—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 2, 1971
4
Farmers Begin New Year
For farmers, January 1 really is the
beginning of i new year
January 1 is always followed soon after
ward by the Farm Show and then farmers
really do start a new season and a New
Year.
Most farmers work long hours through
the summer and into the fall Only when
harvest is completed does the pace begin to
slow and even then, there’s plenty of odd
jobs, such as equipment and building main
tenance and preparation for winter to keep
the farmer busy.
But ther comes the hunting season and
many farmers take a break, the only real
vacation mt ny of them have all year. This
is soon followed by Christmas, then New
Year December, the last month of the
jear. is a period of relaxation. Relatively
relaxing, since cows and hens don’t quit
producing and swine and steers don’t quit
eating.
But January and the Farm Show (see
Farming the Kreider Way
The naming of Noah W. Kreider as a
“Master Farmer” was an honor for Kreider
and for Lancaster County. Kreider was one
of only six chosen from 120 nominees
throughout the state.
Kreider is well known in the farm com
munity. He is well known as a competent
and progressive farmer. His right to the
award will not be questioned.
While there are many things which
could be singled out to explain Kreider‘s
success, we think his ability to get his sons
involved is particularly worth noting.
His two sons are full partners. This is
important for many reasons. It explains
why Noah Kreider has been able in recent
years to devote more time to the business
end of farming.
The Winter Meetings
Elsewhere in this issue, we carry a
schedule of the annual winter events at the
Farm and Home Center..
Now, while the reader is thinking about
it, we suggest that the schedule be clipped
and placed where it will be easy to spot, or
that items of specific interest to the farmer
be noted in his own special calendar This
should be done now w'hile the matter is
fresh in mind
A reading of the schedule will show
there's something for eieryone. no matter
what type of operation the farmer has.
Most of the meetings aie educational,
designed to bung the farmer the latest and
best information available on the subject
covered. Most ol the major farm enterprises
poultry, swine, dairy and beef are
covered, along with special topics on farm
management practices.
We suspect it may not be too difficult to
convince the farmer to attend a meeting on
his most important farm enterprise. Swine
producers attend swine meetings and dairy
men attend dairy meetings.
But both the swine producer and dairy
man might benefit from some of the farm
management meetings. Farmers with teen-
LANCASTER FARMING
Lancaster County’s Own Farm Weekly
P. 0. Box 266 - Lititz, Pa. 17543
Office: 22 E Main St. Litit?, Pa 17543
Phone: Lancaster 394-3047 or Latitz 626-2191
Robert G. Campbell, Advertising Director
Zane Wilson, Managing Editor
Subscription price $2 per year in Lancaster
County. $3 elsewhere
Established November 4,1955
Published every Saturday by Lancaster
Farming Lititz Pa.
Second Class Postage paid at Lititz, Pa.
17543
Member of Newspaper Farm Editors Assn.
Pa. Newspaper Publishers Association, and
National Newspaper Association
our Farm Show issue next week) is the be
ginning of the new year Days already are
beginning to get longer and, while it's
going to be mighty cold for some time yet.
farmers know they have to_be getting ready
for planting.
Spring planting time is hectic enough,
even when everything possible has been
done ahead of time. Bringing last year's
records up to date, deciding this year’s farm
program, fixing equipment, buying sup
plies and equipment these are some of
the many important things which must be
completed between Farm Show and plant
ing time.
How well the management job is done °h ased animals in Wlth ac a ™ °f„ ou ff*}?
bptween Farm Show anH nlanhmr ran havo climated'animals the day of ar- State Extension Service Addi
etween h arm bnow and planting can nave nyal on the farm Also> an- tional details are available.
an important bearing on how well the imals that havs been to shows
farmer does in the new year. or sa j es nee( j t 0 be segregated To Make War Against Rodents
So, let's get the new year off to a good ior at least 30 days I’m aware The winter weather brings
start in the next seieral weeks. Make it a°- so lll6 past expenences where ra t s and mice into the farm
HAPPY NEW YEAR. State Farm Show animals have buildings. The farmer will be
(brought back shipping fever much better off if he tries to
to the rest of the herd Careful pjevent this kind of infection,
management is veiy important jp their nesting places are clean
and segregation is a vital part e( j U p anc j removed through
of good management. good sanitation, they will not
stay very long. Poison bait
. , , , „ stations should be used to help
The partnership bodes well for the fu- - Wlttl removing the migrating
tore. It means the highly efficient Kreider if a better or a new farm rats In severe cases commer
farm will continue far into the future. By record system is to be establish- cial exterminators should be
making room for his sons long before he ed, this would be the time of used to clean them out. They
really had to do so, he assured the happi- the year to make the change, are a source of disease and in
ness of his family and the future of the The calendar year is a good 12- fection and dangerous from the
farming operation he spent so many years month period for any kind of fire hazard angle,
to build.
With the partnership, Kreider eliminat
ed questions which nag many other farm-
ers, such as: Why do the children leave the
farm for the city? What will happen to the
farm when I’m gone? Is there really a fu-
ture for farming?
We think the partnership is symbolic
of Noah Kreider and the way he operates.
His' is a solid and enduring type of farm
operation .
age sons should consider the meeting March
18 on partnerships and corporations as a
means of preparing later for giving the sons
a solid reason for staying down on the farm.
The walls, estates and taxes meeting
March 4 should ha\e a similar general in
terest. A will can be very important in
determining how' much of an estate is pass
ed on The meeting wall also stress, we feel
sure, the importance of planning ahead on
estates.
We know' some farmers will question
the necessity of attending a meeting or
swine or dairying this year if they attended
a similar meeting last year. There will
probably be some repetition, but farm prac
tices are changing
New knowledge on feeding is being
developed, disease problems and treatment
practices are changing, market prices
change along with the farmer’s manage
ment practices to realize a profit from the
current market.
Since the latest information is usually
discussed at the meetings, this tends to eli
minate much of the repetition.
Even slight changes m management
practices from year to year can lead to
significant improvements for the individual
farmer.
Even if the farmer doesn't learn any
thing new, having everything summarized
and put in the proper relationship may lead
the farmer to a better understanding of
what he’s doing and how it all fits together.
The value of the type of reliable infor
mation av ailable at these meetings for the
asking should not be underestimated.
Work some of the meetings into jour
winter schedule Make them a bridge be
tween what happened in 1970 and what will
happen in 1971.
To Segregate Livestock lecords and this applies to agri-
Years ago. I heard a very culture. Farm records not only
successful veterinarian recom- satisfy the Internal Revenue
mend that segregation goes Service, but are very important
along with sanitation in any good in evaluating various farm en
livestock' enterprise This is terprises and in planning for
still very important and I’d like the future. There are various
to remind producers of the types of farm' accounting, in
great risk of putting newly-pur- eluding the latest electronic
To Keep Accurate
Farm Records
IN PARABLES
Lesson for January 3,1971
Socfcgrouna Scripture tsaioh 5 9-10;
Matthew 13 I 30, 34 43.
THE TROUBLE IS THAT
YOU ONLY HEAR WHAT YOU
WANT TO HEAR!
Has anyone ever said that to
you? A teenage son conies to his
father for the car keys. The fa-
in an irritated
voice “I told you
last night I need
ed the car this
evening and you
could not have it.
Weren’t you lis
tening’” I wish I
had a dollar for
every time some-
one has asked me
if I hadn’t been
Rev. Althouse listening. Almost
'.very time I’ve had to “plead
guilty.”
What is true of hearing is also
quite true of seeing. Most of us
have experiences of seeing, yet
not seeing Perhaps we’ve walked
past a friend on the street with
out being aware he or she was
right in front of us. Or we may
search our home for an object
we’ve lost, only to discover it
was in sight all the time.
Seeing but not seeing
It is as if our eyes and ears are
“tuned” to see and hear only cer
tain things. My grandmother may
be walking over a thickly-carpeted
lawn and suddenly stop, bend
down, and come up with a four
leaf clover I may be walking
light beside her and yet not see
what she sees In a sense it seems
as if her eyes are “tuned” or, to
use a cunent term, “program
med” to find four leaf clovers.
Last spung our family took a
long walk down a road we often
travel se, but alwajs in the fam
ily car We were amazed at all
the sights on that road we had
never seen before. There were
even houses we discovered for
NOW IS
THE TIME...
By Max Smith
Lancaster County Agent
the first time. We had seen these'
things, but we had not seen them.
A matter of attention
Another reason that people fail
to see and hear all that they
should is that they dp not have
their minds on what tliey-are see
ing and hearing. Theyfare .giving
•inly a small part
ion to, what .-their eyePf)^ r imcl -■
ear hear. In a sense', we heed-to
remember to look where we’re
looking.
This same principle holds true,
not only for simple and relatively
unimportant matters, but also for
matters of some consequence. We
may be exposed to something
very important, but because we
are so preoccupied with our petty
interests and projects, we miss
completely what is taking place
before us. We can’t “see the for
est for the trees.”
Common and divine
Jesus was certainly well aware
of this factor and resorted to a
particularly effective method of
teaching in order to communicate
his good new s. We call this meth
od, “teaching in parables ”
What is a parable 9 William
Barclay, the well-known British
writer, has said: ‘lt is an earthly
story with a heavenly meaning.”
Something on earth is compared
with something in heaven; that
the heavenly truth may be better
grasped in light of the earthly
illustration” (Barclay, William,
THE GOSPEL OF MARK, West
minster, 1954).
Another explanation has been
offered by William Hamilton, "In
essence a parable is a compari
son, usually of God or the King
dom of God to some ordinary
event or thing ” (Hamilton, Wil
liam , THE MODERN READER’S
GUIDE TO MARK, Association
Press, 1959).
The purpose of these simple
stories of Jesus, then, is to help
us grasp spiritual truths that
otherwise we might riot “see” op
“hear.” It was for this reason that
Jesus taught in parables' so that
simple people, indifferent people,
and preoccupied people—(like us!
—could hear the good news and
understand , and understanding,
respond.
( i r *
Closed on outlines copyrighted lh#
Division of Christian Education, National
Council of the Churches of Christ In the
USA. Released Hv Community Press
Service)