OPINION
Animal ID System:
Will This Work?
Dr. John Enck Jr., state veterinarian and director of the Bureau of
Animal Health and Diagnostic Services, spoke recently at the annual
meeting of the North East Farm Communicators in Gettysburg.
The topic: a national animal identification plan that could be used
as a tool for disease traceback to the farm.
The universal ID system would include lots of information em
bedded on a computer chip in a simple animal tag: animal name, tag
number, age, species, gender, and an immunization history all ac
cessible electronically. That information could be databased so that,
when the animal is processed, the animal’s complete physical history
would be known. Also, the farm where it was raised can be identified.
“Consumer pressure is key to this industry identification system,”
said Enck to the ag journalists.
Legislation to make this mandatory across all species could end up
in the final Farm Bill.
Now, a typical eartag costs about $5. But what about the cost bene
fits, especially when it is placed on an $8 chicken? Must every animal,
no matter what, be electronically identified and cataloged?
Some states, such as New York, would really love every animal, in
cluding those in live bird markets, electronically ID’d. But unless the
price on the tags drops dramatically, and until the right computer
software to handle the enormous tasks this would entail is devel
oped ... perhaps a pragmatic solution is still some time away.
Saturday, April 6
Maryland Tested Bull Sale, Wye
Extension Center.
Maryland, Delaware Advanced
Shearers School, Ridgely and
Harvey Thompson Farm,
Uniontown Road, Westmin
ster, 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., (301)
724-3320.
Penn State Master Gardeners of
Wyoming County, Spring into
Spring Symposium, Shadow
brook, Tunkhannock, 8:30
a.m.-3:30 p.m., (570) 278-1158.
Alpaca Day, central New Jersey,
10 a.m.-4 p.m., (609) 261-0696.
Spring Bargain Fling, Penn State
Ag Arena.
Southern Cove Power Reunion
Association Spring Plow Days,
club show grounds, 9 a.m.-6
p.m., (814) 766-3715.
Bus Trip to Wye and Central
Maryland Bull Test Sale,
Queenstown, Md., noon, (301)
334-6960.
Farm Safety Day Camp, Junge
Farm, Sechler Road, New Tri
poli.
Sunday, April 7
“Celebrate Midlife: The Best Is
Yet to Be,” Oglebay Resort
Conference Center, Wheeling,
W.Va., thru April 9.
Alpaca Breeders Open Farm Vis
its, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Maryland, (609) 261-0696.
Monday, April 8
Mid-Atlantic Farm Credit annual
stockholders’ meeting, Level
Fire Hall, Level, Md., 6 p.m.
Heifer International Fund-raising
Dinner, Yoder’s Restaurant,
New Holland, 6 p.m. Also
April 9, East Fairview Church
of the Brethren, Manheim, 6
p.m.
Pepper Pest Management Strate
gy Program, Columbus, Ohio,
9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. and April 9,
7:15 a.m.-2:30 p.m., (937)
454-5202.
Berks Conservation District ban
quet, Ag Center, Leesport, 7
p.m.
Pa. Farm Bureau Harrisburg
Legislative Conference, Capi
tal Rotunda, 3 p.m.; banquet
Harrisburg Hilton and Tow
ers, 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, April 9
Two-Day Milking Center Man
agement Short Course, Ather
ton Hotel, State College, 9
a.m.-5 p.m., thru April 10, also
April 18-19, (814) 652-6430.
Mid-Atlantic Farm Credit annual
stockholders’ meeting, Best
Western, Westminster, Md., 6
p.m.
Pa. Poultry Sale and Service
Conference, Nittany Lion Inn,
Penn State, thru April 10.
Migrant and Immigrant Health
in Rural Pennsylvania, Penn
State Conference Center, State
College, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., (814)
863-5050, or (800) 893-4602.
Westmoreland County Horticul
ture Seminar, 7 p.m.-9:30 p.m.
Tri-State Dairy Nutrition Con
ference, Fort Wayne, Ind.,
thru April 10, (330) 264-8722.
Seminar on Trade Opportunities,
MDA Headquarters, Annapo
lis, Md., 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m.,
(410) 841-5881.
Pork Quality Assurance Pro
gram, Susquehanna County
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To Update Your
Commercial Berry
Production Guide
Kathy Demchak, Penn State De
partment of Horticulture, has an
nounced that Penn State’s Commer
cial Berry Production and Pest
Management Guide, 2002-2004,
should be available by the middle of
April.
There are a number of changes in
this version. One is that the guide is a
3-year version this time around. This
will put it on a production schedule
that will make future versions avail
able earlier in the year, with the in
tention of having them available for
sale in time for winter meetings. Ad
ditions to the current version are a
table of small fruit pesticide chemical
and trade names with information on
preharvest and re-entry intervals of
each one. Brief overviews of protect
ed (high tunnel and greenhouse) cul
ture are included in the strawberry
and bramble chapters.
The pesticide table that covers fun
gicides used on strawberries includes
information on the chemical class of
each fungicide so that growers can
tell which ones have different modes
A BUTTERFLY
NAMED ‘HOPE’
Background Scripture:
Romans 8.
Devotional Reading;
Romans 8:1-11.
Probably all of us have heard of
the legendary Pandora’s Box. Many
of us forget its all-important ending.
Pandora was a lovely bride sent by
Zeus to Epimetheus. One day, Mer
cury brought her a small golden
chest that, he said, was hers to enjoy
but under no circumstances should
she open it. However, her curiosity
got the better of her and she pried it
open, just a little. Out flew a swarm
of nasty insects stinging everyone in
sight, poisoning their victims with
suspicion, fear, hatred, and malice.
Epimetheus and Pandora quar
reled at this turn of events, but even
tually they heard a sweet voice call
ing from the chest: “Let me out. Let
me soothe your pain.” So they fear
fully opened the box again and a ra
diant butterfly flew out. As it lighted
on them, their pains were healed.
The butterfly’s name was Hope.
The bright prospects and horizons
Lancaster Farming
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Northeast Farm Communicators
of action for purposes of resistance
management. Information on pro
duction, pesticides labeled for each
crop and rates, and cultivars has
been updated.
Information on nurseries and
other sources of production supplies
has been updated and expanded to
include sources of biocontrol sup
plies, promotional supplies, high tun
nels, and more in addition to the in
formation on irrigation, fumigation,
row covers and plastic mulch, spe
cialized equipment, and packaging
that was already there. Check with
your local Penn State Cooperative
Extension office to see if the new
guides have arrived. You don’t want
to start the new season without up
dating your information.
To Manage Soil
Fertility For Drought
Dr. Doug Beegle in the Crop and
Soil Science Department shares the
following principles on managing soil
fertility during times of drought.
First, plants growing in soils with op
timum fertility will be more efficient
at utilizing what water is available.
Thus, cutting back on fertility in an
ticipation of a drought is often a false
economy.
Be sure your soil test levels are at
least in the optimum range. How
ever, lower yields will take up fewer
nutrients. Therefore, if you can pre
dict the effect the drought will have
on yield, you can reduce mainte
nance fertility applications. Keep in
mind, though, if you cut back and
then we get rain, you could end up
being deficient.
Nitrogen rates are closely related
to expected crop yield. Splitting N
applications allows you to wait fur
ther into the season to see what the
conditions are and what the yield po
tential might be before you have to
decide how much N to apply. Delay
ing application of N also allows the
use of the PSNT to refine your N rec
ommendation. This is especially im
portant where manure is a major
component of your N program.
Low pH can have an especially
large impact on water use efficiency,
because as the soil pH approaches 5.5
or lower, root growth is significantly
of our youth may alt too soon be
dimmed by the poisorf of suspicion,
fear, hatred, and malice. Their
wounds can be healed only if we will
have the faith to open our lives to the
butterfly named Hope.
Never Lose God
But hope in or for what? Theolo
gian John Bright reminds us that the
prophet Jeremiah was called by God
to bring a message of hope to captive
Israel at a time when there seemed to
be nothing to back up that promise.
But Jeremiah never lost hope. Bright
says, because he never lost God. The
source and body of our hope are
God.
In Romans 8, Paul outlines our
Christian Hope. First, he tells us that
“the sufferings of this present time
are not worth comparing with the
glory that is to be revealed to us”
(8:18). At this time, Christians were
suffering for their faith. In our coun
try today, we are not persecuted, but
that doesn’t mean we suffer any less;
just more subtly. The Gospel could
cost us the respect of our friends,
neighbors, and employers. But this
pales in comparison with what lies
ahead for us in the life beyond.
Second, whatever we do suffer
binds us more closely to Christ. Re
member, we “suffer with him in
order that we may also be glorified
with him” (8:17).
A Foretaste Now
Third, even though the fulfillment
is just beyond our sight, we can expe
rience a sample of that hope now,
what Paul calls the “first fruits of the
Spirit” (8:23). This is much like John
speaking of the eternal life which the
believer can experience both before
and after death.
Fourth, not only will we be trans-
reduced. Fewer and shorter roots will
only be able to extract water from a
small soil volume. Ideally, soils
should be limed to maintain the pH
between 6 and 6.5 for most crops.
Another concern is problems relat
ed to taking soil samples in dry, hard
soils. Several people have noted
greater-than-expected' increases in
soil P and K and decreases in soil pH
in soil samples taken since last fall.
This is likely a result of taking shal
lower soil samples. In no-till or chisel
plow fields, especially, there is signif
icant stratification of nutrients and
pH. Thus, taking shallow soil sam
ples can result in very different and
misleading results.
If the soil is too hard to sample,
you would be better off waiting until
you can do it right, rather than com
promising the accuracy of the results.
If you notice that your soil test re
sults are higher in P and K and lower
in pH than expected, be suspicious
that the results may not be right.
Finally, there is a greater chance
for fertilizer injury in drought condi
tions. All fertilizers are salts, which
at high concentrations can injure
plants. Generally in our humid cli
mate we get enough rain to keep the
salts diluted to a safe level. However,
in drought conditions, this may not
be true. This is of greatest concern
with starter fertilizers because we are
intentionally concentrating fertilizer
near the seed.
The rule of thumb is that the total
N + K2O should not exceed 70
pounds per acre for normal 2-inch by
2-inch starter placement. If fertilizer
is placed directly with the seed, the
total N + K2O should not exceed 15
pounds per acre. It is especially crit
ical that we do not exceed these lev
els in drought conditions. Also, relat
ed to starter fertilizer management,
the recommendations that urea
should not be used in starter fertilizer
and DAP should be used with cau
tion are more critical in drought con
ditions.
Quote Of The Week:
“Golf is an ineffectual attempt
to put an elusive ball into an ob
scure hole with implements ilt
adapted to the purpose. ”
Woodrow Wilson
formed, but all creation as well. The
whole cosmos will become what God
intended for it to be even before he
created it. We will live transformed
lives in a transformed existence
(18:19-21).
Fifth, although we may feel too
weak to last through the trials of this
life, God’s Spirit comes to help us in
the midst of them. Because we don’t
know what God does, we may be un
certain how to pray sometimes. No
problem, for “the Spirit helps us in
our weakness” and “intercedes for us
with sighs too deep for words”
(8:26,27).
Sixth, while we may not be able to
see any plan or purpose in our lives
or the world about us, there is a good
purpose for which God has designed
us and the world to fulfill. “We know
that in everything God works for
good with those who love him, who
are called according to his purpose”
(8:18:28).
Seventh, despite all those things
that seem to be against us, thwarting
us in all our efforts, we must always
remember, “If God is for us, who is
against us?” God is for us and God
will prevail.
Finally, there is “nothing... nor
anything... able to separate us from
the love of God in Christ Jesus our
Lord” (18:35-39) The only sure thing
in life is God’s love in Christ, and
that can make us “more than con
querors.” So, let us listen for and re
spond to the voice that calls, “Let me
out. Let me soothe your pain.” It is
God’s gift of Hope.
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 2002 by Lancaster Farming