10—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Jan. 24. 1976
F^OT'S9
EDITORIAL COMMENTS
Changing
It's amusing how attitudes and
styles have changed during the last
decade or two
For example, the kind of clothes my
mother wouldn’t let me wear
anywhere but in the barn are now the
rage of teenagers across the country
Not too many years ago the
countryside was considered to be the
boondocks and those who lived there
were somewhat out of touch of
reality Today everyone seems to be
wanting to move to a farm, or at least
close to one. Have you heard the ad
on the radio which makes a big deal
about some apartment complex being
right across from a working dairy
farm 7 The commercial starts out with
a deep "moo” from a cow, and the
announcer follows it with: “What’s a
cow doing in a commercial for.. . 7
Anyway, living next door to a farm is
the “in” thing to do because it
represents serenity, peace, fresh air,
and all those other neat things far-
Close places,
There’s too much of a spread in
prices paid for champion animals and
those farther down the line, a
knowledgeable and experienced
cattleman said recently.
The man expressing that opinion
was Francis Murren, who exhibited
the very first grand champion 4-H
steer at the Farm Show 50 years ago.
On hand to present the purple and
golden banner to this year’s Farm
Show grand champion, the 67-year
old Murren noted that back in '26
there was only a spread of 12 cents
between the top price paid for his
animal and the average price paid for
the remaining steers.
His reasoning behind the
statement is that the kids at the Farm
Show all had to work hard to get
there in the first place, and their
Life on
A fiercely cold wind, carrying an endless
cloud of icy snowflakes, battered my bare
face. Coining straight at me from the west,
it made it nearly impossible to see, and
sometimes even difficult to breathe.
My feet were beginning to get numb as I
drove back and forth along the lane from the
bam to the road, clearing the snow away
with an older model farm tractor which had
no cab and only a small blade which wasn’t
designed for pushing snow. Progress was
slow, and oftentimes I wondered if it wasn’t
really the storm which was winning this
battle. , t
When milking time approached, I had
been out on the tractor for nearly three
continuous hours. My coat, hat, pants, and
boots were covered with snow and ice. My
face felt as though it was melting when I
stepped into the warmth of the milk house to
assemble the milking machines and connect
the pipeline to the bulk tank
Outside, there was no let-up on the steady
assault of the storm. More than a foot of
snow was already on the ground, and there
BY DIETER KRIEG, EDITOR
\ i
attitudes
mers have known about for a long
time
Farmers have a reputation for
skipping an appointment with their
razor from time to time, and that, too,
is no longer their exclusive. The
unshaven look is "in” along with bib
overalls, faded jeans, a house in the
country, and fresh air
Not to be forgotten is the im
pression many people now have of ’
farmers Town folk are finding out
that farmers are businessmen, and
that their wives often have enviable
kitchens. While they’re still not fully
understood, it can be said that far
mers are beginning to receive more
attention And last of all, but certainly
not least, people are finding out that
the men who work with animals and
“dirt" aren’t as dumb as they thought
they were. In fact they're copying
many of the farmers’ ways and
competing for a home in the
“boondocks” more fiercely than ever.
wide prices
efforts should be more evenly
rewarded.
In most livestock competition, the
judge frequently comments about the
closeness of the contest, particularly
among the top several placmgs.
Taking this into consideration, can we
really justify a spread of several
thousand dollars between a grand
champion and reserve grand
champion animal 7 The distance in
prices is often again as wide between
the second-high individual and the
third-place exhibitor.
Mr Murren, involved with beef
cattle for all of his life, and an Adams
County 4-H beef club leader for more
than 20 years, believes the system
could be more fair and representative
of the efforts put forth by con
testants. His opinion merits a lot of
consideration
the farm
was no telling how deep some of the drifts
might be. The wind whistled; sheets of tin
were starting to come loose; doors rattled;
and the electric wires heaved back and
forth, making me wonder when they might
snap
While cows waited to be milked, I wished I
could turn each one of them off. I didn’t want
to be milking that afternoon, and I stalled as
much as I could, frequently walking to the
windows to observe what was going on
outside. If those electric wires snapped then
there would really be trouble because cows
do have to be.milked regardless of the
weather or presence of electricity.
The highway was approximately a
quarter mile away. A pale-yellow beam of
light faintly penetrated the curtain of snow
and for an instant there was a flash of joy
that ran all through my body. As the lights
approached the end of the lane, I silently
repeated “turn m, turn in!” to myself. The
vehicle kept going and all of a sudden I felt
even more tired and weak than before.
I lifted the lid of the bulk tank and stared
kjbbisius A
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U»M< 0 *•••
\ l •• ••
DOESGOD
SENDYOU?
Lesson for January 25,1976
Background Scripture:
Matthew 9-35 through 10.42
Devotional Reading: Isaiah
52:7-10
The Bible speaks much of
God calling people, but it
also has a great deal to say
jbout his sending people as
well.
God sent Adam and Eve
out of Eden and into the
world. He sent Abraham to a
distant land unknown to him.
He sent Jacob and his sons
into Egypt and later he sent
Israel out of Egypt under
Moses. With Joshua leading,
he sent them into the
Promised Land.
Kings and prophets were
also “sent,” and when Jesus
was bom into this world,
writers of the New
Testament said he was
“sent.” Whenever man
encounters God, it seems he
is sent out into the world with
a task or mission.
Behold, I send you...
Matthew sums up suc
cinctly Christ’s mission:
“And Jesus went about all
the cities and villages,
teaching in their synagogues
and preaching the gospel of
the kingdom, and healing
every disease and infirmity”
(9:35).
But Christ’s mission was
not limited to Christ alone. It
was obvious that the mission
field was greater than any
one man, even this one man!
Looking with compassion
upon the great masses of
humanity whom time and
effort would not allow him to
reach personally, Jesus said
to his disciples: “The har
vest is plentiful, but the
laborers are few; pray
therefore the Lord of the
harvest to send out laborers
into his harvest” (9:37).
It became apparent to the
disciples that the Messianic
mission was intended for
them as well. They had
heard his proclamation of
the kingdom. They had
listened for hours to his
teachings. Now he “gave
them authority over unclean
spirits, to cast them out, and
to heal every disease and
every infirmity” (10:1).
Thus empowered, he says to
them: “Behold I send you
out . . .” (10:16).
Do not be anxious
So the disciples were sent
out by Jesus and discipleship
continues to involve being
sent for Jesus Christ. The
“harvest” is still “plen
tiful” as it was in the days of
Jesus’ mission in the flesh.
Disciples of Christ are still
praying “the Lord of har
dest to send out laborers into
his harvest,” and Jesus is
still empowering his
followers to preach, teach,
and heal.
The circumstances of our
individual missions may
differ greatly, but po one
into it for a moment before continuing to
assemble the milking equipment. The milk
was within three inches from the top. When
the agitator was turning, it actually spilled
some milk over the edges. Each inch in
height represented about 200 pounds of milk.
I guessed it would hold 500 more pounds ix
the agitator were turned off. The cows would
produce around 1,000 pounds tonight.
The phone rang. A neighbor wanted to
know if the milk truck had picked up our
milk yet. “No,” I said, “we expected him
vI
THE TIME
fo Become Interested
In Proper Land Use
At a recent meeting the
subject of proper land use
and the preservation of
agricultural land was given
a good discussion, many
folks are interested in this
subject but few seem to be
doing much about it I'd like
to urge folks to learn all of
the facts about the proper
use of our good land and then
let local government of
ficials know about it Public
opinion out in each township
will be heard by local of
ficials and give them some
idea of the direction they
should be going Some local
officials have been blamed
for “dragging their feet” on
preserving farm land; if the
majority of local folks want
land preserved, then
township officials should
know of it and take proper
action.
To Reduce Feed Waste
Feed is one of the major
costs in livestock and poultry
production. Whether it is
home grown or purchased, it
should be used efficiently at
all times. Some feeders
permit the animals to waste
both silage and grain by
working too much down at
one time Other feed troughs
are in poor condition and
allow feed to drop out the
bottom. All producers are
urged to check their feeders
and feeding practices to be
sure that costly gram is not
going out with the manure
Rats and mice are very
expensive rodents to have
around adding to additional
pounds of wasted feed
To Check
Barn Ventilation
The recent cold weather
might reveal the need of
improved ventilation in
some dairy and livestock
barns When windows, walls,
or ceilings become wet from
condensation it is a sign of
the need of more ventilation,
or more insulation Most
barns are carrying a
capacity of livestock at this
time of the year The warm,
moisture-laden air should be
vhc attempts to follow the
Lord is without a mission of
some kind. Some of those
missions are quiet and
subtle; some are loud and
flashy: but every Christian
has a mission; every disciple
is sent by God.
We may feel inadequate,
but the key is to be found in
Jesus’ assurance to his
disciples: . . do not be
anxious how you are to speak
or what you are to say... for
it is not you who speak, but
the Spirit of your Father
speaking through you”
(10:20).
Make no mistake: if you’re
a Christian, God is sending
you too!
this afternoon - the driver’s wife had called
about making sure the lane was cleared, but
he must not have returned from Philly yet.”
Two-thousand pounds of milk and 15 hours
later, the milk truck pulled up to the milk
house. The snow had crippled things all over
the place -at the milk plant, on the roads, <
and on farms. Farmers lost a lot of money
during that February storm four years ago,
and milk truck drivers lost an awful lot of
sleep trying to get their tankers from one
place to another.
Max .smith
< mmt\ Agr Agi n(
I clcphoni' I'lM.s", i
removed from (he barn in
order (o prevent eon
densation Also, extra in
sulalion may be needed to
reduce the contact between
warm and very cold air
Electric exhaust are
strongly suggested to
remove the foul air and
improve herd health
Farm
Calendar
Jan. 26
Chickies Creek Flood
Control Meeting at the
Farm and Home Center,
Lancaster, 7:30 p.m.
Pennsylvania Farmers
Union state convention at
the Sheraton Inn,
Harrisburg, program
lasts through the 27th.
Farm Managemenl
Workshop, Dr. Sam Dum
speaker; 7:30 p.m. in th«
Municipal Building
Lebanon.
Jan. 27
Cattle Feeders Day at the
Farm and Home Center,
9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Swine Producers MeeWig for
Lebanon County, in the
Municipal Building,
Lebanon. 1:30 p.m.
Franklin County Extension
Dairy Day, 10 to 3 at the
New Franklin Com
munity Center.
Regional Turf and Or
namental School Jan. 27-
28 at Park View Manor,
Hershey.
Ephrata Young Farmers
meet at 7:45 at the High
School; swine
management and
buildings will be em
phasized.
Jan. 28
Franklin County Swine
Producers Meeting, 1-3
p.m. at the County Ad
ministration Building,
Chambersburg.
Lime and Fertilizer Con
ference at Penn State,
lasts through 30th.
Jan. 29
Annual meeting of the
Lancaster County Farm
and Home Foundation.
6:30 p.m. at the Farm
and Home Center,
Lancaster.
Elizabethtown Young
Fanners meet at 7:30 at
the High School; crop
reporting service will be
highlighted.
Pennsylvania Young Far
mers Association
Leadership Training
Conference at Penn
State, beginning at 9:30
a.m.
Feb. 2
Land use meeting 7:30 p.m.
at the Lancaster Farm
and Home Center.