—Uucaster Farming, Saturday, Septambar 1,1979
10
"Agriculture, without soil conservation, is built
on a system of self-destruction.”
I don’t remember who said it or when or why,
but those words have remained lodged in my mind
since I first came across them two years ago. It
kind of sums up the situation in 12 words.
The simple fact is that without soil there is no
farming. And • good soil, like so many other
posessions must be protected or it will be lost,
never to be replaced.
All cleared and cultivated sloping land-and most
of the land is sloping to some degree-is exposed to
accelerated erosion by the elements of water and
wind.
And today there is the problem of less land being
available to farm every year, and one can’t forget
the growing world population that places more
demands on farms and fields every year.
Most farmers realize that erosion can be a
threat to their farmland but not all conceive of the
severity of the problem nor the diligent care that is
needed to handle such a menace.
HOW GREAT
THOU ART!
Lesson for September 2, 1979
Background Scripture:
Psalms 104;
Proverbs 3:19-26
8:22-31.
Devotional Reading:
Genesis 1:1-13.
TO CONSIDER
WINTER COVER CROP
Have you ever noticed the
muddy water running from a
hillside during a winter rains
storm?? Open ground that is
frozen at the time of a heavy
rain or heavy snow melt
during die Winter is very
much exposed to serious soil
erosion. This has happened
on far too many farms in
recent years. In order to
correct this situation we
RURAL ROUTE
y’ICMOW HOW UPSET DAD G-ETS WHEN W£
ACCUSE HIM O' KEEPING CA6FP MYERS
IN PRISON 1 LET'S PUT THIS IN THE
AUTOMATIC PEEPER
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Comments
Soil conservation vital to today’s agriculture
A woman had been coming
for counseling for some time
and her tale of woe seemed
unending. Each week she
related a different chapter of
pain, misery and disap
pointment. The counselor
listened patiently until one
day he stopped her in the
middle of complaints,
saying: “I think 1 have just
the therapy for you: I
suggest you take a trip to
Niagra Falls and take a long,
hard look at something
bigger and greater then your
own aches and pains! ”
There are many people
who might profit from that
rather offbeat prescription:
the monumental misery and
» KIAMA/ IfV Tl IP Tl kA P" ' ByMax Smith, Lancaster County Agricultural Agent ]
. NOW lb THE I lAAE J
J : : ; : : • L - ■ ■ •
suggest that the ground be
growing some vegetation
during the winter months.
Sod fields will seldom suffer
from soil erosion. The
planting of a cover crop in
the fell will give ground
cover and prevent both
water and soil losses. Crops
such as ary of the winter
grams (barley, wheat or
rye), or domestic ryegrass,
or field bromegrass will
grow late into the fall and
develop good root systems.
All of these can be grazed by
livestock late into the fall
and early next spring. Don’t
permit soil erosion because
of open ground this winter.
By Ken dace Borry, Associate Editor
The fact of the matter is, like everything else,
good care of the soil, takes time and management.
It may mean doing things a little different from
year to year, or even day to day, and .nvplve some
new ideas, but the ultimate goal of preserving the
soil in the fields will be realized.
And considering the fact that it takes between
500 and 1000 years to create one inch of topsoil
from bedrock, and in Lancaster County alone, up
to 27 tons of topsoil per acre per year can be
eroded away, the safekeeping of this precious
resource, is not something that should ever be
taken lightly.
The battle is a continuous one, with nature and
the elements on one side, and man, his needs, and
technology on the other.
And when nature wins, man pays the price.
This Summer nature dealt a particularly bad
blow to the Farmersville area where in July a
storm took the opportunity to damage and destroy
crops, robbing the fields of the needed topsoil
unhappiness they experience
in life needs to be placed in
perspective with something
much greater. This is one of
the reasons why people need
God: we need him so that we
can see our lives in per
spective. It is not that our
lives are not important, that
our aches and pains, hurts
and disappointments are not
justified bat that they are
not quite so great and im
portant when we see them in
the light of God’s own
greatness.
Thou Art Very Great!
Actually, we need praise
ancf revere God, not just to
please him, but much more
because we have a need to
TO BEWARE OF SILO GAS
Silo filling time is at hand
and in the next month
thousands of tons of com
silage will be put into silos.
When we get this great
amount of fermenting com
at one place there is often
gases given off that are very
dangerous. We urge farmers
to caution their children and
employees about this
danger. Some of the gases
are colorless and some are
yellow in color; most of them
are irritating to the eyes and
respiratory system, and
have the odor similar to
laundry bleaches. Never
enter a partly filled silo
give God praise. We need it!
Without it, we are denying
ourselves sonaethmg that is
vital to our own well-being.
The worshipper of God, thus,
is blessed by his worship
because there is something
in all human beings that
needs to acknowledge:
“Bless the Lord, 0 my soul!
0 Lord my God thou art very
great!” (Psalms 104:1).
As Long As I Live!
So the key to un
derstanding worship is, not
that God requires it of us, but
that we require it for our own
wellbeing. We need to praise
without running the blower
or ventilating fans.
TO FLUSH EWE FLOCK
Sheep producers are m the
breeding season now in
order to have early spring
lambs. The health of both of
the ewe and the ram at
mating time is very im
portant for a large number
of twin lambs. Every
shepherd should aim for a
200% lamb crop; that is, two
lambs raised per ewe. This
requires very good care and
some special treatments.
Flushing of the ewes several
weeks prior to being bred is
one of them; this means the
adding of extra gram to their
By Tom Armstrong
WISE <W THAT
E IN THE /
y
>-
I will sing to the Lord as
long as I live;
I will sing praise to my
God while I have being.
(104:33)
Perhaps that is the secret
of the amazing universal
popularity of the song, “How
Great Thou Art!” It is a
beautiful and stirring
ration, or turning them out
on real good grass-type
pasture. When the ewes are
in a healthy, gaming con
dition at breeding time, they
will be more likely to have
twin lambs. In the spring,
lambs have been selling at a
very high price; every sheep
producer should make a
special effort now to have a
large lamb crop to market.
PESTICIDES CAREFULLY
For many gardeners and
farmers the spraying season
is about over for this year.
Where do you plan to store
your left-over chemicals?
This can be a very important
Today, September 1
Chester County 4-H dog
roundup at the Church
Farm School in Exton,
beginning at 1 p.m.
Monday, September 3
Labor Day - Enjoy your
vacation day.
Flemmgton Fair concludes
today including garden
tractor pulling contests
and parade.
Wednesday, September 5
7^.~.n35
Lane. Co. Conservation
District monthly board
This week farmers met with soil conservation
officials to find out what could be done to keep this
ravaging of the fields from occunng again
My hat is off to those farmers whotbok the time
from their busy schedules to attend such" a
meeting.
Soil conservation is one of those issues that
easily can be tabled in a farmer’s mind as
something that can be put off until tomorrow. The
fact that these farmers recognized the urgency of
saving the soil today instead of tomorrow shows
that they recognize the responsibility that they
have.
Not only is it a farmer's duty to protect his soil
from day to day, but as a good steward, he guards
his land for the generations to come, so that they
too someday will enjoy the labors of working with
the land.
In these days of protecting resources, let’s not
forget the one that we find under our feet.
God far more than he needs
to have our praise. If we
neglect that praise and
reverence, we are the one
who rob and cheat ourselves.
The Psalmist knew this
and his ancient wisdom is as
applicable to us today as it
was in his own time:
TOSTORE
Farm Calendar
melody, but the music is the
servant of the words and the
universal reality behind
those words. It is more than
mind and voice that are
engaged: “Then sings my
soul, my Saviour, God, to
thee: How great Thou art!
How great Thou art! ”
It is the soul that ship
God’s praise because human
beings can only begin to
realize that greatness for
which they were created
when the can first
acknowledge:
“HOW GREAT THOU
ART!”
decision with major con
sequenses. If kept in various
places m a very reckless
manner, it can result in the
poisoning of some of your
family, or some, of your
livestock. This should not be
allowed to happen under
good management. All spray
materials should be stored is
a separate room or building
and kept under lock and key.
By all means keep them
away from feed and seed
supplies. Too many times
some of the chemical pellets
are mis-used in livestock
feeds. Be careful with all
spray materials and store
them away from any chance 7
mis-use.
meeting in the conference
room of the Farm and
Home Center starting at
7:30 p.m. The public is
invited.
Friday, September 7
York Interstate Fair, York,
Pa. continues through
next Saturday.
Saturday, September 8
Grata Fair, Grata, Pa.
begins today through next
Saturday.
Cecil County Breeders' Fair
at Cochranville, Md.