AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 11,2002
OPINION
Do The Right Things Right
Guest Editorial
David White
Executive Director
Ohio Livestock Coalition (OLC)
Pretend for a moment that you are a young farmer, your wife is S'/z
months pregnant, you’re thinking about building two new hog (1,960
head) finishing units with a lagoon system, and the local newspaper calls
to get your reaction to being named defendants in a $lO million class ac
tion lawsuit.
Quick wake up! Is this a nightmare? No, unfortunately, it was all too
real for a Darke County, Ohio, livestock farm family.
Tony and Anita Knapke were the targets of a $lO million lawsuit filed
by three neighbors in 1998. The neighbors claimed the proposed operation
would impact their property values, quality of life, and create a potential
nuisance. A couple of years later, tjie judge hearing the case denied an in
junction request sought by the neighbors.
In mid-March of this year, the same judge awarded the Knapkes
$144,450 to compensate them for lost income and legal fees as Tony and
Anita delayed the construction of the hog finishing until 2001 because of
the lawsuit. Under Ohio law, plaintiffs who seek an injunction against a
defendant are liable for damages if the injunction is not granted.
The Knapkes prevailed for a variety of reasons. First and foremost,
their case was built upon scientific evidence and rational thought. Testi
mony was presented by engineers, soil scientists, odor experts, and water
quality specialists. Perhaps most influential was their previous track re
cord of managing a hog farm with no environmental problems or neigh
bor complaints. Their reputation and past performance did have an im
pact in a very positive manner.
This is indeed a tremendous victory and favorable precedent-setting
case for family livestock, dairy, and poultry farmers throughout the Buck
eye State, maybe even the nation. When the case first began, it frightened
many farmers who planned to either expand or create a new livestock,
dairy or poultry farming enterprise. Such a ruling should now instill con
fidence in family farmers’ plans to expand or develop new operations, and
demonstrates that local courts are not going to tolerate lawsuits partic
ularly frivolous ones that interrupt farm business unless there is a good
reason.
Furthermore and definitely more important it sends a clear mes
sage to people who might file a lawsuit just to intimidate or stop a newly
proposed or expanding livestock operation that they better have a case
should it make it all the way to the courtroom.
The Ohio Livestock Coalition (OLC) was less than two years old when
the Knapkes were sued. Within less than a year, other legal cases came
about that the OLC viewed as precedent-setting issues for family live
stock, dairy, and poultry farmers. For this very reason, the OLC formed
the Family Farm Support Fund, which still exists for the very same pur
pose.
The ruling doesn’t make livestock, dairy or poultry farmers sue-proof.
It does, however, show how important it is for farmers to implement and
develop best management practices, take advantage of best available tech
nology, follow an approved manure management plan, and do “the right
things right.” All of these recommendations, and more, should be thought
of as a very economical insurance plan.
The risk posed to the bottom line, the environment, and your very exist
ence as a family livestock, dairy or poultry farmer is much too costly if
you don’t.
Saturday, May 11
Western Pa. Sheep and Lamb
Club Sale, Mercer County 4-H
Park, Mercer, 6:30 p.m.
Gardening in Pa. Conference at
Penn State, Downtown Con
ference Center, Altoona, 8:30
a.m.-2:30 p.m., (814) 940-5989.
Editor.
By the time this editorial is
published, we anticipate the U.S.
Senate will have given its approv
al to the new Farm Bill. The Sen
ate was scheduled to vote on the
bill on Wednesday or Thursday.
Almost everyone anticipates the
Senate to approve the bill by a
comfortable margin.
However, we are reminded of
Pasture Management and No-Till
Conservation Field Day, Wild
Rose farm, Greene Twp., Bea
ver County, (724) 774-3003.
Sunday, May 1 2
Arabian Farms Open Barns:
(Turn to Page A2l)
the Presidential election of 1948
when several papers, including
the prestigious Chicago Tribune,
declared Gov. Tom Dewey to be
elected the President, only to find
out the next morning that Harry
Truman was still the President.
There is little question in our
mind that the Senate will pass
(Turn to Pago A2O)
To Protect Your Farm’s
Groundwater Supply When
Filling Your Sprayer
Com planting is well under way
on many Pennsylvania farms. This
means that a large percentage of the
pesticides that will be applied this
year will be used in the next two
weeks as farmers apply their com
herbicides. Protecting our farms’
groundwater supply from contami
nation is a high priority.
Research has shown that where
groundwater has been found to be
contaminated with pesticides, most
often the source of contamination is
spills from Ailing the sprayer near
the wellhead. Following a few com
mon-sense guidelines when using
pesticides will go a long way toward
preventing that problem.
First, never fill your sprayer near a
well. Choose the water faucet located
the farthermost from the well for
your water supply. If that is not
practical, purchase enough hose to be
able to fill your sprayer at a safe dis
tance from your well. Avoid spills
when mixing and move the location
you are mixing periodically. When
cleaning the sprayer, rinse it at least
ALL IN
THE FAMILY
Background Scripture:
Galatians 3 through 4.
Devotional Reading:
Galatians 4:17-22.
Thomas Carlyle tells of an impov
erished widow who appealed to her
neighbors for help when she became
ill. But they turned deaf ears to her
entreaties: what happened to her,
they reasoned, was no affair of theirs.
But they were wrong, because the
widow was the victim of typhus,
which eventually infected the whole
village, and 17 of them died along
with her. Carlyle comments; “She
proved her sisterhood. Her typhus
fever killed them. They were brothers
even though they denied it.”
Some years ago I was reading a
book about Egypt and was dismayed
to learn that the reason Islam almost
totally displaced Christianity there
was that the Christianity practiced
by the Greeks who had brought it
there was afflicted with race and
class barriers. Islam, by contrast, of
fered a brotherhood. Just think how
often Christianity has been presented
as a faith that keeps many as outsid
ers.
This is a time of great turmoil in
Galatia. There are terrible disputes
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three times and spray the rinse water
on the field where the product was
used. Triple-rinse empty spray con
tainers and add the rinse water to the
spray tank.
After properly rinsing the con
tainers, punch holes in them and dis
pose of them at approved disposal
sites. Always read and follow label
directions when using pesticides.
To Choose The Proper Time
To Apply Glyphosate
John Rowehl, serving with the
Capitol Region Agronomy Team,
shares the following thoughts on the
proper timing of glyphosate products
on Roundupßeady™ crops.
For soybeans, the range of applica
tion timing from the crop perspective
is quite wide, from emergence to
flowering. From a weed stage or crop
competition standpoint, it’s more
complicated.
Begin with a clean field at planting
time, which means that either tillage
or a bumdown herbicide has killed
all the existing weeds. Weed compe
tition should not begin before the
crop is even up. For a single applica
tion of glyphosate, studies have dem
onstrated that the odds of avoiding
yield loss are best if weeds are con
trolled by the time they are three to
six inches tall.
Obviously this assumes the weeds
are ones that glyphosate can control
at that height. Certain weeds, such as
Eastern black nightshade and annual
morning glory, are hard to control if
they get too big. Then, a tank mix
partner may be called for. Addition
of AMS can help in hard water situa
tions.
Generally, if you began with a
clean field, a spray application will
probably have to be made four to five
weeks after planting. With narrow
row beans, this is usually sufficient
since the rows are closing up and
block out light to later emerging
weeds. In dry springs, sometimes the
growth of the soybeans is reduced
and weeds come up through the crop
canopy. Wider rows increase the
odds of needing a second application.
In some com fields, where weed
pressure is low, a single application
of glyphosate can work. In many
fields, this could be risky. Three
strategies are suggested to deal with
this situation.
between the Jewish Christians and
the Greek Christians. Instead of a
fellowship, the situation was similar
to that of the “Hatfields and
McCoys.” Down through Christian
history, there is a sad and embarrass
ing stream of enmity between Chris
tians of various persuasions.
Once, while taking a group
through Romania, we stopped at an
Orthodox Church and watched a
wedding in progress. We were fol
lowers of the same Christ, but none
of us felt or exhibited any sense of
family relationship. I reminded our
group: “Their ways of worship are so
unlike our own, but we need to re
member that their Christian ritual
and way of life are a lot closer to
original Christianity than ours is.”
Paul says: “For as many of you
were baptized into Christ have put
on Christ. There is neither Jew nor
Greek, there is neither slave nor free,
there is neither male nor female; for
you are all one in Christ Jesus”
(3:28). Today, Paul would add that
there is neither Roman Catholic nor
Protestant, Fundamentalists nor Lib
erals. It may appear that there are
many different families of Christian
faith, but that is an illusion. There is
only one family and there is no use
denying it.
The original family started with
Abraham. In his time there were no
Hebrew people, no Israelite tribes.
Those whom we think of as the early
Hebrews came together from many
different sources and cultures. Be
cause Abraham believed in God, he
became the founder of a family that
later became a nation and eventually
a mighty movement. It was the cove
nant of God that made them one
people. Through Christ, this family
of faith was opened to the Gentiles,
the non-Jews.
As different as we may worship,
live out our lives, and verbalize our
beliefs, there is one thing that we all
have in common: something leads
each of us to recognize God as our
The first is applying an early post
emergence spray of glyphosate tank
mixed with a residual herbicide. This
fits in fields with primarily annual
weeds. Corn is considered to be just a
little less tolerant of early season
weed competition than soybeans, so
application timing in a total poste
mergence control strategy is recom
mended at three to four weeks after
planting rather than four to five
weeks. This earlier timing increases
the odds that a residual herbicide
will be necessary to control later,
emerging weeds.
Another strategy is to use a pre
emergence herbicide at reduced rate
followed by glyphosate postemer
gence. This may be better if perennial
weeds are a big factor in a field.
Spraying glyphosate when it’s the
best time for annual weeds may be
too early to do a good job on the per
ennials, depending on the species.
Since we generally see more effective
control as perennials get closer to
bud and bloom stage, you would use
a low rate ( Vi-Vi rate) of a preemer
gence herbicide at planting to keep
annual weeds down while giving
time for the perennial weeds to grow
to a more susceptible stage. This
same strategy could be used in soy
beans.
A third strategy is to use an early
post application of glyphosate fol
lowed by a second post application.
This provides the option of passing
up the second application if it has
been dry since the first, and there is
little or no second flush of weeds.
Weeds coining up five or six weeks
after planting generally do not com
pete with the crop and yields are not
reduced. But you can control the sec
ond flush if necessary or take anoth
er shot at perennial weeds. Size limit
on com with glyphosate is 30 inches
or growth stage VB. Consider tank
mixing with dicamba to discourage
weed resistance.
Quote Of The Week:
“I’ve yet to find the man, how
ever exalted his station, who did
not do better work and put forth
greater effort under a spirit of ap
proval than under the spirit of crit
icism.”
Charles Schwab
Father. "... God has sent the Spirit
of his Son into our hearts crying,
‘Abba, Father!’” (4:6). It is this rec
ognition that we are his children that
leads us to acknowledge that we are
brothers and sisters to all of his chil
dren, not just some. Ethnic, cultural,
social, economic, and gender differ
ences do not obscure that we all have
one Father.
Family Quarrels
Paul has great concern for what
has happened to their Christian
unity since his departure. They are
quarreling over the role of Jewish
law in the lives of Christians. Christ
has set them free to live above and
beyond the law, but many of them
are slipping back into legalism. The
problem is not so much that some
Christians are living by the Jewish
law, but that they are insisting that
all Gentile Christians do the same.
Paul is trying to remind them of
the gospel that he preached, but ap
parently that is stirring opposition.
“Have I become your enemy by tell
ing you the truth?” (4:16). That is not
so strange, because lots of people
react to the truth that way it
makes them angry.
There was a recent TV drama
about a young man who discovered
that many years previously his father
had a child by a woman who was not
his mother. Neither child had known
of the existence of the other. Then,
through the need for a tissue dona
tion by someone with similar DNA,
the secret was told and they discov
ered that they had the same father.
This discovery led each to acknowl
edge that they were not an “only
child.”
Neither are we.
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
Copynght 2002 by Lancaster Farming