Alo—Lancaster Famine, Saturday, March 31,1984
Going 9 going 9 gone
BY DICK ANGLESTEIN
You probably have noticed that the public
sale and auction ads have been running
unusually heavy in Lancaster Farming during
the past month. For the past five issues nearly
an entire section has been devoted to them.
Not only are the number of sales higher but
the peak sale season appears to be extended
and lasting longer this year
Reasons for the large number of sales are
likely quite diverse and probably include a
combination of the aftermath of a tough few
years on the farm, the milk diversion program
and the increasing pressures of non-ag
development on farmland
But whatever the reasons for the decision to
sell out, each auction is a personal story of a
farm family that carved out a niche in the total
agricultural heritage of the area It’s a niche
that is now being lost forever and its story
goes well beyong the cold, impersonal black
and white auction ad or public sale report
For example, there’s the decorated candle
box found among some tools at a recent sale. It
brought some $3,300. Who decorated it? Did
a bygone family member toss it in the tool shed
when rural electrification came to the farm?
Or perhaps a sharp antique buyer trying to
disguise a bargain? How many discussions
were conducted by the light of its candies -
both the good times and the bad down
through the years 7
Or, the tin coffee can that went for a top bid
of $250 at another sale. How many cups of
good, steaming coffee did it provide down
through the years to warm someone before
they went off to the barn on a cold, winter
morning?
Farm Calendar
Saturday, March 31
Adams County Beef Producers
Association Ball, 6 p.m., York
Springs Fire Hall.
Sunday, April 1
Northeast Dairy Conference, Hotel
Syracuse, Syracuse NY.
Continues through Tues.
Monday, April 2
Home Ornamental Tree, Shrub
and Lawn Meeting, 1:30 p.m. to
7 p.m., Pleasant Acres, York.
Hunterdon County NJ Sheep
Breeders Association, 8 p.m.,
Extension Center.
Tuesday, April 3
National Ayrshire Convention,
OHs
■c^
Columbus, OH. Continues
through Friday.
Wednesday, April 4
Bradford Swine Producers
Meeting, 8 p.m., Ag Room at
Wyabusing High School.
Hunterdon County NJ Board of
Agriculture, 8 p.m., Extension
Center.
Hay Preservative Meeting, 7:30
p.m., Union Grove School,
Terre Hill.
Thursday, April 5
Conservation District
Banquet, Harvest Drive
Restaurant, Intercourse.
New Holland Environmental FFA
Or, the Farmall H tractor that brought $750,
the walking plow at $BO or the gram reaper at
$350. What kind of times did these im
plements see over the years - both the
droughty, the wet and occasionally the just
right?
The china head doll at $390 or the high chair
at $285. How many generations played with
that doll or ate at that chair and then went on
to become a segment m the continuing ag
history of a farm?
The butcher kettle at $9B, the sausage
stuffer at $lO5, the crock at $6O How many
hogs or heads of cabbage went through them
over the years to fill the canning jars lining the
pantry shelves 7
The horse-drawn sleigh at $255 How many
trips were made over snow-covered roads to
visit family at holidays or provide tran
sportation during courting?
Each item in an auction ad or sale report has
a story to tell. Together, each of these little
tales make up the total ag heritage that is
slipping away each time the gavel falls.
And those prices the items bring - which
cause many a graying head to shake -- are
attempts by both ag and non-ag people alike to
hold onto just a little bit of that heritage.
Yes, the trinkets of ag heritage' are being
preserved on kitchen walls and corner
shelves. But is ag itself being preserved 7 The
land and the will and means of continued
farming 7
What will the auction ads and public sale
reports of the future say 7
What stories will be found behind the farm
sale items of the future?
Let’s hope that such future items and
stories will be more than
-- An Avian flu quarantine sign and a Task
Force logo emblem
- A copy of a report on a soil or well water
study involved in the Chesapeake Bay
program
- A news clipping that a hazardous waste
dump was located in the middle of a prime
agricultural area.
What we do today will help determine what
items will be included in the memorabilia going
up for auction in the future
And, what we do today will help determine
what future generations will pay - not for
public sale mementos but for the coming
overall ag heritage that results from actions
and decisions of today
Banquet, 6:30 p.m., Blue Ball
Warwick FFA, 6:30 p.m.,
Brickerville Fire Hall
Home Landscaping Wokshop, 7:30
p.m., Adams County Extension
Office.
PA Poultry Federation Fund-
Raising Banquet, Hershey
Convention Center.
Hunterdon County NJ Poultry
Short Course, 7:30-10 p.m.,
Extension Center.
Franklin County ASC Committee
Banquet, 7 p.m., Kauffman’s
Ruritan Community Building.
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OOPS! WALT. J THINK YOU PUT
THE DECIMAL POINT BEHIND
THEGLORY
SEAT
April 1,1984
Background Scripture
Mark 10.
Devotional Reading;
Mark 10:23-31.
This may come as a surprise to
you, but I want you to know that
writing this weekly column is a
rather dangerous occupation. And
I’m not referring to irate readers,
either - there have been
refreshingly few of them over the
years.
What makes writing this column
dangerous is that, in order to write
it, I first have to read and reflect
upon a passage of scripture
selected by the in
terdenominational Committee on
Uniform Senes. It is in the reading
and study of this assigned passage
of scripture that puts me into a
kind of weekly spiritual jeopardy.
THE GLORY SEATS
For example, when I read Mark
10 a few minutes ago, I felt a rather
substantial stab in my conscience.
Mark 10 fell on me like a ton of
bricks. Here’s Jesus laying it out
with disturbing simplicity what it
means to be his disciple. Of course,
the twelve who are his closest
followers don’t seem to be able to
absorb any of what he is saying.
But the problem with Mark 10 is
not that the disciples didn’t seem to
buy what Jesus says following him
is all about, but that today we still
don’t appear to have gotten his
message.
As I look about me, it seems that
I NOW IS THE TIME
By Jay Irwin
Lancaster County Agriculture Agent
Phone 717*394 6851
For An Avian Flu Update
New outbreaks of Avian In
fluenza during March have slowed
to the lowest level since Oc
tober...only three as of this
writing. A total of 287 flocks have
been depopulated for a total of 11.5
million birds. Premises approved
for repopulation now stands at 134
with 97 already repopulated. This
is good news, but somewhat
disappointing is the fact that three
of the repopulated houses have
broken for a second time.
Monitoring efforts continue and
hopefully the quarantine area can
be reduced in size.
It is also important to note that
the California Avian Influenza
outbreak is not related. The
Lancaster virus is the HSN2 type
while the California virus is HSN3
little or nothing of the values Jesus
lifts up in Mark 10 are very im
portant in the life of Christianity as
I know it today. For example, in
Mark 10 Jesus confounds his
disciples - and us - by emphasizing
the importance of children in the
kingdom of God; “Whoever
receives one such child m my
name receives me...” (10:37). I
don’t itmw >. u .mply that in my
experience we’ve been unkind to
children in the churches, but that u
is very obvious in many that the
really important people are the
adults.
Then, in verses 17-22, there’s the
story of the man with “great
possessions.” Now that’s just the
kind of man most of us try to get in
our churches and “elevated” to a
position of authority. We wouldn’t
think of telling the man that “You
lack one thing; go, sell what you
have, and give to the p00r...”
Despite all our fund drives and
budget campaigns, we try to take
the bite out of membership in the
body of Christ.
GETTING THE NEEDLE
And Jesus’ saying about how
hard it is for a man with great
possessions to “enter the kingdom
of God” (10:23-27) is even more
difficult for us. Our objective is to
find and build-up the affluent
congregation, not to tear it down.
Worst of all, however, is what he
told his disciples about power and
authority: "whoever would be
great among you must be your
servant” (10:43). We’ve never
really bought that one, have we?
We play the same “power games”
in the church that are played in the
rest of society, no matter how
sanitized we try to make them
appear. There’s at least one glory
seat in every church on a Sunday
morning.
If that’s not your experience,
then praise God ! If it is, there’s
room on the mourner’s bench with
and has been effective only in
turkeys. In fact when the HSN3 was
injected in chickens, there was no
mortality.
I want to re-emphasize that
everyone must continue very tight
health security measures. This
refers to pseudorabies and other
diseases as well.
To Plan For Oats Planting
Some farmers are considering
the use of feed oats for planting
this spring, but this may not be a
good idea. Feed oats may 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
hand, home grown seed of
varieties proven successful on the
farm can be cleaned, treated and
planted if the germination is 80
percent or better. You can use the
old “Rag Doll” germination
method where you place the seed
between two pieces of burlap
roll it and keep it moist and warm.
Then count the seeds that ger
minate against the total dnd
determine the percent ger
mination.
To Control Soil Erosion
Think about the inpact of one
raindrop on barren soil In its own
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