AlO-Lancaster Farming; Saturday, July 19, 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 edit
or’s. For the benefit of our diverse readership, we strive to provide
a balance of opinion in Lancaster Farming.
Beef Checkoff In Jeopardy
On July 8, in a case that could have far-reaching implications for
both the U.S. and Pennsylvania beef industry, a three-judge panel of
the Eight Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a ruling that the Beef
Promotion and Research Act violates the First Amendment of the
U.S. Constitution.
The verdict was not completely unexpected. The industry knew
that ultimately a decision on this case would likely be made by the
U.S. Supreme Court. This news was disappointing for me, executive
director of the Pennsylvania Beef Council, and our 21-member board
of directors elected beef, dairy, and veal producers who guide the
state’s checkoff program. Disappointing because we know the many
success stories credited to the beef checkoff program.
The beef checkoff program has been very popular by a majority of
producers for about 15 years. While the referendum was supported by
79 percent of cattlemen in 1988, surveys, as recent as January 2003,
indicate that support is repeatedly in the 65-70 percent range. Beef,
dairy, and veal producers, small and large, have continued to think
that this is the best self-help program available to them. It has pro
vided them with their own research departments, a channel to
promote their product, and a way to reach consumers with the beef
nutrition message through education and marketing.
Recent research conducted by Dr. Ward, Florida State University,
indicated that for every $1 invested in these programs, producers have
seen a $5.67 return on investment. Since initiation of the beef checkoff
program in 1988, it has contributed $6.46 billion of income to produc
ers nationally.
It’s no secret that chicken has made steady strides on beef demand
during the last 20 years. Our primary competitor, in the meat case and
on the menu, used a plethora of quick and easy products, developed
by branded manufacturers, and the touted health benefits of the bone
less, skinless chicken breast to make a dent in beef market share.
Thanks to the beef checkoff, though, the story line has changed.
During the last four years, beef demand is up 10 percent. Led by
checkoff-funded new product innovations, a great beef meal is five
minutes from the dinner table, competing head-on with convenient
chicken entrees.
In addition, the industry recently unveiled a series of national print
advertisements challenging consumers to think outside the boneless,
skinless chicken breast. Twelve beef cuts meet USDA requirements for
lean or extra lean, falling between a chicken breast and a chicken
thigh as measured by grams of fat. And as our staff has been telling
Saturday, July 19
Pa. 2003 Summer Cattlemen’s
Field Day at Em-Tran, Eliza
bethtown, (814) 238-5888.
New York State Holstein Picnic
and Kissamee Summer Sale
Fest, Cazenovia, N.Y., 11 a.m.,
(717)949-2046.
Gentle Logging for the Landown
er, Hillsgrove Ranger Station,
How To Reach Us
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Editor, Lancaster Farming
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Ephrata, PA 17522
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farming@lancasterfarming.com
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Guest Editorial
By Paul Slayton
Executive Director
Pennsylvania Beef Council
(Turn to Page A 34)
2 p.m., (570) 746-1844.
Md. Brown Swiss/Ayrshire Field
Days, Frederick County Fair,
(301)984-0880.
Adams County Cooperative Ex
tension Trial Gardeners Open
House, Adams County Exten
sion, (717) 334-6271.
Composting Seminar, Bernard’s
Orchard, Kennett Square, 10
a.m., (610) 696-3500.
Monroe County Conservation
Camp, Stony Acres, East
Stroudsburg, thru July 26.
Maryland Christmas Tree Asso
ciation meeting, Mt. Hope
Farms, Hagerstown, Md., 8:30
a.m., (410) 374-9538.
Bradford County 4-H Round-up,
4-H Building, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.,
(717) 265-2896.
Sunday, July 20
Youth Conservation School,
Northern Lancaster County
Fish and Game Protection As
socation in West Cocalico
Twp., thru July 26, (717)
299-5361, ext. 117.
(Turn to Page A 34)
To Keep Your
Cows Cool
Summer heat can really take a toll
on your herd’s milk production. The
highest-producing cows are the ones
most vulnerable to the damaging ef
fects of heat stress, warns Dennis
Buffington, professor of agricultural
and biological engineering at Penn
State. Milk production decreases as
heat stress increases. He points out
that even greater economic loss re
sults from the reduction in cows’
conception rates as heat stress rises.
“First and foremost, the cows need
to be protected from direct solar radi
ation,” he said. “The shading system
must be designed so that the animals
have full access to quality feed and
water while in the shade. Sufficient
floor space needs to be provided
under the shade structure so that the
animals do not crowd together to
stay in the shade.
“The underside of the roof needs
to include insulation material to re
duce the thermal radiation load on
the cows. Finally the shade structure
needs to be high enough and include
a ridge opening so that natural venti
lation will be enhanced.”
Evaporative cooling systems to re
duce heat stress levels on cows are
common in the southern U.S., but
WHENWE
UNDERSTAND
Background Scripture:
Nehemiah 8.
Devotional Reading:
Psalms 119:33-40.
“So the wall was finished” (6:15).
Through perseverance and the lead
ership of Nehemiah, the great task
thought impossible by their neigh
bors was completed.
Their neighbors did not share their
joy, “for they perceived that this
work had been accomplished with
the help of our God” (16b). So this
good work achieved also the grudg
ing respect of their enemies for the
greatness of the Jewish God.
Actually, this moment of victory
was also one of great risk, for now
that the good work was completed,
what would hold the Jews together?
Would they retain their commitment
to the Lord, or would they rest secure
behind their walls? There is always
the danger of dissolution once the
project has been completed.
The key is to make the end of the
project the beginning of an even
higher commitment to God. In a
sense, the good work helps us to see
that we need each other to accom-
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few are used by Pennsylvania dairy
farmers, according to Buffington. He
anticipates that evaporative cooling
systems will become more popular in
Pennsylvania as production levels of
cows increase and as producers
search for effective ways to reduce
heat stress. The evaporation of just
one gallon of water per hour at 85
degrees Fahrenheit provides nearly
the same cooling effect as a V* ton air
conditioner unit.
“This amount of cooling can han
dle the heat produced by, on average,
two lactating cows,” he said. “The
actual amount of water that can be
evaporated depends on the humidity
level of the air.”
Different approaches to providing
evaporative cooling for dairy cows
have been used over the past several
decades. Buffington believes the use
of a sprinkler or misting system in
conjunction with forced ventilation is
most effective.
“It is not sufficient simply to cool
the air with evaporative cooling and
hope to significantly reduce the dam
aging heat stress effects on the
cows,” he said.
“It is essential to wet the cows and
to provide forced ventilation to speed
up the rate of evaporation,” he said.
“The direct wetting of the cows cools
them only a limited amount it is
the rapid evaporation of the water
that really does the cooling. The need
for rapid evaporation is why it is es
sential to use fans in conjunction
with sprinklers or misters. Natural
ventilation is not sufficient, at least
in the climates of the Northeast, to
provide the quick evaporation.”
During heat stress conditions,
cows must be wetted intermittently
so that the water can evaporate from
the surface of the cows. Effective
evaporative cooling systems general
ly provide a spray of water for about
a minute every three or four minutes
with the fans running continuously.
An evaporative cooling system
should be developed with enough
flexibility so that the wetting dura
tions and intervals can be easily
modified in the field.
The water spray should be di
rected onto the back and sides of
each cow, Buffington explained.
“Ideally, all the water should evapo
rate on the back and sides of a cow
so that none of the sprinkler water
plish the challenges to which God
submits us. The good work is not the
end of our commitment to God, but
amply a jumping-off place to a high
er level.
Return To The Law
For the Jews, the end of building
the walls of Jerusalem became the
beginning of their return to the law
which was their spiritual and nation
al heritage. Presumably, they had
forgotten or neglected the law during
the exilic and postexilic periods. But
now, recognizing that it was God
who enabled them to do what no one
thought they could, they called upon
Ezra to publicly read the law so they
could hear it read for themselves.
From that day forward, the law
would again become a central focus
of Judaism. But the people wanted to
live by the law of God so that they
might do his will. They wanted top
express it in their daily lives. When
Jesus came preaching and teaching,
he challenged people to do the same
thing, proclaiming the coming of the
kingdom of God, the rule of God on
earth through the commitment and
lives of his children.
“And they read from the
b00k... clearly; and they gave the
sense, so that the people understood
the reading” (8:8). The law was writ
ten in Hebrew but Hebrew, like the
law, had long been forgotten by most
of the Jews who now spoke Aramaic
(not Arabic!). Fortunately, some still
understood Hebrew and they trans
lated the law into the common
tongue so all could understand it. Al
though today we read from English
translations of the Bible, we, too,
often need someone to explain to us
what various passages may mean.
Some passages are easy to under
stand others can be quite difficult.
comes down to the udder because of
the danger of contaminating the teat
openings with bacteria from the
hide,” he said. “It also is important
to keep the floor surfaces and bed
ding materials dry.”
Buffington contends- that invest
ments in effective systems to relieve
heat stress for dairy cows will pay
dividends in increased cow comfort,
milk production, and conception effi
ciency. “As the production levels of
dairy cows increase, they become
more vulnerable to heat stress,” he
said. “Therefore, it behooves dairy
farmers to utilize evaporative cooling
systems to reduce the effects of heat
stress on their animals.”
To Scout Your
Alfalfa For
Potato Leafhopper
Growers should strive to carefully
manage alfalfa to reduce injury from
potato leafhopper. Scouting for pota
to leafhopper is an easy and reliable
way to prevent serious, injury. To
protect your alfalfa crop from dam
age, you need to monitor the situa
tion in your fields.
Waiting until yellowing or “hop
per burn” is evident is too late. Dam
age will have already occurred. In a
square-shaped field, monitor in a
“U”-shaped pattern. In a rectangular
field, an “I”-shaped pattern is the
best. In each field, select five sample
sites along the “U” or “I” shape.
Use an insect net with a 15-inch
diameter hoop and a tightly knit bag
such as muslin. Within each of the
five sample sites make 20 sweeps
with the net while walking in a zig
zag pattern. Don’t stop swinging the
net until each of the 20 sweeps is
completed. Sweep the net about 3-4
inches below the tops of the plants.
A number of factors need to be
considered when determining if
spraying to control the leafhopper
population is justified. A publication
entitled “A Pest Management Pro
gram for Alfalfa In Pennsylvania” is
available from your county extension
office. Consult the charts in this pub
lication for assistance in determining
the economic threshold for your al
falfa crop.
Quote Of The Week:
“The person who cannot see the
ultimate becomes a slave to the
immediate.”
All The People Wept
When the people understood what
was being read, they had a signifi
cant reaction: “For all the people
wept when they heard the words of
the law” t8:9). Why weep? Because,
once they understood of what God
required of them, they were struck
with a sense of judgment and guilt in
his eyes. The law led them to see how
far short of God’s will they were liv
ing. Thus, they repented, just as
Jesus called people to repent when
he preached to them the good news
of God.
Most, if not all of us, live fairly re
spectable lives. Being “respectable”
can pale when we read the (Multitudes
or the Sermon on the Mount and, in
a rare moment of understanding, see
the radically different life to which
Christ calls us. We too are struck
with the realization of how tragically
far short we fall. The gap between
what the gospel demands of us and
what we deliver is much greater than
the Grand Canyon.
Although repentance is a natural
response to a deeper understanding
of God’s will for us, we need to make
a transition from guilt to glory.
When Ezra observed the tears of the
people, they said to them: “Go your
way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine
and send portions to him for whom
nothing us prepared; for this day is
holy to our Lord; and do not be
grieved, for the joy of the Lord is
your strength” (8:10). Our guilt is to
be overcome with joy in God’s grace
and in sharing our plenitude with
those “for whom nothing is prepar
ed.” your neighbor in need.
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
I G. Main St.
Ephrata, PA 17522
—by—
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A Steinman Enterprise
William J. Burgess General Manager
Andy Andrews, Editor
Copyright 2003 by Lancaster Farming
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