AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 27, 2003
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OPINION
Fair Trade: Getting Better
All The Time
We are reminded of the quote from George Bernard Shaw: “If all
economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion.”
So it is with a grain of salt that you have to take some news about
how, exactly, the “balance” of trade is. Especially when, just like any
body else, economists can also fail to do their homework or simply
are just human.
But some good news has come out of Cancun, Mexico, of all places,
about how farmers and artisans in what used to be called “third
world” countries are having enormous success selling products in de
veloped countries, such as our own.
The report, sent early last month from the Fair Trade Federation,
points to growing consumer awareness about large-scale corporate is
sues (maybe in cost-cutting during the down economy, some quality
was lost on products?) and awareness that farmers in Mexico and
other countries have to make a living, too.
The Fair Trade industry in North America and the Pacific Rim
grew an impressive 37 percent over the past year, according to the
2003 Report on Fair Trade Trends, sponsored by the Fair Trade Fed
eration and the International Federation for Alternative Trade, and
published by Co-op America. Total Fair Trade sales in the U.S., Can
ada, and Pacific Rim reached $250.6 million.
Highlighting substantial growth in domestic import, sales, and em
ployment, the report is good news for citizen groups concerned about
worker mistreatment and corporate-led growth. The reports findings
indicate growing consumer demand for goods that are traded through
direct partnerships between economically disadvantaged artisans and
farmers, and marketers in developed markets in the North.
Perhaps this reflects the upsurge in demand from our local farmers
selling their goods at roadside stands quality starts where you know
who supplies the product, and where it’s coming from.
Saturday, September 27
Penn State Poultry Science Alumni
and Friends Reunion, University
Park, (814)865-3411.
Geology of Bradford and Sullivan
Counties Annual Bus Trip, (570)
746-1844.
Washington County Cattlemen’s As
sociation Classic Club Calf Show
and and Sale, Washington Coun
ty Fairgrounds, Meadow Lands, 6
p.m., (724) 239-3556.
Village of Falmouth Goat Races and
Festival, Governor’s Stable Park,
Turnpike Road, Lancaster Coun
ty, (717) 367-6801.
York County Watershed Weekend
free public tours, thru Sept. 28, 1
Lancaster Farming Editorial Staff:
Your Source For Ag News
Our time and talents are invest
ed heavily in bringing news from
the region's ag events to your
home - and we’ve been doing so
a long time. The Lancaster
Farming editorial staff has been
recognized by various organiza
tions with:
• 2 Northeast Farm
Communicators Association
first-place awards.
_• 2 Keystone Awards.
• Ag Journalist of the Year.
• Dairy Council and NEAFCS
Honors.
Andv And
ews. editor, about
14 years of service to Lancaster
Farming, 22 years in the journal
ism field. Winner of the 1992
PennAg Ag Journalism of Year
honors; winner of 1993 Keystone
Press Award; honorable mention,
1995, Keystone Press; first-place
award for special project catego
ry, Northeast Farm Communi
cators Association (NEFC), 2003.
(Turn to Page ASS)
p.m.-4 p.m. daily, (717) 840-7430.
10th Annual Country Living Field
Day, Kenwood Farms, Augusta,
Ohio, 10 a.m.5 p.m.
N.J. Sheep and Fiber Festival, Salem
County Fairgrounds, Woodstown,
N.J., thru Sept. 28, (856)
467-4418.
Annual Horticulture Show, Penn
State Ag Arena, thru Sept. 28,
(814) 863-6167.
Chester County Family Day at
Springton Manor Farm, 10 a.m.-4
p.m., Raine date Sept. 28, (610)
942-2450.
Hudson Valley Garlic Festival, Can
tine Field, Saugerties, N.Y., 10
(Turn to Page A 35)
Lou Ann Good, food and farm-
ly features editor, 16 years of
service to Lancaster Farming, 17
years in the journalism field, win
ner of the Dairy Council Inc.
Friend of Nutrition Education
and National Extension
Association of Family and
Consumer Sciences honors
Dave Li
about three years of service to
Lancaster Farming, five years in
the journalism field.
Charlene Shupp. staff writer,
four years in the journalism field.
M
iu, sections
staff, three years of service to
Lancaster Farming, four years in
the journalism field. Kunjappu is
the winner of a first-place photo
journalism award from NEFC.
staff writer,
Kuni
To Manage
Wind-Damaged Cora
The remnants of Hurricane Isabel
that passed through last weekend
caused significant wind damage to
com fields throughout central and
southeastern Pennsylvania.
Extension com specialist Greg
Roth reports com ranges from lean
ing over to broken above the ear to
broken below the ear and some is
completely flat. Damage seems to be
a function of the exposure, planting
date, com borer injury, stalk rot, and
genetics, and often varies dramatical
ly from one field to the next. Late
planted fields seem especially hard
hit in some areas. The poor root de
velopment, wet soils, tall com, and
high ear placement all contributed to
lodging problems.
At this point, producers should not
panic and focus first on fields that
have significant amounts of com that
are broken off. These fields would be
at most risk for developing moldy
ears and low test weight grain and
have the least recovery potential. If
the com is immature, a silage harvest
would be appropriate, with storage
plans reflecting the moisture content
of the crop. For very wet silages, con
sider horizontal storage structures to
minimize seepage.
Com that is not {broken off and
leaning qr bent over should mature
at a slower pace but eventually reach
A‘REAL’MAN?
Background Scripture:
James 4:1 through 5:6.
Devotional Reading;
1 Peter 5:1-6.
One of the goals of the 20th cen
tury was worldwide peace, a goal
shared by Christians and non-Chris
tians as well. Today the situation
with world peace is disheartening.
Historians now tell us that the 20th
century was the bloodiest in human
history, and this would have been
true even without the Holocaust and
the atomic bomb. During the 20th
century, 160 million people perished
in warfare.
Homo Sapiens is supposed to be in
the process of evolution, but the evi
dence is not encouraging. In the past
3,130 years of history, there were
only 227 years of peace and 3,130
years of war. We average one year of
peace for every 13 years of war.
From 1500 BC to 1869, there were
more than 8,000 treaties of peace,
which were meant to remain in force
forever. The average time they re
mained in force was two years.
A few weeks ago I read that in
Caesar’s time it cost 75 cents to kill a
man in battle. By Napoleon’s day,
the cost had risen to $3,000. During
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-Busmess Council 2000
• Recognized for photo excellence throughout the years by the
Northeast Farm Communicators
physiological maturity. There is some
risk of increased ear molds on this
com, especially on really down fields,
so a silage harvest would be the pre
ferred method of handling this crop.
Roth suggests you should monitor
these fields as they mature and har
vest rapidly if significant ear molds
begin to develop. Otherwise try to let
the crop mature until it reaches the
desired moisture for ensiling or shell
ed com harvest. The best of the
lodged fields to consider for shelled
com harvest would be those that
have already developed a milk line
and started to mature and those that
only have patches of down com.
There are mixed reports on har
vest success with various equipment
configurations. It may be a good idea
to check with your farm equipment
dealer on what is working in your
area. Specialized harvesting equip
ment is available for harvesting down
com for grain. A list of manufactur
ers is available at Roth’s Website at
comandsoybeans.psu.edu.
On the bright side, com in many
fields throughout the region with
stood the high winds and has high
yield potential for both silage and
grain this year.
To Report Crop Losses
To Your Crop Insurance Agent
The 30,000 policies purchased by
Northeastern producers arc provid
ing protection and peace of mind in
the aftermath of hurricane Isabel. In
2003 it is estimated that about one
billion dollars of crop insurance pro
tection is in force and bad weather
such as hurricanes me among the
covered causes of loss for most crops.
The protection in force in Pennsylva
nia alone is estimated at 15,789 poli
cies, providing $2BO million of pro
tection.
Producers are encouraged to re
port crop damage immediately to
their insurance agent. They should
also discuss what they plan to do
with the damaged crop(s) and ask for
specific instructions of what is re
quired of them as supporting evi
dence in the event that a claim re
sults. If a producer wants a second
opinion, they can also ask their in
surance agent to help them to get in
contact with the insurance company
fieldman or a loss adjuster.
In most cases, producers are likely
to continue caring for the damaged
crop(s) and harvest the remaining
production. In such instances, if after
harvesting the production is less than
our Civil War, the cost of killing a
Billie Yank or a Johnnie Reb had
gone up to $5,000. In World War I,
the cost had skyrocketed to $21,000
and, by World War 11, that figure
had more than doubled to $50,000.
After Korea, Vietnam and two Iraqi
wars, 1 can’t imagine today’s cost.
The 21st Century
Today, less than three years into,
the new millennium, the search for
peace has lost significant ground and
momentum and, having experienced
9/11, conquered Iraq at least mili
tarily some people are already
talking about Iran and North Korea
being next on our list.
Back in 1924 Thomas Hardy wrote
this verse;
Peace upon earth was said, we sing
And pay a million priests to bring
it.
After two thousand years of mass,
We’ve got as far as poison gas.
And now, about 80 years later,
we’ve gotten as far as nuclear weap
ons of mass destruction and propa
ganda of mass deception.
Biologist Hudson Hoagland noted,
“I believe that we are animals, and
that we are a special kind of ani
mal We are imaginative animals.
When we want to be cruel, we can be
cruel in a thoroughly imaginative
way. I do not think you can find any
animals that could have produced
the genocide of 6 million Jew
s This is a human performance. I
do not think you could find a con
centration camp developed by ani
mals Genocide is characteristic
of the human animal, and so is war.”
This human trait led theologian
Reinhold Niebuhr to observe that
“man is a kind of lion who both kills
the lamb and also dreams of the day
when the lion and the lamb shall lie
down together.”
the insurance guarantee, a loss pay
ment will be made for the shortfall
below the guarantee. However, if
producers decide to make other use
of damaged crop(s) (including cut
ting for hay or silage, grazing,
disking, or simply not harvesting,
etc.) an insurance loss adjuster
usually needs to do a damage assess
ment before evidence is destroyed.
To Assist Those In
Heavily Damaged Areas
With Silage Harvest
The heavy damage in some areas
from last week’s high winds has cre
ated a huge demand for silo filling
services that has overwhelmed the
local custom operator’s ability to
meet the need. The late season com
bined with numerous weather delays
had the harvesting crews behind
schedule before the hurricane hit.
This is exaggerated by the need of
farmers who normally harvest with
horses to now have their fields cus
tom chopped.
In the areas of the region where
there was little storm damage, there
may be custom operators who would
be willing to assist the hard-hit areas
for a few days. Others may have
choppers or wagons they are no long
er using and would be willing to loan
or sell that equipment Coordinating
those who are willing to help with
those who need help is a challenge.
To assist with this, the Lancaster
extension office will compile lists of
those who can help and those who
need services. Call the office at (717)
394-6851 during normal business
hours from 8:30 a.m.-S p.m. and let
us know what you have to offer,
whether it would be custom chop
ping services, equipment for sale or
loan, or other assistance. If you need
custom chopping service, equipment,
or other help, call us as well and we
will add your name to the list.
By Tuesday, Sept. 30, we will post
on the Lancaster County Website
(http://lancaster.extension.psu.edu) a
link entitled “Silage Harvest Help.”
When you click on that link, you will
be able to choose the list of those of
fering services or those requiring
services. We will update this list each
evening based on the calls we re
ceived that day.
Quote Of The Week:
“Most people who succeed in the
face of seemingly impossible con »
ditions tire people who simply
don’t know how to quit. ”
Robert Schuller
I find it ironic that many of those
of us who follow and worship Jesus,
the Prince of Peace, do not show
much enthusiasm for peacemaking.
We do have a Nobel Prize for peace
makers, but the winners are hardly
remembered by the world, while the
generals and war makers are. Organ
ized Christianity, which began as a
pacifistic faith, shows very little ap
preciation for pacifists and conscien
tious objectors.
Enmity With God
James asks; “What causes wars,
and what causes fighting among
you? Is it not your passions that are
at war in your members?” You desire
and do not have; so you kill. And you
covet and cannot obtain; so you fight
and wage war” (4:1-3). James also
indicates that war is still valued in
the world, if not in the teachings of
Jesus Christ. Yet James says, “Un
faithful creatures! Do you not know
that friendship with the world is en
mity with God?” (4:4).
In 1944, General George S. Patton,
taking command of the U.S. Third
Army in England, told his troops
that, apart from preserving our liber
ties and defeating Nazism, they were
there is “because men like to fight.
They always have and they always
will. Some sophists and crackpots
deny that. They don’t know what
they’re talking about. They are either
(expletive deleted) fools or cowards
or both. Men like to fight, and if they
don’t, they’re not real men.”
So, was Jesus a coward or a fool?
Was he not a “real man”?
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. 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