that many people who overeat are not satisfied with the quantities of food they ingest and it has been suggested that they eat to fill a void tnat cannot be filled by food. Some people drink to excess for the same reason. More of us, I sus pect, try to fill the void with The exiled Jews in Babylon were probably startled with Isaiah’s mes sage: “Ho, every one who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat” (55:1). Lancaster Farming An Award-Winning Farm Newspaper • Keystone Awards 1993,1995 • PennAg Industries 1992 • PACD Media Award 1996 • Berks Ag-Business Council 2000 • Recognized for photo excellence throughout the years by the Northeast Farm Communicators building and machinery depreciation and repairs, insurance, taxes, etc. If you add this to your purchased feed costs, you’ll have a better idea of what your total feed costs are. But remember this also includes the cost of feeding heifers, bulls, etc. Shirk also suggests you can also split out total replacement costs, in cluding their share of the above feed costs plus their share of the mortgage or rent, taxes, insurance, building re pairs, etc. and calculate replacement costs per hundredweight of milk. You should then answer several other questions. How much less would your cost per hundredweight (or CWT) be if culling could be re duced? What other dairy income do you have other than milk sales? What does this amount to per CWT of milk produced? Could this be in creased if you could reduce the num ber of cull cows sold at depressed prices and sell more cattle at higher prices? Answers to these questions can guide you as you evaluate man agement changes needed to have a profitable operation in the future. To Prepare For Insect, Disease Management In Vegetable Transplants Dr. Tim Elkner, horticultural agent in Lancaster County, recom mends that you start your pest man agement program for your next greenhouse crop now. Pest manage ment for vegetable transplant pro duction is an integrated process and includes sanitation, sound cultural practices, the use of resistant culti vars (where possible), and finally, proper use of the correct pesticide. Elkner said you should begin the season with a clean, weed-free disin fected greenhouse. This means clear ing the growing area of any plant de bris, weeds, and any discarded flats or tools. After cleanup, wash and dis infect empty benches, potting areas, storage shelves, tools, and leftover cell packs and flats that you plan to reuse. Your disinfecting solution can contain any of the sanitizing prod ucts such as Green-Shield, Physan 20, Triathlon, Zero Tol ; or chlorine bleach (10 percent solution). Be sure to follow the manufacturer’s direc tions when using any commercially prepared materials. If you are using a l-to-9 bleach so lution, remember that it requires a 30-minute soak in order to be effec tive. Also, while chlorine bleach is an effective sanitizer, please note that He is talking about the basic necessi ties of life water, milk, bread but the exiled Jews are probably more af fluent than they were in Judah. Some scholars believe that it was in Babylon that the Jews learned to be merchants. They had come to Baby lon as exiles, but they prospered there. ‘Moneytheism’ Still, for all of their success and ease in Babylon, many of them felt a sense of emptiness that the “good life” there could not fill. Isaiah knows this and he goes on to say, “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satis fy?” These words, I believe, are just a relevant for us today. Some of us are “moneytheists” money and the things money buys frequently take the place of God. Despite what we may profess on Sundays, it is that to which we look for our help, salva tion, and fullness that constitutes the object of our true faith. Our society is fascinated today with the gospel of “consumerism. Instead of the Kingdom of God, the “smart money” today is on a “global market.” Does not Isaiah also speak to our complacency? God’s call is one of grace. It is of fered to those who have “no money.” The true essentials of life are offered “without money and without price.” That which we can never earn from God, he gives us as a gift. All that is required is an awareness that the “emptiness” we experience can be filled only by his grace and a willing ness to accept that gift. That is the irony, isn’t it? We try to buy things to fill the void that only the free gift from God can fill. This is the “Gem-shaped blank” that H.G. Wells said is in every person’s heart. there will be a SO percent reduction in strength of a chlorine solution after just two hours. Therefore, you should prepare a new solution each time you plan to sanitize. This in cludes a new solution after lunch if you started working in the morning. Once you have the growing area and equipment sanitized, be sure to avoid recontamination. Dirty hose nozzles or tools can contaminate pot ting soil and the general growing area. Be sure that everything brought into the area is clean. The floor or soil in the growing area is a good source of insects and diseases. Do not stand on the benches after they have been cleaned as you can easily move diseases up from the floor on your shoes. Use hooks to keep your hose nozzle off the floor. Ideally, grow your transplants off the floor as well, either on benches or pallets. The floor in your greenhouse should be well drained and cleaned before plants are started there. Some grow ers have taken to covering the entire floor with black fiber cloth to both prevent weed growth and make cleanup easier after transplant pro duction. Once dry, plant and soil res idues are easily swept-up and re moved. Finally, always use disease-free media for transplant production. If using soil, be sure it is pasteurized be fore you bring it into the growing area. Successful soil pasteurization requires 30 minutes at 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Be sure to frequently sanitize and maintain clean areas where soil is mixed and pots are fdled. Elkner recommends that you have separate areas if you are producing both vegetable transplants and orna mentals. Bringing cuttings of flower ing plants into the vegetable area can introduce pests such as thrips and diseases such as tobacco spotted wilt virus (TSWV). Look at your avail able space(s) and plan accordingly. Take some time to prepare your vegetable transplant greenhouse now to reduce disease and insect problems later this season. Waiting until seed ing time to start this chore may not leave enough time to do the job thor oughly. This could result in a great deal of time and money spent later to control a disease or insect infestation. Quote Of The Week: “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters com pared to what lies within us. ” Ralph Waldo Emerson Sins Of‘Good Men’ The good news of restoration .which Isaiah brings here is also a call to repentance. “ ... let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord... for he will abundantly pardon” (55:7). Although God offers his free gift to all, it cannot be received by the unre pentant. Very often this is because the unrepentant does not even realize he or she has anything of which to repent. Keinhold Niebuhr once said that much evil is not done by evil men, but by good men who do not know they are not good. We do not know the-depths of sur own sinfulness be cause we generally do not think about it. “If is for want of thinking that we are undone,” says Thomas Wilson. The good news of God “Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price” always comes with a call to examine ourselves by the teachings of Jesus Christ, not the standards of society. As far as society is concerned, we may be OK, fine, or even outstanding. But we must re member that God’s thoughts “are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord” (55:8). So, now is the time for us “return to the Lord,” even if we didn’t realize that we had been away from him. “Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near” (55:6). God is always near, al ways to be found, but there are times in our lives when we can be more aware that he is ready and waiting to fill our emptiness. Lancaster Farming Established 1955 Published Every Saturday Ephrata Review Building 1 E. Main St. Ephrata, PA 17522 —by— Lancaster Farming, Inc. A Steinman Enterprise y William J. Burgeaa General Manage! Andy Andrewa, Editor Copyright 2002 by Lancaster; Farming
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers