Alo—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 17,1981
Lancaster Farming says...
As Friday afternoon draws on,
reflections from the 1981 Farm Show
flash by like the colors in a
kaleidoscope.
All things considered, the Show
was one of the most successful in
recent years
But through the seven days of
exhibiting, Saturday through Friday,
a number of problems showed up
We feel some of them could be
corrected.
Disqualifications always mean
disappointment This year there
seemed to be a larger than usual
number of animals who did not meet
standards
At least three steers were
disqualified from the junior beef
judging because they exceeded the
1350 pound weight limit Keeping
some of the modern crosses below
that weight is difficult, especially
when an exhibitor wants to put finish
on the animal.
The question here is whether the
MAMMON BY
A LANDSLIDE
January 18,1981
Background Scripture
Matthew 8 through 10.
Devotional Reading:
Acts 10:34-43.
I write these words just a
few days after our national
elections. My recollection of
TO PREVENT FIRES...
The best way to put out a fire
is never to allow it to hap
pen; fire prevention and the
removal of potential fire
hazards is very much in
order. I’ve noticed the larger
ease auras
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Reflections on 1981 Farm Show
breeders are exhibiting thrifty
animals which reach market weight
quickly and economically
Several junior hog entries were
sent back because they lacked
pseudorabies blood test certificates
We applaud the judges’ decision
here After all, there almost was no
hog show because of a pseudorabies
scare.
One young woman was eliminated
from the beef showmanship com
petition because she did not show
her own beef animal (she would have
been the grand champ)
A top Hereford exhibitor was
disqualified because the cattle lacked
ear tatoos
All the incidents were unfortunate
and should show future exhibitors
the need to read the Show rulebook
and comply with it If the rules are
felt to be too strict, take action to
change them
Why were the tie-outs for cattle put
up next to the railroad track so only
one side could be used 7 Despite this
this election campaign is a
mental collage of banners,
slogans, ecstatic crowds,
übiquitous political com
mercials, posters, bumper
stickers, signs and a
seemingly inexhaustible
supply of newspaper articles
and television reports
According to the experts,
this has been the biggest and
most expensive campaign
ever
The Plentiful Harvest
I can’t help musing over
this gigantic expenditure of
energy and material wealth
to place a single human
being into office. The “what
ifs” haunt me. What if. that
time and space in print and
radio/tv had been devoted to
wrong way Space does not exactly how to operate it
permit listing all of the fire Smoking around the bam or
hazards, but folks should near flammable materials
make a special effort to should also be banned.
prevent a fire. The fire TO EXERCISE THE EWE
extinguisher is a very useful FLOCK... Sheep producers
piece of equipment to put out are all looking forward to the
lambing season; the goal
should be the weaning of two
lambs per ewe; this would be
I'W lA Wifi& UJOQOU&RKUH&I
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witnessing for Christ’ Just
once a century, what if...we
were to become that excited
about the Kingdom of God’
What if instead of those
interminable political
speeches we had given equal
time to the words of our
Lord’ And instead of telling
people how to vote, what if
we had spent that same time
and energy showing people
howto live’
Jesus told his disciples,
“The harvest is plentiful, but
the laborers are few ”
(9-37) Yes, the plentiful
harvest is still before us, and
the laborers are still all too
“few.” But must it be that
way 7 Jesus had only twelve
inefficiency, it was nice to have them
closer to the barn, more convenient
for the cattlemen
Sheep and hog exhibitors were at it
again
The fight continues about wool
clippings down drains, clogging the
outlets, and forcing overflow water
into hog pens
There are just two wash pens for
both hogs and sheep The word’s out
that the one pen, with an elevated
pipe, will rum any unsuspecting bred
gilt who is washed there.
Cherry bombs and cup-popping
remain safety hazards Although the
incidence of trouble seems to be
decreasing, the Clydesdale show was
marred by several loud noises
There's another safety hazard, too
This one shows up in the ring
We question how some of the
toddlers—and they’re hardly more
than that—can be expected to
survive in the showmanship con
tests
It’s cutesy to send pre-schoolers
men and an unnumbered
group of women to follow
him Between them they
hundred posters But today
we have the means means
far beyond anything the
original disciples could have
imagined If the laborers are
“few,” it is not a paucity of
numbers, but a poverty of
commitment and concern
Mammon and God are still
campaigning for our souls
and we are still voting for
Mammon at the polling
place of our priorities and
commitment
He Gave Authority
What I envision with my
“what ifs” is not an ad
vertising extravaganza or a
public relations blitzkrieg
the cold winter mon. . This
should result in stronger
lambs; it will not have any
effect on the number of twins
that are dropped, but should
not only produce stronger
lambs, but keep the ewes in a
more healthy conditioned.
The feeding of hay out in the
exercise lot on snow or
frozen ground is a good
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A CHANCE-To USE
PAINE, i'm-TAKING
ID'
by curt hauler, editor
Nor am I calling for political
conventionsize rallies for
Christ or daily radio/tv
interviews with Christian
spokesmen. Least of all am I
envisioning an avalanche of
posters and pamphlets
What I look for is the same
kind of campaign that Jesus
conducted with his con
stituency when he sent out
his twelve disciples into the
precincts of the people of
Israel. With the exception of
proclamation, “The
Kingdom of heaven is at
hand,” (10 7), Jesus gave
them no speeches, press
releases, or party platforms
What he gave them was the
authority to perform com
passionate acts “authority
farm product that is m the
greatest demand and one
that will bnng the most
profitable price is the one to
produce. This is not always
the highest price on the
mrket but the most
profitable price. Some cattle
feeders tiy to top the market
when they sell their cattle;
this might be an ac
Farm Calendar
Saturday, January 17 vention, Holiday Inn,
Dairy goat meeting, 9.30-12; Grantville, banquet 6.30-
Farm and Home Center. 8, contmues tomorrow.
Chinchilla Fur Producer’s Thirteenth annual Sim
meeting, 7 p.m; Mon- mental Association
tgomery County 4-H Annual meetmg, Fair-
Center, Lansdale. mont Hotel, Denver,
Huntingdon County Holstein Colorado.
Club annual meeting; Dairy Reproduction
Juniata Valley School, Workshop, 9:30-3, Farm
Alexandria, 7 pm. and Home Center, con
’onday, January 19 tmues January 20.
PA armer’s Union Con- (Turn to Page A3 l)
into the ring, and the judge is certain
to be impressed with the size con
trast between child and animal, but
even a modest size hog can sent a
200-pound farmer flying. What
chance does a 50 pound child have if
blindsided by an uncontrolled
animal 7
Shouldn’t there be a downside age
limit on exhibitors in the Open Show
ring 7 In 4-H competition, the limit is
nine years.
This brings up the point of young 4-
H’ers showing heavyweight steers
Are the parents of these youngsters
keeping the 4-H method in mind
learning by doing —'when they buy
these crossbreds that will finish out
over 1200 pounds for their 60 pound
kids?
A child’s bad experience with one
of these steers (some are a handful
for the parents) could rum the child’s
interest in raising a baby beef
Still, the overall impression of
Farm Show 1981 was that of a well
run Show, one for the scrapbook
over unclean spirits, to cast
them out, and to heal every
disease and every in
firmity ” The charge he
gives them is no less than
precise “Heal the sick,
raise the dead, cleanse
lepers, cast out demons.”
Although the election is
over, the controversy still
rages shall Christians carry
their religion into their
politics. To me. the answer is
not “whether” but how we do
it It is one thing to seek
power to make people
conform to your own ideas
and values and something
else to carry out Christ’s
command to render com
passionate deeds in the
name of the kingdom
milk and fat may not have
made their owner the most
money. Efficient production
is the goal and in order to
attain that fact, producers
should be well acquainted
with what the market wants.
In the fat cattle market we
have noticed that over-fat,
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