AlO-uancaster Farming, Saturday, November 1,2003
OPINION
Celebrating Our Birthday
Lancaster Farming newspaper began as a small county weekly
newspaper on Nov. 4, 1955. Since then, it has grown to include more
than 50,000 weekly, direct-mail readers, whose numbers continue to
grow.
In the 19505, founder Robert Campbell recognized a deed for a
weekly farm paper that serviced the agri-economy in Lancaster Coun
ty and, later on, in southeastern Pennsylvania. Demand continues for
such a paper to bring the latest developments to farmers and agribusi
nesses, who comprise the more than $5l billion regional agricultural
economy.
What sets the tabloid-size, Web-printed Lancaster Farming apart
from other weekly farm newspapers is a focus on a particular kind of
production agriculture, known for years to readers. Lancaster Farm
ing is a type of high-production, maximum-use-of-acres type of farm
ing.
However, almost as important to the reader-driven editorial is a
focus on the lifestyle called agriculture. Important are the ways in
which readers value the newspaper. For example, one of the most
popular sections, Section B, is devoted to family living. That section
includes not only recipes, but also family feature stories, special pages
on antiques, questions from readers, and university extension service
columnists.
Lancaster Farming speaks directly to readers at several large agri
culture events, including the state Farm Show and Penn State’s Ag
Progress Days. Readers often point to our paper as the “Saturday
Special,” usually receiving their issue every Saturday by post.
What makes Lancaster Farming, at times running 200 pages, so
successful is a blend of news coverage, features, farm calendar listings,
and a service called Mailbox Markets.
Mailbox Market allows readers, using their mailing label, to adver
tise any products or services. The only restriction is that readers not
Saturday, November 1
ADADC District Meeting, Cath
erine Methodist Church, Odes
sa, N.Y.
Franklin County Master Garden
ers Garden Visit, (717)
263-9226.
N.J. Draft Horse and Mule Asso
ciation’s Field Days, Alstead
Farms, Chester, N.J., 11 a.m.-
4 p.m. each day, thru Nov. 2,
(908) 879-7189.
“Enhancing the Watershed For
est” Conference, Treadway
Inn and Conference Center,
Bradford County Extension,
Owego, N.Y., 9 a.m.-l p.m.
Forestry Stewardship, Frederick
Community College, Freder
ick, Md., 9 a.m.-4 p.m., (301)
631-3576.
Sunday, November 2
Standardbred Horse Sale, thru
Nov. 8, (717) 637-893 L
Monday, November 3
Beef Quality Assurance Program,
Clarion, Butler, Venango, and
Armstrong counties, Clarion
County Extension office, Ship-
How To Reach Us
To address a letter to the editor:
' • By fax: (717) 733-6058
• By regular mail:
Editor, Lancaster Farming
P.O. Box 609,1 E. Main St.
Ephrata, PA 17522
• By e-mail:
farming# lancasterfarming.com
Please note: Include your full
name, return address, and
phone number on the letter.
Lancaster Farming reserves the
right to edit the letter to fit and
is not responsible for returning
unsolicited mail.
(Turn to Page A 29)
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❖ Farm Calendar ❖
penville, 6:30 p.m., (717)
939-7000.
Tuesday, November 4
Berks County extension holiday
programs, Leesport, 9 a.m.-
2:30 p.m. Also Nov. 5.
Accounting Methods for Progres
sive Dairies, Penn State,
Harrisburg Campus, thru
Nov. 5, (888) 373-7232.
Pa. Beef Quality Assurance Pro
gram, Crawford, Erie, Ve
nango counties, Days Inn
Hotel, Meadville, 6:30 p.m.,
(717) 939-7000.
Marketing the Best of This
Year’s Forage, Closky Dairy
Farm, Cambridge Springs,
Crawford County, 9:30 a.m.-
11 a.m. and Telesz Dairy
Farm, Volant, Lawrence
County, 1:30 p.m.-3 p.m.
Wednesday, November 5
Business Skills Development
Seminar, Nittany Lion Inn,
State College, (610) 391-9840.
Lycoming County Cooperative
Extension Dinner Meeting,
Eldred Twp. Fire Hall, War
rensville, 6 p.m., (570)
433-3040.
Lebanon County extension holi
day program, Lebanon, 8:45
a.m.-2:30 p.m. Also Nov. 6.
Managing Ag Emergencies
Workshop, Monroe County
Public Safety Center, 10 a.m.-
1 p.m., (570) 675-9274.
Grower and Floral Expo, Holiday
Inn Central Greentree, Pitts
burgh, (717) 238-9758.
New York New Potato Variety
Show and Tell, Cornell Uni
versity’s Love Field House,
Ithaca, 11:30 a.m.
Dauphin County 4-H
Achievement Night, 5:30 p.m.,
(717)921-8803.
(Turn to Page A2B)
This year’s silage crop was pro
duced under conditions that en
courage mold growth and increase
the risk of mycotoxin problems, in
cluding wet weather during corn
silking, insect damage to silks, and
harvest following frost (resulting in
forage that is drier and harder to
pack).
Penn State Dairy Specialist Dr.
Jud Heinrichs tells us the presence
of visible mold does not necessarily
mean there are mycotoxins present,
and mycotoxins can be present
when mold is not visible.
Cattle eating feed contaminated
by mycotoxins can show a number
of symptoms, including poor
weight gain, reproductive prob
lems, reduced feed intake, lowered
milk production, and suppression
of the immune system. Unfortu
nately, these symptoms could be
caused by a variety of problems be
sides mycotoxins, which makes it
WHO TURNED
OUT THE LIGHT?
Background Scripture:
1 John 1:1 through 3:10.
Devotional Reading:
Ephesians 5:1-10.
In its tum-of-the-century issue,
Time Magazine listed Reinhold
Niebuhr’s “The Nature and Desti
ny of Man” as one of the most im
portant books of the century.
When first published, some critics
groused that Niebuhr was overly
pessimistic in concentrating on
man’s sinful nature. In those days,
sin was not a popular topic. Today,
it is rarely mentioned.
When people hear the word
“sin,” they think in terms of what
other people do or don’t do. De
spite Jesus’ criticism of the Phari
sees, over the centuries Christianity
seems to have become increasingly
fixed on the Pharisaical model in
which sin is defined as various spe
cific acts or failures to act. If one
lives up to our codifications of sin,
they are regarded as good Chris
tians whose sins are both small and
infrequent if at all. If those codes
are broken, the breakers are re
garded as sinners. All of this de
spite Paul’s reaffirmation of
Psalms 14:1,2: “There is none righ
teous; no, not one.” (Rom. 3:10).
Although I had studied under
Niebuhr at Union Theological
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
To Be Aware Of Molds,
Mycotoxins In Your Silage
difficult to diagnose or treat the
problem. Dairy animals that are
most at risk from mycotoxins are
young calves up to several months
of age, close-up cows, and early
lactation cows.
If mycotoxin poisoning is sus
pected, test all feed ingredients in
cluding concentrates. Adding a
binder ingredient (adsorbent) to the
ration to inactivate the mycotoxins
may reduce some animal symp
toms based on some reported re
search. In some research, clay
products such as calcium or sodi
um bentonite have been shown to
prevent mycotoxins in feed from
being absorbed into the body to a
limited extent. Other ration ingre
dients with some research trial sup
port that may be used to minimize
the effects of mycotoxins include
charcoal, fiber, aluminosilicates,
and yeast cell components. Some
products appear to have an effect
on some toxins and not others, yet
these are not consistent between
studies.
It is important to understand
that these products are not FDA
approved and cannot be marketed
for purposes of mycotoxin binding
because these products have very
mixed results in field testing (posi
tive and no effects). Heinrichs rec
ommends that you consult your
dairy nutritionist when you suspect
problems related to mycotoxins.
Your nutritionist can direct you in
testing forages and feeds for such
compounds and determine what
the best options appear to be for al
leviating the problems in your par
ticular herd.
To Clean Up Waste
Plastic On Our Farms
Before the weather turns colder,
we have an opportunity to pull up
any remaining plastic mulch in our
fields and recycle it. This is a good
time to clean up other waste plastic
on the farm, including bale wrap,
silage bags, trench silo covers, plas-
Seminary and read a number of his
books, until the year 20001 had not
ventured to read “The Nature And
Destiny of Man.” But, to celebrate
my 70th year, I decided to tackle
the more than 600 pages of these
two volumes. I had never been one
to blanch at the mention of “sin,”
but Niebuhr reawakened me to the
depth and breadth of this reality.
‘Nice’ Is Not Enough
When we live by any set of Phar
isaical rules, but go no further than
that, we earn the approbation of
“respectability.” But Jesus calls us
not to respectability, but to righ
teousness and there’s a yawning
chasm between them. Respectabili
ty may become an attainable sub
stitute for righteousness, which,
Jesus said, must exceed that of the
Pharisees. We may stop there and
rest on our laurels, assuming that
“sinners” applies only to those who
have not risen as high as we or
as high as we think we have
risen.
Respectability leads us to a false
sense of self-satisfaction. But,
we’ve all got the disease, and the
worst thing is to know that we all
have it. Niebuhr says, “The con
sciousness of sin and the conscious
ness of God are inextricably involv
ed with each other.” If we are truly
conscious of God, then we cannot
be unconscious of the chasm that
lies between God and us.
What makes sin so powerful and
pervasive is that often it is uncon
scious. We push it from our con
scious minds so that we do not
have to confront it. Instead of deal
ing with it, we may also project it
outward onto others “... first
take the log out of your own eye,
and then you will see clearly to
take the speck out of your brother’s
eye” (Mt. 7:5).
Sins Of ‘Good People’
. . , • f
tic mulch used in horticultural pro
duction, and shrink-wrap from
palletized supplies.
Burning this waste plastic in
open fires is an unacceptable dis
posal method since it creates a tre
mendous amount of pollution both
as particulate matter in the smoke
and as petroleum by products left
by this low-temperature burning.
This material is again being col
lected and baled in Lancaster
County for use in the production of
plastic lumber. The bales of re
cycled plastic material will be haul
ed to the Trex Company factory in
Virginia for this purpose. There it
will be mixed with waste wood
chips and sawdust to produce a
product for use in plastic decking.
The waste material is now being
collected on at the Dan Zook farm
located at 183 South Farmersville
road, Leola. Any polyethylene
product will be accepted which in
cludes plastic mulch, ag bag plas
tic, bale wrap, silage covers, green
house covers, and shrink-wrap.
Materials that are not acceptable
include plastic twine, row covers,
molded plastic such as greenhouse
trays and pots, milk jugs, and pes
ticide or other containers.
A tipping fee will be collected
when the material is delivered to
the farm. The fee is approximately
half of what it would cost to take
the material to the municipal incin
erator in Lancaster County. If you
have a collection of waste plastic,
take the time to remove it while
this opportunity is still available.
Call Dan Zook at (717) 656-4422 to
make arrangements before deliver
ing your material. This will insure
you can be unloaded in a quick and
efficient manner, saving time for
all.
Quote Of The Week:
“The difference between a suc
cessful person and others is not a
lack of strength, not a lack of
knowledge, but rather in a lack
of will.”
Vince Lombardi
Niebuhr denounced “not the vis
ible sins of wicked people, but the
invisible sins of good people.” He
wrote: “Not much evil is done by
evil men; most of the evil is done by
good men who do not know they
are not good.”
So we sin both as individuals
and as members of communities,
groups, and nations. “There is an
increasing tendency among mod
em men,” he wrote, “to imagine
themselves ethical because they
have delegated their vices to larger
and larger groups.” World War I,
he said, was “made inevitable not
by bad people who plotted against
the peace of the world, but by good
people who had given over their
conscience into the keeping of their
various political groups.”
I think Niebuhr’s words give
added emphasis and depth to 1
John 1:6,8,10, “If we say we have
fellowship with him while we walk
in darkness, we lie and do not live
according to the truth If we say
we have no sin, we deceive our
selves, and the truth is not in
us... if we say we have not sinned.
We make him a liar, and his word
is not in us.”
Yet, linked to the bad news of
human sin is the good news of di
vine redemption; “If we confess
our sins, he is faithful and just, and
will forgive our sins ” (1:9). Nie
buhr was pessimistic about human
sin, but hopeful about God’s grace:
“The Christian faith is primarily
the assurance of a divine forgiv
eness toward all who do not pre
tend to be righteous, but know
themselves to he sinners.”
If you are walking in darkness,
don’t ask, “Who turned off the
light?” You did!
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