Alo—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 12,1980
Lancaster Farming says... K
Back m the 1930 s it was easy to
tell a hero: he rode the fastest horse
in the movie and alwavc had a white
hat.
In the 40s he was a Marine,
somewhat dirty and ysually grunting,
but he did a job for his country.
In the 50s the hero was a ball
player. He usually earned a black bat
and swaggered a bit as he came off
the bench, to face a do-or-die
situation the way any hero should.
But in the past decade, Americans
have a new hero. He rides a John
Deere, still grunts a lot. His cap has a
seed corn logo above the visor.
With the 1980 s less than a full
week old, the hero of the 70s was
called on to pinch hit again.
The Soviet Union has invaded
Afghanistan and the United States of
America, with all of its military
budget and high priced generals
once again turned to its pinch hitter
to do something to save the day.
It isn't the first time farmers have
been called upon to save the day for
the country. They endured the pain
of the Nixon Administration’s wheat
deal, forfeiting millions of dollars in
potential profits in the name of
diplomatic strategy.
Just two short years after that the
FRIENDS
AT BETHANY
Lesson for January 13,1980
Background Scripture:
John 11:144.
Devotional Reading:
Romans 6:1-11.
Among the most troubling
TO ORDER
SPRING SUPPLIES
It might seem a bit cold
and wintry to be thinking
about spring plantings and
RURAL ROUTE
jVe LISTENED
WEANED CALF LONG ENOUGH)
I j r
Ju /-
sentences m the gospels are
these two:
Now Jesus loved Martha
and her sister and Lazarus.
So when he heard that he
was ill, he stayed two days
longer in the place that he
was (John 11:5,6).
If I had been writing the
script, I should have writ
ten:
...So when he heard that he
was ill, he left immediately
to go to his friends at
Bethany!
But John does not report
the incident as we would
have written it, but as it was
reported to him baffling
as Jesus’ response to his
friends may seem.
~NOW IS THE TIME ByMa ‘ Sm,th u Se er 394 u 6^i Aenc,ll,uralABent ■ ]
_i_j . : A
spring work, but it is not too
soon. According to the
calendar about 8 to 10 weeks
from now we will be thinking
about making a garden and
getting the early crops
started. Supplies may not
meet the demand on many
items; therefore it is not too
early to be placing your
order. We have already
stressed the need of buying
l-13-
Agriculture
farmer, with promises of unlimited
markets planted fencerow-to
fencerow and produced the biggest
crop ever, only to see trade em
bargoes slapped on his goods.
And now, in early 1980, the farmer
once again finds his production will
be a pawn in the chess game of in
ternational politics.
U.S. President Jimmy Carter told
the Russians that 17 million tons of
grain, in excess of the amount we are
committed to sell, will not be
delivered.
This was more than a slap at the
Russ'ans. The 1979 USSR gram crop
was a disaster, down more than 25
percent from the previous year. The
Russians were counting on pur
chasing gram m excess of that called
for in our five year agreement to
cover this shortfall.
Carter said the grain was not
intended for human consumption but
was to be used for building up Soviet
livestock herds.
Be that as it may, it means the
Russians will slaughter rather than
feed a great deal of cattle this year
and will not hold back the breeding
stock intended for market m 1982.
These long-term effects of the
embarpo nrobably will bother the
I Go To Awake Him!
The writer of the Fourth
Gospel makes it evident that
Jesus purposely delayed his
departure for Bethany. And
when, at last, Jesus ap
proaches Bethany two days
later, Martha realizes that
there has been a tragic delay
on the part of her friend;
“Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have
died” (11:21). We cannot fail
to detect the note of reproach
in this greeting. Martha
might just as well have
demanded: “Why didn’t you
come right away?”
Some of the neighbors of
the Bethany family of
Martha, Mary and Lazarus
fertilizers early because of
higher prices. Many agri
business concerns will ap
preciate early orders to give
good service.
TO SERVICE
FARM MACHINERY
This is the time of the year
to be getting the farm
equipment ready for work,
'lo the first place, it should be
brought in out of the
to the rescue
Russans more than the short term
effects
Carter said he was determined to
minimize any adverse impact on the
American farmer. He said the un
delivered 17 million tons would be
removed from the market through
storage and price support programs.
He spoke, too, of using the gram for
gasohol.
But the farmer of today, unlike
heroes of the past, receives no glory,
no pat on the back, no cash bonus for
playing the game.
While nobody would suggest the
U.S. enter a shooting war with
Russia, it's difficult to believe the
American farmer won’t be the one
hurt most by the President's
proposal.
Carter’s announcement of the
grain embargo was a shock to the
gram marketing system. All member
exchanges of the Commodity Futures
Trading Commission closed down
Monday and Tuesday to let the
market digest the new develop
ments.
A number of questions remain to
be answered. Do farmers have a
guarantee the gram will not come
back onto the market at all 7 Won’t
also were dumbfounded by
Jesus’ seemingly callous
tardiness: “Could not he who
opened the eyes of the blind
man have kept this man
from dying?” (11:37).
His disciples didn’t un
derstand; Martha and Mary
did not understand; and the
People of Bethany did not
understand either. But the
writer of John indicates that
from the very beginning
Jesus has a higher purpose
to perform. It is because of
his love for the Bethany
family that he delays. Even
as he leaves for Bethany, it
is apparent that Jesus knows
that Lazarus is already dead
and the resurrection of his
weather. I stm see too much
machinery left out m the
fields and barnyards. This is
very poor management and
will shorten the life of the
equipment. The repairing of
farm machinery is needed
every year and now would be
a good time to make use of
the off-season labor supplies.
Machinery is a huge in
vestment and should be kept
By Tom Armstrong
by curt harler, editor
friend in Bethany is planned
as an opportunity wherein
the Son of God may be
glorified. “Our friend
Lazarus has fallen asleep,
but I go to awake him out of
sleep.” (11:11).
Yes, Lord
Yet, even in her sorrow,
there is a flicker of faith in
Martha, for, after
reproaching her friend, she
says, “And even now I know
that what you ask from God,
God will give you” (11:23).
And it is this confession of
faith that brings forth the
true meanmg of this event:
“I am the resurrection and
the life; he who believes in
in good condition at all
tunes. Ram and snow results
in rust development; rusty
machinery has a shorter life
span and will end in
numerous break-downs.
TO PROTECT EYES
Many farmers are guilty
of not wearing safety glasses
or goggles as much as they
should. When working
around electric welding
outfits it is a “must” to wear '
safety glasses This same
thing is true when using
some pesticides in which
Farm Calendar
Tuesday, January 15
Delaware Dairy Day,
Sheraton Inn, Dover, 10
a m
Montgomery Co Turf School
& Exhibits, Westover
Country Club, continues
through Wednesday
Garden Spot Young Farmers
the very existence of the gram stocks
be a drag on market prices, with a
temptation to future administrations
to release it to hold down consumer
prices 7
What provisions are made for
keeping an orderly market should the
Russians, by some outside chance,
bow to our demands and ask for the
gram 7 While the President’s idea
to use the gram for gasohol is
laudable, where m this country do we
have stills set up to use 17 milhorl
tons of gram 7 And at what price will
the gram move 7
Is it unpatriotic to ask these
questions m time of national crisis?
We think not. .no more than it is
unpatriotic for firms to assure
themselves of a profit when they
build tanks and airplanes
We wonder, too, if the heroes of oldf
didn't get tired of riding to the rescue
again, climbing one more hill, war
ming the bench until the team was in
trouble.
Farmers again are being asked to
fill the gap. We’ll do it because it is
right, because our country calls
But once, just once, it might be
nice if payday were to come even if
only m the form of a pat on the back
or a simple “thank you "
me, though he die, yet shall
he hve .. Do you
this?”
So Lazarus was
resurrected because his
sisters trusted in the Master.
But eventually he would die
again as we all do. So the
meaning of this incident is,
not that the disciple of Jesus
Christ shall not experience
death, but that he is the Lord
of life and death and, if we
put ourselves in his keeping,
then we will know that
victpry of eternal life that
transcends death of all kinds
experienced on either side of
the grave.
case the drift can be in
jurious to the eyes. After all,
eye sight is one of the most
important personal
properties in life. The eyes
should be protected at all
times. Don’t be guilty of
taking chances with your
eyes. Wear those safety
glasses
TO CHECK
ICE THICKNESS
Ice skating is a very
popular winter sport. Farm
ponds offer this kind of
(Turn to Page A 43)
Meeting, financing farm
business, Garden Spot
High School, 7 ;30p.m. |
Frankbn Co Corn Clinic/
Kauffman’s Community
Center, 9am to 330
p m
(Turn to Page A 47)