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EDITORIAL COMMENTS
10—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 19, 1977
Ag Day is every day
March 21 has been set aside as
Agriculture Day . . "a vigorous,
unified effort to promote better
understanding between rural and
urban Americans."
Think about that for a second. Isn't
that what’s needed every day 7 I
believe so.
Farmers farm 365 days of the year;
we all eat every day. Anytime a farmer
comes into contact either directly
or indirectly with a city person, he
should make an effort to promote
agriculture That’s every day. And it
should be done in a sincere, in
formative manner Not in an arrogant
or even angry fashion which is
characteristic of many union bosses
After all, how much do farmers
really know about the city man’s way
of life 7 Too often we look at his salary
and fringe benefits without paying
attention to his disadvantages Too
often we remember only the messy
cow tails which slapped us in the face,
the long hours, the high investments,
and bad weather, while forgetting the
Public opinion needed
Right now the Barley farm issue is
on everyone’s minds and everyone’s
lips. We're all concerned for the out
come of the issue and what it could
mean for us in the future. And, it’s
time to get involved.
The Lancaster County Poultry
Association has done just that by
buying space in this week's Lancaster
Farming (page 13) and proclaiming
their stand on the issue. Because
they believe that their sentinents are
shared by others around the county,
they have included a coupon which
can be clipped, signed, and sent to
the Lancaster County commissioners.
Today, March 19
Maryland Cooperative Milk
Producers annual
meeting, Hunt Valley
Inn, Cockeysville, Md. 10
a.m.
York County 4-H Baby Beef
Banquet, 7 p.m. at the
Shrewsbury Firehouse.
Monday, March 21
Lancaster County Sheep
Meeting, 7:30 p.m. in the
Extension Training
Room of the Farm and
Home Center. Ben
RURAL ROUTE
DRATS !! that doesn’t
FIT, AND THIS WILL
NEVER «0 ON THERE •••
abiu'eS tstasonsJ
Serving 7he Central and Southeastern Pennsylvania Areas
This is not written in defense of the
non-agncultural worker’s attitudes
and wage earning power, but to
illustrate that the door to better
understanding swings both ways it
shouldn’t exclude the farmer, and
that’s why Ag Day is a terrific and
laudable idea. Its only improvement
would be for all farmers to participate
in an every-day type of "PR" program
with a positive attitude.
The National Agri-Marketing
Association, which came up with the
Ag Day idea and is donating creative
and organizational talents valued at
close to $250,000, asks farmers:
“Who'll be heard ... the people
with the facts, or some group grinding
its ax?"
In the long run, it’s the farmer’s
decision. Which is where it belongs. I
hope you’ll choose to do your part and
that it’s in the direction for better
understanding on both sides of the
fence.
They have also purchased space in
two other Lancaster newspapers as
well, and are hoping to have the
greatest mail campaign m the county
through a combined effort of con
cerned citizens. However, they can
only achieve this goal if subscribers
get involved, sign their names, and
mail the coupon. Lancaster Farming,
alone, has a circulation of nearly
30,000 which means the readers can
flood the offices with mail if one
coupon per paper is mailed to the
commissioners. So, if you’re con
cerned, this is the simplest way to get
involved. We urge you to do it.
Morgan of Penn State is
guest speaker.
Second pesticide applicator
training session, CORE
exam at the Hunterdon
County, N.J. Extension
Center, 8 p.m.
Conrad Weiser Adult Far
mers have tour and
seminars at New Holland
Machine Co., New
Holland.
Red Lion Area Young
Farmers meet, topic:
AND WHERE'S THE
OTHER END OF THIS
DOHICKEV ?? .
rewards and blessings of farming
Farm Calendar
“Engineers look at Farm
Machinery.”
Tuesday, March 22
Hunterdon County, N.J.
Home Garden Clinic, 8
p.m. at the Extension
Center in Flemington.
Lawns are featured.
Willow Street Fire Company
holds barbecue for
benefit of building fund
for new firehouse.
Penn State seminar on
gardening at the Lan-
OT«m A/matrang 1974
JM
THIS IS THE LAST TIME I WAIT
'till spring to Put together
' Tr APART IN
BEYOND THE
FATTED CALF
Lesson for March 20,1977
Background Scripture:
Luke 15.
Devotional Reading:
Psalms 103:11-14.
The older brother in the
Parable of the Prodigal Son
was spiritually nearsighted:
he was unable to look beyond
the fatted calf - a very
limited horizon indeed!
Of course, the same was
true of the younger brother,
at least in the beginning. As
the story opens we see a
willful young man who
decides that he has had
enough of the confinements
of homelife and family. What
he wants is “what is coming
to him,” his share of the
family capital. As he looked
over his father’s flocks he
knew that a certain portion
of these animals were his by
right of anticipated
inheritance. But he didn’t
Want to be a shepherd. In
stead he wanted to cash in
his share and take it to some
“far country” where the
action was.
“But he was angry”
We all know what happens
next in the story: how the
prodigal spends his
inheritance in the wild
pursuits of toe “far coun
try,” how, J reduced to
poverty, be scratches out a
bare existance performing a
task no sane Jew would
accept: feeding and tending
the pigs! We know too that at
last he “comes to himself,”
realizes what he’s done and
decides to return home, even
though he has forfeited his
status as a son. We know too
that toe father has been
scanning the road and,
seeing the returning
prodigal, hurries down the
road to greet him.
Many of us tend to drop the
story at that point. But there
is an important sequel or
coda to the story that we
must not miss. In the midst
of the joyous celebration we
see the older brother return
wearily from the fields.
Hearing the celebration and
seeing the bright lights, he
caster Farm and Home
Center, 7:30 pm.
Young Farmer Volleyball
Tournament at ELCO
High School, 7:30 p.m.
Annual Spring meeting of
Eastern mUk producers,
7 p.m. at the Ono Fire
Hall in Lebanon County.
York County Guernsey
Breeders’ banquet,
Shrewsburg Fire Hidl, 7
p.m.
Lancaster County Holstein
Club tours Centre County
By Tom Armstrong
TO INSPECT PASTURES
The disposal of junk and
trash in the country con
tinues to be a problem. I’m
aware that too many fields
contain bottles, tin cans,
papers, and other forms of
domestic trash. In pasture
fields where livestock will
soon be grazing, there is
danger of poisoning from
this trash. Producers should
take the time to go over the
pasture area, especially
along roads, and remove the
material before the livestock
have a chance at it. I’ve
known of paint cans and
empty chemical cans that
learns that his prodigal
brother has returned and his
grateful father has declared
a banquet.
The older brother does not
join in toe celebration. No,
he is “angry,” very angry.
And can’t we understand
how he feels? After all, he
didn’t run away to a far
country and demand his
share of toe inheritance. He
stayed onfand worked faith
fully for his father - yes, even
having to pick up some of his
brother’s work in his ab
sence. He did all toe things a
dutiful son is supposed to do,
but there was never any
celebration for him.
“These many years...!”
His problem is that he
cannot see beyond toe fatted
calf on toe banquet table.
Both had wanted what they
thought was theirs by right,
although they pursued it in
different ways. The younger
brother had learned that
there is more to life than
one’s share of “what is
coming to you,” The older
brother by his words and
actions reveals that he still
does not understand that. In
other words, it does not
appear that the older brother
remained and loyally served
his father because be loved
him, but because he had his
eye on toe “fatted calf.”
Some of us are the
“prodigal son” and some of
us are the “elder brother,”
but both of us must look
beyond the “fatted calf.”
farms and related dairy
facilities at Penn State.
The group leaves from
the Farm and Home
Center parking lot at 8
aan.
Wednesday, March 23
Penn State seminar on
gardening at the Far
m and Home Center,
Lancaster, 7:30 p.m.
A.G. Lueck in charge.
Lancaster County 4-H Expo
begins today and runs
through Saturday at
Park City Mall.
Farm Financial
Management Clinic at
the Lancaster Farm and
Home Center, 9:30 am.
to 3- pm. Program
repeated same time
tomorrow.
Land-use Planning meeting
in the ELCO High School
vo-ag room. Four
speakers dealing with the
preservation of far
mland, floodplane
management, tax reform
and rural development,
i Continued on Page 33]
NOW IS
THE TIME
Max Smith
Comity Agr. Agent
Telephone 394-6851
are dangerous to livestock
that have been found in th e
rural areasT When remove
this material farmers arc
urged to report any means of
identification of the material
to township officers ot
supervisors; thoughtless
persons who continue to
dispose of their trash in this
manner should be
prosecuted.
TO SHEAR SHEEP
When warm Spring
weather arrives, the sheep
flock should be removed of
their fleeces. Too man;
times the sheep are not
sheared until late May or
June when they have been
hampered by the wool in hot
weather. The ewes will null
better and Be better mothers
to their lambs if they are
sheared during March or
April. The fleeces should be
dry when sheared and stored
in a dry, clean place until
marketed. We suggest the
nearby wool pools as a good
means of selling the wool on
the merit basis; the wool will
be graded at these pools
Both the Berks County pool
at Reading and the Cum
berland County pool at
Carlisle will take Lancaster
County fleeces. Details are
available. The other day at a
livestock meeting, Ben
Morgan from Penn State
reported that 80 percent of
the wool produced in Penn
sylvania is sold through one
of the cooperative wool
pools.
TO MAKE STRAIGHT
ALFALFA SEEDING
Local growers who have
open ground and want to
establish a new stand of
alfalfa could be getting their
ground ready for this new
seeding. Many growers have
been very successful m
recent years by making a
seeding of only alfalfa late in
March or early April. By
making the seeding very
early in the Spring, one or
more cuttings can be made
during the first season. The
band seeding method is
suggested where the seeds
are carried down under the
drill and dropped in a row
over a band of complete
fertilizer. Band seeding
attachments are available
for most drills. When making
the straight alfalfa seeding,
some form of chemical weed
control is needed. Please
refer to the 1977 Agronomy
Guide for details.
TO SAVE FUEL
PLANTA
WINDBREAK
The planting of trees for a
natural windbreak 15
suggested at this time in
order to save fuel and
energy. Many folks in the
rural areas experienced
very cold winds last January
and high fuel consumption-
Several rows of evergreen
trees planted on the windy
side of homes and fa oll
buildings will give con
siderable protection and
reduce heating costs. In li° e
with energy conservation
and the reduction of fuel
costs local farmers an*
urged to give windbreak 5
some consideration. I* l '
formation on the kinds ot
evergreen trees and t* lB
spacing is available upon
request from any Extension
office.
•••