OPINION
Agroterrorism In Pa.:
How Real Is Threat?
A few organizations believe we may be overlooking or the least,
becoming too complacent about threats from bioterrorism.
The thinking goes: it’s not a question of whether herds could be in
fected with foot and mouth disease (FMD) or bovine spongiform en
cephalopathy (BSE, sometimes called “mad cow disease”), but when.
Lancaster Farming reported in the Aug. 30 issue about the trouble
the state diagnostic laboratories could face if FMD or BSE infected
state herds, and the labs’ almost incredible lack of funding.
On Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association (PNA)
Foundation addressed bioterror threats, hearing from Margaret Pot
ter, a member of Pennsylvania’s Bioterrorism Preparedness Council.
PNA members also heard an expert on infectious disease outbreaks,
from SARS to West Nile Virus Dr. Lee Harrison, head of the infec
tious diseases epidemiology research unit at the University of Pitts
burgh.
According to Penn State, greater resources are needed to prevent
and respond to potential terrorist attacks against Pennsylvania agri
culture. Recently, a group of Penn State faculty experts and adminis
trators spoke to state legislators about these threats. This investment
in resources also would contribute to agricultural efficiency and prof
itability by increasing security against naturally occurring or uninten
tionally introduced biological threats, according to the group.
Among those testifying at the Aug. 21 hearing on agroterrorism be
fore the House Veterans Affairs and Emergency Response Committee
were Robert Steele, dean of Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sci
ences; Bruce McPheron, the college’s associate dean for research and
graduate education; Bhushan Jayarao, assistant professor of veteri
nary science; Frederick Gildow, professor of plant pathology; and
David Filson, Penn State Cooperative Extension emergency response
coordinator and director of extension’s South Central Region.
“It is important that we have intervention programs in place to deal
with acute episodes,” Steele testified. “More important, however, is to
have longer range programs in place that are more preventative. Pre
vention is far more effective and less costly in the long run than is in
tervention.
“We at Penn State and the College of Agricultural Sciences have
cutting-edge capability in both intervention and preventative aspects
of agricultural security,” he continued. “However, more resources are
required to ramp up these efforts so that our discovery research, edu
cation and technology transfer capacity can match the pace required
of these efforts.”
Jayarao told the committee that the introduction of foreign animal
diseases into the U.S. could be devastating to Pennsylvania’s food sys-
Saturday, October 18
Rites of Fall, U.S. Botanical Gar
dens, Ag Center, Gettysburg,
(717) 334-6271.
Growing and Using Garlic, Lebanon
Valley Ag Center, 10 a.m.-noon,
(717) 270-4391.
Fall Lawn Care, Bradford County
Master Gardeners, Demo Garden,
Extension Office, Towanda. 6:30
p.m.
Pa. Graded Feeder Cattle Sale, Bed
ford Cattlemen’s Assoc., Bedford
County Fairgrounds, Bedford, 1
p.m., (814) 623-2321.
Pa. Graded Feeder Cattle Sale, West
moreland County Cattlemen’s
Assoc., Westmoreland County
Fairgrounds, Greensburg, 6:30
p.m., (724) 837-1402.
S. W. Pa. Forestry Field Trip to
Burnham’s Tree Farm and S. W.
Woodland Owners’ Assoc. Meet
ing, (724) 627-6624.
Fifth Annual Pun’kin Chunkin’ and
Fall Festival, York Expo Center,
noon-5 p.m., (717) 843-4411.
Hay Processing Field Day, David
Fink, Heidel Hollow Farm, Ger
manville, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., (610)
767-2409.
S. W. Pa. Tillage Manure Handling
Field Day, Diamond Farms,
Smithfield, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., (724)
438-0111.
Manor FFA Tractor Pull at River
Heritage Day, Washington Boro
Community Park, (717) 285-0763.
Maryland Horse Pasture Walk, Van-
Brunt farm near New Windsor,
s
(Turn to Page A3l)
9:30 a.m.-noon, (410) 313-2707,
Event, York Expo Center, noon-5
p.m., (717) 843-4411.
Lehigh County Open Gate Farm
Tour, 1 p.m.-5 p.m., (610)
391-9840
Monday, October 20
Berks County Extension Annual
meeting, Ag Center, Leesport,
6:30 p.m., (610) 378-1327.
Beaver County Pesticide Update
Meeting, Beaver County Ag and
Environmental Education Center,
Beaver, 7:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m., (724)
774-3003.
Little Wiconisco Creek Study, Ber
rysburg Community Center, 7
p.m.-8:30 p.m., or Oct. 23, same
location, 10:30 a.m.-l p.m., both
for agricultural residents. Non-ag
ricultural residents Oct. 23, Grace
United Methodist Church, Med
ical Road, Millersburg, 7 p.m.-
8:30 p.m.
Horse Pasture Management Seminar,
York County Annex, 7 p.m.-9
p.m., (717) 840-7408.
PASA Raw Milk Informational
Meeting, Lancaster Farm and
Home Center, 9 a.m.
Backyard Tree Fruit Meeting, Frank
lin County Extension Office,
Chambersburg, 7 p.m., (717)
263-9226.
(Turn to Page A3l)
To Consider These Pointers
If Using A Dairy Bull
For Fall Breeding
Lancaster dairy agent Beth Grove
offers these pointers if you are using
a dairy bull this fall to breed cows on
your farm.
First, make safety a priority. Dairy
bulls are dangerous animals many
dairy farmers have been seriously in
jured or killed by an aggressive bull.
Experienced bull handlers suggest
using a nose ring on your farm bull
with a short (2-foot) chain attached.
The chain makes it hard for the bull
to attack without stepping on the
chain.
Second, make certain the bull is
fertile with a breeding soundness
exam performed by your veterinar
ian. It is estimated that 10-15 percent
of bulls are poorly fertile.
Third, be aware that disease can
be a problem with herd bulls vibri
osis and trichomonosis are both
spread by natural service. These dis
eases can cause low fertility and long
days open in a herd of cows, as well
as abortion or chronic infection.
When buying a bull, be sure it is
blood tested for BVD and has been
AN ADVANCED
COURSE
Background Scripture:
2 Peter 2:1.
Devotional Reading:
Ephesians 3:14-21.
A seminary professor is said to
have advised a colleague to list his
course in the seminary catalog as “an
advanced course.”
“Why would I do that?” his col
league replied. “It’s a beginner’s
course.”
“Yes,” replied the professor, “but
I’ve found that no one ever wants to
admit that they need a beginner’s
course. Everyone wants to think of
themselves as ‘advanced.’ Besides,”
he continued, “the only difference be
tween the beginner’s and advanced
courses is that, in the advanced
course, we simply try to get the stu
dents to apply what they teamed in
the beginner’s course.”
1 don’t know if that reasoning
would apply to all academic subjects,
but I believe it applies to Christian
nurturing and growth. The advanced
course in Christian discipleship is
nothing more than applying what we
learn in the beginner’s course.
In Christian discipleship the be
ginner’s course is learning to know
Jesus not as an idea, but as a person-
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i mm**m-mm «■*
vaccinated for IBR, BVD, BRSV,
PI3, and lepto.
Be sure to properly feed your bull.
Ideally, a bull should receive a ration
similar to that of the dry cows in the
herd. Bulls that receive a high-energy
ration may develop lameness and
often become overweight and lazy.
It is important to rotate young
bulls through the herd often, with the
idea of not getting too many heifer
calves from one particular sire. If the
bull’s genes for milk production are
poor, you don’t want to end up milk
ing 30 of his daughters!
Finally, if you are considering
whether to use a herd bull or keep
the herd bull on your farm, remem
ber the genetic disadvantages to
using a natural service bull. A ,2002
study from the USDA-AIPL com
pared DHIA production between
daughters sired by proven bulls and
daughters of natural service bulls in
herds across the country. They found
that AI daughters averaged about
970 pounds more milk per lactation
than daughters of herd bulls.
To Be Aware Of The
Historical Significance
Of This Year’s Weather
If there was any doubt, Tropical
Storm Isabel washed it away 2003
will go down in history as the wettest
year on record for most of Pennsyl
vania, according to a precipitation
expert in Penn State’s College of Ag
ricultural Sciences.
“It started raining last October
and it really hasn’t stopped,” said
Bryan Swistock, a water resources
specialist with Penn State Coopera
tive Extension. “We got into a weath
er pattern where storms moving from
the south up along the coast brought
lots of moisture to Pennsylvania, and
it looks like it is continuing.”
After five years of prolonged
drought that left groundwater levels
at historic lows in the southeastern
part of the Keystone State, the turn
around has been sudden, dramatic,
and complete. Streams and rivers are
running bank full, reservoirs are
overflowing, and groundwater across
the state has been fully recharged.
Many farmers went from consecutive
years of crop loss because of lack of
moisture to struggling to find periods
al reality. If can coihe to the poirit
where we say that we have a
pretty good |rasp of who Jesus was
and what he was all about, we will ;
have learned enough to meet practi- |
cally all the problems, concerns, and {
challenges that come to us in life. I
All Things
As the writer of 2 Peter says, “His
divine power has granted to us all
things that pertain to life and godli
ness, through the knowledge of him
who called us to his own glory and
excellence ” (1:3). To gain
“knowledge” of Jesus is to gain
knowledge for the living of a full and
fruitful life. When we get to know
Jesus, 2 Peter says that we “become
partakers of the divine nature” (1:4).
It is not that Jesus lays down rules
and regulations for us to follow, but
an example from his own life that we
can make our own.
Obviously this doesn’t all happen
at once. Rather, it is a matter of
growth as a disciple of Jesus. Con
version to Jesus Christ must be fol
lowed by growth after the example of
Jesus. That is how we “become par
takers of the divine nature.” Some
times it is a great leap forward, fol
lowed by a period of shuffling and
stumbling along.
All of this is a part of Christian
nurturing. And what is the aim of
this Christian growth, nurturing, and
education? It is not to learn things
about Jesus so much as it is to learn
to be like him as much as we can. If
there were a final examination for
any course in Christian discipleship,
it would not ask us to recite a creed,
explain a doctrine, or to give scrip
tural facts and figures.
« »»»-» 99 4 9 * 9 4 9 414t419 4
dry enough to put equipment on
their fields to plant, tend, and har
vest their crops.
“The four-month period of May
through August was by far the wet
test ever recorded in all of Pennsylva
nia, with 23 inches of rain falling
close to 2 inches more than we ever
had during that period,” Swistock
said. “Most parts of the state have al
ready received 35 inches for the
year.”
While Isabel did not bring nearly
as much rain to the Northeast as was
expected, she reminded weather fore
casters of another infamous woman
in Pennsylvania’s past.
“This won’t go down as the wettest
summer ever for the southeastern
part of the state,” said State Climato
logist Paul Knight, an instructor in
Penn State’s College of Earth and
Mineral Sciences. “In 1972, Hurri
cane Agnes dumped 16 inches of rain
on southeastern counties. For that re
gion, that year’s precipitation record
might never be eclipsed.”
So what is causing these deluges?
“I don’t know whether you can attri
bute them to anything,” Swistock
said. “It is just the weather pattern
we have been in since last fall. We re
ally don’t know why it has hap
pened.”
Knight suspects the cause of the
weather pattern has something to do
with water temperatures in the North
Atlantic or the northern Pacific
Ocean. “Let’s look at this weather
pattern in context,” he explained. “It
has wiped out the drought that
existed in the southeastern United
States, too. The whole eastern part of
the country has changed from hot
and dry to cool and wet. We don’t
yet understand the mechanism that
would cause a change of this magni
tude. We are still learning about how
that works.”
For years, Knight noted, a lot of
weather patterns have hem attri
buted to water temperature changes
in the South Pacific. But this is dif
ferent. “There have been no signifi
cant changes in the South Pacific,”
he said. “It is not related to El Nino
or La Nina.”
Quote Of The Week:
“One man with courage makes a
majority.”
Andrew Jackson
' GrotvihgTowaft! LBV6 1 I
When 2 Peter speaks of making
“every effort to supplement your
faith ,” his use of the word*
“faith” docs not mean a body of
knowledge in the mind, an accumu
lation of things the disciple has
learned about Jesus. The “faith” he
speaks of is the trusting relationship
between believer and Lord that pro
duces the life of a disciple:
“... supplement your faith with vir
tue, and virtue with knowledge, and
knowledge with self-control, and self
control with steadfastness, and stead
fastness with godliness, and godliness
with brotherly affection, and brother
ly affection with love” (1:5).
We may learn all about Jesus
Christ, but if we have not grown into
following him, we are still in the be
ginner’s course.
Understanding the creeds, doc
trines, and theologies of Christianity
may be beyond the Intellectual reach
of many would-be disciples, but un
derstanding the kind of life Jesus
calls us to live is within our grasp.
We know all about his life and the
example he set, but confronted by the
challenges of daily living, we tend to
forget what we know. We need to be
reminded.
As 2 Peter says it: “Therefore I in
tend always to remind you of these
things, though you know them and
are established in the truth that you
have And I will see to it that
after my departure you may be able
at any time to recall these things”
1:12-15. Through a routine of prayer,
study, corporate worship, and Chris
tian education, we are constantly re
minded of what we already know.
So, have you graduated yet to an
advanced course?
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. Burges* General Manager
Andy Andrews, Editor
Copyright 2003 by Lancaster Farming