AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 7, 2002
OPINION
Delivered From Disaster
These days, it seems that Somerset County is the center of the world.
First there was Flight 93 that crashed on Sept. 11 last year. Then there was
the Quecreek coal mining accident at the end of July where, thank the pow
ers-that-be, all nine miners were rescued. What a story!
We read on page 1 this issue about Lori and Bill Arnold and their round
the-clock efforts to ensure a physical and even moral victory as well as a
much-needed morale victory for the entire country in the rescue success.
The Arnolds operate a dairy. But their work exemplifies a lot bigger story
of the need for volunteers and cooperation.
It also touched home.
The reason I am editor of Lancaster Farming could very well be attributed
to a mining accident.
My father was a coal miner in Schuylkill County for about a decade. One
day, there was a mining cave-in, and miners were killed.
My father, spooked by the whole thing, decided he didn't want to die in a
mine. So he escaped the industry, enlisted in the Army-Air Force during
World War 11, entered college on the G.I. bill, graduated from Penn
State ... and, in the 19505, moved his family to Lancaster County.
Later on, he bought land from a farmer in Lancaster, purchased a house,
and began a life far removed from mining.
That’s why my family is here. A mining accident!
How many people’s lives will be affected the same way? Who will move out
and get away from the dangerous job of coal mining? Who will stay? In what
drastic, far-reaching ways will the families of the Somerset County coal min
ers be affected? What impacts could this entire event have on agriculture?
It certainly makes you wonder.
Saturday, September 7
Central Susquehanna Valley
Sheep and Goat Field Day,
Paradise Valley Organic farm,
Limestoneville, 1 p.m.-4 p.m.
“Enhancing Wildlife Habitat on
Private Property” Workshop,
Dauphin County Agriculture
and Natural Resources Cen
ter, 8 a.m., (717) 921-8803.
Bradford County Youth Field
Days, Mt. Pisgah State Park, 9
a.m.-3 p.m.
Fall Garden Wrap-up, Master
Gardeners of Westmoreland
Editor.
On Aug. 29 at his town meeting in
Towanda, Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen
Specter announced that he would
take the inequities facing all dairy
farmers to the U.S. Senate floor.
During the senator’s presentation
to the crowd, I reminded the senator
ot his speech to the U.S. Senate fol
lowing former U.S. Secretary of Agri
culture Dan Glickman and Specter’s
visit to Keystone College a few years
ago. After I reviewed current milk
prices (comparable to 1979) and the
problems with an excessive amount
of dairy products being imported into
the U.S., Sen. Specter paced the floor
and announced he would go to the
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, ictuin address, and
phone numbei on the letter
Lancaster Fanning reserves the
right to edit the letter to tit and
is not lesponsible lor returning
unsolicited mail
❖ Farm Calendar *
County, Donohoe Center,
Greensburg, 9 a.m.
Advanced Topics in Raising
Goats, Mifilinbr- —
County Fairgrounds, Austin,
Minn., thru Sept. 11, (765)
463-3594.
Green Township Community
Fair, thru Sept. 14.
(Turn to Page A 26)
❖ Farm Forum ❖
Senate floor with the dairy farmers
problems. Specter said he was annoy
ed to see consumers (like himself)
pay more for milk while dairy farm
ers are continually receiving less.
Specter told the crowd he favored
a reasonable floor price under the
dairy farmers prices based on the
dairy farmer’s production costs. The
senator further told the crowds both
in Towanda and Wellsboro that the
excessive amounts of dairy products
being imported must be addressed.
He also agreed there should be an in
vestigation concerning the dairy
farmers’ continuing inequities.
Let’s hope that Senator Specter’s
remarks to the U.S. Senate will in
spire other senators to support him.
All dairy farmers should immediate
ly contact their elected officials and
have them support Sen. Specter’s ef
forts.
Remember there are nearly 12 bil
lion pounds of milk coming into the
U.S. per year in the form of manu
factured products. Remember these
imports are clogging up our markets
and forcing prices to our dairy farm
ers down to the 1979 level. It’s evi
dent to me there are dairy fanners
across the U.S. talking about various
methods to consider in an attempt to
correct the inequities facing dairy
farmers.
Pro Ag can be reached at (570)
833-5776.
Arden Tewksbury
Manager, Pro-Ag
To Continue To
Conserve Water And
Develop Emergency Water
Supply Options
While recent rainfall has brought
some short-term relief, drought con
ditions continue to worsen. In Lan
caster, rainfall for August was 2.5
inches, one inch below normal. This
brings the rainfall deficit for the last
365 days to 14.3 inches. Since Janu
ary of 2000 we are 36 inches below
normal rainfall. Obviously it will take
a lot of wet weather to begin to re
plenish our water table.
Surface flows are way below nor
mal as well. On Sept. 3, flow in the
Conestoga River at Lancaster was 66
cubic feet per second (cfs), which is
only 27 percent of the normal flow
for this time of the year of 244 cfs.
The Susquehanna at Safe Harbor
had a flow rate of 3,500 cfs on Sept.
3, compared to a normal flow rate of
12,300 cfs.
The long-term accumulation of
rainfall deficits is continuing to put
pressure on our groundwater sup
plies. Well drillers are swamped with
work and have a waiting list that can
‘THE SHEEP’ AND
‘THE GOATS’
Background Scripture:
2 Chronicles 33:1-20; 2 Kings 21
Devotional Reading:
2 Chronicles 6:36-42.
Our state is engrossed in an elec
tion contest for the office of gover
nor. It is the most expensive cam
paign in Texas history, and it is also
one of the most demoralizing. To me,
it appears that both candidates seem
devoted to the dehumanization of
their opponent. One might truly
wonder whether voting for either of
them is justified.
Unfortunately, our political life is
hobbled by a “sheep” and “goats”
mentality. We are the “sheep,” the
“good guys” and our opponents are
the “goats,” the “bad guys.” We as
sume that the “bad guy” can never
do anything “good” and the “good
guy” can never do anything “bad.”
We see nothing wrong with our can
didate and nothing good about his
opponent.
The “sheep” are real Americans
and patriotic and the “goats” are not.
It is tragic that, after more than two
centuries of democracy, we are no
further evolved than that.
We also have a “sheep” and
Lancaster Farming
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run two weeks or more. If you are
dependent on a single well for your
water supply, it would be a good idea
to develop a backup system in case
your only well goes dry.
One plan could be to get on the
well driller's list and drill a backup
so you don’t have to wait if that oc
curs. If you do want to drill, I would
recommend consulting a hydrogeo
logist first to help you chose locations
to drill. Another backup plan would
be to install a storage tank so you
could utilize trucked-in water for a
short-term solution, if needed.
To Participate In
Horse Owners’ Survey
Penn State’s College of Agricultur
al Sciences will conduct an economic
impact study of the Pennsylvania
equine industry beginning fall 2002.
The study will provide knowledge of
the current scope and nature of
Pennsylvania’s equine community,
enhancing government and citizen
understanding.
The Pennsylvania Department of
Agriculture, through the State Horse
and Harness Racing commissions,
has contracted with the department
of dairy and animal science to con
duct the survey. It will assess the
composition and nature of Pennsyl
vania’s equine industry, including its
direct and indirect impact on the
state’s economy through sales, em
ployment, taxes, and other indica
tors.
Contributions to the quality of life
of equine owners and participants in
equine activities also will be assessed.
Data from Pennsylvania’s last study
of the economic impact of horses in
the state was collected in 1990. It
showed that the equine industry
generated $4 billion in annual eco
nomic activity, was responsible for
22,000 jobs, and provided local and
state governments with more than
$66 million a year in tax revenue.
“The Pennsylvania Quarter Horse
Association, Pennsylvania Equine
Council, and the Pennsylvania Horse
and Harness Racing commissions
have committed to support this very
important survey by providing ad
dresses,” said Ann Swinker, exten
sion horse specialist, who is directing
the survey. “It is key that the list we
“goats” problem when we consider
the reign of Manasseh, King of
Judah from 687 to 642 B.C. Manas
seh was the son of King Hezekiah,
the moderate reformer of Judah, and
Queen Hepzibah and the biblical ac
count of his reign, 55 years, the long
est in Judah, is recorded in 2 Chron.
3:1-20 and 2 Ki. 21:1-18. (That re
minds me of the teacher who said
that, not only was little Johnny the
worst kid in her class, “but he has
such perfect attendance!”)
Remembered
As ‘Evil’
Manasseh, however, was not “a
chip off the old block” and he is re
membered as one of the most evil
kings of Judah. Both sources stamp
him as a “bad guy.” “He did what
was evil in the sight of the Lord,
according to the abominable prac
tices of the nations whom the Lord
drove out before the people of Israel”
(2 Chron. 33:2; 2 Ki. 21:2).
It is ironic that one of the best
kings of Judah is followed by one of
the worst. Simply put, he undid all of
the reforms which Hezekiah, his fa
ther, had instituted. More specifical
ly, “ ... he rebuilt the high places
which his father Hezekiah bad bro
ken down and made altars to Baals,
and made Asherahs, and worshiped
all the host of heaven, and served
them” (2 Chron. 33:4; 2 Ki. 21:3-5).
The “high places” were Canaanite
shrines on hilltops and the Baals and
Asherah were pagan gods. 2 Kings
21:6,16 lists three additional charges:
“And he burned his son as an offer
ing, and practiced soothsaying and
augury,” and “Moreover, Manasseh
shed very much innocent blood ”
Why did he choose such an evil
course? Perhaps, as with so many
sons, he was driven to demonstrate
that he was his own man and no
longer under his father’s thumb. Per-
develop be representative of the en
tire industry.
“We will be asking every equine
association with membership in the
state and individual horse owners to
provide their addresses so they are
represented in this study,” she said.
“The addresses will be held in confi
dence and used only for the distribu
tion of questionnaires. After the
study is completed, all records will be
destroyed. We want to assure every
one that this will be horse people
measuring horse people.”
Swinker pointed out that the sur
vey needs a high return rate to devel
op valid results. “We will be under
taking a public relations campaign to
ask that those who receive a ques
tionnaire take the time to complete
and return it,” she explained. “A
postage-paid envelope will accompa
ny the questionnaire. Returned ques
tionnaires will be coded and informa
tion entered into a computer
database for analysis. A descriptive
report of the findings will be prepar
ed and published.”
Swinker encourages all horse own
ers and equine organizations to par
ticipate in the study. Equine groups
interested in contributing their mail
ing lists or individual horse owners
wanting to participate in the study
should contact Ann Swinker, The
Pennsylvania State University, 324
Henning Building, University Park,
PA 16802. For more information, call
Swinker at (814) 865-7810 or e-mail
her at aswinker@psu.edu.
“We prefer the lists be sent on
disk, but will gladly take them in any
form,” she said. “The Pennsylvania
Horse and Harness Racing commis
sions are to be commended for their
efforts to have the state agriculture
funds awarded to conduct this much
needed equine population study for
Pennsylvania.”
The findings of the study will be
available to user groups, free of
charge, both in print and in electron
ic format. The project report is slated
to be completed and available in the
spring of 2003.
Quote Of The Week:
“A leader is one who knows the
way, goes the way, and shows the
way. ”
John C. Maxwell
haps he did these things because they
were popular with his subjects. The
priests of the high places were proba
bly supportive of the re-establish
ment of their shrines. Furthermore,
we know that Assyria dominated the
known world then and Manasseh
probably held on to his throne at the
sufferance of the Assyrians. The As
syrianization of Judah’s religious life
may have been an attempt to main
tain Assyria’s favor.
Good Intentions
Manasseh may have been impelled
by what he regarded as good reasons
to overthrow his father’s reforms.
Even “bad guys” often think they are
justified by good intentions. But his
reign would be judged by the results
and these were so devastating that
even “good” King Josiah, who suc
ceeded Manasseh’s son, would be
only partially successful in reforming
the nation.
For all their agreement, 2 Chroni
cles and 2 Kings give two differing
accounts of Manasseh, the former
telling us that he was carried away
into captivity by the Assyrians, and
then repented, returning to Jerusa
lem and attempting to remove the
pagan cults. 2 Kings 21 says nothing
of any of this, depicting him as a
thoroughly evil. But 2 Chronicles
sees him as a “bad guy” who wasn’t
totally “bad.”
Who was the real Manasseh? We
will never know, but I would like to
believe that 2 Chronicles is the more
accurate one, for it reminds us that
God will grant mercy to us if we are
repentant. None of us are intended to
be “goats.”
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St.
Ephrata, PA 17522
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Lancaster Farming, Inc.
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William J Burgess General Manager
Andy Andrews, Editor
Copyright 2002 by Lancaster Farming