'AIO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 8, 2003
OPINION
Farming Door-To-Door
An agricultural leader in Susquehanna County once noted that, to
sustain agriculture, you need a very strong bond between those who
produce and those who consume.
Nicely said. There is so much of the “talk the talk.” Now, are there
examples of being able to “walk the walk”?
We hear from our friends at Cornell University about one such en
deavor. And this is what many farms have to do in times when the
consumer has more of a voice, almost by the moment, about how food
is produced.
We have the following information courtesy the folks at Cornell:
“Locally produced” is not just a concept to Jim McDowell. It’s the
very foundation of his new business, The Small Street Co-op, Eaton,
N.Y. When he isn’t producing records or arranging music with his
wife Dianne, Jim is taking to the roads of central New York to assem
ble a variety of naturally grown and organically produced foods. Once
assembled, he delivers them door-to-door to his customers.
The Small Street Co-op, in its second year, provides this service
every week during the spring, summer, and fall.
Jim and Dianne have supported alternative agriculture and the
farmers who practice it for more than 25 years. They are among a
growing number of consumers who want to know how and where
their food is produced. Along with these questions, they have often
wondered about the quality of the foods that are produced in massive
quantities, and then reassembled, processed, and distributed by the
large companies that dominate the food system in the U.S.
By listing only locally produced, organic products in the co-op’s
quarterly catalog, Small Street insures accountability, helping custom
ers to know how and where each product is grown or raised. And by
supporting smaller family farms, the co-op encourages good steward
ship of the land and rewards the use of environmentally friendly prac
tices.
While it might appear at first glance as if Jim has set himself up as
the notorious “middleman,” nothing could be further from the truth.
(Turn to Page A 32)
Satutday, Novembers
Nittany Lion Holstein Fall Classic
Sale, Penn State Ag Arena, State
College, 11 a.m.
30th Annual North American Inter
national Livestock Expo, Louis
ville, Ky., (502) 367-5000.
National Small Farm Trade Show
and Conference, Boone County
Fairgrounds, Columbia, Mo.,
(800) 633-2535.
Lebanon Lancaster County Water
shed Forum, Acorn Farms Recep-
Editor:
Plunging beef production is the
primary reason why cattle prices
soared to all-time highs during
the later end of October. And
mad cow disease is still a concern
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Editor, Lancaster Farming
P.O. Box 609,1 E. Main St.
Ephrata, PA 17522
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farming© lancasterfarming.com
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tion and Conference Center,
Manheim/Mount Joy exit of Rt.
283, (717) 272-3908, ext. 4.
Susquehanna County Master Gar
deners Classes on Composting, 9
a.m. and 11 a.m., County Office
Building, 278-1158.
LMA-VACC Sale, Middleburg Live
stock Auction, Middleburg, (570)
837-2222.
Warren County Holstein Club Annu
al meeting, 4-H Center, Fair
(Turn to Page A 33)
r, ..y ' i
ORUM *
for many countries including
Japan.
Consequently the import ban
on Canadian cattle by the United
States is likely to be extended be
yond the end of 2003. The further
restriction is likely to exacerbate
a decline in beef production here
in the U.S., since many U.S.
farmers rely on Canadian feeder
calves in order to raise fed cattle
for U.S. meat markets.
Higher beef prices and drought
conditions in the Midwest also
encouraged cattlemen to sell off
their steers at lighter weights be
cause of the economics of raising
beef, namely the opportunity cost
of holding them. Up until recent
ly, a large portion of cattle being
sold are at lighter weights, typi
cally between 800 to 900 pounds.
Light steers are different than
fed cattle, which are normally
sold to meat markets. Light steers
(Turn to Page A 32)
To Welcome Lancaster’s
New Dairy Agent
Dr. Ken Griswold joined the
Lancaster County Extension office
staff on Nov. 3 (see the story on
page 1 this week).
Ken fills the position vacated by
Glenn Shirk when he retired last
year. Ken comes to us from the
University of Southern Illinois,
where he served as an assistant
professor of ruminant nutrition
and managed the dairy center. He
earned his doctorate at the Univer
sity of Southern Illinois in rumen
microbiology/nutrition and his
master’s degree in ruminant nutri
tion at West Virginia University.
Ken earned his bachelor’s degree in
animal science at Cornell Universi
ty. Ken grew up on a New York
dairy farm and is looking forward
to the opportunity to work directly
with farmers.
To Prepare Your Feed
Bin System For Winter
Feed quality is something that is
a partnership in the poultry and
livestock industries.
GOD’S ADDRESS
Background Scripture:
1 John 3:11 through 4:21
Devotional Reading:
1 Corinthians 13:1-13.
In a cartoon, a little boy asks his
father, “Do we know God’s e-mail
address?”
Actually, it is not all the hard to
find God’s address. 1 John makes
it easy for us: .. if we love one
another, God abides in us and his
love is perfected in us” (4:12b). If
you love your neighbor (as Jesus
defined “neighbor”), and you live
at 917 Grove Street, Any Town,
then that is God’s address. God
lives where people love their neigh
bor.
That’s the easy part. The hard
part is pinpointing what is meant
by loving “one another.” It can
mean many different and even
conflicting things. It is much more
than sentimentality.
In one of his novels, Herman
Melville characterizes this love as
“a volume bound in rose-leaves,
clasped with violets, and by the
beaks of hummingbirds printed
with peach-juice on the leaves of li
lies.” That is not what we mean.
1 John is referring to love of the
brothers and sisters of the church.
But he is not limiting love’s out
reach, but rather focusing it upon
Lancaster Farming
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Gregory Martin, capitol region
poultry agent, points out feed mills
do their best to deliver the highest
quality feed to the farm. The rest is
up to the farm manager to main
tain that feed from point of deliv
ery to the point of consumption.
Winter does pose a special chal
lenge to keep feed fresh, but with
proper bin management the effects
of winter can be diminished.
Bins should be set up in gangs of
two or more bins and rotated in
use. This allows feed to fully be
used before the next load is started.
Dumping new feed on top of old is
not recommended. This is due in
part to the dead spots that occur as
the bin is used, leaving some feed
behind until the bin is just about
empty. By rotation, you are as
sured of keeping the feed fresh and
in proper formulation. Rotating the
bins also allows all augers to be lu
bricated by feed to help reduce rust
buildup on the auger.
Periodically (at least twice a
year), a full inspection of the bin
should be made. Hang a drop light
into the bin and inspect the bin at
night for any holes or open seams.
Especially check near bolts and
ring splice points on the bin. Re
place bolts and caulk any seams
that are leaking light from the bin.
In addition, be sure that the ladder
and support legs are in sound con
dition and that the bin lid or fill
door seats correctly at the top in
the closed position. Replace any
ropes or chains that are showing
undue wear, because this does be
come a problem for the delivery
driver onsite.
The bin boot should be inspected
as well for undue wear. Be sure
that all equipment associated with
the boot is in proper order. Auger
tubes should not be worn through
and patches in this area of the feed
system are not recommended. Be
sure to look at the boot seals when
light-inspecting a bin to help pre
vent water contamination of the
boot via rain leakage.
Lastly, clean your bins before the
onset of winter. Because of the
higher humidity that will be pres-
the church where there was a spe
cific love deficit. When he says
“For this is the message which we
have heard from the beginning,
that we should love one anoth
er ...”, I think he is referring to
the command of Jesus to “love
your neighbor as yourself’ (Mk
12:31). As the good Samaritan
demonstrated, one’s neighbor is
anyone who needs us.
Love In Deed
Actually, some of us don’t do
well with love either in the church
or outside of it. We may employ
the word frequently, but, says 1
John, “Little children, let us not
love in word of speech but in deed
and in truth” (3:18). If love needs
some kind of rule-of-thumb, he
spells it out simply: “But if anyone
has the world’s goods and sees his
brother in need, yet closes his heart
against him, how does God’s love
abide in him?” In many of our
churches, sacrificial benevolence
for those in need is an optional and
marginal activity. So how does
God’s love abide in us?
1 John tells us that Christian
love is manifested in deeds, just as
Jesus demonstrated his love for us:
“By this we know love, that he laid
down his life for us: and we ought
to lay down our lives for the breth
ren” (3:17). Jesus gave us neither a
philosophy nor even a theology of
love, but a command and example.
“In this the love of God was made
manifest among us, that God sent
his only Son into the world, so that
we might live through him” (4:10).
If we are in doubt as to what this
“love” is all about, we need only
look to Jesus. Love may begin with
a feeling and be expressed in
words, but it usually also means
sacrificial acts.
“There is no fear in love, but
perfect love casts out fear” (4:18).
ent in the air, any moldy feed left
in the bin may seed mold in any
feed placed within it. Brushing or
air-blasting any feed that is stick
ing to the inside of a bin is recom
mended to help prevent the propa
gation of mold in the bin. Be sure
to include the outside of the bin
and the floor below the bin to com
plete the cleaning. By doing so, you
are preventing the spread of myco
toxins and other contaminants of
feed from reaching your birds or
livestock.
To Be Aware Of A New
Fungicide Available For
Berry Production
Kathy Demchak in Penn States’s
Horticulture Department reports
Pristine fungicide from BASF has
been approved for use in berry
crops including blueberries, cur
rants, gooseberries, huckleberries,
blackberries, raspberries, and
strawberries.
Pristine is a mixture of two ac
tive ingredients. One is boscalid,
which is also found in Endura, re
cently labeled for grapes and other
crops, and the other is pyraclostro
bin, the active ingredient also
found in Cabrio.
Pristine can be used for a num
ber of diseases, including gray
mold, anthracnose, common leaf
spot, and powdery mildew on
strawberries, mummy berry and
phomopsis on blueberries, and an
thracnose and various rusts on can
eberries. Please see the label for a
listing of other diseases for which it
can be used.
In trials at Penn State, Pristine
provided very good control against
gray mold (at least as good as Ro
nilan or better) and common leaf
spot on strawberries. Additionally,
Pristine provided very good control
against gray mold, Septoria leaf
spot, and various other diseases on
raspberries.
Quote Of The Week:
“I won’t know why we lost the
game until my barber tells me on
Monday. ”
Knute Rockne
In both my personal and pastoral
experience I have found that fear
often robs us of the capacity to
love. That person we hate is
usually someone whom we perceive
as threatening to our well-being.
Prejudices are most often engen
dered by fear. So, we conclude that
we cannot love someone because
that person threatens us. When
fear comes first, love seldom is able
to follow. But if love comes first,
than fear does not have a chance.
Love As Resolve
This Christ-like love is not first a
feeling, but a resolve to be like
Jesus, to be and do the loving
thing. As Christ was nailed to the
cross. I’m sure that what he was
feeling for his followers was not so
much affection, but a resolve in
spite of their disloyalty.
On the cross, Jesus was not wait
ing for his disciples to first demon
strate their love, for “We love, be
cause he first loved us” (4:19).
Neither can we wait to receive love
before we give it. Nor can we wait
for an affectionate feeling before
we go to our own crosses.
Many are concerned that Chris
tianity seems to be losing ground
and that other faiths are growing.
If Christians would lay aside their
disputes, criticisms, and rancor,
and focus upon Christ-like love of
neighbors both inside and outside
our churches, there would be noth
ing to fear. If we are not attracting
neighbors to Christ, it may be be
cause they do not see him in us or
know where to find him.
So, does God abide at your ad
dress?
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. Burgess General Manager
Andy Andrews, Editor
Copyright 2003 by Lancaster Farming
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