AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 1,2002
OPINION
Why We Must Grow
The Pennsylvania Dairy Industry
N. Alan Bair
Director Of Dairy Industry Relations
“We need to grow the Pennsylvania and northeast dairy industry if we are
to survive” is the message industry leaders across the region are clearly com
municating.
Logically, this raises many legitimate questions in the minds of everyone in
volved in the industry. I challenge every producer, processor, service, and sup
ply representative, banker, educator, regulator and consumer to understand
the logic behind the need for growth, and to develop and live a personal plan
that supports keeping the dairy industry strong in the Northeast.
Total milk production in the U.S. is responding to a growing demand.
Growth in the dairy industry is clearly west of our Pennsylvania and North
east milk supply and large consumer population. We have processing capacity
for an additional two billion more pounds of milk in the Northeast. Our chal
lenge is to be part of the national growth and reverse our regional trend of de
clining production.
Even a casual glance at the numbers shows that the dairy industry in Penn
sylvania and the Northeast has not been keeping up with demand or with the
rest of the national industry. Pennsylvania milk production through March is
below last year with 19,000 fewer cows. This is a continuing trend. Our pro
duction per cow continues to grow, but at a pace slower than other leading
dairy states.
The bottom line on growth is that if Pennsylvania does not grow, we stand
the obvious possibility of losing our processing capacity in the region and,
therefore, losing our valuable markets. Investors in processing plants will in
vest in growth areas and not in areas of declining production. Additionally, if
Pennsylvania continues to decline in cow numbers, dairy farms and total pro
duction, we will quickly lose the important infrastructure that supports pro
duction. Many Pennsylvania producers clearly understand the loss of produc
tion infrastructure because they already have fewer choices and drive more
miles for service, supplies, and markets.
To encourage continued investment in our dairy processing structure in the
Northeast, we must show positive signs that we will continue to be a major
source of milk. We are working from a current position of strength and have
great opportunities in the future if we act now. This is a win-win situation for
all segments of the industry from producer to consumer, but it will take effort
and commitment from everyone.
How we individually respond to this opportunity is up to each individual
and company. It is very important that the industry work together in a sup
portive atmosphere. Currently we have a large percentage of relatively small
farms and a few larger farms a profile that I expect will slowly change over
time.
The truth is that we need all our farms, small and large, to maintain a
strong industry. Growth of a farm comes in many forms but all must be driv
en by profit. There is no question that our region of the country can compete
very favorably in production profitability.
Probably the greatest challenge to our industry in Pennsylvania is attitude.
Those are harsh words, but if you find yourself beginning to boil after reading
this far, I ask you to check your attitude. Are you positive about the dairy in
dustry and your future in it? We all need to be supportive of each other in
positive ways. Attitudes are contagious, so be sure you are spreading a posi
tive one.
If we want our next generation to be part of this industry, then we need to
be positive. Encourage and support your neighbor their success is crucial to
your success.
The need is evident, the consequences obvious, the opportunities great, and
the time is now. If you do not see the need for growth of this important indus
try, then challenge the opinion. Ask the questions, start a dialog on your own,
and get some answers. Push, lead or, at the very least, get out of the way, be
cause we must all work together to get our industry in this state and region
moving down the fast track of profitability and long-term sustainability.
Open Youth Schooling Show,
Backtrackers 4-H Horse and
Pony Club, Northampton 4-H
Center, Nazareth, (610)
837-7294.
3rd annual Mt. Top Boer Goat
Editor.
I read with interest your editorial
of May 4, regarding banks and begin
ning farmers.
I completely agree with your sug
gestion that bankers need to do as
much as they possibly can to provide
service and support to the entire field
Penn State
~*,i i-
* Farm Calendar ❖
Show and Sale, Garrett Coun
ty Fairgrounds, Maryland,
show noon, sale 6:30 p.m.
Forestry Workshop, Cranberry,
Venango County, Tom and
(Turn to Page A 32)
*2 C,
❖ Farm Forum ♦
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of agriculture, including young farm
ers. At Mid Atlantic Farm Credit, we
work very hard to provide financial
services to all of agriculture, from
small beginning farmers to large ag
ribusinesses.
(Turn to Page A 34)
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To Evaluate Com
Fields Damaged
By Late Frosts
The week of May 20, Pennsylvania
experienced several consecutive days
of record low temperatures with
many parts of the state having sever
al mornings with frost. Experiencing
frost in late May is rare to begin with
and having multiple frosts this late is
truly historic. The frost resulted in
damage to corn in central Pennsylva
nia and some other regions of the
state.
Gregory Roth, associate professor
of agronomy in Penn State’s crop
and soil sciences department, said
farmers should know the factors af
fecting frost damage. Roth explains
that good planting conditions and
warm weather in late April resulted
in rapid emergence and development
for many of the earliest planted
fields. Some fields had com with two
to three fully developed leaves.
“When the frost hit, many of these
early-planted fields were hit,” Roth
said. “Com fields that were full of
OFBURDENS
AND BLESSINGS
Background Scripture:
Psalms 1; 19.
Devotional Reading:
Psalms 19:1-6.
For the next nine weeks we will
dealing with the Book of Psalms.
Next to some of the sayings of Jesus,
the Psalms are the most frequently
remembered and quoted scriptures
for Christians. The reason, of course,
is that so many of them speak to us
in our own life situations.
While we are studying some of
these psalms, let us remember that
this book is an anthology of hymns
and prayers or liturgies that were
composed between the 10th and sec
ond or third centuries B.C. It is often
referred to as the “hymnbook” of the
Bible. These songs and poems were
probably intended to accompany acts
of worship in the temple.
Though the psalms may seem
quite similar, there are eight different
types: Enthronement Hymn (cele
brating the Lord’s kingship), Songs
of Zion (devotion to the Holy City),
Laments (seeking deliverance), Songs
of Trust, Thanksgivings, Sacred His
tory (recounting God’s dealing with
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growing small plants last week now
appear to be very sick. Producers are
wondering how this will affect their
crop and if they need to replant.
“The severity of the damage var
ied depending on the location and
the size of the com. Generally drier,
tilled fields or low-lying fields are
most at risk, but even the absence of
those factors did not save some fields
from damage. In some locations,
where the temperature was below 28
degrees for more than several hours,
plants may have experienced a lethal
dose of frost damage and the young
plants may not recover. For instance,
low temperatures of 27 and 29 were
reported for Huntingdon and Altoo
na, respectively, on the morning of
May 20, with lower temperatures
likely in outlying areas.”
Roth said the key to assessing the
effects of the frost damage is to be
patient and wait for several days to
see if the plants are showing signs of
recovery. Usually after two to three
days of 70-degree temperatures, new
growth will be initiated and be visible
in the plant’s whorl (the base of the
plant where the leaves originate).
Under cool conditions, it may take a
few more days to see recovery.
“Frost damage most often results
in the death of above-ground plant
parts,” he explained. “Frost-dam
aged leaves will blacken and turn
straw-colored in a few days. The
growing point of the plant is located
deep inside the whorl and is below
the soil surface until the plant has
about five fully emerged leaves.
Usually small com will recover
quickly from frost damage and in
two weeks will show little sign of in
jury. In this episode, because of the
severity and multiple frost events, I
am concerned that the frost injury
may be more severe than usual.”
If all the plants don’t recover,
Roth said, producers should assess
the population of plants and decide
whether the fields need to be replant
ed. Guidelines for replanting can be
the nation), RoyaJ. Psalms (for a coro
nation or royal and Wis
dom Songs (meditations on life and
the ways of God).
To Perish Or Prosper
At the time that the book was as
sembled, Psalm 1, a wisdom psalm,
was probably selected to serve as an
introduction, preface, or prologue to
the whole collection. The message re
flects typical Old Testament teach
ing: the righteous prosper and the
wicked perish. Immediately, some of
us protest: What about Job? What
about Jesus? What about most of the
Apostles?
The psalmists would, I think,
readily admit that there have been,
are, and will be exceptions. For some
of the righteous, the prospering came
and comes in a more ultimate form.
So living in a righteous manner does
not guarantee a life of untrammeled
good fortune. But taking into consid
eration large numbers of people,
those who live in a righteous manner
will tend to be “blessed,” as Psalm I
indicates.
A number of polls and studies sup
port this concept, indicating that
people who attend worship with
some regularity are happier, health
ier, and more productive. They have
also determined that couples who
pray together generally have happier
and more fulfilling marriages.
When we were children, some of
us grumbled, probably silently, that
our parents made us go to church
whether we wanted to or not. Some
of us may even have vowed that,
when we would become parents, we
would not force our children into this
family pattern. Of course, many do
not, but often I am surprised and
amused to find parents requiring of
their children what they themselves
as children resisted.
found in the com production section
of the Penn State Agronomy Guide,
which can be found on the Web at
http://agguide.agronomy.psu.edu/
CM/Sec4toc.html. The replant charts
indicate that for many fields the
yield potential of a field with a popu
lation of 16,000-18,000 planted on
April 25 is about the same as a full
stand planted in late May. So even in
fields that have been thinned by
frost, replanting may not be benefi
cial.
The 2002 edition of the Agronomy
Guide is available for $9. For or
dering information, call the College
of Agricultural Sciences Publications
Distribution Center at (814)
865-6713. To order using VISA or
Master Card, call toll-free, (877)
345-0691.
To Monitor Frost
Damage In Wheat
Capitol region agronomy agent
Mark Goodson reported freezing can
cause severe damage to wheat during
the early stages of heading, especially
before pollination. The type of injury
varies with exposure time, but floret
sterility could result or the heads
could be trapped in the boot. Heads
may be distorted as they attempt to
emerge as the stems elongate.
Newly emerged heads are quite
vulnerable to freezing injury when
the temperatures drop to 30 degrees
Fahrenheit or below. Signs of freez
ing injury can be seen within a few
days after freezing. Injury can occur
to the entire head or only a portion of
the head.
Most frequently the head tip is in
jured. Damaged florets will turn
white and the tissues will shrivel.
Yield loss will be minimal if only the
top florets of the head are injured.
Otherwise, if entire heads are affect
ed, the loss may be proportional to
the number of heads killed.
Quote Of The Week:
“One man with courage makes a
majority.”
Andrew Jackson
In The Long Run
Why? Because, no matter how we
may have reacted as children or
youth, as adults we often realize that
life needs a spiritual base. That does
not mean that you and your family
are guaranteed to escape all tribula
tions, but that in the long run your
lives will be significantly blessed by
the life of which the psalmist is writ
ing. Sometimes that spiritual life is
all that may keep you going when
life seems to fall down around you.
The psalmist says “Blessed is the
man...” and it means “O how
happy the one who walks not in the
counsel of the wicked... but his de
light is in the law of the Lord ”
(1:2). We may think of the law of the
Lord, the will of God, and the teach
ings of Jesus as a burden that is wea
risome to carry. That is human na
ture, too, but the benefits of the
righteous life are not in pleasing a
cranky God, but in experiencing the
blessedness that comes from a life
lived for Him.
The reward is in the doing or not
doing of these things. In Psalm 19:7,8
we are told that the law of the Lord
revives the soul, makes wise the sim
ple, rejoices the heart, and enlightens
the eyes. Living by the will of God is
a joy, not a burden. Live this way
and, no matter what comes, our lives
will still be blessed.
If I told you that on your book
shelf behind some volumes there is a
fortune of gold awaiting you, I think
you’d probably take a look just to be
sure. But something worth more than
even the most precious gold is wait
ing to bless, not burden your life.
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Andy Andrews, Editor
Copyright 2002 by Lancaster Farming