AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 22, 2003
OPINION
Editor's note for all Guest Editorials: Please keep in mind that the
opinions of the writers don’t necessarily agree with the editor’s. For
the benefit of our diverse readership, we strive to provide a balance of
opinion in Lancaster Farming.
Agriculture’s Decline In
Pennsylvania Is Exaggerated
H. Louis Moore
Professor Of Agricultural Economics
Pennsylvania State University
It has become common in discussions in urban and rural areas for
folks to comment, “Since agriculture is declining in Pennsylvania, we
must make adjustments to emphasize the importance of other seg
ments of the economy.” Even in academic circles we accept the mis
taken concept that agriculture is declining. These folks measure the
decline in many ways. They look at the decline in farm numbers, the
decline in students enrolled in agricultural programs, and the loss of
land to housing and other nonagricultural uses.
These ate not measures of the decline in agriculture. Farm numbers
are a poor measure of the status of agriculture for a number of rea
sons: *
• As farm numbers decline, remaining farmers become larger in
order to efficiently use the labor and equipment on the farm
• It is difficult to accurately measure farm numbers over long peri
ods of time because the definition of a “farm” has changed nine times
since the mid-1800s.
The census people are always trying to develop a farm definition
that measures the rapid changes taking place in agriculture. Current
ly, a farm is “any establishment from which $l,OOO or more of agricul
tural products were sold or would normally be sold during the year.”
This includes many operations we would not consider to be farms, yet
this definition is an improvement on the previous definition. That def
inition listed a farm as “any place which comprised 10 acres or more.”
That definition was abandoned because many suburban houses sit on
10 acres or more of land and greatly overestimated the farm numbers.
Farm numbers have declined sharply since the 19305, when there
were about 6.5 million in the U.S. Today there are less than 2 million
farms. In 1970 there were 74,000 Pennsylvania farms. By 2000 the
number had declined to 59,000, a 20 percent drop. Total acres in
farms declined 24 percent during the same period. Many acres went
into nonfarm development, but some unproductive and highly credi
ble land was abandoned.
We begin to measure the value of fanning when we look at farms
based on sales generated, rather than farm numbers. About 60 percent
of Pennsylvania farmers have annual sales of less than $lO,OOO and
are considered part-time operations. Another 28 percent have sales of
$lO,OOO and $99,999 per year. These two groups comprise 49,500 or 88
percent of the total. Those 9,500 farms with annual sales exceeding
$lOO,OOO control 41.6 percent of the farmland, and the average size of
their farms is 337 acres. Those with sales of less than $lO,OOO average
64 acres per farm.
The best measure of an area’s agriculture is to tabulate total cash
receipts from farm marketings over time and then compare to other
states. Pennsylvania’s cash receipts from farm marketings totaled
$4.46 billion in 2001, the latest date for which figures are available.
Sales were up $392 million from the previous year. About 70 percent
of the total comes from the sale of livestock products. Since much of
our crop production is sold through livestock, the crop business is
much more important than the 30 percent of sales shown for crops.
Pennsylvania’s ranking among the states in agricultural sales has
held steady at 18th for the last decade. Pennsylvania is the most im
portant state in the Northeast with sales of $1 billion annually higher
than New York, the other important state is the Northeast. (The na
tion’s three most important agricultural states are California, Texas,
and lowa.) There is a strong network of processors and other agribusi
ness serving Pennsylvania, which contributes to a strong agriculture.
In summary, it appears that farming and agribusiness are alive and
well in Pennsylvania and preparing for the competitive challenges of
the decades ahead.
Saturday, February 22
Youth Leaders Seminar, Arena
Restaurant, Bedford, 9:30
a.m.-3:30 pan., Bedford Coun
ty Extension, (814) 623-4800.
Regional Christmas Tree Semi
nar, Novasel Civic Center, In
diana, 9 a.m.-3 j).m.
Pruning Seminar, Western Mary
land Research and Education
Center, Keedysville, Md.,
(301)972-0848.
4-H Horse Clinic, 4-H Building,
Troy Fairgrounds, 7 p.m.
Sunday, February 23
Pa. Game Breeders Conference,
Days Inn State College, thru
Feb. 26, (814) 865-5523.
Penn State Cooperative Exten
sion’s Open House, Strouds
burg, 4 p.m.-7 p.m., (570)
421-6430.
Monday, February 24
Soil Fertility Workshop, 118 ASI
Building, Penn State, 9 a.m.-4
p.m.
York County Pesticide Update,
Extension Office, 10 a.m.-noon
(Turn to Page A2O)
To Use The Global
Positioning System To
Map Your Farm
Global Positioning System (GPS)
mapping can serve numerous func
tions in your operation. It can be
used in determining acreage, to accu
rately record pesticide or pest control
applications, to record manure appli
cation locations, and to serve as a
base layer for yield maps. It can also
be used to determine the amount of
open space in a development or wa
tershed.
If you are interested in learning
the techniques to do GPS mapping,
Penn State Extension is offering one
day training that will provide what
you need. This training will teach
you the techniques of using a Com
paq Handheld Computer and GPS
unit to map fields or orchards.
Come to this training and leam
the techniques you can use on your
farm or in your business. The train
ing is will offered in the following
counties on the dates listed: Cumber
land (Feb. 27), York (March 13),
Dauphin County (April 3), Franklin
(April 7), Lancaster (April 14), and
Lebanon (April 17). For more in-
PARTNERSHIP
Background Scripture:
Acts 18:1-4, 24-26; Romans 16:3,4;
1 Corinthians 16:19; 2 Timothy 4:19.
Devotional Reading:
Devotional Reading: Ephesians
4:1-13.
Throughout its two thousand-year
history, the gospel has grown and en
dured under the efforts of individuals
whose names are written large in the
saga Paul, Peter, and Augustine, to
name just a few. Yet today we are no
less indebted to others whose names
are not so well known or remem
bered, including Priscilla, Aquila,
and Apollos.
Unless you have already read the
suggested Background Scripture,
these names are not likely ring a bell
with most of you. We look at them
now not just so we can remember
some ancient Christians, but because
their example has much to say to us.
Who were they? Aquila (OCK
will-uh) and Priscilla (also known as
“Prisca”) were husband and wife. He
was born a Jew in Pontus near the
Black Sea in a section of what is Tur-
Lancaster Farming
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formation and to register, call Lynn
Kime, Penn State Cooperative Ex
tension in Adams County, at (717)
334-6271.
To Maintain Your
Ventilation Fans
Now that we are in the midst of
winter, this is a good time to examine
your fan cooling systems. Capitol re
gion poultry agent Dr. Gregory Mar
tin recommends periodic cleaning
and inspection of the cooling system
while the systems are not in high de
mand to insure that when they are
needed, that they will be in good re
pair to perform to expectations. It is
also important to examine the fans to
help reduce the chance of fire in a
poultry house, because of frayed wir
ing, frozen fan parts, or obstructed
motor cooling fins.
Dirt reduces the fans ability to
move air for cooling, moisture re
moval, and ventilation. Engineers
have placed the reduction in air
movement at between 20-40 percent,
depending on the dirt load on the fan
blades or fan housings. Bent fan
blades, worn bearings, and worn
drive belts and pulleys can also con
tribute to poor fan performance.
Examine the fans after preventing
them from starting by locking them
out at the control or breaker box. Re
member to label the controls as lock
ed out with date and name. Then re
move guard grills and brush off any
adhering dust on the fans and shut
ters if so equipped.
Examine the front and rear bear
ings for leakage of lubricant or bear
ing noise as the unit is turned by
hand. For those fans that have oil
ports, drip a few drops of oil sparing
ly into the motor. Too much oil will
attract dust and will soak into motor
windings. Motor housings should be
tight in their mounting frames and
should not show signs of arcing or
burnt paint.
If the motors are fitted with a reset
button (usually red), the button
should not be stuck and move easily.
If these faults are apparent, replace
the motor and have it inspected by a
motor service for review and repair.
Replace any bent or missing fan
blades and tighten any loose fan
blades you may find.
key. He went to Rome until the anti-
Semitic edict of Claudius in 49 AD
forced out all Jews. Because Acts
does not mention her as a Jew, it is
commonly believed that she was
Roman.
Hospitality
In Corinth, Aquila and Priscilla
plied their trade as tentmakers. Be
cause that was also his trade, Paul
sought them out and joined them.
This is our introduction to their ex
emplary Christian hospitality. Paul
was thus able to support himself
while, on the sabbaths, he went to the
synagogue to witness to his faith.
Later, when he left Corinth for Syria,
he took them with him, leaving them
in Ephesus when he departed for An
tioch.
After Paul left Ephesus, an Alex
andrian Jew named Apollos arrived
there. His qualifications were some
what mixed. On the one hand, he
was “an eloquent man, well versed in
the scriptures,” and spoke with great
fervor concerning his Alexandrian
Christianity. But apparently there
were some gaps in his knowledge,
namely the practice of baptism in the
name of Jesus and the experience of
the Holy Spirit. Still, Apollos was re
ceptive to Aquila and Priscilla and,
later in Corinth, he built upon the
spiritual foundation which Paul had
previously established.
Tradition tell us that he became
bishop in Corinth and also that he
was the author of the Epistle to the
Hebrews, particularly because it is
quite consistent with his Alexandrian
background. But other traditions
name Priscilla and Aquila as authors
of Hebrews. What we do know about
Cleaning fans can be done quickly
by the use of a long-handled dairy
brush to knock down any adhering
dust on the fan blades, fan ducts, and
shutters. Shutters should be dusted
and checked for range of motion. Lu
bricate the shutters with dry lubri
cants (such as graphite or Teflon
powders) to minimize dust accumu
lation on the shutters.
Belt drive fans should have belts
that are not showing any significant
wear, such as frayed or exposed
cords or cracked and glazed side
walls seen when there is belt slip
page. The belt should fit well into the
drive pulleys and should not have
any side play in the pulley. Replace
drive pulleys when they lose shape or
show other signs of uneven wear.
Drive pulleys should always be in
alignment and should be of the prop
er size when replacements are made
to keep the fan in proper operation
for its motor rating.
Examine wiring to the fan motor
for any frayed or worn components.
Any cracks on the insulation or signs
of overheating should be fixed. All
wiring for fans should be done to
make sure that the fans are properly
grounded to keep stray voltage in the
houses to a minimum. Particular
wear points in wiring are found
where wires connect to motors or
other junction points in the circuit.
Cartridge type fuses should be in
spected for corrosion in their mounts.
Circuit breakers should be worked
back and forth to help break up cor
rosion. Lastly, controllers and ther
mostats with open coils should be
cleaned with either compressed air or
the use of a refrigerator brush or any
similar soft bristle, cone-shaped
brush.
All fans should be numbered as to
their location in the house and all
maintenance should be logged. The
ventilation system should be periodi
cally inspected and the cooling sys
tem maintained on a semiannual
basis, as needed. Refer to your manu
facturer’s guidelines for further
maintenance and safety guidelines.
Quote Of The Week:
“If a man could have half his
wishes, he would double his trou
ble.”
Benjamin Franklin
these three people, however, is suffi
cient to suggest qualities which we
could well manifest in our own lives.
The Church In
Their Home
Their hospitality endeared them to
Paul. They opened up their home to
him, shared their trade with him,
and later opened their home as a
meeting place for Corinthian’s Chris
tians. When Apollos arrived in Ephe
sus, they welcomed him and took
him under their wing to expand his
understanding of the gospel. When
Paul asked them to go with him, they
followed him gladly to Corinth and
then remained behind to nurture the
church there. Paul tells us also that
these two “risked their necks for my
life” (Ro. 16:4), although we do not
know when or where. Apparently,
they were willing to put the gospel
before their own well-being.
We must admire Apollos for his
willingness to open his mind to the
somewhat different understanding of
the gospel as presented by Aquila
and Priscilla. That is no small or in
significant quality. It is very hard to
teach anyone who thinks they al
ready know all that is to be known.
But, despite his eloquence and fervor,
he was also humble enough to listen
and learn from others. What a rare
quality that is!
Paul was a charismatic apostle by
himself, but with the partnership of
people like Priscilla, Aquila, and
Apollos, God was able to accomplish
much more.
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 2003 by Lancaster Farming