OPINION Watch The Processors, Retailers We agree with Ken Bailey in this week’s Weekly Dairy Market Outlook column on page Al 6: this is a capitalist economy. You can’t regulate profit. You can’t regulate bottom lines. If you would try, the results would be interesting, if not disastrous, and would impinge on fill sorts of freedoms. Bailey, in his weekly dairy market column, is trying to find some logic to the extremely low prices milk producers are suffering right now with actual decreases in store-bought dairy products. (Though we haven’t seen any.) We draw your attention to the paragraph where Bailey writes: “Whole milk prices for major urban markets in the U.S. have actu ally gone down 5.7 percent during the months June-August of this year when compared to the same months a year ago. On the other hand, lower federal order prices (regulated by the federal government) meant fluid processors paid farmers 30 percent less for their milk. Someone is keeping this difference." (Emphasis ours.) What happened when other commodities went through similar strange times? Why is almost nothing being written about the profit taking by the retail food industry, placing pressure on the processor suppliers, which in turn is placing additional pressure on our produc ers? The farmer is beset by all sorts of regulations. You wonder what types of regulation retailers are going through. We could easily advocate the use of “maximum allowable margins” but how would that work? How could you dictate, by law, that only so much could be made in profit by a retailer from ice cream or choco late milk? Or how much the retailer would be “allowed” to charge the processor for prime rib? Or a minimum guaranteed payment, by law, from the pork processor to the producer? One solution: farmers need to be the retailers. Direct marketing has worked in Pennsylvania and surrounding states. Get the price you de serve for the product you produce. Direct marketing is a true “farm er” economy. In the meantime, see what the processor does with your product and find out, exactly, what their margins are. Saturday, October 19 Family Farm and Home Safety Camp, York County 4-H Cen ter, 8:45 a.m.-3 p.m., (717) 840-7408. Atlantic City Holiday Art, An tique, and Collectible Show, Atlantic City Convention Cen ter, thru Oct. 20, (800) 526-2724. Dillsburg Farmers’ Fair and An tique Tractor Show, 8 a.m.- 2:15 p.m., (717) 432-4782. National Organic Standards Board meeting, Radisson Bar celo Hotel, Washington, D.C., thru Oct. 20, (202) 205-7806. Northwest Ohio Cooperative Kitchen Unveiling, Agricul ture Incubator, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., (419) 535-6000. “Putting the Garden to Rest,” Bradford County Extension Demo Garden, 9 a.m., (570) 265-2896. Sunday, October 20 Zone II Hunter Finals Horse Show, (610) 395-1913. How To Reach Us To address a letter to the editor: • By fax; (717) 733-6058 • By regular mail: Editor, Lancaster Fanning P.O. Box 609,1 E. Main St. Ephrata, PA 17522 By e-mail: farming@lancnews.infl.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. > ~ -■ National Forest Products Week, thru Oct. 26. Monday, October 21 Berks County Centennial Cele bration, Berks County Ag Center, 6:30 p.m., (610) 378-1327. Extension Coordinators’ Meet ing, 504 Ag Sciences and In dustries Building, 3 p.m.-5 p.m., (814) 863-6095. Tuesday, October 22 Lancaster County Poultry Asso ciation Banquet, Willow Val ley. Vinexpo, Jacob Javits Conven tion Center, New York City, thru Oct. 24, (800) 284-6976. MAAC Annual Conference, Clarion Hotel Convention Center, Carlisle, thru Oct. 23. Chester County Annual Holstein Meeting, West Fallowfield Christian School, Atglen, 7 p.m. Lycoming County Extension An nual Dinner Meeting, Eldred Fire Hall, Warrensville, 7 p.m. Manure Application Demonstra tion, Jeff Frey’s Future View Farm, 13 Ratcliff Road, Will ow Street, (717) 237-2220, thru Oct. 23. Maryland: Private Applicator Pesticide Exam, Allegany County Extension Office, Cumberland, Md., 7 p.m.-9 p.m. Maryland and Virginia Coopera tive District Meeting, Ernie’s Restaurant, South Boston, Va., noon. Maryland and Virginia Coopera tive District Meeting, Ryan’s Steakhouse, Christianburg, (Turn to Page A 29) To Apply Strawberry Weed Control Kathy Demchak in Penn State’s Horticulture Department reports a Section 18 emergency exemption was approved in June 2002 for the use of Spartan 4F (sulfentrazone, from FMC) on strawberries in Pennsylva nia. This exemption is for the control of common groundsel, a problem in a number of growers’ fields. This ma terial is similar to Goal in that, while it inhibits establishment of new weeds, it will also bum foliage that it contacts. The second window for its use dur ing this year is when the plants are dormant in the fall, Oct. 15-Dec. 15. Copies of the notification were 'Sent to each county extension office along with a recordkeeping form that should be filled out and sent in to The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture as listed on the form. Four to eight fluid ounces of Spar tan 4F can be used per acre per ap plication (an application could have been applied at renovation), with a yearly maximum of 12 ounces used. Applications can be made to the en tire field as a broadcast spray or as a treatment to only those areas where targeted weeds are present or ex pected. For the material to be effec tive as a preemergent herbicide, rain fall or irrigation is required for activation. If 0.5 to 1 inch of rainfall or irrigation is not received within 7 to 10 days after application, a shal- A NEW COVENANT Background Scripture: Jeremiah 30 through 31 Devotional Reading: Hebrews 10:11-18. “Covenant” is a term hardly used today. If we hear or read it, it is usually a fleeting reference in a ser mon, worship service, or religious lit erature. We are also likely to refer to the act of Christian marriage as the making of a covenant. If the state re gards a church wedding as a legal contract, why do we use the word covenant instead? In my dictionary, “contract” and “covenant” are defined in almost identical terms. But as Christians use “covenant,” it has a rather different connotation. While both “covenant” and “contract” indicate an agree ment between two or more parties, “covenant” usually signifies the pres ence of God as a party to this agree ment. Furthermore, while a contract indicates value given for value re ceived, a covenant suggests that each of the parties will go much beyond simple quid pro quo. 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 low cultivation should be used to lightly incorporate the herbicide. The material should not be used if the soil is saturated or if heavy rainfall is predicted to occur within the next 24 hours. A 105-day preharvest interval must be observed. Because this ma terial can leach to groundwater under certain conditions, this materi al cannot be applied on soils classi fied as sand, which have less than 1 percent organic matter. To Recognize Benefits Of Using Integrated Pest Management (IPM) In Sweet Com Ed Rajotte, Pennsylvania IPM coordinator and Penn State professor of entomology, reports that in just one year, Pennsylvania vegetable growers realized more than $l3 mil lion in economic and environmental benefits by using IPM tactics in their sweet com crops. Integrated pest management, or IPM, aims to manage pests such as insects, diseases, weeds, and animals by combining physical, biological, and chemical tactics that are safe, profitable, and environmentally com patible. A recent study conducted by Jason Beddow, graduate student at Virgin ia Polytechnic Institute and State University, found that IPM in Penn sylvania sweet com crops produced economic benefits of about $6.7 mil lion and environmental benefits val ued at about $6.8 million in one growing season. “This research makes it clear that IPM provides sig nificant economic and environmental benefits to the state,” said Rajotte, who served on Beddow’s advisory committee. Pennsylvania growers plant more than 20,000 acres of sweet com an nually, ranking the state among the top 10 nationally in sweet com pro duction. But this $25 million crop is at risk to such devastating pests as the com earworm, fall armyworm, and European com borer. As part of the project, Beddow surveyed sweet com growers to collect data on the growers’ use of selected production practices, with an emphasis on pesti cide use. Respondents included both large and small farms, ranging in size from 2.5 to 2,500 acres. The results of the survey indicate that the majority of respondents use several IPM tactics in their sweet com operation. Ninety two percent of respondents reported rotating at least some of their sweet com with other crops, and 77 percent This was certainly true of the cove nant between God and Abraham. The people constantly failed to hold up their end of the agreement, and the covenant continued only because of the grace of God that always goes infinitely beyond the letter of the law. Whereas a contract is based upon the letter of the law, a covenant is always based upon a relationship in which we get far more than we deserve. Not Our Invention Christians often make the mistake of thinking that the New Covenant is an invention of the New Testament. The first chronological mention of it is in Jeremiah 31. This is one of the most important passages of the Old Testament and Jeremiah’s single most important contribution to the Jewish and Christian religions. Some have called it “the high-water mark of the Old Testament.” As almost all of Jeremiah’s proph ecies are dark and gloomy. Jeremiah 30 and 31 are sometimes called “the little Book of Comfort,” because Je remiah promises that God will even tually restore Israel and Judah to their lands and homes. Even more important, the covenant which the people so thoroughly violated will be replaced by a new covenant that goes far beyond the original one. Instead of being inscribed in stone, it will be written upon their hearts as an in ward and individual covenant: “And no longer shall each man teach his neighbor and each his brother, say ing, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest...” (v. 34). What’s Essential? As Stanley Brite Frost puts it, “Circumcision, the ark, the temple, and 91 percent, respectively, said they scouted for insects and weeds before deciding to apply insecticides and postemergent herbicides. More than 60 percent of the grow ers cultivated sweet corn fields to control weeds. When the practice was used, it was employed on an av erage of 51 percent of sweet corn acreage. Overall, the technique was used on 26 percent of acreage. An important component of the Pennsylvania sweet corn IPM pro gram is a telephone hotline (800-PENN-IPM) and related Web site (http://pestwatch.cas.psu.edu) that provide statewide scouting in formation for important sweet com insect pests. Exactly half of the re spondents reported calling the hot line. Users of the service made an av erage of 4.7 calls to the toll-free number over the course of the grow ing season. According to Beddow, the adop tion of IPM practices may result in a combination of cost increases and de creases. For example, IPM adoption is expected to decrease the cost of chemical pesticides as nonchemical controls are substituted for pesti cides. However, implementation of IPM practices will increase some in formation-gathering costs, such as labor costs for scouting. IPM adoption may influence re turns via price premiums or changes in yields. “Adopters spent less on chemicals and chemical applications and spent more on scouting and trapping when compared with nona dopters,” Beddow said. “Overall, adopters in the sample spent $lOO less than non-adopters per acre of sweet com. Assuming a constant price of $2.25 per dozen ears, per acre total revenue for adopters in the sample was $279 greater than that of nonadopters. The difference in net revenue between adopters and nona dopters was $295.” Beddow’s research can be viewed on the Web at http:// scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/ etd-09272000-14340016/. The Penn sylvania IPM program is a collabora tion between Penn State and the Pennsylvania Department of Agri culture aimed at promoting integrat ed pest management in both agricul tural and nonagricultural situations. For more information, call (814) 865-2839, or visit the Web at http:// paipm.cas.psu.edu. Quote Of The Week: “If one desires a change, one must be that change before that change can take place. ” the city, the state, prophet, priest, king can all g 0... since they are not essential.” So what is essential? People will do what is right, not by external com pulsion but by inner conviction and desire. Thus, some 600 years before the birth of Christ, we find a new di rection, an immediate and direct re lationship between the individual and God. Later, although he didn’t use the term “New Covenant,” the prophet Ezekiel made a similar promise to the people in exile: “A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezek. 36:26). And on the night of his Last Supper with his disciples, Jesus gave his dis ciples the cup, saying, “Drink of it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Mtt. 265:27). Forgiveness is the key to the New Covenant. The fellowship with God that was broken by Israel’s repeated rebellion is restored by the complete forgiveness of sins. So the New Cove nant will be based, not upon sinles sness, but the grace of God: “... for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (v. 34b). The slate is now wiped clean, and this is grace, because the people have certainly not earned it. They never could and neither can we. 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 Gita Beilin
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers