AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 20, 2002
OPINION
Where Is Pa. ’s Poultry
Industry Youth Convention?
We would be wise to follow in the footsteps of the Virginia Poultry Federa
tion.
Through a cooperative effort with extension service and industry, the Vir
ginia Poultry Federation began, some time ago, an Industry Youth Conven
tion in early May.
The purpose; bring about 150-180 kids together to learn about the careers
and lifestyles of the poultry industry.
Pennsylvania doesn’t have a program like that. But it should.
At the same time, more job opportunities for graduates of poultry science
are available. And according to Phillip Clauer, Penn State senior extension as
sociate, 4-H youth and specialty programs, getting youth involved in poultry
is critical because “we don’t have the students we need to fill those positions,”
he said.
Clauer spoke last week during the annual Penn State-sponsored Poultry
Sales and Service Conference at the Nittany Lion Inn.
Clauer noted the many ways 4-H projects and FFA career development
programs help educate youth from K-12.
The convention in Virginia brings together youth for judging events and
other activities. A critical component is the “job shadow,” a person with col
lege education representing a company that takes about 2-6 teen-agers for a
few hours a day to show them what the company representative actually does
for a living. That could include processing plants or feed mills or visits to a
poultry farm. “Make it a fun activity,” Clauer said. “It would be exciting and
an excellent public relations thing for the whole industry.”
Youth are required to have an excused absence from school because the
event has an educational component. The visits to the company are conducted
on a Thursday, normally when most businesses are in full operation.
Each county 4-H club is permitted to place two teams with 4-5 extra indi
viduals.
Those “job shadows” worked well, “because everybody had a job, and we
just did it, and it was fun,” said Clauer.
Clauer noted that for Pennsylvania to do something similar, they would
need contributions in terms of supplies and time from industry.
We think it’s a great idea. Any takers? If so, call Clauer at (814) 863-8960
or e-mail him at pclauer@psu.edu.
What’s Going On In
The Cattle And Hog Markets?
MILLIE BUNTING
Market Staff
Editor’s Note: Here are one market analyst’s opinions about what’s
going on with the volatile cattle markets.
EPHRATA (Lancaster Co.) “What’s the market?”
We can quickly And answers to that question today with a phone call or
the Internet. But for the last two weeks on a daily basis, the answer result
ed in cries of disbelief from beef and pork producers as well as market
watchers.
The question now is why?
On the surface, the beef trade was improving and pulling out of the fi
asco in the futures trade from false foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) ru
mors that sent prices crashing over into the live cattle market. That is re-
Saturday, April 20
Space Day 2002 at Penn State,
HUB-Robeson Center, Penn
State University, 10 a.m.-3
p.m.
New Jersey Holstein-Friesian As
sociation State Sale, Warren
County Fairgrounds, 11 a.m.
Little International Livestock
Show, Penn State Ag Arena,
(814) 863-0569.
Penn State Dairy Expo, Ag
Arena, State College, 8 a.m.
Cecil County Farm Museum
Spring Antique Tractor Dem
onstration, Walnut Springs
Farm, 9 a.m. registration,
(410) 658-2121.
4-H Centennial Celebration,
Bradford County Library, 10
a.m.-4 p.m.
Berks County Conservation
Open House, Reading, noon-4
p.m.
Sunday, April 21
Monday, April 22
(Turn to Page A2B)
Grape Pest Management Work
shop, Long Island Horticul
ture Research and Extension
Center, Riverhead, N.Y., (631)
727-3595.
4-H Capitol Days, Harrisburg,
thru April 23.
Better Process Control School,
(Turn to Page Ail)
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Ephrata, PA 17522
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To Continue To
Conserve Water
Recent rains have improved the
moisture conditions in the soil, mak
ing our lawns green and making it
seem like the drought is over. How
ever, we are still in the midst of a
drought emergency.
The Susquehanna River at Safe
Harbor on April 17 had a flow of
51,500 cfs (cubic feet per second)
compared to normal flow for April of
79,300 cfs. On April 16 the Conesto
ga River at Lancaster had a flow of
283,000 cfs compared to the April
normal of 765,000 cfs. So while our
stream flows have improved a bit,
they are still dangerously low for this
time of year.
T*he groundwater level in the
USGS observation well in Lancaster
County did rise by 12 inches in the
last week. Again, however, the levels
are still well below where they nor
mally should be. While the last 30
days did produce normal rainfall, we
still have a deficit of IS inches since
April 2001. So we still have a long
way to go and conservation is still
critical as we head into the summer
months.
To Apply Fungicides
To Strawberries
Gray mold for Botrytis blight is
OUTSIDE /
THE LINES
Background Scripture:
Romans 12.
Devotional Reading:
Romans 12:4-8.
“Coloring outside the lines” has
become commonplace in recognizing
independence and creativity. When it
comes to the values and mores by
which we live, however, staying With
in the lines remains the norm.
Children and youth want to dress
and act as their peers do. Adults
pretty much live by the norms of our
society. Many assume that Christians
are just like everybody else, except
they go to church.
Paul, however, offers a different
standard: “Do not be conformed to
this world, but be transformed by the
renewal of your mind, that you may
prove what is the will of God ”
(Ro. 12:2). Christian; are not to live
just like everybody else. We are to
live by different values and stan
dards, not for the sake of being dif
ferent but so that God’s will may be
manifest in our lives.
Some of us may question whether
Lancaster Farming
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the most serious disease affecting
strawberries. The causal organism,
Botrytis cinerea, can live both as a
parasite and as saprophyte on decay
ing plant debris.
Botrytis blight usually starts as a
blossom infection, which then later
invades the fruit, causing them to
rot. Rot may first appear at the base
of the fruit or when the berry is in
contact with the soil, other damp sur
faces, or other rotten fruit. The rot
can destroy the berry within 48
hours.
As ripening increases and the hu
midity remains high, a characteristic
gray, fuzzy coating or web produced
by the fruiting fungus covers the
strawberry fruit. As the disease pro
gresses, spores are produced and are
easily blown or splashed onto healthy
foliage. Once the fungus gets estab
lished in a field it can produce spores
continuously throughout the season.
Moisture is necessary for the
spores to germinate and infect
plants. Therefore the disease is fa
vored by humidity and cool condi
tions. If you need to irrigate and you
are using overhead irrigation, it is
important to irrigate during the
sunny part of the day and shut down
the irrigation while there is still
enough afternoon sunshine to dry off
the plants and fruit before nightfall.
This will limit the ability of the Bot
rytis spores to germinate and infect
the fruit or blossoms.
Because most Botrytis infections
begin in the blossom, it is essential to
apply fungicides during the bloom
period. Research has shown that if
the blossom sprays are applied in a
timely manner, spraying during har
vest does little to improve control
and may not be needed. However if
the blossom sprays are missed,
sprays at harvest time alone will not
be very effective because the infec
tions started during the blossom peri
od.
Apply the first spray at 10 percent
bloom; apply again at full bloom and
late bloom. There are a number of
products labeled for Botrytis control
in strawberries,' including Elevate,
Captan, Thiram, and Topsin M.
Read and follow the label directions,
especially the days to harvest restric
tions.
To Monitor Your Asparagus
Field For Asparagus Beetles
The recent surge of unusually hot
there is such a deep divide between
Christianity and the world. But Paul
goes on to count some of the ways in
which Christians are called to color
“outside the lines. For one thing,
Christians are to use their God-given
gifts and endowments for the sake of
the body of Christ” (12:4-8).
How does that differ from the
world? The world doesn’t acknowl
edge- God as the source of our gifts,
nor does it call us to rise above the
level of “look out for number one!”
'Genuine Love
We are also to be different
in the quality of our love for one an
other: “Let love be genuine... love
one another with brotherly affection;
outdo one another in showing honor”
(12:9). '
Love in our society doesn’t reach
much beyond self-gratification.
Clpistians are also called to embrace
that which is good and refuse that
which is evil (12:9b). That is in stark
contrast to society’s advice: “If it
feels good, do it.”
In the midst of a society that wor
ships “letting the good times roll,”
we are called to a different level of
enjoyment: “Never flag in zeal, be
aglow with the Spirit... Rejoice in
your hope” (12:11,12a). There is a big
difference between “having a blast,”
a fleeting moment, and experiencing
Christian joy, a transforming condi
tion.
Another marked difference has to
do with the way we regard those in
need. Especially in our world today,
those in need are often judged too
slothful to pull themselves up by
their own bootstraps. Paul paints a
different picture; “Contribute to the
needs of the saints, practice hospitali
ty ... weep with those who
weep... do not be haughty, but asso-
weather has jump-started asparagus
production. Unfortunately it has also
spurred the emergence of asparagus
pests.
Two types of asparagus beetles
could be found at this time in your
field and can do significant damage
to your crop. Both the asparagus bee
tle and the spotted asparagus beetle
overwinter as adults and begin feed
ing immediately following emer
gence. The asparagus beetle emerges
before the spotted asparagus beetle.
The adult asparagus beetle has a
black body with a metallic blue head.
On each wing cover are three rectan
gular metallic yellow spots that often
have red markings along the margin.
The spotted asparagus beetle adults
are orange with six black spots on
each wing cover. The adults of both
species range in length from '/< to
4/10 of an inch in length.
Both begin laying eggs within a
week after emergence. The asparagus
beetle deposits its dark brown, oval
shaped eggs on the spears in rows of
3-8 and the eggs are attached by one
end to the spear. The spotted aspara
gus beetle lays its green eggs individ
ually. In three to eight days, the eggs
hatch and the larva feed for 10-14
days as they develop through four in
stars. The larvae of the asparagus
beetle are dark gray with a black
head. The larvae of the spotted as
paragus beetle are cream colored
with a light brown head. When fully
developed, the larvae crawl to the
ground where they burrow into the
soil and spin a silken cocoon. Here
they pupate for 5-10 days before
emerging as adults to complete the
life cycle. Typically there arc two life
cycles completed in Pennsylvania
each year.
The asparagus beetles cause dam
age to the crop in several ways.
Adults and larvae feeding on die
spears and tips cause scarring. Frass
from both of the stages can stain the
spear and eggs on the spears are very
unappealing. Any of these problems
can make the spears unmarketable.
The spotted asparagus beetle larva
feed on asparagus berries. This dam
age has little economic significance
in production fields. It would be a
problem in seed production, how
ever.
Quote of the Week:
“Character is power.”
Booker T. Washington
date with the lowly” (12:13,15b,16b).
The real “losers” in this world are
those who haughtily keep themselves
unstained by those in need.
Whose Vengeance?
The most glaring difference be
tween the world and Christian disci
pleship, however, is in the way we
are to react to those who have or
might harm us. Two thousand years
later and the Christian norm is still
revolutionary: “Repay no one evil for
evil Beloved, never avenge your
selves, but leave it to the wrath of
God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is
mine, I will repay, says the Lord’”
(12:17,19). The world adamantly dis
agrees, claiming the right to venge
ance as if it were our birthright.
Not only are we called to abstain
from vengeance, but as Christians we
are called to embody Christlike love
for our enemies: “... if your enemy
is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty,
given him drink; (12:20). In saying,
“for by so doing you will heap burn
ing coals upon his head,” Paul is in
dicating that Christian love is not so
much feeling loving, but doing the
loving thing regardless of how we
might feel. Do you want to feel the
pleasure of pouring burning coals on
his head? Do something really lov
ing!
The world loves the “eye-for-an
eye” standard, but you cannot over
come evil with more evil. You can
hold it in check for a while, but color
ing outside the lines, responding only
with good, can truly defeat it.
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