AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 13, 2002
OPINION
Knowing Freedom
Commentary From A Speech
Prepared For Attendees To The 2002
National Holstein Convention
Joe Valen, Chair
National Holstein Convention Committee
Because of its geographic location and its abundant natural re
sources, New Jersey has often been on the frontline of significant
events in our nation’s history. The role that this state has played in the
development of the Holstein breed, as well as the other breeds in our
industry, has been summarized in the souvenir book.
Many of you have visited some of our historic sites, or know from
your history books, that much of the Revolutionary War was fought
here. The Continental Army was without a victory, and a mere six
days away from disbanding, when the Battle of Trenton was fought
and won. It was our first military victory in our quest for liberty.
Our national symbol of liberty stands on New Jersey soil, guarding
New York harbor and proclaiming to the world that ours is a nation
of people yearning to breathe free and resolved to endure any hard
ship and make any sacrifice to prevent that freedom.
The tragic events of last fall challenged that resolve, and again New
Jersey was at the frontline. Of the 2,400 people who perished at the
World Trade Center, 700 nearly one-third were New Jersey resi
dents. Thirteen hundred children lost at least one parent. Fifty-three
mothers-to-be were widowed that day.
Every community in central New Jersey either lost a loved one or
suffered the emotional trauma that anthrax-contaminated mail
brought in the aftermath. Mail arrived in irradiated plastic bags
mail which crumbled in your hands when you opened it. Some mail
arrived three months late. Some never arrived at all. But every piece
of mail that was opened, and every newspaper that was read, was a
constant reminder of that challenge to our resolve and our commit
ment to sustain it.
As Americans, we responded as a family unit. We may quarrel
among ourselves, but let no outsider come between us. Before noon,
scant hours after the attacks upon the World Trade Center, flags were
flying on lawns and from buildings around town. Phone lines were
buzzing around the country with family and friends seeking reassur
ance, or offering it to each other. Church services were held, neighbors
gathered in backyards, lines formed at blood banks, and a nationwide
spirit o' unity, not before seen in my adult lifetime, was formed and
con tin l 's strong today.
This wnquet we celebrate, and the events of the past week, are, and
have he- a celebration and a reaffirmation of much of what we hold
so dear: i re right to practice our profession, to move freely about our
country, > tssemble and speak freely without fear of retribution, and
to observe r children learning and growing and enjoying each oth
er’s company in the broader sense of “our” family.
These are freedoms which we have known and cherished and prac
ticed. Freedoms that no one dare challenge our resolve to protect.
On behalf of all of us who have been your hosts for the National
Holstein Convention, I thank you for sharing this time with us here in
New Jersey. We have been at the frontline of our American history.
Saturday. July 13
Soil and Water Conservation So
ciety Annual Conference,
Western Hotel, Indianapolis,
thru July 17, (515) 289-2331.
American Veterinary Medical
Assoc, annual convention,
Nashville, Tenn., thru July 17.
Farm City Day, Tioga and Brad
ford counties, Elwyn and
Charlene Fitch Farm, Roaring
Branch.
Clarion County Farm Forum
Town and Country Day, Grie
bel’s Dairy Farm, noon-11
p.m., (814) 782-033.
SW Pa. Woodland Owners Sum
mer Tour, Pike’s Run Water
shed, (724) 852-2663.
Maryland Brown Swiss/Ayrshire
Field Days, (724) 852-2663.
Lumber From Your Woodlot,
Piketon, Ohio, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.,
(614) 688-3421.
Getting Started in Farming Con
ference at Lunge’s Groveside
Resort, Rt. 23, Acra, N.Y., 8
a.m.-4 p.m., (518) 622-9820.
Sunday, July 14
Conservation Leadership School,
ages ' 5-18, Stone Valley Rec
❖ Farm Calendar ❖
reation Area, (814) 865-8301.
American Forage and Grassland
Council annual conference
and trade show, Best Western
Thunderbird Hotel and Con-
vention Center in Blooming
ton, Minn., thru July 17.
DHIA Summer Picnic, Teel’s
Farm, 12:30 p.m.
Allegany County Md. Agricul
tures Expo, thru July 21, (301)
777-5253.
Monday, July 15
Fore FFA East Golf Tournament,
Fox Chase Golf Course, (814)
865-2134.
Maryland Eastern Shore Cham
pionship Holstein Show,
Queen Anne’s County 4-H
Park, Centreville.
Lebanon County Production
Auction Twilight Meeting, 6
p.m.-8 p.m., (717) 270-4391.
Tuesday. July 16
Jacktown Fair, thru July 20.
Adams County 4-H, FFA Junior
Livestock Show and Sale,
Smith Mountain Fairgrounds,
show 8 a.m., sale 6:30 p.m., Rt.
(Turn to Page A 22)
Our recent spell of hot, dry weath
er has been ideal for the development
of damaging spider mite populations
on vine crops.
Dr. Tim Elkner, Lancaster County
Horticulture Agent recommends if
you haven’t scouted your fields re
cently that you do so soon. Start
scouting at the crown leaves (oldest
leaves) on the vines this is usually
where the mites will show up first.
Recommendations from the Uni
versity of Delaware suggest a treat
ment is needed if you find that 20-30
percent of the plants examined are
infested with 1-2 mites per leaf. Ma
terials to use include Agri-Mek, Kel
thane, Danitol and Capture. As long
as the weather remains warm and
dry continue to scout your fields for
mite outbreaks.
Spot treatment of infested areas
can control the mite population as
long as you regularly scout and catch
these infestations before they reach
damaging levels and/or spread too
far in the field.
And Purple Raspberries
Raspberries are a biennial crop,
the canes that produced fruit this
year grew last year and have com
j.
Pascal expressed the polarizing
tension inside all human beings:
“What mystery, then, is man! What
a novelty, what a monster; what a
chaos, what a subject of contradic
tion; what a prodigy! A judge of all
things, stupid work of the earth; de
pository of truth, cloaca (sewer) of
uncertainty and error; glory and re
fuse of the universe!”
Some see only the glory, while oth
ers only the refuse. But the Bible sees
both in all of us.
Psalm 8 begins and ends with a cry
of praise: “O Lord, our Lord, how
majestic is thy name in all the
earth!” He admits that it is beyond
the power of human beings to ade
quately frame praises appropriate to
the fact.
Scholars are divided on the exact
meaning of his next utterance:
“ ‘Thou whose glory above the heav
ens is chanted by the mouth of babes
To Scout Vine Crops
For Spider Mites
To Prune And
Top Your Black
WHO’S IN
CHARGE HERE?
Background Scripture:
Psalms 8:100.
Devotional Reading:
Psalms 100.
Lancaster Farming
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pleted their productive life when the
harvest is finished. Spent fruiting
canes will die and are a source of dis
ease that can spread to the new
growth. Therefore the fruiting canes
should be removed when the harvest
is complete.
This year’s new growth should be
topped at 36-48 inches at a time
when one needs to snap off 3-4 inch
es to achieve this height. Topping
later than this can result in a greater
incidence of cane blight, since the
wound that results from removing
larger-diameter wood takes longer to
heal. Topping encourages lateral
fruiting branches to develop and in
creases cane strength.
To Evaluate Your
Long Term Competitive
Position In Dairy Farming
Pennsylvania’s dairy industry is at
a crossroads. According to Bill
Heald, professor of dairy science at
Penn State, the state’s farmers must
increase average production per cow
and boost average herd size to keep
national market share
The state ranks fourth in domestic
milk production behind California,
Wisconsin and New York, ahead of
Minnesota and Idaho. Judging by
50-year trends that have seen states
such as California and Idaho make
sharp relative gains in production, it
seems clear that Pennsylvania dairy
producers must get bigger and better
to compete and avoid constant ero
sion of farm income.
“ Unless Pennsylvania changes the
fundamental structure of its dairy
businesses, the national trend to
wards higher production in larger
herds will diminish the state’s dairy
importance,” warns Heald.
“Pennsylvania needs all of its
dairy herds to increase production to
grow its national market share. If
not, Pennsylvania risks losing its
dairy infrastructure suppliers and
processors.” Over the last 50 years,
U.S. milk production has increased
by nearly 51 billion pounds national
ly that equates to 62,000 more
cows each year. Production promises
to expand in the future to meet the
nation’s growing demand.
“The question is,” says Heald,
“will Pennsylvania share in this op
portunity to grow, or will it stay neu
tral or lose more market share, as has
been the case for the Midwestern and
Eastern dairy states?”
The top five dairy states produced
just 37 percent of the nation’s milk in
1951. Today, six states California,
and infants...” (8:2). Some believe
he is saying that even little children
can join in singing the praise the Cre
ator. Others maintain that it means
that even the finest hymns we com
pose are no closer to that reality than
the babbling of babes and infants.
As in Psalm 104, it is the contem
plation of the world that opens the
door to this ecstatic utterance:
“When I look at thy heavens, the
work of thy fingers, the moon and
the stars which thou hast established;
what is man that thou art mindful of
him... ?” (8:3,4).
Confronted with the magnificence
of God’s creation, human beings ap
pear terribly insignificant. In per
spective, Alton MacEachem says
that human beings are “but a speck
of cosmic dust,” albeit a “thinking
speck made in the image of his Cre
ator!”
A Thinking Speck
As insignificant as this “thinking
speck” of dust may seem, human be
ings do occupy a place of prominence
in the creation. Indeed, “thou hast
made him little less than God ...”
(8:5). Scholars do not agree on how
to interpret “little less than God.”
The KJV renders this as “a little
lower than the angels.” Today’s Eng
lish Version says, “You made him in
ferior only to yourself,” and Moffatt
makes this “as little less than di
vine.”
This matters because some people
jump to the conclusion that human
beings are almost on the same level
as God. But the difference between
divinity and humanity is qualitative,
not just quantitative. Human beings
do not become divine by being a bit
more righteous. It is true that, as the
Psalmist says, man is created to have
“dominion over the works of thy
hands; thou hast put all things under
his feet...” (8:6)
Wisconsin, New York, Pennsylvania,
Minnesota and Idaho produce
nearly 60 percent of the nation’s
milk.
However, changes in top dairy
states have occurred. “Idaho was a
nontraditional dairy state just 10
years ago, and now it ranks sixth na
tionally,” says Heald. “California
went from fourth nationally to num
ber one (producing more milk than
Pennsylvania, New York and Minne
sota combined).
The other top dairy states have fal
tered. Minnesota peaked in percent
age of national milk produced in the
’6os, New York in the ’7os, Wiscon
sin in the ’Bos, and Pennsylvania
more recently.
“Many of the top 20 dairy states
are losing their dairy industry while
the national need for milk continues
to grow,” adds Heald. “The industry
is consolidating into fewer dairy
states and fewer dairy herds. Penn
sylvania heeds to keep up with these
trends.”
Milk production per cow has been
a strong indicator of whether a state
will grow or fade on the national
scene. States in the top six that fell
below the national average for milk
production per cow also lost in per
centage of national market share of
milk in about the same decade. By
contrast, states that were above the
national average per cow grew dra
matically, including nontraditional
dairy states.
Change in average herd size also
can indicate where a dairy state is
heading. Nearly 60 percent of the na
tion’s milk is produced in herds
larger than 200 cows. Nationally,
herds of all sizes have declined in the
last decade except those 200 or more.
However, there are successful and
profitable herds with fewer than 200
cows, points out Heald. “Anyone
working with the Pennsylvania dairy
industry knows of highly profitable
herds in each size classification.
However, large, high-producing
herds do enjoy favored business sta
tus and are becoming the norm.
“To stay competitive, owners of
herds with less than 200 cows need to
develop strong business strategies
that help them to compete success
fully.
Quote Of The Week: “Let your
heart feel for the afflictions and
distresses of everyone, and let your
hand give in proportion to your
purse. ”
George Washington
So, once again we have this ten
sion between the puniness of man
and God’s commission to have do
minion over all other living things.
This lifts human beings considerably
higher than some of the modem con
cepts Freud’s bundle of sexual
drives, Marx’s economic tool, Dar
win’s random product of evolution,
and Skinner’s conditioned reflex.
Being charged with dominion and
serving as God’s deputy are no small
things.
A Sacred Trust
At the same time, however, this
“dominion” is always given in the
context of God’s sovereignty. As
Jesus indicates, human beings are
commissioned to be stewards, those
who tend all living things and the
earth for God. Our power over na
ture is given us as a sacred trust and,
instead of gloating over the power,
we need to focus on the responsibil
ity. For we have so often and contin
uously failed to wield them for God.
Despite all our endowments, we
have failed to use them with the in
telligence God gives us. As J.R.P.
Sclater has observed, “Man has do
minion over the bomb, and is not fit
to have dominion over bows and ar
rows.” We have often used our pow
ers especially today to abuse th(
creation with pollution, depletion,
and extermination. We have con
quered nature, but failed to overcome
ourselves.
Who’s in charge here? God is. “O
Lord, our Lord, how majestic is thy
name in all the earth!”
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