Three worthwhile publicity ideas
If you can’t bring the school
children to the farm to see the cows,
then why not take the cows to the
children 7
That’s exactly what several
imaginative men with the New
Hampshire Agricultural Extension
Service did last year. They found that
many schools were curtailing field
trips due to costs and other
problems. Seeing a need for better
public relations, dairy specialists
organized a program whereby a calf
and a cow are taken from school to
school in a horse trailer. An ag Ex-
tension agent travels along to answer
questions from teachers and
chi'dren Farmers near the schools
participate by supplying the cow and
calf for periods of time.
A worthwhile effort 7 You bet it is.
The men (responsible for it in New
Hampshire contacted tens of
thousands of youngsters with that
program and the effort has won them
a state award m a public relations
program coordinated by the National
Association of County Agricultural
Agents.
What’s more, the visits by dairy
animals to schools was very well
accepted by school administrators. So
well, in fact, that they’re standing in
line waiting for their turn to the treat.
Children have amazed organizers of
the program with-their interest and
enthusiasm Oftentimes the young
students thrill the county agents by
being able to remember milk facts
dished out the year before.
To top it all off, New Hampshire are
newspapermen came out to take
pictures and write feature stories,
thus bringing the dairy story to even
larger audiences
THE
SERENDIPITY
ROAD
Lesson for April 17,1977
Background Scripture:
Luke 24:13-35
Devotional Reading:
1 Corinthians 15-11.
Serendipity, in case you’ve
forgotten is that happy
faculty of discovering
something of value while in
the act of searching for
something else. (It comes
from the ancient Arab name
for Sri Lanka or Ceylon.) All
of us have serendipity ex
periences, although often we
fail to recognize them as
such.
A little over four years ago
I had a serendipity ex
perience on the road to
Emmaus. It was my first
tour to the Holy Land and we
were preparing to leave
Jerusalem for Athens. One
day before our scheduled
departure from Jerusalem
we received word that Air
France has suddenly and
inexplicably cancelled our
flight. We could not change
to an alternate flight until
the following day and our
stay m Greece would thus be
cut short by a day - a very
valuable day m light of our
brief itinerary there.
Kept from
recognizing him
What would we do with our
extra day in Jerusalem I
The New Hampshire Extension
Service deserves to be applauded for
this creative and worthwhile project.
Not surprisingly, they're going to
keep the project alive, because
they’re not at all anticipating running
out of grade school youngsters who
haven’t yet heard the message.
Up iq Franklin County, Vermont,
they're going all out to bring the farm
story closer to the consumer.
Check this project, the brainchild of
an Extension Agent in that neck of the
New England woods:
Every year the Franklin County
Extension Service and a local radib
station get together for a full-day
broadcast direct from a dairy farm
An open house at the host farm runs
in conjunction with the broadcast,
and it draws hundreds of interested
visitors from all over, including
tourists from other sections of the
country.
When those fellows up there get
ready for the broadcast, they don’t
leave anything out Just about every
asked our Arab guide? It was
hard for me to suppress my
keen disappointment which
was shared by the members
of the tour. Elias, our guide,
however, was happy for the
opportunity to have one
more day to show us the Holy
Land. “I have just the
thing,” he assured me,
‘‘we’ll take them on an
exucrsion to Emmaus.”
Hardly encouraged, but
having no alternative, I
agreed.
As we motored over the
narrow road we came to
Gibeon, the ancient city
whose inhabitants tricked
Joshua. Here, disembarking
from our bus, we walked for
half a mile over what had
been the Emmaus road in
Jesus’ time.“ Here,” said
Elias, his eyes glistening and
moist, “is one place where I
believe I can say in all
certainty that we are
‘walking where Jesus
walked!”’ None of us said
anything and the silence
continued until, to make
certain we all quite un
derstood, Elias said, “This is
the very road to Emmaus
upon which Jesus and his two
RURAL ROUTE
fA
EDITORIAL COMMENTS
By Dieter Krieg, Editor
10 —Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 16, 1977
disciples walked on Easter
Sunday evening!”
Immediately I thought of
how the two disciples had
walked this road with Jesus,
yet not recognizing him. It
occurred to me that that
same thing could have
happened to us that af
ternoon.
Their eyes
were opened
Suddenly, I realized just
how serendipitous was the
cancellation of our flight and
the additional day in.lsrael.
We were not missing
something; in fact, we had
gained something. We had
taken this road to see a
shrine and along the way our
eyes were opened and we
experienced the Christ!
Is that not a common
experience? There are many
times during life’s journey
when we seem to be on a
secondary or country road,
perhaps even a detour, and
are quite oblivious to the
presence of our Lord with us.
Like those two disciples, our
eyes are “kept from
recognizing him.” Just
because we expect Jesus to
be limited to the temples, the
WHAT MAKES YOU
THINK SO ?
I
\)
Eftwhiitq
Pennsylvania Areas
agribusiness is represented. The
need for fertilizer, exact feeding
programs, land-use, erosion control
and everything else is explained.
Artificial insemination, taxes,
legislation, marketing, and much
more are included.
For 12 hours the participating
individuals beam their information
message over the airways. Con
sumers tune in by the thousands and
visit by the hundreds.
Does it work and is it appreciated 7
The fact that it’s been going on for
10 years should answer the question.
The imaginative Franklin County,
Vermont, agricultural agent has
initiated other programs besides. His
home county has a population of
about 32,000, among which are 650
dairymen and 350 maple syrup
producers. He has organized a maple
syrup publicity campaign similar to
the open house functions on the dairy
farm
To top it all off, each Summer
there’s a big farm festival which is
designed to promote agriculture and
TO APPLY SPRAYS
ON TIME
There are many types and
mixes of spray materials
recommended for various
farm, orchard, and garden
crops. All of these have a
label including specific in-
courts, and main highways
of life, does not mean that he
is thus limited. If we look for
him along the way, if our
hearts are open to him, if we
will expect him as our
companion, he is just as
likely to appear on our
Emmaus roads, talking with
us and breaking bread with
us, as anywhere else along
life’s way.
BECAI
DON'T
TRAN!
Soon
GOING-
n
better relations with the consuming
public
How about a day, on the farm for
legislators? That’s what the Ex
tension boys in Massachusetts put
together
Can you see the headlines in the
paper after big-name senators like
Kennedy stomp through the barn
yard 7 I saw the headlines and
believe me, they, were big and at
tractive. Right on page 1 with big
pictures. Pretty nifty way to get the
public to read a few paragraphs
about what’s happening down on the
farm.
If the brains in New England can
come up with such commendable
projects, there’s not much reason
similar efforts can’t be employed
elsewhere
This editorial was written for two
reasons. First, to offer
congratualtions and applause to the
men who initiated the above
mentioned public relations activities.
In my opinion they're outstanding by
any standard.
The second purpose of these
comments is to instigate some
creative and positive actions along
similar lines in other portions of the
country.
Nothing is more important than
agriculture. Without it all is lost.
Unfortunately, the agricultural
community is dwindling in size and
strength Lacking in understanding
and knowledge of the farmer’s
situation, a majority of people is
ignorant of agriculture s importance.
That’s why the public relations
projects mentioned here are so vital
and commendable.
NOW IS
THE TIME...
Max Smith
County Agr. Agent
Telephone 394-6851
structions. We have men
tioned before the importance
of following the instructions.
The purpose of this article is
to stress the importance of
proper timing of the spray
application. In the case of
fruit trees, the weather has
pushed them very fast in the
past week, and unless the
grower was on the job, it
may be too late for some of
the sprays. We urge prompt
and careful attention to
applying the spray at the
right time. Too late will not
control the problem and may
injure the leaves.
TO REFRAIN FROM
SEVERE PRUNING
Many evergreen shrubs
and trees show signs of
By Tom Armstrong
winter injury; the leaves on
hollies are dropping and
many azaleas, arborborvitas
and rhododendrons have
dead branches. We suggest
patience in cutting out these
limbsd and trees, because it
is quite likely new leaves
may develop. In the case of
the American Holly trees I
would not do heavy pruning
until the first of June to be
sure that the limbs and
branches will not come back.
With sufficient rainfall
during the next month, no
watering should be needed.
With recently planted bushes
and trees (in last 2 or 3
ydars) an application of a
complete fertilizer might
help revive the plant.
TO PROTECT
MILK FLAVOR
Many dairymen will be
turning their herd to pasture
in the next few weeks.
Consumer complaints about
the taste of milk may be
quite common, unless
special attention is given. A
grass taste will be hard to
prevent, if the herd con
sumes lush forage at this
time of the year. However,
this flavor can be reduced by
grazing the herd only a few
hours after milking and
remove them for at least 4
| Continued on Page 19)
Farm
Calendar
Today, April 16
Hatfield Horseshoes 4-H
Club hold immunization
clinic, 8 a.m. to noon at
the 4-H Center in Lan
sdale, Montgomery
County.
(Continued on Page 11]