AlOMJwtefritf FannMg, Saturday, January 7,1984
Competitive caring 9
sharing makes
difference
BY DICK ANGLESTEIN
It’s a scene typical of Farm Show
Just after the selection of a grand champion,
a wellspring of emotion and enthusiasm
gushes forth. This genuine expresssion of
emotion and happiness engulfs not only the
youthful exhibitor, but parents and other
relatives, friends, new-found acquaintances
and fellow competitors.
One such scene comes particularly to mind
First, the young man with the grand
champion market lamb burst into tears A
tearful mother was the first to reach him.
Jubilant emotion was next expressed by his
father and younger sister The exhibitor of the
reserve champion showed that she too truly
shared in his moment. Her father offered his
sincere congratulations. And on through a
number of other people, this expression of
mutual joy and happiness flowed
This is what makes competition in
agriculture so much different from the com
petitive nature of other walks of life.
Let's call this difference competitive caring
and sharing.
Eveyone enters a competition with the hope
of winning. But in ag once the winner is
named, the competitive aftermath takes on
these characteristics of caring and sharing
The mutual expression of happiness and
NOW IS THE TIME
To Attend Farm Show Events
Time has a way of creeping up on
us, and here it is... next week is
Farm Show week. The Farm Show
will open again this year on Sunday
and close on Friday. The theme for
this year’s exhibition is
Agriculture - The Pride of Penn
sylvania. Well, we are proud of our
agriculture because of the hard
work of our family operated farms.
And here is an opportunity for our
farmers to show the consuming
public, the high quality product
that’s produced on our farms
today
Active farmers should recognize
OH<
By Jay Irwin
Lancaster County Agriculture Agent
Phone 717-394-6851
the many educational meetings
and banquets that are held during
the week. Many of these are state
wide organizations and should
have economic benefits to the
producer.
To Be Sure Ice Is Safe For Skating
Farm ponds make great ice
skating rinks... that’s so long as the
ice is strong enough. The general
rule on thickness is that two inches
will support one person and three
inches will support a line of people.
Thickness is not always the most
accurate guide though. Other
factors include color and age. New
ice is stronger than old ice. And
congratulations are very real in ag. It’s not like
the trite cliches spoken by coaches and players
following a sports win. Before they are even
interviewed, you know exactly what they're
going to say While accepting congratulations
with phony humility, they always cite the
"great team” they just managed to beat -
even though the score may have been 50 to 0
But in ag what generally happens after the
grand champion is named is a true, spon
taneous outpouring on behalf of the winner.
It's something that can't be scripted and
rehearsed like those winning interviews after
a football game.
In ag, the fellow competitors and others
appear to really care about the winner and his
or her good fortune. And, thus they truly share
in the competitive honors received.
This sharing also goes well beyond those
who may be in the showring and the relatives
and friends standing closeby.
Additionally sharing in the honor of a grand
champion may be a multitude of others not
even present at the show. There could be an
older brother or sister who helped the winner
get started in competition. Or, an FFA advisor
or 4-H club leader. Perhaps, a county agent
Or, an older neighboring farmer who offered
advice Possibly even the farmer who bred the
winning animal and helped in its initial
selection This list can go on and on
Due to this mutual expression of caring and
sharing, it really proves the old adage there
are no losers in ag competition. Any fellow
competitor who feels he or she has shared in
another’s winnings and has learned from
watching another be successful is a winner,
too
This competitive caring and sharing in ag
contests did not develop just by chance either.
It is symbolic of agriculture and those engaged
in it
In day-to-day production agnculturo, far
mers compete with each other for markets and
in other ways. But while competing, it is rare
indeed to find anyone in agriculture who isn’t
willing" to share his or her knowledge and
experience with others - particularly with
youth
This competitive caring and sharing is just
another of those things that make agriculture
different and better.
Learning to compete is a lesson in itself. But
being competitive in a caring and sharing way
is a higher lesson about living in which
everyone in agriculture can take pride
clear blue ice is stronger than
slush ice. Be especially cautious
with ponds that are either fed by a
spring or have a fast moving
current. The thickness of these
ponds will vary considerably.
The most important thing is to
have rescue equipment at the pond
site. It is wise to have a straight
ladder, rope and inner tube nearby
it could save a life. I would urge
owners of farm ponds to use
caution in permitting skating
unless the ice is thick enough.
To Separate New Animals
The addition of a new animal to
the herd or flock, is a very common
I THINK IT'S
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YIELDING WILD
GRAPES
January 8,1984
Background Scripture
IsaiahS.
Devotional Reading:
Isaiah 24; 1-13.
There is no commentary on us
and and our world more ap
propriate than this comment from
the Book of Isaiah:
And he looked for it to yield
grapes,
But it yielded wild grapes.
In this simple analogy of the
vineyard and the grapes there is
caught a wealth of understanding
about our human situation. God is
like the loving and dedicated
vinedresser and we are the
vineyard.
MY BELOVED
There is a marked contrast
between the vinedresser and his
vineyard. The vinedresser loves
his vineyard and he lavishes upon
it his best concern and care
digging and clearing it of stones,
planting it with “choice vines,”
building a watch tower in the midst
of it, and hewing out a wine vat.
The vinedresser has done all he
can do. Now it is up to the vines.
Yet, even while he waits for the
vines to oroduce grapes, he does
Farm Calendar
Sunday, Jan. 8
Farm Show opens. Continues
through Friday.
Farm Youth benefit night at the
Farm Show.
Monday, Jan. 9
Secretary of Agriculture night at
the Farm Show.
Milk Diversion Program meeting
at 12:30 p.m. at Price, Md.,
Community Hall.
N.J. Polled Hereford Association
at 7.30 p.m. at the Mercer
County Extension Center,
Trenton, N.J.
Poultry servicemen at 6:30 pm at
the Holiday Inn North, Lan
caster.
Tuesday, Jan. 10
Flemington County Board of Ag
bus trip to Farm Show, leaving
Extension center at 7 a.m. and
practice. However, there is always
the chance of bringing new in
fections into the herd. Too many
diseases and problems have been
brought by the owner. At this time
of year and in this part of the state,
the Pa. Farm Show provides an
opportunity for showing animals
and the purchase of new ones. To
those who are exhibiting animals,
and to those who might buy a bred
gilt, or other animals, I’d say be
sure to separate these animals
from the rest of the herd or flock
not wait passively, but ex
pectantly. He knows what he wants
and he looks for his vineyard to
fulfill his expectation: “He looked
for it to yield grapes’ ’(5:2).
And. as it is in Isaiah’s “Song of
the Vineyard,” so it is with God
and his people. On his part, God
does so much to guide us toward
the fulfillment of his purpose. Like
the vinedresser, he has his ex
pectation,us.
Most of all, however, it is p
relationship characterized by We.
A human being is more than a
mere thing that God manipulates
for his own purposes. To be human
is to be God’s beloved.
MY VINEYARD
That is not the end of the
analogy, however. For, as the
vineyards of the loving vinedresser
often yielded wild grapes and thus
disappointed him, so we too are
often distressing to our God
because we fail to produce the fruit
that he looks for in our lives.
This is not just the case of grapes
that don’t live up to the
vinedresser’s exacting standards,
but of grapes that are bitter and
useless. It is much more than
disappointment for God, but
profound sorrow. “What more was
there to do for my vineyard, that I
have not done in it?” (5:4).
It is interesting to note that
Isaiah asks the people of Judah to
judge their own infidelity: “Judge,
I pray you, between me and my
vineyard.” It is that same
challenge that Isaiah lays upon us
today.
Each of us may look to our own
lives and ask that age-old
question: “Why did it yield wild
grapes?”
the old Axp parking lot,
Clinton, at 7:20 a.m.
Master Farmers night at Farm
Show.
Milk Diversion Program meeting
at 12:30 p.m. at the American
Legion, Chestertown, Md.
Dairymen’s banquet at 6 p.m. at
the Penn Harris Motor Inn,
Camp Hill.
Wednesday, Jan. 11
Horsepulling and sheep to shawl
contest night at Farm Show.
Thursday, Jan. 12
Agronomy Day in Chestertown,
Md. Begins at 8 a.m.
Del Apple meeting from 7 to 9 p m.
in Mt. Pleasant, Del.
Pony Pulling and Bid Calling
contest night at Farm Show.
Friday, Jan. 13
Junior market steer, lamb and hog
sales at Farm Show.
for at least 30 days. The other
alternative is to treat all animals
in the herd or flock for the same
infections as the new animal has
received.
A special caution to any poultry
farmer planning to attend the
Farm Show be sure you and
your vehicle are clean when you
leave your premise and the same
when you return enough said.
To Transfer Silage
Livestock and dairy producers
who have silage stored in tem
porary structures might be
planning to move this feed into
upright silos in the next month or
so. Many producers use the
temporary storage until some of
the material is fed out of the
upright silo. By transferring into
the upright silo, mechanical
feeders can be used. The objective
is to move the silage in cold months
January and February
preferably. When transferring
during warm weather (above 50°
F) there is danger of more heating
of the silage. No preservative
should be needed. The faster the
material can be moved into the
upright silo, the better it will settle
and remove the air.