AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 2, 2002
OPINION
A Message To The Governor
State Election Day is this coming Tuesday, Nov. 5.
In our Oct. 5 issue, the candidates for Republican and Democrat
both had a chance to air their views.
So we’ll air ours in this editorial. We’ve set this as an open letter to
the governor.
Dear Governor:
We just wanted to let you know: this year the only “profit” some
farms saw was from drought disaster relief, off-farm income, Farm
Bill direct payments, crop insurance, or preservation money. We think
that is horribly sad.
Don’t you think times are desperate when 60 percent of all farm in
come nationwide is subsidized by taxpayers?
Without farms, we don’t have an economy. The last time we had no
economy, we had people out of work lining up at soup kitchens but
farmers were a lot stronger in the 19305, supplying their time and food
to feed the unemployed, keeping them from starving. Can you imag
ine how desperate this world would be with a growing recession and a
bad farm economy? Not even soup kitchens.
Let’s use what little taxpayer money will exist after education re
forms to promote the welfare of the family farm. This country is noth
ing without strong family farms.
We wish you the best in your new position.
And we remind our readers: don’t complain about the state of the
economy or farming in general if you don’t vote. Voting is your voice.
It’s time to be heard.
Satuiday, November 2
Mid-Atlantic Forest Stewardship
Seminar, Frederick Commu
nity College, Frederick, Md., 9
a.m.-4 p.m.
Maryland State Poultry Show,
thru Nov. 3, (301) 473-7511.
Thomcroft Clinic, Horse Confor
mation and Movement, Mal
vern, thru Nov. 3, (610)
644-1963.
Sunday, Novembers
PAWS Extravaganza, Ag Arena,
(814) 237-8722.
American Water Resources Asso
ciation Annual Conference,
Philadelphia Wyndham
Franklin Plaza Hotel, (540)
687-8390.
Monday, November 4
Mary land-Virginia Producers’
Cooperative District Meeting,
Friendly Farm Restaurant,
Upperco, Md., 7 p.m.
Pa. Milk Marketing Board Hear
ings at Room 202 PDA Bldg.,
area S, 9 a.m.; area 6 at 11
a.m., (717) 787-4194.
Wayne County Cooperative Ex
tension Annual Meeting, Cen
tral United Methodist Church,
Honesdale, 7 p.m.-9 p.m.,
(570) 253-5970, ext. 239.
Forest Landowner Association
Formation meeting, Dauphin
County Ag Center, Dauphin,
6:30 p.m., (717) 921-8803.
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, 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.
„«• M.«il*-* «•
Tuesday- V ovem^( - ?f 5
State Glectioi| Day.
Penn State Dairy Nutrition Con
ference, Holiday Inn, Grant
ville, thru Nov. 6, (814)
863-2883.
Berks Extension Holiday Pro
gram, Community Recovery
Center, Hilltop, Leesport, 9
a.m.-2:30 p.m., thru Nov. 6,
(610) 378-1327.
Delmarva Mastitis meeting,
Hartly Fire Hall, Hartly, Del.,
(410)778-1661.
Vineyard Technical Meeting,
Lancaster Farm and Home
Center, 2 p.m.-4 p.m.
“Planning Strategically for Milk
Price Management,” Session I,
Morrison’s Cove, Martinsburg.
Also Dec. 3, 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
both days. (814) 865-4682.
Wednesday. November 6
Ohio: Crop Trees, Zaleskie State
Forest, Zaleskie, Ohio, 9 a.m.-
3 p.m.
Lebanon Extension Holiday Pro
gram, Lebanon Expo, 8:45
a.m.-2:30 p.m. and 6:20 p.m.-9
p.m., thru Nov. 7, (717)
270-4391.
ADADC Meeting, District 18,
Yoder’s Restaurant, New Hol
land, (717) 776-5741.
Corry Dairy Producers Group,
Marlene’s Corry, 10 a.m.,
(814) 563-9388.
Dauphin County 4-H
Achievement Night, Dauphin
County Ag Center, 6:30 p.m.
Pa. Milk Marketing Board Public
Hearing, Room 2 of Common
wealth Technology Center,
Harrisburg, 9 a.m.
Northeast Pa. Quality Forage
Conference, Mansfield Fire
Hall, Mansfield, Nov. 6, 10
a.m.-3 p.m. and Nov. 7, 10
a.m.-3 p.m. and Lackawanna
Heritage Valley Center, May
field, (570) 724-9120.
Cambria County Extension An
nual meeting and dinner,
- United Church of Christ Edu
cational Building, Ebensburg,
(Turn to Page A 27)
To Sell Your
Products Directly
To Consumers
Selling farm products directly
from the farm to consumers is
growing as a viable option both in
Pennsylvania and across the na
tion. The USDA recently reported
the number of farmers’ markets in
the nation has increased nearly 80
percent since 1994. That’s accord
ing to data published in the “Na
tional Directory of Fanners’ Mar
kets 2002.”
The directory is published every
two years by USDA and shows
3,137 farmers’ markets operating
in the U.S. This compares to 1,755
farmers’ markets operating in
1994, 2,410 in 1996, 2,746 in 1998,
and 2,863 in 2000.
“The increasing popularity of
farmers’ markets may be attributed
to the fact that they provide an in
tegral linkage between farms and
urban communities,” said Agricul-
WORSHIPPING THE
GODS OF
OUR ENEMIES
Background Scripture:
Psalms 75.
Devotional Reading:
2 Chronicles 36:9-21; 2 Kings
24:8-25.
Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick
once preached a sermon entitled
“On Worshipping The Gods of our
Enemies.” Dr. Fosdick said that
the people of Judah had a destruc
tive habit of opposing their enemies
and then adopting the gods and
morals of the vanquished.
They never formally declared
that they would no longer follow
the Lord. Nor did they announce
that they would now adopt the
ways of their enemies. But, con
sciously or unconsciously, they did
it just the same. They continued to
worship God, but they also took on
some of the pagan practices of
their enemies and became very
much like them.
Actually, these people might well
have been regarded as patriotic.
When Nebuchadnezzar deposed
Jehoiachin and put on the throne
his brother, Zedekiah, the people
gave him their support. Certainly,
they did not support or even re
spond favorably to the prophet Je
remiah: .. they kept mocking the
messengers of God, despising his
Lancaster Farming
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• Recognized for photo excellence throughout the years by the
Northeast Farm Communicators
ture Secretary Ann M. Veneman.
“Direct marketing enables farmers
to supplement their incomes while
giving consumers access to locally
grown, farm-fresh products. Farm
ers’ markets also help educate con
sumers about the important role
agriculture plays in our daily
lives.”
An up-to-date listing of farmers’
markets and related facts can be
found at USDA’s Farmers’ Mar
kets Website: http://
www.ams.usda.gov/
farmersmarkets. A print edition of
the directory will be available in
December and can be requested
from the Website.
To Leant To Manage
A Multicultural Workforce
Farm operations are increasingly
hiring employees who have a var
ied cultural background.
Penn State and Cornell Univer
sity will present a conference for
farm managers who employ, or are
considering employing, a Hispanic
or multicultural workforce. The
Hispanic Workforce Management
Conference will be Jan. 28-29 at
the Grantville-Hershey Holiday
Inn in Grantville.
“Building on the success of the
2001 conference, the 2003 confer
ence features a dynamic program
and nationally prominent speak
ers,” said Tammy Perkins, Penn
State Dairy Alliance program man
ager. “They will offer useful insight
into practices and attitudes that
will help ensure success with a
multicultural workforce.”
Featured topics include “Exam
ining Your Business Culture and
Exploring Cultural Characteris
tics,” “Four Factors For Success
With Your Hispanic Employees,”
“Developing Supervisors From
Within,” “Cultural Issues and
Promoting From Within,” “Blend
ing Cultures In the Workplace,”
“Expanding Employee Skill Sets,”
words, and scoffing at his
prophets.. .i/(2 Chron. 36:16).
They supported their king and
their nation, but they were wrong.
Giving Up
The High Road
In the midst of World War 11,
Dr. Fosdick was warning his con
gregation not to become like the
Axis powers we were fighting.
Some believed that, because the
Nazis and Japanese had com
mitted terrible atrocities, we should
not shrink from doing the same.
We were fighting for our freedom
and democracy. True, said Fos
dick, but let us not then give up the
very things that make us and our
nation morally and politically su
perior.
The concern of Dr. Fosdick is
very timely today. Last night, on
“60 Minutes,” there was a discus
sion of whether, despite its historic
and constitutional stand against
the use of torture, the USA should
use it because of the new threat
under which we live today. I was
surprised when a prominent attor
ney said he thought torture should
be acceptable in order to protect
ourselves from terrorists.
Our government is also propos
ing that American citizens be en
couraged and helped to inform on
others for the sake of national de
fense. During the Third Reich the
Nazis encouraged the German peo
ple to do just that. The Soviet
Union also encouraged relatives,
neighbors, and friends to inform on
each other for the sake of national
security. Shall we, too, worship this
pagan God of expediency pud be
come like our enemies?
Different Kinds
Of ‘Messengers’
Those who, like Jeremiah, call
us to not become like our enemies,
are often ridiculed and mocked.
They are dismissed as “unpatriot-
'*i*
“Overcoming the Language Bar
rier,” “Gaining Multicultural Ac
ceptance In the Community,” and
“Hiring A Legal Workforce.”
“In addition to meeting and
talking with speakers, conference
participants will have the opportu
nity to meet and compare manage
ment strategies with other success
ful farm business managers,” said
Perkins.
The conference also will be in
Canandaguia, N.Y. Jan. 30-31. For
more information, call Perkins at
(888)373-7232.
To Leant About
Risk Management
In Cattle Feeding
Chet Hughes, Lancaster County
livestock agent, encourages cattle
feeders looking to shore up the fin
ancial side of their farming enter
prise to attend a risk management
seminar Monday, Nov. 25 at Yod
er’s Restaurant in New Holland.
The workshop begins at 10 a.m.
and features Jonah J. Bowles 111,
Virginia Farm Bureau Federation’s
ag risk management coordinator.
Bowles conducted a swine risk
management seminar in the county
earlier this year and producers
were impressed with his practical,
easy-to-understand approach to
commodity marketing.
The workshop will be well worth
your time investment. The Penn
sylvania Beef Council will provide
a complimentary buffet lunch for
participants and the program con
cludes at 2 p.m.
This program effort is part of
Pennsylvania’s “Blueprint for Suc
cess” initiative for cattle feeders.
To make a reservation for this
workshop, call Chet at (717)
394-6851 or e-mail him at
cdhl@psu.edu.
Quote Of The Week:
“Life must be understood
backward, but it must be lived
forward.”
Soren Kierkegaard
ic” or “un-American.”
Am I suggesting that these
voices of dissent are prophetic? Not
necessarily. But we must remember
that God often brings his message
and judgment through those who
are not worshippers of the Lord.
He uses a lot of crooked sticks to
strike some mighty blows: King
Nebuchadnezzar of Chaldea. Later
he would use King Cyrus of Persia
to accomplish his purpose. These
men had no idea that they were
being used by God.
If the covenant between God
and his peoples was administered
by human beings instead of God, at
the first violation it would have
called it null and void. But God is
unfailing in his grace toward us;
“The Lord, the God of their fa
thers, sent persistently to them by
his messengers, because he had
compassion on his people...”
(36:15). Unfortunately, the people
of Judah were also persistent:
“... but they kept mocking the
messengers of God, despising his
words, and scoffing at his proph
ets ...” (36:16)
It appears that the people have
outlasted God. They persisted
“... till the wrath of the Lord rose
against his people, till there was no
remedy.” But, although the people
refused to heed the message of his
prophets, through Nebuchadnezzar
and Cyrus, the message would
eventually be heard, understood,
and responded to by the people.
Unfortunately, they would suffer
greatly until then, a suffering they
could have avoided had they listen
ed to the Lord and his messengers.
Instead, they hardened their hearts
and paid a terrible price.
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
IE. 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