—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 13, 1965
4
From Where We Stand...
Negligence!
That single word can cost you a
lot of trouble and money m the days
ahead.
Many words have been written of
the dangers to life and limb that exist
on farms But each Spring another
optimistic editor adds his words in the
hope that someone may listen and profit
thereby
Many farmers maintain what is
legally referred to as an “attractive
nuisance”. For example, a child tres
passing on your farm might be attracted
to your farm pond, fall in and drown.
You may be involved in a legal suit if it
can be proved that negligence was in
volved on your part The court could
decide that your negligence in not
properly fencing the pond contributed
to the child’s death.
Farmers can also be held liable for
accidents to their employees Suppose,
for example, you had permitted an em
ployee who, was an unskilled driver to
haul laborers to and from work If one
of them were injured because of the
driver’s lack of skill or knowledge, you
might be legally held at fault.
How can a farmer protect himself
from such unforeseen loss? First thing
he must do is take a good close look at
his farm, and clean up or remove 'any
existing “booby traps” that could be
ha±ardous to him, his family, friends,
or even to strangers.
For example, we heard of a very
• Ammon Martin
(Continued from Page 1)
ket This practice helps keep
down the incidence of disease,
Martin feels. He makes a
swing around his supply area
twice a week, and buys enough
calves to keep his starting
pens full. Most of these are
Holsteins, hut toe will also buy
a few crossbreds Charolais,
Angus, and Swiss all general
ly crossed with Holsteins He
likes to buy calves an the 90-
110 pound weight iange, but
will take crossbieds a little
lighter because their confor
mation is usually better and
they finish out earlier than
Holsteins He buys eithei heif
er or bull calves, but piefeis
the lattei
Calves are weighed into the
starting pens and aie weighed
again when they are sent to
market Then the ovei-all in
dividual feed conversion is
computed /In the starting
pens, wheie the 'calves stay
foi about ten days, theie is
supplemental heat furnished
by hot an and by individual
heat lamps The stalls aie the
same as in the finishing pens
—22 inches wide, 4Vz feet
long and 4 J 4 feet high The
floois of the pens aie com
pused of a panel of flattened,
galvanized, expanded metal
which should Irst foi five
years or so The pen floois
are raised about one foot
above the sloped con'ci ete floor
of the building The calves
Lancaster Farming
Lancaster County's Own Farm
Weekly
P. O. Box 266 - Lititz, Pa.
Offices:
22 E Main St.
Lititz, Pa.
Phone - Lancaster
394-3047 or
Lititz 626-21‘C
Don Timmons, Editor
Robert G. Campbell, Adver
tising Director
Established November 4,
1955. Published every Satur
day by Laneaster-Fanning, Lil-
Pa.
Second;,-Class Postage paid
at Lititz, Pa. and at additional
costly accident in the county last week
end. A fanner lost ten cows by eleclri
cution. We don’t know the final details,
but first information seemed to point
directly to faulty wiring of a barn
cleaner. This is a serious loss; it could
have been much worse it could easily
have been one or more human lives
tragically destroyed.
In addition to farm ponds and wir
ing there are other common causes of
fann accidents, such as weak construc
tion of ladders and stairs; poor lighting
at dangerous points; pieces of wire or
broken glass that could cause falls or
worse. On some farms the list could
be extended endlessly.
Since it is impossible to anticipate
•every eventuality, the next thing he
may want to do is transfer some of the
remaining risk to an insurance company.
Such “liability” insurance is not too ex
pensive, and it could be the means of
averting a financial disaster for some
farmers There are fellow countians
with ingrained convictions against any
form of insurance; that is certainly
their privilege But in our “lawsuit
minded” society there are few of us who
can afford to assume the entire risk.
Before Spring really breaks and
floods the farms with its seasonal work
schedule, take time to go over your farm
with a fine-toothed comb and eliminate
"hese traditional farm hazards. This af
ter all is really your best, and cheapest,
insurance.
are secured to the front of
their respective pens with a
chain, and they only move
twice while on the Martin
farm once to the finishing
pens, and finally, to market.
Each pen cost about $l5 to
construct according to Martin,
and there are 32 units m the
starting room and 84 in the
finishing area.
There are no window’s in
the starting pens Tempera
tines aie controlled by a com
bination of fans and hot air
heat In the finishing pens
theie are windows as well as
fans, but no supplemental
heat A unique ventilating
system that hi mgs the air In
and exhausts it at ceiling lev
el to pi event flooi drafts has
been designed with the help
of Di Poitei
Accoidmg to Ammon Mai
tin, it takes him and his son
and daughtei about thiee man
houis morning and evening to
feed the llfi-dalf operation
Washing down, which is done
once a day, takes about Vz
hom Undei puie ieseaich
conditions, the calves would
be fed foui times a day, tout
eveiy effort has been made
on this farm to keep the opei
ation as piactical as possible
For example, Mai tin has de
signed a batch mixer which
can put out about 1000 pounds
ot leLquefied milk in about
foui minutes not counting
the time requned to fill the
tank with the lequued amount
of wmtei The tank itself is
a stainless steel pastunzer
wnth a reciieulating pump at
tached Mai tin has ingenious
ly used an old one-half inch
dull motor to power a home
made beatei which keeps the
mix agitated and peifectly
blended as it is drawn off into
individual buckets for feed
ing The high fat milk replac
ei is used in thiee diffeient
concentrations dependmgupon
the age and weight of the
calves being fed When on
full feed, eaoh calf receives
about 14 pounds of liquid
/about 2Vz pounds dry mat
ter) twice a day The amount
of milk as 'adpisted twice a
week, to meet individual needs
The calves aie fed to about
pounds 'body weight.
As each calf is judged “fin
ished,” it goes to market. ■The
operation bias been marketing
10-12 calves per week Martin
and Or. Porter estimiated that
1.4-1.5 pounds of feed are re
quired per average pound of
gain. The most efficient gams
are made up to 200 pounds
body weight; after that the
gain becomes more costly
Calves marketed since the
operation began have graded
about 75 percent Choice Fed
and managed in this way they
are presently bringing about
10 cents per pound more than
conventional veal calves on a
caicass weight basis, .actoid
ing to Di Portei
What is the difference be
tween the meat quality of
these calves and those i arsed
conventionally, we asked’
“The idea,” Di Porter said,
“is to pioduce ‘anemic’ meat
That is, meat with no discol
oiation” The only way to do
this, he told us, is to keep
the calves away fiom any feed
but milk, don’t bed them;
don’t peimtt them access to
any source of nist; don’t pei
mit them to run about, and
above all, handle them caie
fully all the way along the
line
The marketing cycle for
these calves aveiages aiound
60 days Although the select
maiket that buys the total
output of this farm piefers
calves in the 225-250 pound
weight 'class, they aie even
moie intei ested in the degiee
of finish The production goal
of the Mai tin veal program
is to turn four calves per
year through the pens It is
felt that (his is a conserva
tive and leasonable expectation
and that undei these condi
10ns the expectation of a fair
return on the investment is
good
True keynote on this farm
is management, and the se
cret of management is sanita
tion Careful selection of
stock is the first step in the
sanitation program Disinfect
ing and cleanliness is the sec
ond The dioppings and urine
are flushed into a septic tank
■flatly,* -and -this -reporter -can
(Continued on Page 13)
WHE /
lv©a®as /
p'A SPEAKS
>,V'
iv
latemaheiul Untlaim
Sunday School Lhkhi
Yes But...
Lesson for March 14, 1965
joy. There is no command, just
B " kCTOund ScttoUres Matthew 21 and invitatio n. Yet the king for
PcVotionat Readme: Matthew 7 i3-2o some strange reason is snubbed
' ... ... ~ by his own people, his guests
ATOBODY in his right mind that never W ere. Some were
?,° ; ic '* b f Wicked murders, bat some .veie
against tae will of God. Yet j us j. jj US y and preoccupied peo
people do go against God every pj e They had no intention of re
day. You have seen it done; you j, e jjj n g a g a i ns t the king. Their
have done it yourself. How c- n trou jji e was s i m piy that they
this be? Are we all out of our had other fish to fry> they
i minds. The rca- Colddn >t be bothered, they re
son why so many gretted . . . and so forth. But
people do go whether for a good reason, or
against God’s none at all, they didn’t come,
will and com- This seems strange behavior for
mandments invited guests at a palace; yet it
shows (unless in- happens every day. The lazy son
deed they are left work undone; the I-don’t
‘■off their rock- car ® guests simply cut them-
Dr. Foreman er”) one of two out of a good time.
things about the man: Either he Expected to appreciate
does not believe in God really. That little story of the matt
or else he has some common but without a wedding garment has
fatal wrong notions about him. puzzled many. Here is one mean*
Commanded to serve th#t h « s found in it!
a u tachc* n » r a. The guest’s lack of proper
Anyhow, Je ~h p t h„ clothes was his own fault, for the
bles that have to do with the . .. . al „-
disregard of God on the part of 1"*?! 22*? Sh!
man. These are the parables of ®very one present a spec »1 robe
the Two Sons and of the Wed- Bot
ding Feast, with the difficult appreciating the royal gift, this
little postscript parable of the individual tosses it into «
Wedding Garment. These bring «ra« and comes in bis old
out still another reason why clothes. We are like that nun
people disregard God’s wish and we take aome wonderful
will -They deceive themselves in- *«“ ? ur . f Go ? * nd
to supposing "that to acknowledge thank him for-it at all.
God’s commands is enough. They - So: whether God i* ordering
have no intention of disobedi- ut to do, or Inviting us to enjoy,
ence, they just aren’t quite ready ® r expecting us -to appreciate,
to obey. They have an attitude bow often we just ignore hind
which might be given the name <s Me s on outline croruhied br th*
“Vc<! hut ” Yes hut not now. Division of Chrlatian Education National
res, DUt. . . ivs, out not HOW. Couneil of ibe Church „ ,f Christ in tha
The first of these parables IS v S A, Beleated hr CoaimanUr rresa
one of the simplest and plainest Beniee.)
Jesus ever spoke. A father has
two sons; he gives them both the
same order. One son says, “Yes ATTEND THE CHURCH OF
sir,” but did not go. The other t
son said, “I will not,” but he YOUR CHOICE ON SUNDAY
changed his mind and went.
Jesus asks a very simple ques-
tion: Which of the two did what
his father wished? The answer
Now Is The Time . . ,
To Topdress Winter Wheat
Gioweis ot winter wheat fhat have not
seeded then ciop down to eithei alfalfa 01
led clover, may want to apply fiom 30 to 50
pounds ot actual mtiogen per acie during
this month On soil fiom which mtiogen
leaches easily (sand, shale, or gravel) the
wheat will suiely lespond to mtiogen Ciops
that have been seeded to a legume should
not iceeive mote than 25 pounds of nitio
gen in oidei to pi event shading and lodging
Eaily spung when giowth staits is the time
for this nitrogen application
To Consider Linear Programming
Oui Penn State Extension Seivice is now
introducing the use of electionic computeis
to piovide taimeis and agricultuial businesses more accurate
answeis to then planning and management problems This is
intended lor laigei opeiations and will be used in a limited
manner this year Theie will be a cost foi this service to the
faimei Intel ested peisons may contact our Extension Office.
„ „ . To Inspect New Alfalfa Stands
To Suppoit
» u r, * Many summei seedings of
Farm & Home Center afelf / dld not get mu oh of a
The campaign drive to start befoie 'winter set in last
raise money to erect the Faim These 9mall la^ s m ' ay
, TT _ , , , have been winter-killed' or
and Home Centei has been the f reezm o anc } thawing of
earned to all paits of the open giound may have heaved
county and city The intend- the roots out of the ground.
ed goal of 5375 000 has We are aware of many poor
reached the halfway maik, f™ ds at are questionable
„ to depend on a good crop. In
we again call your attention man y cas es it'might be more
to the merits and o the need profitable to disc the area
of this Center. Many pledge and make a new seeding this
cards have not been complet- spring. Late March or early
, , . , , April seedings should give
ed and returned to the cam
several hay crops this year
paign office..We suggest re- with noimal rainfall Seedihg
coiisid&ration a and .a contribui,, jvithout ajtjy nurse -crop, then
tioiJF.id ; stfes wofthvvhiiet; pi®]'-’’spraying weed control, is
ect. giving good results.
f was so obvious that even the
stupidest Pharisee had to say it
right: "The one who DID hU
father's will.” The first boy ac
knowledged his father’s author
ity, he said, “Yes sir” politely
enough; but he let his “yes” take
the place of obedience. How
often that happens in real life!
Invited to enjoy
The second parable, about the
king’s wedding feast, Is rather
more astonishing. Here there is
no work to be done, there is
only a party and a dinner to en-
MAX SMITH