AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 13, 2002 OPINION Who Pays? We read in a farm publication recently about how a dairy farm family from Westfield is challenging the mandatory milk checkoff, which equates to about IS cents per hundredweight. The issue here, as in every question regarding checkoff: are the monies spent wisely? But more so, should the costs of promoting a product be as sumed by those who simply produce a raw, rather than finished, product? It’s not easy to take a side in this issue. For the dairy farmer, some see little in the way of direct benefits for promotion, unless they bottle their own milk and sell it privately at a farm market or go door to door. So you can almost agree what good does it do? Does it directly affect their bottom line? Do the milk moustache ads really work to move milk? Are people really picking up cheese with these “power of’ promotions? Then another, you can see the wisdom of the promotional efforts, which go a long way toward educating the public about the benefits of milk. But how can we gauge if this is effective? Are the “got milk?” and other campaigns re ally working? In the newspaper industry, promotion is literally everything. Since time began, newspapers have had to do their own self-promotion, whether it has been the hawker, that ragtag kid yelling “read the latest!” to passing city street throngs during the first half of the last century, to promotional efforts that extend toTadio, TV, and telemarketing. And the public has come to ex pect that since many rely on alternative places to find their news anyway. Why should the dairy industry be any different? The issue here is: who pays for these efforts? The burden needs distribution. It would be unrealistic to expect those who sell the milk to entirely assume the burden. Yet you can see the point being made by the family from Westfield. They produce a raw product. For many milk producers, that product is going into cheese and butter markets. Why do they have to pay for a strictly fluid-milk promotion? What about the retailers? For example: do leather car seat makers pay promotion on Detroit autos? These questions need a stronger consideration in these tough economic times. Saturday, April 13 N.W. Sheep and Wool Growers’ meeting, Pittsfield, (724) 662-3141. Central Pa. Orchid Society Show, Penn State Ag Arena, thru April 14, Saturday noon-8 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m.-S p.m., (814) 237-4110. John Deere Antique Tractor Pull at Ron Boyer Farm, Rt. 100 south of Hereford, (215) 679-6592. Pa. Dutch Folk Culture Society: Eastertime on the Farm at Editor. One more time, the New York and Pennsylvania legislators have shown their support for dairy farmers in their respective states. As the time was nearing for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives conferees to meet and iron out the differences be tween the U.S. Senate and House farm bills, Congressman Don Sherwood (R-PA) circulated a letter to be sent to Rep. Larry Combest (R-Texas). Combest serves as the chairman of the Joint Conference. Sherwood’s let ter was urging the House mem bers of the conference to support the dairy provisions within the Senate farm bill. Notably, the letter supported the $16.94 per CWT floor price on Class I milk (fluid milk). The letter also supported the dairy * Farm Calendar * * Pennsylvania German Heri tage Center, Kutztown Uni versity, noon-4;30 p.m. Maryland Cooperative Extension Field Day on Cover Crops for Vegetable Production, Late Season Fruit Production in High Tunnels and The Use of High Density Tunnels for Sea son Extension, Clarksville Re search Farm, Ellicott City, Md., noon. Forest Management and Tree Farm tour, Kessler Tree Farm, (Turn to Page A 26) ❖ Farm Forum ♦ provisions concerning the other 36 states. So far, 91 members of the House have signed the letter. This is good. Pennsylvania has 21 congress man 18 have signed the letter plus Congressman Tim Holden, a conferee who has strongly sup ported the Senate’s dairy provi sions. This means 19 of 21 are on board this is great! New York has 31 congressmen 18 have signed the letter. This is good. In addition. Sen. Clinton, Sen. Schumer, and, as usual, Sen. Arlen Specter (one of nine Re publican senators that supported the Senate version) supported the dairy provisions. Of course. Sen. Santorum was not with us. Between the House of Repre sentatives and Senate, there arc (Turn to Page All) To Begin Scouting For Alfalfa Weevil Alfalfa plants have broken winter dormancy and the new shoots are growing. Alfalfa weevil eggs that were in the stem of last year’s growth will begin to hatch in early to mid-April. These eggs may result in an early pop ulation of the pest, but under most con ditions they are insignificant and only represent about 10 percent of the total alfalfa weevil population. Alfalfa plants will typically outgrow this injury. The population of economic significance results from eggs laid in the spring by overwintering adults. These adults move into hay fields con taining alfalfa as soon as the plants begin to grow and lay their eggs in the stems of plants. The weevil eggs hatch between mid- April and early May. Larvae hatching from these eggs reach maturity in ap proximately three weeks, normally from late May to early June. Injury symptoms are usually most evident during mid- to late-May. Once the lar vae pupate, they are done feeding for the year and scouting efforts can cease. For this reason, scouting for this pest only needs to occur during the first growth period (first cutting) of alfalfa. However, in fields where high numbers of weevil are present at cutting, the stubble should be checked to assure that regrowth is not being prevented by larvae feeding on the new shoots. Begin scouting the wannest fields on your operation with a southern expo sure and those with a soil type that is susceptible to drought. Begin scouting all fields once evidence of alfalfa weevil injury is observed in the wannest fields BEAUTIFUL FEET Background Scripture: Romans 10:1-17. Devotional Reading: Romans 11:1-6. “Beautiful Feet” it sounds like one of those ads you see in magazines or hear on television: Beautiful feet in just 30 days! $29.95 and if you act promptly, we’ll also guarantee you beautiful hands! The “beautiful feet” to which I am referring, however, is a quotation from Romans 10; 15b, “As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news!’” Paul’s “As is writ ten” is a reference to Isaiah 52:7 “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good ti dings, who publishes peace, who brings good tidings of good, who publishes sal vation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’” But why “beautiful feet”? The prophet is using feet as a meta phor. As he beholds the messenger coming with the good news, he concen trates upon the speedy feet which bring the messenger before the people. He could just as easily have said, “How Lancaster Farming An Award-Winning Farm Newspaper • Keystone Awards 1993,1995 • PennAg Industries 1992 • PACD Media Award 1996 • Berks Ag-Busmess Council 2000 • Recognized for photo excellence throughout the years by the Northeast Farm Communicators or when 300 degree days (base thresh old of development equals 48 degrees Fahrenheit) have accumulated since Jan. 1. This will typically occur be tween May 1 and May IS in most years and at most locations in the state. To sample a field, carry a bucket (a 2- or 3-gallon size plastic bucket will do fine) and walk through the field in ei ther a “W” or “zig-zag” pattern. Randomly remove an entire stem from 30 locations at approximately equal in tervals, in order to obtain a good repre sentative sample of the field. When col lecting an alfalfa stem sample, carefully cup your hand around the top of the stem before removing it. This will pre vent any larvae from dropping off that may have been on the stem. Now, re move the stem at ground level and place it top first into the bucket. Repeat this procedure as you follow your pat tern across the field. After you have collected 30 stems in the bucket, separate them into 3 to 4 small bundles and beat each bundle 10 or 15 times against the inside of the bucket to dislodge the larvae from the stems. We are primarily interested in the large larvae (green in color and V* inch long), since the big ones do the most feeding. In most cases only the large larvae are easily dislodged from the plant. Smaller larvae tend to hide in leaflet collars and are difficult to dis lodge. Count all the larvae in the buck et, including the small cream-colored ones. Record this number on your field data sheet. Next, measure 10 of the stems to get an average height of the plants (in inches) in the field. Record the average height of the plants on your data sheet. Also, observe the stems and record the percentage with buds. The number of flower buds present will help you de cide whether to spray or harvest the field if weevil larvae numbers are near the economic threshold and the field is near the harvesting stage of develop ment. If the field is in full bud when the economic threshold is reached, early cutting is usually the best pest manage ment alternative. More detailed information on eco nomic thresholds can be found on the Penn State Entomology Website at (http://www.cas.psu.edu/docs/ CASDEPT/IPM/FldCrop/tablel7.htm) or in t|ie Field Crop IPM Training and Reference Manual or the publication “A Pest Management Program for Al falfa in Pennsylvania.” Check with your local cooperative extension office for a copy of the publications. To Apply For Drought Assistance A lack of moisture overman extended period Of time has caused, producers in Lancaster County to suffer from the ef fects of severe drought conditions. Farms experiencing severe drought conditions may be eligible for cost- beautiful is the one who brings good ti dings! How blessed is the messenger for his message.” How Can We Preach? Paul has been pondering why the Jews have not responded to the good news of Jesus Christ. Rhetorically, he asks, “But how are men to call upon him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preach er? And how can men preach unless they are sent?” It is then that Paul re members the passage from Isaiah about bearing the good news that “Your God reigns.” Our concern today is not just that many of the Jews rejected following Jesus, but that so many people today still reject him and his way. For some it is a matter of not ever having really heard of him. Oh yes, they know the name, Jesus Christ, but they don’t have a clue as to what he is all about. Many of these have “not heard” because there has been no messenger to bring the good news. We send missionaries to far comers here and abroad and program evangelism, but Paul’s rhetorical ques tions are still very timely: “And how can men preach unless they are sent?” Be assured, this is not an advertise ment to find more clergy. I suspect that with some possible exceptions, there are enough clergy to preach in the churches of our land. Where we are sadly lacking is in finding, training, and sending Chris tians in the pew to be messengers in the world outside the church. Unfortunate ly, somewhere early in the life of the Church we settled for the notion that the clergy do the preaching and the people do the listening. Not so. While we are not all called to preach, we are all called to be messengers of the gos pel. share assistance under the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP). This dis aster program is administered by the USD A Farm Service Agency, which provides cost-share assistance if the damage is so severe that water avail able for livestock or orchards and vine yards has been reduced below normal to the extent that neither can survive without additional water. A producer qualifying for ECP as sistance may receive cost-share not to exceed 64 percent of the cost of install ing eligible temporary measures. Cost sharing for permanent measures is based on SO percent of the total eligible cost. Cost-share assistance is limited to $200,000 per person per natural disas ter. Approved practices and measures may include: • Installing pipelines or other facili ties for livestock water or existing irri gation systems for orchards and vine yards. • Constructing and deepening wells for livestock water. • Developing springs or seeps for livestock water. Producers who have experienced se vere drought conditions requiring out side assistance to provide supplemental emergency livestock water may contact the Lancaster County FSA Office. Re quest for assistance will be accepted at the Lancaster County FSA from April IS, 2002 through June 13,2002. Normally, to be eligible for cost share, practices shall not be started until a request has first been filed at the FSA office and an onsite inspection of the problem area has been made by the county committee or its representative. A special exception will be considered for those who already implemented these practices, but an approval is not guaranteed. Post implementation re quests must be made by April 30,2002. At this time, funding has not yet been received from Washington, D.C.; therefore, approvals are contingent upon the availability of this funding re quest. For more information, contact the Lancaster County Farm Service Agency at the Farm and Home Center, 1383 Arcadia Rd., Lancaster, PA 17601 or call (717) 397-6235. Producers in other counties should check with their local Farm Service Agency office to leam if assistance will be available in their county. Quote Of The Week: “I return to farming with an ar dour which I scarcely knew in my youth, and which has got the better entirely of my love of study. Instead of writing ten or twelve letters a day, which I have been in the habit of doing as a thing of course, I put off answering my letters now, farmer like, till a rainy day and then find it sometimes postponed by other neces sary occupations. ” Thomas Jefferson in a letter to John Adams dated April 25,1794 What You Are Many Christians would be very un comfortable if one of the demands of church membership would be to preach a sermon from time to time. But there is more to being a messenger of good news than preaching a sermon. Somewhere I read this statement: “What you are speaks so loudly that I can’t hear what you are saying!” Often what we are is a much more effective way of telling the good news of Jesus than what we say. Paul says, "... if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For man believes with his heart and so is justi fied, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved” (10:9,10). When I see him equating confessing “with your lips” with being “saved,” I become uneasy, for I have known too many people who found it easy to con fess Jesus with their lips, while not fol lowing him in their lives. But some of the commentators 1 consulted indicate that Paul’s equal emphasis upon believ ing “in your heart” means that the words confessed come from the heart and are not mere ideas indolently en tertained and expressed. So, whether you are a messenger with your words, your life, or both, it is a matter of sharing with others why making Jesus Lord of your life has been good news for you. Not only, then, will your feet be beautiful, but your whole being. 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 Andrewa, Editor Copyright 2002 by Lancaster Farming
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers