10 —Lancaster Farming, Saturday. Feb. 5, 1977 gate EDITORIAL COMMENTS Don’t get hooked on phony sales If your phone rings and the person on the other end of the line begins to talk about the good deal he has for you, think twice before you agree to buy Information received here during the 'ast couple of weeks indicates that some phony wheeling and dealing may be taking place in the area via the telephone So beware For days I had kept a close eye on "Piggy, ’’ a mature Holstein which was never really anything to brag about in the past, but seemed to be really "developing” for her upcoming lactation I kept thinking to myself that she’d really be something if she’d milk the way she looked I had no reason to believe she wouldn’t and was convinced enough with that evaluation to have turned down a fair price for her earlier in the month The days went by and “Piggy" became bigger and bigger One morning I found her dead Not nearly as big now after having given birth to a calf (which was also dead), “Piggy” layed in the shed on tier side with all legs extended towards the wall Her body was completely lifeless and stiff Surprised and puzzled over the tragedy, I questioned our veterinarian about it "Piggy's” problem turned out to be a malfunctioning of the placenta - hydrops of the uterus The reason she became so big was because the fluids within her uterus, which were meant RURAL ROUTE WWW I fcrwng The Centro / ortf Southeastern Pennsylvania Areas By Dieter Krieg, Editor -pawning Anyone receiving a call from a company regarding the sale of .a product should be careful in how he responds, especially if he never heard of the company, as is often the case For further protection, check with others in the community, including reputable businesses, Extension agents, and authorities Also keep the Bureau of Consumer Protection in Harrisburg in mind to protect the calf, never quit building up When she gave birth to the calf, the fluids were released and the sudden change in internal pressure resulted in shock "Piggy" died Later that day, a truck pulled into the barnyard Loose chains jingled inside the smelly and obnoxious metal body I hated the sight of the truck It had been here before It came to pick up the dead calf and cow The driver backed his truck up to the shed, climbed out, ambled to the rear, and prepared to load the dead animal A cable was secured around her neck and then a winch was put in motion "Piggy" was pulled on board The metal tailgate was slammed shut and that was the last I saw of her Before leaving, the driver reached into the cab and handed me a free yardstick That’s all I got for her A few weeks earlier I had been offered $7OO Nowadays a farmer doesn’t even get a yardstick for his dead cow Instead he may even end up paying $lO to have the animal removed from his premises f TNAT MAKES 6000 y (T \ READING ON A DAY LIKE \r< H ' 5 w <^~y X i THE CREDENTIALS Lesson for February 6,1977 Background Scripture: Mark 5:21-43; Luke 7:1-23. Devotional Reading: Luke 7:1-10 “Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?” This question, sent to Jesus by the unprisoned John the Baptist, seems astounding! Is this not the same John who once stood by the River Jordan and, looking at Jesus, proclaimed: “Behold the Lamb of God. who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29)? Is this not the same John who testified of seeing “the Spirit descend as a dove from heaven" upon Jesus, who protested that Jesus should be baptising him instead (Matthew 3:14)? Are you the one? Yes, it was the same John the Baptist, but, no, it was not. People change, they are subject to moods of depression and inspiration, faith and doubt. John the Baptist, the fiery prophet in the wilderness was now John, the prisoner of Herod, shut up in a dark, filthy dungeon and near the end of his brief life. He re membered that great day by the Jordan when Jesus had come to him for baptism; he recalled the exaltation of that moment when God revealed to him the identity of his Son, the Messiah; he could see in his mind’s eye that scene when Jesus came up out of the river, himself caught-up in that ecstatic moment. Now, however, he seemed far away from his beloved wilderness. A tiny, putrid cell was his unseeing window on the world. He was tired from the deprivations and cruelty of his imprisonment. Now in the darkenss of his captivity there came a nagging doubt: Am I sure that Jesus is the one, or did I make a mistake? If John’s faith wavered in Herod’s fortress, we cannot blame him or be surprised. It is understandable that he should want reassurance from Jesus, some indication that if Herod took his life, he had not failed in his mission. To this important, legitimate question, Jesus gives a most significant answer. One might expect that Jesus would send John an outline of his teaching in order to authenticate his credentials. This would have been the time-honored method of the rabbis. But Jesus said nothing about his teachings m his reply. By Tom Armstrong nuflm touri SFf o | t&J What you have seen? \ - m - TO EVALUATE FARM RECORD KEEPING If 1976 farm records are not sufficient to give the desired information for both income tax reporting or farm planning, now would be a good tune to change your system and get a better one. Good records are a “must” these days and we hope that every farmer will give some thought to his needs in this respect. There are many kinds and systems in record keeping and I’m not certain there is the best “one” for every producer. The im portant thing is to have a set of records that will reflect the cash flow of the business, the change in inventory, and make it possible to know the areas of best returns, or httle returns. We urge some tune to be spent on farm records at this period of the year in order to do a better job in the future. TO USE SHEEP HURDLES Lambing tune is here for many shepherds and already we have gotten questions relating to ewes not owning their new-born lambs. This is a difficult situation when the ewe will not permit her new-born lamb to nurse; I’ve heard of many methods to try and get the two together, but prevention is a better practice. When the ewe is showing signs of lambing it might save a lot of trouble to use a small hurdle to separate her from the rest of the flock - or put her into a small pen away from the others. This will make it much easier for the lamb to find it’s first meal and more likely for immediate at tachment. Also, in this cold weather it is very important to have extra heat in the area to prevent chilling of the young lambs. TO REMEMBER CORRESPONDENCE COURSES Many folks are not able to get away from home to take regular courses in college or universities. The solution might be to take one or more of the correspondence courses offered at Penn State; these are available on many home Economics and Agricultural subjects and are very practical. We have a publication that will ex plain the various courses available. One recently announced is course No. 191 Neither did Jesus produce a selection of scriptural passages to prove his identity as the one “who is to come.” Although the use of scriptures probably would have been convincing to John, and, although Jesus was very knowledgeable in the holy writings, he made no reference to them to John’s disciples. We might expect that Jesus would produce a genealogy (similar to what Luke and Matthew provide in their Gospels) which would authenticate him as the Christ. But Jesus made no reference to his lineage. Neither did Jesus ask the crowds for a testimony, nor the religious authorities for their stamp of approval What, then, were his credentials 7 NOW IS THE TIME Max Smith County Agr. Agent Telephone 394-6851 entitled “Farm Financial Management”. This is a very important item to all farmers since we are han dling more money each year and have larger in vestments. Details are available at any Extension office. TO KEEP DOWN MACHINERY INVESTMENT Many of our agricultural economists feel that farmers in general are over-invested in farm machinery; they present the question of ownership of this equipment, or the hiring of the work done on a custom basis. Much of the larger specialised equipment carries a very high price tag. Economists suggest that we should figure the per acre or the per hour cost of using your own machinery and then com pare with local rental or custom rates. I’m aware that it is nice to have your own and do the work when it is ready, but this plan might be costing too much money for overhead and depreciation. The loss of some quality and quantity of a crop might not be serious enough to offset the high cost of ownership. Local producers are urged to give this some consideration before making additional large investments. Farm Calendar Today, Feb. 5 Ephrata Area Young Far mers hold annual banquet, Mount Airy- Durlach Fire Hall, 6:45 p.m. Monday, Feb. 7 Red Lion Area Young Farmers; 8 p.m. at the high school; pesticide applicators certification course. Cumberland Countians note deadline for registration for Estate Planning Seminar, contact Ex tension Service. Manheim Young Farmers hold meeting at the high school at 7:30 p.m. on crop fertilization and manure management. Tuesday, Feb. 8 Lancaster County Extension Service Association annual banquet, 6:45 p.m. at the Farm and Home Center. Hunterdon and Warren Counties, New Jersey, vegetable growers meet at Hackettstown High School, 1 p.m. Dauphin County dairy barn meeting on mastitis control, 1-3 p.m. at the Robert Oellig farm, Hummelstown R 4. Ephrata Area Young Far mers hold third meeting on dairy breeding, at the high school, 7:45 p.m “USDA Sire Summary Analysis and Sire Selection” - Clarence Stauffer, Damn Yoder, Dan Rush Purina Dairy business management meeting, Kutztown, 10 30 a.m - 3 p m I Continued on Page 341 • ••
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers