iAI Saturday, Ntovembfer^^aoos
OPINION
Preserve Farmland
Preservation
We learned recently from our friends at Pennsylvania Farm Bureau
(PFB) exactly how close Pennsylvania may have come to a dangerous
precedent.
According to PFB, House Bill 66 introduced in Pennsylvania’s
House of Representatives to transfer state-owned farmland in Warren
County f( * use as a Wal-Mart (but defeated by a wide margin this
week) would have set an alarming precedent for the future of farm
land preservation in Pennsylvania.
Simply put, if Wal-Mart or other large shopping malls want to go
up, let them take established brownfields (old factories or other facili
ties not in use) and convert them, if need be. Leave good, productive
farmland alone.
According to statements by PFB, in the past, government-owned
hospitals, prisons, retirement homes, and others allowed patients, in
mates, and residents to work on farms owned by those facilities. Regu
latory actions halted the ability for this to continue, and many of the
farms were leased to area farmers.
Numerous attempts to sell the farmland for other purposes have oc
curred over the years, and have always been defeated. If any more
bills like HB 66 would pass, noted PFB, that could “set a new direc
tion for the destruction of prime farmland, and will also make it easer
to convert farmland in all counties to nonfarm uses.”
So those 67 acres of prime farmland in Warren County located at
Warren State Hospital are protected for now, thankfully. Last year,
Warren County’s commissioners decided to sell the land to a commer
cial developer. The transaction would have required passage of state
legislation to transfer the final 29 acres of the property to the county
and remove an existing agricultural use restriction on another 22
acres.
PFB reminds us that it has been the long-standing policy of the
commonwealth to restrict farmland it owns for agricultural use to the
fullest extent possible if such land is sold or transferred. What’s more,
“Pennsylvania has never before removed an agricultural use restric
tion once placed on a significant tract of farmland. To make matters
worse, the land in question has been actively used for agriculture by a
farm family,” noted PFB in a recent statement.
The measure was strongly defeated by a very wide margin on Tues
day. Pennsylvania’s farmland preservation policies remain strong, and
no precedent was set good for land preservationists, good for farm
ers, good for the state’s agribusiness.
Let’s stop these kind of bills before they start. Contact your state
senator and representative and ask them to oppose any similar bills
and preserve farmland and keep farmland preservation viable and
secure.
Monday. Decembei 1
Horse Pasture Management,
York County 4-H Center, 7
p.m.-9 p.m., (717) 840-7408.
Tilling the Soil of Opportunity,
York County Extension Of
fice, 12-week course, 6:30
p.m., (717) 840-7408.
Private Pesticide Applicators’
Certification Training Session,
Extension Office, Room 7,
Cecil County Courthouse,
Elkton, Md., 1:30 pjn. and 7
p.m., (410) 996-5280.
Tuesday, Decembei 2
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To address a letter to the editor:
• By fax: (717) 733-6058
• By regular mail:
Editor, Lancaster Fanning
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
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Chesapeake Fields Annual Meet
ing, Black-eyed Susan, Chest
ertown, 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m., (410)
810-2081.
Wednesday. December 3
AD ADC N.Y. District Meeting,
Strawberry Fields Cafe, Chaf
fee, N.Y., noon, (716)
492-3659.
Ag Engineering Workshop for
Ag Professionals, Best West
ern, Sayre, thru Dec. 4, (717)
840-7408.
Custom Operators’ Workshop,
Berks County Ag Center,
Leesport, 7 p.m.-9:30 p.m.,
(610)378-1327.
Milk Marketing Areas 1,2, 3,4,
5,6, Public Hearing, Agricul
ture Budding, 2301 N. Camer
on St., Harrisburg, (717)
787-4194.
Pa. Christmas and Gift Show,
Farm Show Complex, thru
Dec. 7, Harrisburg, (717)
233-5100.
Dairy Business Association Con
ference, Crown Plaza Hotel,
Madison, Wis., thru Dec. 4,
(920)491-9956.
New York AGR-Lite Meeting,
Binghamton Broome County,
Upper Front St., Cornell Uni-
(Turn to Page A 35)
To Deal With
Increasing Prices For
Soybeans, Soybean Meal
The general outlook for the com
modity markets is for the corn
price to remain steady and the
price of soybeans and soybean meal
to continue to rise. Since Septem
ber, the futures market prices for
soybeans and soybean meal have
risen roughly 20-25 percent, de
pending on the market report that
you read. This rise in protein prices
will be reflected in the cost of pur
chased feed for your dairy.
Lancaster dairy agent Dr. Ken
Griswold suggests there are two
general ways to work on control
ling purchased feed costs.
First, examine your ration for
opportunities to lower the total
crude protein (CP) level that will
not have a negative impact on milk
production. The effective use of
protein for an individual cow is de
pendent on a number of factors, in
cluding stage of lactation or days
in milk (DIM), lactation number,
level of milk production, and dry
HOLY WARS?
Background Scripture:
Jude.
Devotional Reading:
Galatians 6:1-10.
Back in the 19405, when I was'a
youth, the morality scene was
much different from today. My
home church was against the use of
tobacco, alcohol, dancing, and rec
reational activities on Sunday. Sex
ual relations were sanctioned only
within marriage and babies bom
out of wedlock were a major scan
dal. (A recent report indicates that
30 percent of American babies are
illegitimate.) Not that our society
then measured up to them, but
those were the standards.
Even then I believed the stan
dards to be too legalistic and often
hypocritical. For example, one
woman in our church stopped ciga
rette smokers on the street to ad
vise them of their immorality. Her
husband, however, smoked cigars
and for some strange reason that
was not “immoral.” Square danc
ing was acceptable, but not any
other type.
I noted that the sins of the flesh
were often much more openly and
consistently condemned than the
sins of the mind and spirit. Sexual
sins were almost always of greater
importance and condemned more
Lancaster Farming
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Northeast Farm Communicators
matter intake (DMI). Cows in early
lactation (less than 100 DIM) are
more sensitive to changes in CP
concentration than later lactation
cows. A dairy producer should
work closely with a nutritionist to
monitor the DMI, milk production,
and milk components (that is, fat
percentage and protein percentage)
of the cows when CP levels are
changed in the ration.
The second manner in which
you can control protein feed costs
is to utilize alternative protein
sources. Urea and other nonprotein
nitrogen (NPN) sources can be
used to replace protein in the diet.
However, care must be taken to
avoid potential pitfalls associated
with excessive protein solubility.
Therefore, urea is well-matched
with high com silage and dry grain
diets and less well-suited for high
haylage diets.
Make sure to have mineral levels
adjusted to accommodate the urea
in the diet, especially sulfur. Grad
ually introduce the urea over sever
al weeks’ time into the ration,
starring at 0.5 percent of the fin
ished feed. Do not feed urea at
level greater than 1.5 percent of the
finished feed.
Other protein sources are nor
mally distinguished by the level of
protein they contain. Intermediate
protein sources include brewer’s
grains, com gluten feed, and whole
cottonseed. High protein sources
include distillers’ dried grains with
solubles (DDGS), com gluten meal,
cottonseed meal, and animal pro
teins such as blood meal, fish meal,
or feather meal. All of these protein
sources have some drawbacks to
their use based on nutrient content,
palatability, antinutritional factors,
or price, so consult with your nutri
tionist or feed representative prior
to making dramatic changes to
your feeding program.
For example, currently DDGS
are well underpriced based on nu
tritive value, but the rest of the diet
must be balanced to provide ade
quate lysine, especially for the early
lactation cow. Furthermore, there
loudly than- lying, cheating, fraud,
gossip, covetousness, materialistic
idolatry, and prejudice.
As theoMan Reinhold Niebuhr
observed, frthere were a drunken
orgy somewhere, I would bet 10 to
1 a church member was not in it.
But, if there was a lynching, I
would bet 10 to 1 a church member
was in it.”
The Extremes
This ' observation was accurate
when it was written, but maybe not
today. The possibility of church
members participating in a drunk
en orgy are not as slim as they once
were. In the 19405, the churches
represented a more conservative
morality than the rest of society. In
the years since the 1960 s it is often
difficult to discern a Christian
morality different from that of so
ciety. blow, anything goes!
Americans find it impassible to
understand that Islamics are so
critical of our society, but should
we be surprised? Our licentious
way of life today stands in sharp
contrast to fundamentalist Islamic
society. They believe we are ob
sessed with sex, addiction, and
sheer hedonism. While I believe
they are far too moralistic, I cannot
escape the conviction that our so
ciety is far too immoral, including
not only those listed above, but also
business corruption, rampant in
justice, consumeristic materialism,
and a disdain for those who cannot
help themselves.
Some Islamic societies seem out
of control from a different perspec
tive. Yesterday, I read that the Is
lamic appeals court of Nigeria had
determined that Amani Lawal, a
woman accused of adultery, will
not be buried in the ground up to
her neck and then stoned to death.
I felt elated because I had joined
with many others in writing letters
to the Nigerian ambassador pro-
can be a great deal of variability in
the quality of DDGS depending on
the method of processing. Always
seek the advice of your nutritionist
for options in feeding program.
To Plan Your Farm Transfer
Planning for your successor, or
someone to take over your farm, is
the most important task you need
to complete if you want your farm
to survive into the next generation.
Yet, according to some recent sta
tistics, many farm families have
not identified a successor for their
family business or even talked to
family members about what will
happen to the farm when they die.
To assist you in this process,
Pennsylvania Farm Link and Penn
State Extension will conduct a
Passing on the Farm Workshop at
the Lighthouse Restaurant, 4301
Philadelphia Avenue in Chambers
burg, on Dec. 16 from 9:30 a.m. to
3:30 p.m.
Farmers seeking ideas for suc
cessfully passing their farm to fam
ily members, or those interested in
locating interested, unrelated farm
ers to take over an operation,
should attend. Beginning farmers
are also urged to participate to
glean ideas for building their busi
nesses. The workshop will conclude
with a panel of local farmers dis
cussing how they transferred their
own farms.
Lunch at a cost of $lO per per
son will be served in the restaurant.
Reservations are required by Dec.
9. Pease mail your reservations to
Pennsylvania Farm Link, 2708 N.
Colebrook Road, Manheim, PA
17545. Questions about this work
shop or farm transfer issues can be
answered at (717) 664-7077. The
Lighthouse Restaurant is located
on the left one-quarter mile north
of the intersection of Philadelphia
Avenue and Sunset Boulevard in
Chambersburg.
Quote Of The Week:
“Failing organizations are
usually overmanaged and under
led.”
Warren G. Bennis
testing this barbaric sentence. Yet
4oday, some Nigerian iMosttms; ar|
now protesting her release as a de
terioration of morals.
Both Hypocritical
We have one society out. of con
trol and another stifled by control
with hypocrisy at both extremes
So how do Christians establish a
moral stance between the extrem
es?
The Letter of Jude, the most in
tense and vehement book of the
New Testament, Is a call to action,
not a reasoned treatise, against im
morality. Worst of all, this crisis is
coming from inside the church.
“For admission has been secretly
gained by some.... ungodly per
sons who pervert the grace of our
God into licentiousness.”
Not only are they immoral, but
their hedonistic practices are ad
versely influencing church mem
bers. “These are blemishes on your
love feast, as they boldly carouse
together, looking after themselves”
(v. 12). And so that this is not
taken too lightly, he compares
them to waterless clouds, fruitless
trees, wild waves of the sea, and
“... wandering stars for whom the
nether gloom of darkness has been
reserved for ever.’
.. Build yourselves up on your
most holy faith; pray in the Holy
Spirit; keep yourselves in the love
of God; wait for the mercy of our
Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
And convince some, who doubt;
save some, by snatching them out
of the fire; on some have mercy
with fear ” Jude is calling, not
for a holy war, but a holy witness.
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. Burges* General Manager
Andy Andrewa, Editor
Copyright 2003 by Lancaster Farming