AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 30, 2003
OPINION
Forest Products: Part Of
Agriculture’s Big Picture
Today we introduce a new component of Lancaster Fanning
Grower & Marketer Section, Turf & Tree. We hope to bring inform
ation to you about our burgeoning forest products, in addition to turf
industries all a part of our great agricultural industry and heritage
in the state.
The farm press may have overlooked the importance of these indus
tries, but no more! Lancaster Farming is tasked to cover growers that
provide turf and related management strategies for stadiums and
landscape use, Christmas trees and related cut tree ornamental prod
ucts, maple syrup production, and care and management of the state’s
expansive, industrious woodlots.
According to information supplied by the Pennsylvania Forest
Products Association, did you know that about 60 percent of the state
is covered in forestland? The forests grow faster than the harvest rate,
but we cut enough board feet each year to circle the globe more than
seven times!
About 500,000 private landowners control 11.5 million acres of for
est, or an average of 23 acres each. Farm and forestland generate $1 in
local tax revenue for every 2 cents to 6 cents they require in public
services.
Did you know that the state’s 17 million acres of forest are primari
ly hardwoods, which are very dynamic? And each Pennsylvania resi
dent, according to the association, uses wood equal to a 100-foot-tall
tree (and there are 12 million of us).
The hardwood resource industry amounts to 90,000 jobs in Pennsyl
vania.
Unfortunately, hard-line environmentalists try to undermine what a
lot of industries do to protect the environment as a matter of course
and survival. Maybe they don’t realize, according to the association,
that timber harvesting ranks at the bottom of the list for sources of
nonpoint water pollution. Some oppose timber harvesting altogether,
with their “zero cut” philosophy.
Misinformed about forestry and forests, people are often unaware
we can have wood products today and trees for tomorrow by careful
management. And that also gives us, noted the association, the “sce
nic, recreational, and other benefits that our forests provide.”
We’ll do our part to promote those philosophies in this issue of
Lancaster Farming’s Grower & Marketer (in Section C this week)
and in future issues.
Saturday, August 30
Juniata County Fair, thru Sept.
Bucks-Mont Two Cylinder
Club’s Annual Tractor Show,
Dublin Firehouse, Dublin, 9
a.m.-4 p.m., (215) 723-4496.
Carroll County Maryland Master
Gardeners Plant Clinic, Farm
ers Market in Ag Center on
Smith Ave., 8 a.m.-12;30 p.m.,
(410) 386-2760.
Editor:
Thanks for the updates on the
story of the Lancaster County
farmer who is faced with getting
his land taken by the township
supervisors as a water source for
pending development. Please
keep us abreast of continued de
velopments on this story.
Eminent domain, especially in
this case, reeks of communism. I
was wondering, do these same
supervisors have anything to gain
by this theft? Do some of them
own land that will be developed
or have friends who do?
People have a right to do with
their property as they please, but
not at the expense of another.
Lehigh County 4-H Livestock
Roundup Sale, Livestock
Tent, Allentown Fair, 3 p.m.,
(610) 391-9840.
Sunday, August 31
Cambria County Fair, thru Sept.
Mid-Atlantic Brown Swiss, Md.
State Fair, Timonium, 12:30
p.m., (301) 371-5206.
(Turn to Page A3O)
Ki- 4%:^^
❖ Farm Forum ❖
Please try to expose this in future
articles, and hold their feet to the
fire. You will be doing us all a
great service.
Stephen R. Cebenko
New Tripoli
Editor:
Our nation's energy policy is
more than merely a drain on our
domestic energy capability. It is a
drag on our economy and the
competitiveness of our farmers
and other hard-working Ameri
cans.
Nowhere is this deficiency of
current energy policy more no
ticeable than the negative im-
(Turn to Page A3O)
To Be Aware Of
New Crop Insurance Rules
Before Beginning Harvest
The Risk Management Agency,
USD A had announced changes in re
quirements for producers who suffer
crop damage to the extent that they
may file a claim for loss under the
federally sponsored crop insurance
program.
Being aware of these changes is es
pecially important if you plan to har
vest a damaged crop for another use
such as silage. These changes were
made to minimize program waste,
abuse and fraud. Your insurance
company makes final determinations
regarding the requirements.
The general rule of thumb re
mains: report crop damage immedi
ately when it occurs to your insur
ance agent. This usually is within the
prescribed time limits of the various
crop policies, which vary from within
72 hours to 15 days. One must be es
pecially careful with late losses on or
about die end of the insurance period
(earlier if total destruction of the
crop, harvest completion date, or the
calendar date in the policy, for exam
ple, 12/10 for grain com and soy
beans) as claims can be denied if no
tices are not filed by this date.
Tell your agent about the damage
and what you plan to do with the
SHUT UP
AND SEALED
Background Scripture:
Daniel 2.
Devotional Reading:
Revelation 21:1-7.
For every student of the Bible who
is intrigued by the mystery, symbols,
and puzzle-solving challenge of apoc
alyptic literature, there are many
more of us who are happy that there
are only two books and a few other
passages that fit into this biblical cat
egory. Compared with the relative
simplicity and clarity of the gospel,
the apocalyptic is a maze through
which many people wander without
finding an exit.
For me, a little apocalyptic litera
ture goes a long way. The problem is
not so much in the literature itself,
but in that so many people become
obsessed with solving its riddles,
often with a sense of rather singular
accomplishment. Apocalyptic litera
ture can serve a purpose; unfortu
nately, not those to which so many
people have put it.
The twelfth and last chapter of
Daniel is a case in point. Consult a
Lancaster Farming
An Award-Winning Farm Newspaper
• PDA Friend of Agriculture Award, 2003
• 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
crop. Ask the agent for instructions
for any special requirements that you
must follow to justify your claim to
the insurance adjuster when the
claim is worked, such as waiting to
harvest until an adjuster sees the
crop. If in doubt, get in touch with
the company fieldman or adjuster for
a second opinion.
If you plan to harvest a damaged
crop for another use (such as har
vesting a grain crop for hay or si
lage), producers are required to file
notice of damage at least 15 days be
fore such silage or haying begins to
provide the adjuster the opportunity
to either appraise the yield potential
or designate sample row areas to ap
praise the yield potential at a later
date. If damage is discovered after
harvesting of the unit begins, stop
harvesting and contact your agent
immediately, while evidence remains,
and ask for instructions on how to
proceed. If you cut silage or other
wise destroy a crop before the adjust
er sees it, your claim may be denied!
If you have more than one insur
ance unit for the crop with low yield
or poor quality and production from
multiple units will be stored in the
same bin or structure, contact your
agent before you commingle the pro
duction. Ask for instructions as to
the insurance company’s require
ments for records to be acceptable,
before you begin harvesting.
Combine monitor and load records
may not be acceptable for claims
purposes unless the insurance com
pany authorizes them before harvest
ing begins. Likewise, it is not accept
able for the producer to mark the bin
to record the depth of the crop from
each unit, unless it is pre-approved.
Be sure that you understand the in
surance company’s requirements for
records for on-farm scales, moisture
tests, test weights, etc. before you
begin to harvest a low yield/poor
quality crop.
The rules have changed. Proceed
ing as you did last year may result in
your claim being denied.
To Care For Next
Year’s Strawberry Crop
Late August and Early September
is when strawberries set their fruit
buds for next year’s crop. In the con
ventional production system, they
also produce additional runners dur
ing fids period as well. In order to
maximize the potential of next year’s
crop, one must care for file crop now.
half dozen scholars and you will get a
half dozen or more tentative inter
pretations. For example, in 12:4 there
is a phrase, “Many shall run to and
fr 0....” Some interpreters believe
this means “perusing” eyes run
ning to and fro as they seek to under
stand this strange document. Others
think it means “perplexity” at the
strangeness of this book.
Some say it tells us what will hap
pen when the book has been unsealed
and read. Still others believe it a re
ference to the commotion and tur
moil that call for the book to be seal
ed. Many believe it also is a reference
to the upheavals and commotion that
arose in the latter days of Antiochus
Epiphanes. None of these interpreta
tions are harmful to unless someone
tries to make a doctrine of them and
none of them really add anything to
the gospel.
Puzzles And Riddles
Another point of intrigue and con
troversy is the statement in 12:7. In
answer to the question, “How long
shall it be to the end of these won
ders?”, one of the angels replies that
it would be “for a time, two times,
and half a time.”
Also puzzling is 12:11 “And
from the time that the continual
burnt offering is taken away, and the
abomination that makes desolate is
set up, there shall be a thousand two
hundred and ninety days. Blessed is
he who comes to the thousand three
hundred and thirty-five days.” In
triguing riddles, but not much of a
guide for Christian discipleship.
So, has Daniel no value for the
Christian? No, what it means is that
we need to focus on the main tent
and not the sideshows. And what is
in the center ring? Daniel teaches us
that God is the ruler of nations and
The first step you should take now
is to apply a second application of ni
trogen. You should have fertilized
with about 40 pounds of actual nitro
gen per acre in early July at renova
tion. If you did that you should now
add an additional 20 pounds of nitro
gen per acre to give the plants anoth
er boost. If you did not fertilize at
renovation, then add 40 pounds of
nitrogen per acre now. Irrigate to in
corporate the fertilizer.
If the weather becomes dry, irri
gate through September to reduce
crop stress. When the temperatures
drop in the fall, strawberries resume
vigorous growth and it is important
to remove any water stress to enable
the plants to produce next year’s
buds and runners.
To Lighten Your Load
Don’t forget to take the time to at
tend one of the four meetings to be
conducted in Lancaster County this
coming week on dealing with cred
itors and the stress associated with
recent difficult financial times on the
farm.
On Sept. 4-5, the Lancaster Coun
ty extension office will conduct sever
al meetings to give some guidance in
dealing with these issues.
These half-day sessions will be re
peated in four locations in Lancaster
County to make it convenient to at
tend. The first meeting will be con
ducted at the Hoffman Building in
Quarryville from 9:30 a.m.-noon on
Thursday, Sept. 4. That afternoon
the same program will be from 1
p.m.-3:30 p.m. at the Salisbury
Township office located at the east
end of the Village of White Horse.
On Friday morning, Sept. 5, the
meeting will be conducted in Man
heim at the Lancaster DHIA lab. The
final repeat of the program will be at
the Martindale Fire Company from 1
p.m.-3;30 p.m. that afternoon.
For more information, contact the
Lancaster County extension office at
(717) 394-6851. Registration is not
required but would be appreciated to
assist those who will be setting up for
the meetings. Take a few hours out
of your schedule to attend this help
fid event before the busy fall harvest
season starts in earnest
Quote Of The Week:
“Words show a mans wit, but
action shows his meaning.,’’ „
Ben Franklin
history. His purpose will come to a
final culmination and fruition, de
spite all the human and natural obst
acles along the way.
Hang In There!
Therefore, hold on to your faith
and take the same courage Daniel
displayed in 3:17,18, when he replies
to Nebuchadnezzar: “... our God
whom we serve is able to deliver us
from the burning fiery furnace; and
he will deliver us out of your hand, O
king. But, if not, be it known to you,
O king, that we will not serve your
gods or worship the golden image
which you have set up.”
Even if he has incorrectly inter
preted that God will save them from
the fiery furnace, still he will not for
swear his faith and worship Nebu
chadnezzar’s idols for he knows that
the future is in God’s hands alone.
Unfortunately, lots of Christians,
despairing of the world in which we
find ourselves, look eagerly for the
final consummation so that evil will
be punished and righteousness re
warded. They cannot wait for God to
strike down those with whom they
have been unable to cope. They want
a Wagnerian Gotterdammerung
from which the “righteous” (whoever
that turns out to be!) shall emerge
victorious. That is not the kingdom
of God that Jesus heralded.
So the wisest words in this whole
chapter are those spoken when Dan
iel asks, “O my lord, what shall be
the issue of these things?” The angel
replies; “Go your way, Daniel, for the
words are shut up and sealed until
the time of the end” (vs. 8,9). Amen.
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. Burgaaa General Manager
Andy Andrewa, Editor
Copyright 2003 by Lancaster Farming