AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 20, 2002
OPINION
Accountability Required
We learned that on Tuesday this week, members the National Cattle
men’s Beef Association met during their summer session in Reno, Nev.
Just this week, we also took calls from beef producers and spoke to
Lancaster Farming subscribers who expressed their concern about
what’s “really going on,” according to a reader who wished to remain
anonymous.
A Centre County beef producer noted that while he’s receiving 22 cents
per pound less for his beef than a year ago, directors of the association are
prepared to spend $lO-15 million in litigation to protect the checkoff, he
said. All the while, noted the producer, the association is “inviting spouses
and family to some rather expensive hotels” at the cost of the producer.
It makes you wonder about the accountability of checkoffs. While we
support the need to educate, inform, and advertise beef and other prod
ucts to the consumer, why is so much being spent at a time when many ag
industry retirees are losing their stock market invested retirement income,
selling off the farm, or heading back to a second job in order to support
their family?
And why do raw product suppliers in agriculture have to pay for any
promotion at all? Why don’t the processors and retailers assume those
costs? (As an example: do the people who supply leather for car seats
have to pay for auto advertising?)
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Board points to a recent survey that
said 68 percent of the producers approve of the Beef Cb ,-ckoff Program.
Who were these supporters? And what did 32 percent ha /e to say?
In the June-July 2002 National Cattlemen, the official publication of
the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the “checkoff dollar,” at $1
per head, is detailed in the 2002 Quarterly Report. More than $5l million
in checkoff dollars fund beef nutrition research and information delivery.
But what, exactly, constitutes “administration” at $2.25 million per
year? Why is $27 million devoted to promotion, yet another $5.8 million
goes to “consumer info” (what does that mean?) and $1.85 million goes to
“industry info?” More specific details are needed for those who pay the
checkoff fee and for those who want accountability.
Beef producers should demand accountability for every single dollar
spent. Where did that money go, every dollar of it, and why? A dollar a
head adds up it adds up to a kid’s college tuition, a desperately needed
new tractor, a few good heifers, a lot of things that directly impact farm
profitability.
While we await the appeals process, once again we remind producers:
you have to be involved. You don’t have to simply go to a meeting. You
have to be the director at the meeting. Because it is money your money
they are spending. Find out what they are spending it on and why.
❖ Farm Calendar :
Northeast Ohio Sheep Field Day,
Shady Hill Farms, 9:30 a.m.,
Newbury, Ohio, (440)
834-4656.
4-H Dairy Show Days, Orange
County, New York Fair, 10:30
a.m. Showmanship 10:30 a.m.
July 12.
American Dairy Science Associa
tion, Quebec, thru July 25,
(217) 356-3182.
Clarion County Fair, Rebbank
Valley Municipal Park, thru
July 27.
Forest Stewardship, Walizer Tree
Farms, Centre County, 1 p.m.-
5 p.m.
Field Day at Dawn Acres, West
Friendship, Md., 11 a.m., (410)
489-4463.
How To Reach Us
To address a letter to the editor:
• By fax: (717) 733-6058
• By regular mail:
Editor, Lancaster Farming
P.O. Box 609,1 E. Main St.
Ephrata, PA 17522
• By e-mail:
farming @ lancnews.infi.net
Please note. Include your full
name, return address, and
phone number on the letter.
Lancaster Farming reserves the
right to edit the letter to fit and
is not responsible for returning
unsolicited mail.
MiPEi
Kimberton Community Fair,
thru July 27.
Sewickley Twp. Community
Fair, thru July 27.
Shippensburg Community Fair,
thru July 27.
Troy Fair, thru July 27.
Ohio 4-H State Leadership
Camp, Camp Ohio, St. Louis
ville, Ohio, thru July 27, (614)
292-6941.
Project Learning Tree Workshop
for Teachers, Schuylkill Coun
ty Fairgrounds, 8:30 a.m.-3
p.m., (570)622-4225.
Dauphin County 4-H Pet Camp
at Ag Center, Dauphin, thru
July 24.
Tuesday, July 23
Jefferson Twp. Fair, thru July 27.
Plainfield Farmers Fair, thru
July 27.
Ag Showcase at Cecil County
Md. Fair, 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Cecil County Fairgrounds,
(410) 996-5280.
Wednesday, July 24
Northampton County Holstein
Show, Bangor.
Penn State Variety Trial Field
Day, Landisville Center, (717)
921-8803.
Black and White Show and Sale,
Plainfield Fair, 10 a.m.
Thursday, July 25
Fayette County Fair, thru Aug. 3.
Ohio Field Crops Day, Ohio Ag
(Turn to Page A 22)
To Attend Manure
Application Field Days
Three manure application field
days sponsored by Penn State and
the Pennsylvania Department of Ag
riculture are scheduled the week of
July 29, 2002. The first is scheduled
for Tuesday, July 30 and is specif
ically geared for commercial and pri
vate manure applicators.
Participation in the field day activ
ities is required for those commercial
applicators seeking certification. The
second and third days are open to ail
interested parties and are on July 31
and Aug. 1. The first two events will
be conducted at Greater Vision Farm
in Fleetwood, Berks County. The
third day will be conducted at the
Buser Farm in Yorkana, York Coun
ty-
The events will be highlighted by
demonstrations and hands-on activi
ties. The agenda includes a phospho
rus index exercise, a soil compaction
exercise, a manure application rate
exercise, a soil pit demonstration,
hand-held global positioning system
(GPS) exercise, GPS on field equip
ment demonstration, and a variable
rate application demonstration. If
you are interested in GPS applica
tions such as field mapping, record
keeping, or GPS field guidance sys
tems, this is a great opportunity to
leam more about its potential and
get some hands-on experience.
THE HAPPY SINNER
Background Scripture:
Psalms 32; 51.
Devotional Reading:
Psalms 51:1-12.
I suppose there are two types of
“happy sinners.” One is like the
prominent novelist who, out of curi
osity, attended a revival meeting.
“Are you saved?” one of the minis
ters asked him. “No,” the novelist re
plied. “Well, do you want God to for
give your sins?” ‘No,” replied the
novelist again, “I like my sins.” The
person who enjoys his sins is proba
bly “happy” for a time.
There is another type of “happy
sinner,” however, and the writer of
Psalm 32 says, “Blessed is he whose
transgression is forgiven, whose sin is
covered” (32:1). Actually, the term
“blessed” is probably more accu
rately translated as “happy”
“Happy is he whose transgression is
forgiven ” This person is really
quite different from the first type, for
he comes to the point where, even if
he once enjoyed his sin, he is no long
er happy about it.
The higher and more enduring
happiness is that of “the man to
Lancaster Farming
An Award-Winning Farm Newspaper
• Keystone Awards 1993,1995 • PennAg Industries 1992
• PACD Media Award 1996 • Berks Ag-Business Council 2000
• Recognized for photo excellence throughout the years by the
Northeast Farm Communicators
Five continuing education credits
for certified nutrient management
specialists will be available for those
who attend the meeting. A fee of $lO
to cover lunch expenses will be col
lected during registration. Partici
pants are asked to bring a calculator.
Preregistration is requested. To pre
register, or if you have questions or
need directions, contact Robb Mei
nen at (814) 865-2987 or rmei
nen@das.psu.edu.
To List Your
Farm On AgMap
Penn State has developed an inter
active World Wide Website for Penn
sylvania agriculture that helps con
sumers, farmers, and businesses find
local producers of commodities and
services. Called AgMap, the Web
site’s address is http://
agmap.psu.edu.
The site offers a searchable data
base that includes products grown or
made around the Keystone State, al
lowing users to locate goods near
their home, farm, or business. The
site includes complete descriptions of
these products and provides informa
tion about how to find and contact
the growers and producers directly.
Pennsylvania is a national leader
in agricultural production, with
products ranging from apples to
wood being shipped around the
world. Yet many Pennsylvanians
don’t even realize what is being
grown within a few miles of their
homes, noted Rick Day, AgMap
project director and associate profes
sor of soil science and environmental
information systems in the College of
Agricultural Sciences.
“Local farmers may not be aware
that the resources they need are
available in the next county,” he
said, “and area businesses and con
sumers that use agricultural products
might not know that what they need
is available locally.”
All that is needed to use AgMap is
a computer with Internet access and
a Web browser. Behind the scenes,
Penn State’s Land Analysis Lab and
the cooperative extension global posi
tioning program maintains a Web
enabled database that is linked to a
geographic information system, let
ting users easily search for farms,
farm products, and services based on
how close they are to the user. The
system has been designed to be ex
tremely easy to use. The information
included in AgMap comes directly
from the farmers and industry. To
whom the Lord imputes no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no de
ceit” (32:2).
The Psalmist is not content to cite
a principle but grounds his teaching
on his personal experience. “When I
declared not my sin, my body wasted
away through my groaning all day
long” (32:3). The Psalmist had con
tracted some kind of illness and,
when he says, “my strength was
dried up as by the heat of summer,”
he is probably speaking of the high
fever that accompanied his ailment.
The Weight Of Sin
You may ask at this point: Are you
suggesting that the man’s illness was
punishment from God for some sin
or sins the man committed? As clear
ly as I can say it, my answer is “no.”
Obviously, that was a popular be
lief in some Old Testament times and
it is illustrated in the Book of Job
when his friends suggest that he
must have sinned to bring this ca
lamity upon himself. Job rejected
that concept and, as I read the gos
pels, I find Jesus rejecting it, too.
Although I do not think God in
flicts illness upon us to punish us for
our sins, I do believe that the weight
of guilt within us can be a barrier to
health and recovery. Medical studies
over the past few decades have
tended to support that idea. Experi
encing guilt can be a hindrance to the
best drugs, therapies, and proce
dures.
This, I think, is what the Psalmist
experienced. Some sin weighed heav
ily upon him, but he could not bring
himself to acknowledge it and seek
God’s forgiveness. Finally, the
Psalmist tells us: “I acknowledged
my sin to thee and I did not hide my
iniquity. I said, T will confess my
transgressions to the Lord”’. When
he had made his confession, it was
enter information about their busi
nesses, farmers just follow a few sim
ple steps. . ...
“We’re confident that AgMap will
be good for the state’s agricultural in
dustry,” Day said, “and that farmers,
other producers, and agricultural
service providers will want to be on
the map. It will improve direct mar
keting between producers and con
sumers and will help keep marginal
operations in business.”
AgMap allows users to search for
agricultural services based on loca
tion, products, and service types. A
consumer might find places off the
beaten path that offer locally grown
produce, trees, and other products at
a low cost. For instance, if a consum
er is looking for a farm to pick straw
berries, he or she can visit the
AgMap Website, enter a home loca
tion, and ask for a search of all
strawberry growers within a 20-mile
radius. AgMap will return a list of all
the farms that meet the criteria as
well as a map showing how to get to
the farms from the consumer’s home.
In addition to helping farmers and
buyers find each other, AgMap pro
vides a communications network
among agricultural businesses in
Pennsylvania. This network allows
producers to identify and contact
other producers who offer similar
products and services, which offers
several benefits.
For market analysis, businesses
can use AgMap to determine loca
tions of competitors and to determine
voids in services where new business
es might be successful. In emergency
situations such as droughts, produc
ers with products for sale will be able
to find and contact other producers
who need products. In cases of plant
or animal disease outbreaks, produc
ers will be able to contact similar pro
ducers to help determine how they
are dealing with adverse conditions.
For more information about AgMap,
contact Rick Day at (814) 863-1615
or rday@psu.edu.
Quote Of The Week:
“If a man is called to be a street
sweeper , he should sweep streets
even as Michelangelo painted or
Beethoven composed music or
Shakespeare wrote poetry. He
should sweep streets so well that
all the hosts of heaven and earth
will pause to say, ‘Here lived a
great street sweeper who did his
job well.
Martin Luther King Jr.
like a door opening in his body to let
in the healing light of God. “ ... then
thou didst forgive the guilt of my
sin.”
Where Healing Begins
Many years ago a woman came to
me asking me to pray for healing. As
I listened to her I realized that her
life was consumed with hostility and
resentment toward her sister. Finally,
1 told her I didn’t believe there was
going to be any healing possible so
long as she held on to that animosity.
Whether because she relinquished
her anger toward her sister or for
some other reason, this woman expe
rienced a considerable physical heal
ing, too. Martin Luther was right
when he said. “The recognition of sin
is the beginning of salvation” (which
in Greek means pretty much the
same as “healing”).
Someone has said that “The dead
liest sin is the consciousness of no
sin.” Maybe we fail to acknowledge
our sin because we don’t know the
great depth and breadth of sin. The
Psalmist uses a variety of words to
encompass this. “Transgression” is
rebellion, deliberate sin. “Sin” means
“missing the mark” or wandering off
course. “Iniquity” is a distortion or
perversion. “Deceit” is actually self
deceit, persuading one’s self that
something evil is actually good or
vice versa. Regardless of the form of
sin, the burden of guilt is a terrible
weight to carry.
That’s why the truly happy sinner
is the one “whose transgression is
forgiven, whose sin is covered.”
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St.
Ephrata, PA 17522
—by—
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A Steinman Enterprise
William J Burgess General Manager
Andy Andrews, Editor
Copyright 2002 by Lancaster Farming