A34-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 7, 2002
Brent Landis
Agriculture Services Coordinator
HThe
Lancaster
Chamber H
Phone ext 62
E-mail blandis@lcci com
A CALL TO
VOLUNTEERISM
As the Sept. 11 anniversary of
the tragic events in our country
approaches, it’s time to reflect
over the past year. While it’s easy
to point out all that is wrong with
our society, this is a time to each
ask ourselves what we can do to
improve our society.
One of the many things that
helps to make America great is
our strong sense of volunteerism.
President Bush encouraged
Americans to volunteer during
his State of the Union address
last January to give at least two
years, or 4,000 hours over their
lives, to serving others.
There is a vast amount of vol
unteer opportunities available.
President Bush created the USA
Freedom Corps which offers a
Website, www.usafreedomcorp
s.gov, which can help you de
termine volunteer needs in your
own community based on specific
areas of service. Why not volun
teer in an area that you may have
a special interest or concern? If
In
home mortgages,
we speak the
local language.
You’ve found the house
that’s perfect for you Now
it’s time to talk to your
hometown bank about a
home mortgage.
At Northwest Savings Bank,
you’ll be meeting with local
people you know and trust.
Your application will be
reviewed promptly and
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your area of interest happens to
be the agricultural arena, I offer
some options to consider.
There are a number of organi
zations to volunteer with in the
field of agriculture. The ones
mentioned in this article are just
a few; there are still many others
to consider. Step one in volun
teering is determining your area
of interest in agriculture. This
might include youth develop
ment, farmland preservation,
local government, international
service, or business and industry
service.
If you have an interest in vol
unteering with our youth, a great
place to start is with the 4-H pro
gram. Sponsored by Penn State
Cooperative Extension for youth
ages 8 to 18, 4-H relies on leaders
to help youth learn to appreciate
the value and dignity of work, ac
quire knowledge and skills, coop
erate with others, and many
other valuable traits. Call your
county’s Penn State extension of
fice to find out how you can be
come a 4-H leader. In Lancaster
approved locally, not by
strangers in a distant
metropolis as with some
large regional banks.
When you need to speak
the local language in
home mortgages, talk to
your Northwest banker.
We’re good listeners who
will treat you right.
Good Banking. Good Friends
Member FDIC
www northwcstsavmgsbank com
County, you can reach the 4-H
office by calling (717) 394-6851.
If helping to preserve farmland
is your focus, consider volunteer
ing with a farmland preservation
organization. In Lancaster Coun
ty, the Lancaster Farmland Trust
works on preserving Lancaster’s
farmland. The organization relies
on volunteers to help accomplish
their mission in different ways,
such as serving on committees,
assisting at events, or helping to
send out letters to its members.
To learn more about the Lancas
ter Farmland Trust, visit their
Website at www.savelancaster
farms.org or call (717) 293-0707.
If you would like to help make
a difference in your local town
ship, consider attending your
monthly municipal board of su
pervisors meetings. To offer to
serve on a board or committee, it
is advised to call your township
manager or secretary. If you
would consider running for office
in your township, you should
contact your municipal political
committee. Getting involved in
Apples Make the Grade
EAST LANSING, Mich. A
great-looking apple is no guaran
tee of great taste. Internal defects
are difficultif not impossibleto
detect. USDA inspectors sample
apples to gauge taste and other
quality factors.
But if they so much as pick up
an apple, it has to be discarded.
And there are grading tests done
on sample apples when they are
I first bought from growers,
before the fruit ever reaches
the packing line. But, again,
all those tests require de
stroying (or eating) the ap
plewhich means the ones
tested are guaranteed to be
the ones we never get to eat.
So Renfu Lu, an ARS ag
ricultural engineer working
in Michigan, the third-larg
est U.S. apple-producing
state, is using remote sensing
techniques borrowed from
NASA and the military to do
an automatic, hands-off
sampling of every single
apple before it gets to your
hands or mouth.
Apple packinghouses cur
rently rely on digital camera
your local township is a critical
area, especially for agriculture, as
municipalities control a lot of the
future planning and zoning for
your community.
If you would like to share your
knowledge or skills with strug
gling farmers in developing coun
tries, there are several places to
look. There are many faith-based
mission groups that work over
seas which are searching for peo
ple that could help with agricul
tural development. Penn State
also offers information on several
international programs offering
volunteer opportunities on its
Website, www.cas.psu.edu/docs/
international.
If you have interest in getting
involved in your local business
community as a volunteer, a
great place to start is with your
county’s chamber of commerce.
Chambers offer many opportuni
ties to serve on councils or com
mittees focusing on key business
issues. In Lancaster County, The
Lancaster Chamber of Com
merce and Industry has an active
Agriculture Committee. This tal-
imagery to sort apples by surface
appearance only, flagging those
that are visibly defective or the
wrong size or color.
“That system is literally skin
deep,” Lu says. “It can’t detect
bruises beneath the skin.”
Lu proposes looking deeper
with a system that uses the latest
imaging spectroscopy techniques.
These combine the digital camer
a’s conventional two-dimensional
imaging with spectroscopy to
analyze various wavelengths of
reflected light. This method can
discern subtleties in an object’s
featureswhether it’s terrain, cam
ouflaged Army tanks, or apples.
Lu’s system would bounce
light off apples one at a time as
they pass by on processing lines.
The returning light would be de
tected by an imaging spectrome
ter to create a spectral image of
the apple on a computer screen.
Specially designed software
would allow the computer to sort
the apples by internal quality at
tributes required for various
grades.
ented group of leaders in agricul
ture is very involved on a variety
of topics and events in the agri
culture industry. For more in
formation on The Lancaster
Chamber, visit its Website,
www.lancastercham
ber.com or call (717) 397-3531.
Time is a limited resource, but
volunteering enhances your life
and the lives of others. Carefully
determine what your key areas of
interest are and select the volun
teer opportunity that best meets
those needs. Help make a differ
ence for tomorrow volunteer
today.
Register today for The Lancas
ter Chamber’s 26th Annual Agri
culture Industry Banquet on
Nov. 25. This event is Pennsylva
nia’s largest Chamber banquet
honoring the agriculture indus
try. For sponsorship and registra
tion information, visit www.lan
casterchamber.
com. For more information on
volunteerism or the Agriculture
Industry Banquet, contact Brent
Landis at (717) 397-3531 or e
mail blandis@lcci.com.
Lu’s tests have shown that his
system can detect bruises deep
within the apple’s flesh. But first
he is focusing on the top two
things that make a great-tasting
apple sugar content and
firmness. Lu developed mathe
matical equations that relate
sugar content to the amount of
light absorbed by an apple and
firmness to the amount of light
bounced off the apple. He hopes
to expand the system to detect
acid content.
Industry studies have shown
there to be different demands for
various types of apples, Lu says.
“Oldsters tend to prefer softer,
sweeter apples, while youngsters
like them hard and sour,” he
says. “With a taste- and
firmness-sorting system, each
apple gets to the right person.”
Lu is confident that his work
with apples and cherries will be
easy to adapt to oranges,
peaches, or pears.
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