AlD—tancartor Farming, Saturday, November 21,1981
A time for giving thanks
Mother Nature is once again signaling the
end of a productive if not necessarily
prosperous farming year
Trees devoid of foliage stand out starkly
against the horizon, silhouetting fence rows
and reminding everyone that winter’s cold
blasts will soon be whining through barren
branches.
As the last of the field corn clanks noisily
from the mouth of the picker and lands with a
thud atop mounds of golden ears, we are
reminded of our bountiful harvest and -the
blessings that our crops were given in this
year of unpredictable weather.
Geese, gregariously honking their way to the
sunny south, abandon our colder climes with
each beat of their silent wings. Their V-shaped
formation marks the route for their annual
trek to find a more hospitable winter home
It’s a melancholy time of year as field work
winds down and farmers turn their thoughts
to long postponed but urgently needed
machinery repair and maintenance The warm
machine shed is much more inviting than a
wind-raked tractor seat no debate
With sweatshirt hood and cap pulled snug
around our ears, we hurry with the outside
chores wishing the water hose would fill
those troughs faster promising to cut
down on the number of and space between
calf hutches strung out around the buildings
. lingering a little longer than usual in the
comfy hog or broiler houses
The animals, too, are ‘dressing’ for the
season Summer coats have been shed and
replaced by furry, fuzzy, soft-as-down hair
Human hands often find warmth and a respite
from the chapping cold as they are wfiggled
under the animal’s natural blanket i
Coming in from the cold, damp fall day, we
sit down to a hearty meal with visions of a
plump Thanksgiving turkey in everyone's
NOW IS THE TIME
To Observe
Farm-City Week
Pennsylvania’s 25th observance
of Farm-City Week - scheduled
through Thursday emphasizes
the concern for improving our
quality of life and recognizes the
responsibilities which are shared
by both barn and urban people.
The 1981 celebration also focuses
attention on the fact that un
derstanding the problems *of rural
and urban residents are
everyone’s concern.
Farm-City Week observances
were organized on a national scale
26 years ago “to bring about a
better understanding between
rural and urban segments of
society, thus making for a stronger
America.” The need for this un
derstanding is greater today than
at any tune in the past.
Pennsylvania is linking its ob
servance this year to theme,
“Farm-City - Key to the Future”
Few persons realize the truly
close partnership that exists
between our rural and urban
community, or how greatly our
economy depends on the mutual
cooperation of rural and urban
Pennsylvania. Let's take this
opportunity to better understand
Off the
Sounding
By Sheila Miller, Editor
By Jay Irwin
Lancaster County Agriculture Agent
Phone 717-394-6851
the problems and lives ot each
other.
To Take A
Correspondence Course
The Pennsylvania State
University offers a number of
Correspondence Courses in
Agriculture and Hume Economics.
They range from Farm Law, Soil
and Water Conservation, Genetics
of Animal Breeding, Dairy Goats,
Rabbit Production, Household
Pests and Their Control to Plan-
ning Your Retirement, Dressing
and Curing Meat, Reupholstering a
Chair and many more.
'These courses are given by mail
and are very practical. Hundreds
of people have taken these courses
and learned more about their
business or a new enterprise
To Beware of Anti-Freeze
Poisoning in Dogs
An increasing number ot people Extension Agent, reminds us that
are performing their own members are now starting to
automobile, truck and tractor purchase 400 to 500-pound feeder
maintenance. This ' may include calves tor next year’s project,
draining ana changing the anti- M iVnutJl between the ages ot 8 and 10
freeze. It you are among this group * as ot January l, 1982 are welcome,
ot home mechanics, a word ot For more information about^4-H
warning is advised ' and the Red Rose 4-H Beet Club,
Dr Dwight Schwartz, Penn State contact the Lancaster County
Extension Veterinarian, tells us Extension Service, located in the
that dogs find the sweet flavor ot Lancaster Farm and Home
anti-freeze solutions very tasty Center; tele J94-WJSI
head But that special day of remembering our
blessings is still five days away, so our taste
buds will have to settle for chicken today.
To the delight of the kids, the weatherman is
already forecasting flurries they secretly
pray for a Monday morning announcement
that will liberate them from the drudgery of
schoolwork and give them a delightful day of
sledding and snowball battles
As farm families and friends prepare for the
Thanksgiving holiday, this is also the time
when we celebrate the annual Farm-City Week
festivities Fast becoming a tradition in all
counties throughout Pennsylvania, this special
week calls for sharing concerns and thoughts
with our urban neighbors. Many city
businesspeople find new insights and respect
for the complex, demanding jobs facing
today's farm families as a result of ‘job ex
changes', tours and banquets
As we share our life’s work and experiences
with city friends and neighbors, we are
reminded of just how lucky we are to be far
mers. Although we’re not immune to hectic
schedules, fighting the traffic on the ‘way to
work’ is not nearly the problem for us that it is
for our urban friends And, unlike the
assembly-line factory worker who never sees
the finished product, farmers watch and pray
at each step of the way from planting to
picking, from farrowing to finishing
We farm families have a lot to be thankful
for, not only this Thursday, but all year long
We’re all blue ribbon winners in the ‘contest’
of devotion and dedication to the land and the
farming way of life
It is the time of year for giving thanks, just as
our pilgrim ancestors did long ago May our
prayers of thanks overshadow our complaints
about the economy, politics, and other matters
for at least one day
Happy Thanksgiving
Beware! Ethylene glycol, a chief
ingredient in anti-freeze, is ex
tremely toxic to dogs, causing
severe kidney damage. Never
leave open containers of
automotive coolant lying where a
dog might find and drink from
them. If your car, truck or tractor
leaks coolant or the radiator
overflows onto the driveway, clean
and spill and dispose of the soaked
towels properly
To Enroll 4-H Beef Club Members
Do you know of a young person
who would like to raise his own
steer, to train and groom lus steer
and then show it at local and state
fairs, and to participate in a
variety of 4-H Club activities with
other young people? If so, he might
be mterested in joining the Red
Rose 4-H Beet Club. Glenn Shirk,
Board
ARE WE
STILL “PLAYING
CHURCH”?
November 22,1981
Background Scripture:
Ephesians 4.
Devotional Reading:
Colossians2:B-15.
1 don’t know about you, but when
1, read the fourth chapter of
Ephesians, I feel a deep sense of
shame. The words are beautiful,
but their power to judge us is
fantastic. You don’t event have to
read the whole chapter of know
what 1 mean:
"....forbearing one another m
love, eager to maintain the unity of
the Spirit in the-bond of peace...”
(4:2,3).
"There is one body and one
Spirit,...one hope...one Lord,, one
faith, one baptism, one God and
Father of us a 11...” (4:5,6).
"...the whole body, joined and
knit together by
joint...makes bodily growth and
upbuilds itself in love” (4:16).
“Let all bitterness and wrath
and anger and clamor and slander
be put away from you, with all
malice, and be kind to one another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one
another, as God in Christ forgave
you” (4:31,32).
No Longer Children
Read each of those passages
along with your daily newpaper
OUR READERS WRITE,
AND OTHER OPINIONS
Our great American farmers
Each Pennsylvania farmer gets
more important every day. While
the state and nation have fewer
farmers than ever before, the
overall population continues to
increase so there is a growing
demand for more food '•
Never have so many persons
been so dependent on so few.
Farm-City Week is being observed
November 20-26 to bring about
increased understanding of
problems existing between the
rural and urban segments of our
society.
The number of United States
farms is expected to drop by
another third in the next 20 years.
There were about 2 5 million farms
in January 1980. This may be only
1.8 million by the year 2000
HAV HAWS
“I realize it’s Farm-City week, Hooper. But we're supposed to
show those grocers who are coming to visit how things are done
on the farm, not make them fee! at home ”
and you cannot escape the terrible
knowledge that Christ’s people on
earth are projecting anything but
the image of the Church described
in Ephesians. "Maintain the unity
of the Spirit”? What unity? "Be
kind to one another”? No,
Christians are not kind to one
another,they are contentious,
judgmental, and devisive. "There
is one body and one Spirit”?
Hardly! There are many bodies,
and it would seem, all contending
that they alone possess the one
Spirit.
Oh, to be sure, sometimes the
Presbyterians, Methodists and
U.C.C.’s get together for a service,
or sit together with the
Episcopalians and the Lutherans
in a council of churches. Yes, and
sometimes the Pentecostal sit
down with the Baptists and the
Church of God acknowledges the
Nazarenes. And Roman Catholics
and Protestants have buried the
hatchet haven’t they? ( except in
Northern Ireland, where they’re
burying one another).
The Tnithln Love
But if you think that’s what
Ephesians 4 is all about, no wonder
we’re so divided. Ephesians -4 is
speaking of a unity and love that
does not issue into constant conflict
and division. Ephesians 4 is the
antithesis of Christians attacking
each other, impugning each
other’s faith, dending each other’s
efforts, and denouncing each
other’s discipleslup.
The writer of Ephesians calls us
to “mature manhood” (per
sonhood) “so that we may no
longer be children, tossed to and
fro and earned about with every
wind ot doctrine...” (4:13,14). But,
until we learn to accept our unity in
Christ we will still be children
•playing" church.”
Because in the decline m the
number of farms, many think
American agriculture is a
diminishing industry. But nothing
could befurther from the truth. -
One farm worker now feeds 59
persons In 1952 the figure was 16.
And the American diet is the finest
in the world. It includes fruit and
vegetables, both fresh and canned;
more meat per person than in most
other countries; gram products
such as cereals and breads; and an
endless variety of dairy products.
Specifically this included per
person in 1979:
147 pounds of beef, veal, pork,
lamb, and mutton;
i- 62 pounds of chicken and
turkey;
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