AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 31,2002
OPINION
This Lifestyle
It’s always amusing to read from USDA what many farmers have
already come to understand: it’s hard to make a living on the farm.
That’s why so many people turn to work outside the farm.
In the July/August 2002 USDA Economic Research Service (ERS)
Information Magazine, farm households are no different than other
households, holding down multiple jobs. More than half of all U.S.
farm operators work off-farm, according to the ERS, with 80 percent
of them working full-time jobs. About half of all spouses are also em
ployed off the farm.
Did you know that about 90 percent of total farm household income
in 1999 originated from off-farm sources? The contribution of earned
income off farm alone amounted to 53 percent of total farm household
income.
What ERS and many other industries sometimes fail to understand
is that farming is not just a job. For most, it is simply a way of life it’s
not the bottom line that counts for many, it’s holding on to a precious
way of living that nonfarm households sometimes can’t comprehend.
The findings of the ERS report in AER 812, “Income, Wealth, and
Economic Well-Being of Farm Households,” includes some interesting
things. There are many factors, including age and status of the farm
operator, farm type and size, operator education, farm tenure, and
family size. The most significant is the size of the farming operation.
That seems self-evident.
ERS assures us that despite conventional thinking, farm households
are not financially disadvantaged compared with other U.S. house
holds. Part is the work ethic, imbued in farm operators since child
hood. About half of farm households have both higher incomes and
greater wealth than U.S. households as a whole. Of those households,
98 percent reported household income greater than consumption ex
penditures (farms being traditionally conservative in this regard,
something many of us have understood since time immemorial).
Farms want to sustain that way of life, however they can. And they
are more alike their nonfarm neighbors when they realize a dual-in
come household may have turned into a necessity if they want to
maintain any kind of lifestyle at all.
Saturday, August 31
Juniata County Fair, thru Sept.
7.
Sunday, September 1
Cambria County Fair, thru Sept.
7.
Monday, September 2
Lancaster Farming office closed.
Ox Hill Community Fair, thru
Sept. 7.
Spartanburg Community Fair,
thru Sept. 7.
Waterford Community Fair, thru
Sept. 7.
West Alexander Community
Fair, thru Sept. 7.
Tuesday, September 3
Bellwood-Antis Farm Show, thru
Sept. 7.
Claysburg Farm Show, thru Sept.
Jamestown Community Fair,
thru Sept. 7.
Master Gardener Program, Car
roll County, Maryland Exten
sion Office, Tuesdays only, 9
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Editor, Lancaster Farming
P.O. Box 609,1 E. Main St.
Ephrata, PA 17522
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farming@lancnews.infl.net
Please note- Include your full
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❖ Farm Calendar ❖
a.m.-l p.m., thru Oct. 29, (410)
386-2760.
Wednesday, September 4
Luzerne County Fair, thru Sept,
Penn State Agronomic Field Di
agnostic Clinic, Rockspring
Agronomy Farm, 9 a.m.-4
p.m., also Sept. 5.
Lehigh Valley Twilight Potato
meeting, Clearview Farm, Sla
tington, 6:30 p.m., (610)
391-9840.
Hands on Computer Class, Win
dows 11, Franklin County Ex
tension Office, Chambersburg,
9:30 a.m.-3 p.m., also Sept. 5,
(717) 263-9226.
Small Grains and Corn Twilight
meeting, Franklin County Ex
tension office, Chambersburg,
9:30 a.m.-3 p.m., (717)
263-9226.
Berks County Extension: Bam
Meeting and Pasture Walk for
Experienced Graziers, Nevin
Mast farm, Oley, 10:30 a.m.-
1:30 p.m.
Thursday, September 5
Prince George’s County, Mary
land Fair, thru Sept. 8, (301)
579-2598.
Somerset County Holstein Show,
Fairgrounds, Meyersdale.
Vegetable and Cover Crop Twi
light Meeting, Central Mary
land Research and Education
Center, Clarksville facility, El
licott City, Md., 6:30 p.m.-9
p.m., (410) 313-2702.
Tioga County Pasture Walk and
Seasonal Calving discussion,
Russell Root farm, Millerton.
(Turn to Page A 32)
* *
To Manage Feed
Costs, Inventories
Lancaster County dairy agent
Glenn Shirk points out it is impor
tant to determine if you have enough
feed to carry you through to next
year’s harvest season. If not, you
may want to take action now to lock
in feed supplies, quality, and prices.
If panic is driving up the prices of
conventional feeds (corn, soybeans,
hay, etc.) you may want to have a
discussion with your nutritionist to
see if there are some more affordable,
alternative feeds that can be worked
into the ration. Alternative feeds can
include small grains, soyhulls, cot
tonseed, citrus pulp, and other by
product feeds. The sooner you act on
these options, the more choices and
the better prices you are apt to find.
As you analyze this year’s silage
inventories, think tonnage, not vol
ume. If your com was drought
stricken, the silage may not have
packed as well and it may not con
tain its usual amount of dry matter
tonnage. In other words, it could
“feed out faster” and you could find
WHAT DO YOU
MEAN, ‘REPENT’?
Background Scripture:
2 Chronicles 29 through 30; 2
Kings 18 through 20.
Devotional Reading:
Psalms 122:1-9.
Following the tragic crime of Sept.
11 last year, there were two diametri
cally opposed reactions from reli
gious quarters. One, representing
many Moslems and a few Christians,
saw these events as the judgment of
God upon the U.S. and our way of
life. The other reaction, primarily
from American Christians, was that
God is on our side because we are a
Christian nation. (I would join with
those who challenge whether we can
any longer identify ourselves as ‘a
Christian nation.’)
One prominent TV preacher said
that Sept. 11 represented God’s
judgment upon our society. He said
that it was a wake-up call for our na
tion to repent. “What do you mean,
‘repent?’” was the thunderous reply
of the great majority of Americans.
One letter to the editor of a daily
newspaper wanted to know if we
were to “repent of being the nation
with the most personal freedom, or of
the highest standard of living in the
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yourself being out of silage prior to
next year’s harvest season.
When buying feeds, try to avoid
paying “panic prices” for feeds of
questionable quality. Acting early
can help you stay ahead of panic sit
uations. Be a good, fair negotiator.
Com silage will vary a lot this year,
so price it according to quality. Short
com that has well developed ears
may have higher-than-normal quali
ty. Corn that has no ears or poorly
developed ears may still have a lot of
nutrients in the stalk and still have
decent feeding value, perhaps 90-95
percent of normal.
Really stressed com that is run
ning low in moisture will have con
siderably less value, maybe only
60-80 percent of normal. Forage tests
can help you get a better handle on
its true value. Similarly, com that is
too dry and poorly packed or corn
that is too wet will have reduced
feeding value.
To Plant Emergency
Forage Crops To
Supplement Forage Supplies
In addition to seeking the best
value in purchased feed, dairy and
beef producers should plant emer
gency forage crops to add to the
limited harvest from this dry sum
mer.
Rain this week has made this an
option that producers with feed
shortages should pursue. At this
point, the only crops available to
plant this fall will be small grains:
oats, rye, wheat, and barley.
Paul Craig, capital region agrono
my agent, suggests that successful
planting of these crops is dependent
on certain management factors. The
first consideration would be soil
moisture. With this week’s rains to
soften the soil and provide some
moisture for germination, planting
should be done as soon as possible.
Even if the soil dries out again before
the planting is accomplished, getting
the seed in the ground will mean it
will be ready for the next rain. The
only risk at this point is the cost of
planting, which is small compared to
the cost of replacement feed.
world, or of its well-established repu
tation for generosity and compas
sion?”
I do not believe that Sept. 11 was
God’s judgment upon our nation, nor
do I believe that the terrorists were in
any way justified in their crime. At
the same time, however, I do believe
that we are in error if we believe that
God is not calling us as a nation to
repent. I believe we are the most free
and materially well-off nation in the
world, but that does not mean that
our national life does not call for
God’s judgment.
The Chosen Few
Consider, for example, the Jews of
Old Testament times. They were
God’s chosen people and, for the
sake of argument, let’s assume their
society was the best at that time.
Nevertheless, God judged them and
found them wanting. Actually, per
haps it was because they were his
chosen people that God expected
more of Israel and Judah.
When Hezekiah ascended the
throne in Jerusalem at the age of 25,
he became king of the people whom
God had elected as his own. Almost
immediately, however, he set about
to reform and revive the faith of his
people and called them to repent.
Apparently, the temple had fallen on
hard times of disrepair and neglect.
His first effort, thus, was to cleanse
the temple, for the temple repre
sented the people.
What began with the cleansing of
the temple, therefore, culminated in
a call for the cleansing of the whole
society. His command to the Levites
to “carry out the filth from the holy
place” would become a call to get rid
of the filth in their society. “For our
fathers have been unfaithful and
have done what was evil in the sight
of the Lord our God; they have for-
Another consideration for double
cropping would be which com herbi
cides were used this season. Early
season rains were helpful in reducing
the affect of soil herbicides, but the
unusual drought conditions could
possibly result in many instances of
higher-than-normal residue levels.
Oats are the most susceptible of
small grains to atrazine. Barley is the
next most susceptible, followed by
wheat. Rye is the least susceptible
small grain to atrazine. Producers
considering these crops should con
sult the pesticide label and their
agronomic product suppliers for
their opinions.
Oats planted in late summer have
the potential to provide 3 to 5 tons of
forage this fall, depending on the
length of the growing season. Oats
can survive fairly heavy frosts and
still develop. The oats will head out
and delaying harvest as long as pos
sible will increase tonnage and feed
quality.
Late fall conditions can be a chal
lenge to get adequate wilting for ensi
lage. The use of inoculants will be
beneficial. Many graziers have incor
porated no-tilling oats into pastures
on a regular basis. The planting rate
should be 2 to 3 bushels per acre. Bin
run seed can be used to reduce costs
if germination is checked.
Winter grains can also provide for
age this fall if planted early and at
higher seeding rates. Most produc
tion will be next spring. If harvested
or grazed this fall, try to leave three
inches of growth. Many growers are
considering mixing two bushels of
oats with these winter small grains.
The oats will be harvested this fall
and then freeze out.
For optimum production, the ad
dition of 40 to 50 pounds of nitrogen
(N) is recommended. In many fields,
there should be enough unused N
from the corn crop. Growers will
need to evaluate this on a field-by
field situation.
Quote of The Week:
“The whole of science is nothing
more than the refinement of every
day thinking. ”
Albert Einstein
saken him, and have turned away
their faces...” (2 Chron. 29:5,6).
‘Laughed To Scorn’
The response was not unanimous.
Some did answer his call, but in cer
tain places Ephraim, Manasseh, as
far as Zebulon “they laughed them
to scorn” (30:10).
Of what did God’s chosen people
have to repent? This was the re
sponse, not only to Hezekiah’s call
for repentance and reformation, but
to all of the prophets in Old Testa
ment times. Amos, Hosea, Isaiah,
and Jeremiah all called for the re
pentance of God’s chosen people be
cause their society was rife with cor
ruption, bribery, indifference to and
oppression of the poor, dishonesty,
sexual immorality, and idolatry.
And what of us and our society
today? Is there no corruption of
which we need to repent? No brib
ery? Indifference to the poor? Dis
honesty? Sexual immorality? And
what about idolatry? Do you think
God is not displeased with the mater
ialism that has become the idolatry
of our society? Do you think he does
not judge America for the steady ero
sion of churches and denominations?
Do you think that the billions of dol
lars spent on political campaigns to
buy politicians escapes his judgment?
The call to repentance was tem
pered by the promise of God’s grace;
“For if you return to the Lord, your
brethren and your children will find
compassion For the Lord your
God is gracious and merciful, and
will not turn away his face from you,
if you return to him” (30:9).
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