AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 5, 2002 OPINION 4-H: Life Skills , National 4-H Week is an annual observance every first full week of Oc tober. This year the week begins the first Sunday, Oct. 6, through Satur day, Oct. 12. 4-H was founded through the collective efforts of several individuals over several years, according to the Carroll County 4-H, who recently cel ebrated 100 years of 4-H late in July and early August at the Carroll County Agriculture Center in Westminster, Md. In 1907-1908, O.H. Benson created the three-leaf clover representing head, heart, and hands. In 1911, Benson added a fourth clover for “hus tle.” The name later changed to “health.” (We like that original term; “hustle.” It means an aggressive approach to health: vivacity, the joie de vivre, or “joy of life.” I think 4-H teaches not only personal skills, business sense, and working in a cooperative way with others in the community, but it teaches how to appreciate those in teractions. You can be healthy and simply sit at home in front of the TV, but applying that health to benefit the community that’s the essence of 4-H.) According to Carroll County, by 1920 the system of volunteer leader ship evolved. Work in junior leadership began in this decade, also. 4-H crossed the Atlantic Ocean and became established in Europe during the 19205. In 1923, the first National 4-H Club Congress or Camp was con ducted in Washington, D.C. Participants were housed in the tents on the grounds of the USDA. In 1924, the 4-H emblem was patented, and in 1927 the National 4-H Pledge and 4-H motto was adopted at National 4-H Club Camp. The first 4-H projects consisted of canning, com growing, and livestock projects. In 1930, the “girls’” projects expanded to include clothing, home management, and food and nutrition. “Boys’” projects added soil conser vation, tractor, engineering, electricity, and agricultural production proj ects. Into the 19405, 4-H focused on projects, contests, and award programs. In 1943, 4-H boasted enrollment of 1.6 million youth. In 1945, 4-H divid ed 4-H clubs into three age groups. There were more than 30 projects as sociated with national award programs. In 1945, the Bankhead-Flanagan Act recognized 4-H as one of nine cooperative extension responsibilities. Between 1944-1953, 23 countries in Asia, Europe, and Latin America es tablished 4-H clubs. Thirty-eight countries initiated 4-H clubs between 1953-1962. Through the years, 4-H established various associations, including the International Farm Youth Exchange (1948), National 4-H Club Founda tion (1951), the camp became the National 4-H Congress (1958), and in 1959, the National 4-H Center opened outside Washington, D.C. Civil rights legisation enacted in 1965 required expanding audiences to include all minorities. The seventh decade, early 19705, saw the establish ment of the Food and Nutrition Education Program and the pledge added “and my world.” In 1974,4-H enrollment exceeded 7 million. In the 19905, 4-H was “redesigned” by the national council and exten sion service to give equal weight to all disciplines, not just agriculture and home economics. In January 2001, work began on the National Conversa tion On Youth Development in the 21st Century. Let’s celebrate this vital week and work to improve our 4-H member ship throughout our communities. Saturday, October 5 New York City Forum, A Grow ing Concern, Forum on Food and Farming, thru Oct. 6. “Helping Your Woods Grow” Workshop, Bradford County Extension Office, Towanda, 9 a.m., (570) 265-2896. Great Insect Fair, Penn State Ag Sciences and Industries Build ing, University Park, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., (814) 865-7521. Luzerne County Celebrating 100 Years, Educational Confer ence, Luzerne County Com munity College, 9 a.m., (570) 825-1701 or (888) 825-1701. Berks County Heritage Festival, Red Bridge Road, 11 a.m.-S p.m., thru Oct. 6. Sunday, October 6 East Central Pa. Two-Cylinder Club Inc., John Deere Antique Tractor Show, St. Peter’s Church, Seisholtzville, (215) 679-6592. Monday, October 7 Hollidaysburg Community Fair, thru Oct. 10. Manheim Fair, thru Oct. 11. ‘ Hustle ’ „v; v » f „•> ❖ Farm Calendar ❖ < *• "ITT I' < I* “ 'f " & * > Tuesday, October 8 Delmar Poultry Industry Inc. Annual Membership meeting, Delmar, Md., (302) 856-9037. Clarion County Pasture Walk, Steven and Kim Reichard Farm, 6 p.m., (814) 782-0033. Nutrient Management Specialists Certification Exams, PDA Building, Room 202, Harris burg, 9 a.m.-noon, also Oct. 9. Lancaster County Ag Preserve Board and Lancaster Farm land Trust Preservation Cele bration, Landis Valley Muse um, Lancaster, 6 p.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday, October 9 National Meeting on Poultry Health and Processing, Ocean City, Md., thru Oct. 11, (302) 856-9037. ADADC meeting. District 20, Di- Pacific Restaurant, Farming ton, N.Y., 7 p.m., (716) 243-1310. Building Strong Families Confer ence, Holiday Inn, Grantville, 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m., (717) 921-8803. (Turn to Page A 34) Ken Bailey, Penn State associate professor of dairy marketing and policy, reports dairy and livestock producers suffering under Pennsyl vania’s extended drought may be eligible for federal financial assist ance through a new USDA drought relief program. The new Livestock Compensation Program provides $752 million to offset sky rocketing feed and grain prices and plummeting forage and silage pro duction for dairy, cattle, sheep, and buffalo producers. The program is open to produc ers located in counties that have re ceived primary disaster designation because of drought in 2001 or 2002. Forty-four of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties received the federal disas ter designation last year, and Penn sylvania Governor Mark Schweiker has requested the designation for 54 counties this year. The assistance is coming at a time when cash flow is very tight ~ V- A If the ancient Hebrews were to come to our world today, I’m cer tain they would not be surprised to find depictions of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David, and Solomon in churches and cathedrals. What would proba bly shock and mystify them, how ever, would be the honor in which we today hold prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, Hosea, and others. While these men may have held the grudging respect of some of their contemporaries, the great ma jority held them in utter contempt and hostility. They were regarded as disturbers of the peace, subver sives, and even traitors. There was a kind of rule of thumb: if a preacher was popular, he was not a prophet; if he was a prophet, he could expect to be very unpopular. This was certainly true of Jere miah, whose ministry spanned the last 18 or so years of the reign of King Josiah and continued another To Be Aware Of New Drought Assistance ‘COOKING THE BOOKS’ Background Scripture: Jeremiah 6. Devotional Reading: Psalms 16:5-11. Lancaster Farming An Award-Winning Farm Newspaper o 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 on many livestock farms, according to Bailey. “The drought, which also covers much of the western United States and Canadian Prairie Prov inces, has reduced feed grain and forage production in Pennsylvania. It also has elevated grain and hay prices nationwide. Farm profits are being squeezed at both ends, so this program will be well received by livestock producers in Pennsylva nia particularly dairy producers who also are facing record low milk prices.” Pennsylvania livestock produc ers can sign up for the new pro gram at their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) office starting Oct. 1. “Counties that had disaster des ignation last year already are eligi ble for the program,” said Richard Pallman, FSA executive director for Pennsylvania. “We’ll know which additional counties will be eligible for this program in the next few weeks. It’s important that pro ducers keep checking with their local FSA offices.” Pallman notes that under the program, producers need not certi fy compliance with conservation programs to receive funds. Once a producer’s application is approved, the checks will be issued as quickly as possible. Payments are limited to $40,000 per application, and participants must have gross reve nues of $2.5 million or less for the preceding tax year to qualify for benefits. The payment rate for producers is based on standard feed con sumption data for each eligible livestock class, with dairy cows al lotted $31.50 per head, beef cattle allotted $lB per head, Stockers re ceiving $13.50 per head, buffalo and beefalo getting $lB per head, and sheep drawing $4.50 per head. In addition to the new Livestock Compensation Program, USDA’s Farm Service Agency is working to speed implementation of new grain and dairy programs under the 2002 Farm BUI, including producer en- several decades after Josiah’s death. As we have already noted, Josiah’s reforms hardly survived his death. The slide of Judah to certain destruction continued un abated and Jeremiah observed and reported that debacle every step of the way. You can just imagine how popular he was. Current Opinion In a sermon at New York’s Broadway Tabernacle, Charles Jef-' ferson said, “The Tabernacle does not report current opinion; it works to create it.” This, too, was the role of Jeremiah. If he had simply re ported the current majority opin ion in Judah, his report would have been “A-OK,” because that’s the way most people saw it. They pointed to their temple in Jerusa lem, the daily burnt offerings, and other public rituals as evidence of their standing with the Lord. As a matter of fact, however, Je remiah had been appointed by God to be Judah’s head auditor “I have made you an assayer and tester among my peoples, that you may know and assay their ways” and Jeremiah concluded that these peo ple were “cooking the books.” They were claiming assets that were not assets: “ ‘Your burnt of ferings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices pleasing to me” (6:20b). (The assayer tested the purity of silver). In fact, Jeremiah’s report was devastating and infuriating: “Hear, O earth; behold, I am bringing evil upon this people, the fruit of their devices, because they have not given heed to my words ” (6:19). Jeremiah’s report on the spiritu al life of Judah reveals an abun dance of greed, lies, and self-decep tion. “... everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to rollment, local FSA officer train ing, and introduction of new soft ware. To Plant Cover Crops Many fanners need to empty their manure storage units during the fall season. This means these crop nutrients are applied to cro pland at a time of year when they are not needed by a growing crop. Therefore, these nutrients are vul nerable to being lost to the environ ment because of soil erosion and leaching. Winter cover crops are a valu able tool farmers can use to pre vent this economic loss of valuable nutrients and prevent the environ mental damage also caused. If you are applying manure to cropland this fall, plan on planting a small grain cover crop such as rye. Rye has a number of benefits that make it the best choice of the small grains for this purpose. Rye can take up and hold as much as 100 pounds of nitrogen per acre. The rye will take up the available nitrogen and hold it in the plant preventing its loss to the water sup ply. If the rye is harvested, the nu trients will be utilized as high-qual ity feed. Rye can provide 3,000 to 4,000 pounds of dry matter per acre. If the rye is killed or plowed in the spring, the nutrients will be come available to the following crop. The rye will also prevent nu trient loss by slowing soil erosion. Rye has an extensive root system and establishes quickly in the fall, which contributes to soil stability. Rye can be planted as late as No vember, but the earlier it is planted the more nutrients it will take up and the more yield it will produce in the spring. Quote Of The Week: “No man, for any considerable period of time, can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the truth. ” Nathaniel Hawthorne priest, everyone deals falsely” (6:13). This is a people so corrupt and complacent in their self-righ teousness: “Were they ashamed when they committed abomina tion? No, they were not all ash amed; they did not know how to blush” (6:15a). Rebellious, Not Ignorant Please note that these are not just people who don’t know any better, but people who arrogantly reject God’s will in favor of their own. God called them to walk in “the ancient paths” of Israel and they said, “We will not walk in it.” God called them to “Give heed to the sound of trumpets” and they replied, “We will not give heed” (6:16,17). They are not ignorant of God’s will, but “stubbornly rebel lious” (6:28). Jeremiah speaks vaguely of the disaster that is coming: “Behold, a people is coming from the north country... they are cruel and have no mercy” (6:22,23). This could have been one of a number of na tions and peoples: the Egyptians, Chaldeans (Babylonians), Assyri ans, Sythians, or even some anony mous nomadic raiders. Note that none of these people were the moral superiors or equals of the people of Judah. God’s judgment would come by way of people who were not righteous in God’s sight. Often, we forget that God uses whom he will in executing his judgment. Judah has “cooked the books,” and they will pay a terrible price. .Lancaster Fanning 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
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers