Alo—Lancaster Famine, Saterday, April 3,1M2 Robins, crocuses, greening wheat and barley fields, and oh, that fresh country air All of these are sensory signs of a most welcome spring season. It seems like just in the passing of one short week, the winter cloud that has hung over our farms for what seems an eternity finally has broken apart to let spring shine in And, like everyone else, farmers have fallen victim to the season’s “fever ” Welcoming the chance to escape the confines of house and barn, itching to be the first to drill oats, far mers are revving the engines of waiting tractors and heading for the fields Plows that were given a six-month rest have been hooked again behind tractors and horses and are sinking their teeth into the waking soil, rolling and slicing the fertile ground as multitudes of seagulls hover above The ritual, of course, could not be complete without the offering of natural fertilizer to the land Storage pits flush out their slurry, dry packs are bucket-loaded into waiting spreaders, and gutter cleaners rhythmically push the day’s droppings all part of the springtime ceremony of preparing the land for a productive season. This shuttling ot manure from barn to field heralds the coming of spring not only for farmers but for their nonfarm neighbors. And, it doesn’t take ‘‘seeing” for them to believe spring has sprung in the country Anyone with functioning olfactory nerves will be able to sniff out what’s happening in the neigh borhood Because not everyone agrees that the smell of manure can be termed “fresh country air,” farmers have come under fire over the years literally, for those who’ve been shot at by irrate neighbors and have had to listen to neighborhood complaints, mostly from nouveau-country residents. Law suits and local ordinances have been the weapons these half-acre inhabitants have used to fight farmers m an attempt to shut off “nuisance" odors, dusts, and sprays that go hand-in-hand with the business of farming To try to help farmers protect themselves from these kinds of annoyances, Lancaster County’s Rep Noah Wenger introduced a piece of legislation last September called the Right to Farm Bill Passed from the House to the Senate in December, this bill provides the language “to protect and encourage the development and improvement of agricultural land for the production of food and other agricultural products." House Bill 1823 limits the circumstances NOW IS THE TIME To Make Pastures Produce One of the best ways to improve your permanent pasture is to apply lime and fertilizer, practice rotational grazing and clip them regularly. This is quicker, cheaper and involves less risk than tearing up the old sod and reseeding. Most permanent pastures have suf ficient seed of desirable grass species. The only thing they need is a little tender loving care and the opportunity to grow, and to recover from grazing pressures. Thus, fertility and rotational grazing are very beneficial. The more paddocks you have, the better it is. If your acreage is bunted to your size herd, restrict Off the Soimdf mg By Sheila Miller, Editor Sweet smells of spring By Jay Irwin Lancaster County Agriculture Agent Phone 717-394-6851 the amount of tune cattle and livestock are permitted to graze. Don’t let them trample the grass unnecessarily by allowing them to roam freely over the pasture while not grazing. After a paddock has been grazed, it can be clipped to control weed growth and to keep the grass young and nutritious. This is also a good tune to apply fertilizer and necessary h'er bicides, while allowing the grass to recover prior to being grazed again. To Plan for Oats Planting I know some farmers are con sidering the use of feed oats for planting this spring, but this may not be a good idea. Feed oats may Board under which normal agricultural operations could be considered subject to nuisance suits and ordinances. For example, if a farmer is carrying out normal farming operations, such as hauling manure, spraying herbicides or insecticides, or just working the soil and raising a little dust, and if these operations are not adversely affecting public health or safety, he or she is protected from aggrevatmg lawsuits brought by nonfarm neighbors who just don’t like the smell or have strong feelings against chemical agriculture. And, agriculture will be exempt from local nuisance ordinances as long as the farming operations comply with other federal, state or local laws, such as the Clean Streams Law, if this bill becomes law What if a farmer wants to expand or change a present operation, i e if a dairy producer wants to add on 50 more cows or switch to a farrow-to-fimsh hog operation 7 According to H B 1823, this expansion or enterprise change would be protected from nuisance suits after one year of operation as long as normal farming operations are in practice. Why are we taking so much time refreshing your memory about this piece of legislation? Because it desperately needs the vocal support of all the farmers it’s designed to help. Just this week the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee unanimously reported H.B. 1823, as amended, out of committee end sent it on its way to the Senate floor Getting this bill out of committee was a small victory in itself since it has been held up there for months as members of the Association of Township Supervisors lobbied against the legislation And, their fight is not over yet they're gearing up to have the bill amended on the floor. We feel this legislation is too important to be lost now. Even though farmers are entering their busiest season and hardly have time to break for lunch, there’s time to pick up the telephone or a pencil and paper and get in touch with the people that count the legislators These folks who cast the votes deciding the fate of farmers and others will be home for the next week during Easter recess. Who knows, maybe they'd enjoy a trip to the country for a taste of clean living and a whiff of fresh air. Your concern could be cultivating a better appreciation and understanding between farmers and legislators. contain quackgrass, bindweed and other weed seeds. Planting feed oats will generally result in lower yields. You also have the problem that any weed seeds planted will be a problem for years to come. Keep in mind that high quality seed is the smallest part of producing a crop. So, saving a few cents by using inferior or weedy seed doesn’t make much sense. On the other band, home grown seed of varieties proven successful on the farm can be cleaned, traded and planted if the germination is 80 percent or better. You can use the old “Rag Doll” germination method where you place the seed (Turn to Page Al 2) probably much more concerned with those individuals and their pain than our building program, our board and committee meetings, our arguments over Sunday school curriculum or our budget. I’m not saying these things are unimportant, but that the needs in individual lives ought to have an even higher priority. We would like to rebuke these in dividuals and tell them to be silent so that we can get on with the work „ . x of the church. Background Scripture: yet, the fact is that Jesus heard Mark7:3l-37; 10:46-52 Bartimaeus above the clamor of Devotional Reading: the crowd and answered him, 1 Corinthians 10:1-13. asking: “What do you want me to Bartimaeus, the blind beggar, d o f or you?” Note that Jesus did angered the crowd. They had come no t say, "Bartimaeus, lam con to hear Jesus of Nazareth and he cerned only for your soul, it is not had the effrontery to call to the m m y province to heal your body.” Nazarene: “Jesus, son of David, Nor did he say, “It is not God’s will have mercy on me.” How could f or y OU to be healed, for he has a they hear Jesus if this beggar was for you in your blindness.” to keep up his wailing? Mark tells Neither did he say, “Bartimaeus, us that “many rebuked him, telling your blindness is good for you; it him to be silent” (10:48). Don t W |jj hmirt your character and in bother the Master with your crease your faith ” personal problems; we want to j eilu Chose Wholeness hear him preach to the crowd! The N 0( what Jesus said to Bar . blindness of the Bartimaeus was timaeus was: “Go your way; your considered by the crowds to be a faith has made you well.” The matter of relatively little im- blindness of this beggar was not portance. Jesus was there to talk important to the crowd, but it was about religion, not to become in- important to Jesus. For Jesus volved with individual problems. wants ug to be whole persons; , Sometimes, it seems to me, that mind, body and spirit. In the ' is the impression given by many of Gospels, Jesus never chose illness Christ’s followers today. We may* f or bis followers and he does not get so preoccupied with handling choose it for us now. the crowds that we have neither xhe desire to be healed is not the time nor energy left for the needs insignificant or inappropriate and hurts of people who make up desire some people seem to m those crowds. As a pastor, I en- diciate. And, if we are not suc joyed preaching to the crowd that C essful in experiencing that sat silently in front of me every wholeness, it does not mean that he Sunday morning. Yet, as I came to wlthhe id it, or does not will it know each one of those people, I f or jj- means only that for realized that behind those usually reasons of our fmite hui Lmity, His unpassive faces there was fear, perfect will for us may not be disappointment, depression, and fulfilled in us, just as we may not pain. The circumstances might become as righteous as he calls us vary, but in each life there was MANY REBUKED HIM! April 4,1982 pain. Above the Clamor I came to realize that Christ was Farm Calendar Saturday, Aprils Penn State Block & Bridle Spring Livestock Judging Contest. Maryland Polled Hereford Assn. 9th Annual Black-eyed Susan Sale, 7 p.m., Frederick Fairgrounds. Lehigh County FFA annual banquet, 6:30 p.m., Vo-Tech, Schnecksville. Monday, April 5 Clarion County Extension meeting on Feeding Dairy Heifers, 8 p.m., Keystone High School. Bradford County Guernsey Club, noon, E. Canton Church. Tobacco quota meeting, 9:30 a.m., Eastern Lancaster County Alternative School, Rt. 625, Terre Hill. HAV HAWS THAT'S RIGHT, I TOLO O' TOOLE TO FgRTIUZg THg SOUTH FORTY. WHY ? “ Let us never doubt that Jesus hears our cries and cares about our pain. Tuesday, April 6 York Holstein Assn, tour to v western New York State, returns Wednesday. Berks County beekeepers, 7:30 p.m., Berks Ag Center. Bradford 4-H leader dog meeting, 7 p.m., Extension Office, Towanda. Lancaster County FFA public speaking competition, Manheim Central High School. Wednesday, April 7 Lancaster County Conservation District meeting, 7:30 p.m.. Farm & Home Center. Backyard fruit growing, 7:30-9:30 p.m., Lancaster Farm & Home Center, Hi [unterdon County, N.J. Ag Board (Turn to Page Al 2) O' 0)
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers