Alo—Lancaster Faming, Saturday, April 21,1984
Blame it
on spring fever
BYDICKANGLESTEIN
By the calendar, it should be time for spring
fever, even if the weather hasn’t been
cooperating too much lately. That means it’s
time for another nonsensical ag essay. So,
here goes.
From time to time, new books come out onto
the market which attempt to catch the fancy of
readers by making the central character an
animal. Everyone remembers the classic,
"Black Beauty.”
And supposedly there’s another out of the
Nation’s Capital these days that centers on the
pet dog of Vice President George Bush. It
places the pooch in all kinds of political and
diplomatic situations.
Well, it’s about time that some enterprising
farmer with a literary interest takes pen to
paper and authors another of these animal
novels. There are all kinds of possibilities:
In the tradition of finding one's true roots, a
real dramatic, heart-wrenching novel could be
written by a cute little ET heifer. The book
could trace the widespread, futile wanderings
of this poor little agricultural orphan of
modern genetic technology as she searches
from farm to farm trying to find her true
mother and father.
The search begins with a tough grade
Holstein cow who served as surrogate mother
for the heifer who supposedly has black and
white royalty running through her milk veins.
In a moving confrontation the heifer is told
Farm Calendar
Saturday, April 21
Little I livestock exposition, 8 a.m.,
Ag Arena, Penn State.
York County Sheep and Wool
Producers Field Day, 9:30 a.m.,
York Fairgrounds.
Pa. Ayrshire Calf and Bred Heifer
Sale, noon, Bedford County
Fairgrounds.
Sunday, April 22
Grange Week begins.
Monday, April 23
Bradford-Sullivan Forum, 8 p.m.,
Bradford County Museum.
Lancaster County Milk Promotion
Committee, 8 p.m., Farm and
Home Center.
Tuesday, April 24
Bradford County Extension
Otis
LOOK BILLY, 1 / \
THERE GOES THE )
EASTER BONNY J
HIDING EGGS. /
by the surrogate that she was only pressed
into temporary semi-motherhood to replace
the real mother who wanted to quickly expand
her royal lineage but not at the expense of her
dual career as a mass merchandiser of
progeny and production achievements.
Since the young heifer was just one of a
large litter of ET's, she aimlessly wanders from
brother to sister only to learn that each had
been parceled out to different foster homes.
There are rumors tnat a kindly, old vet can
shed some light on her beginnings, but he’s
much too busy to help her.
Her efforts to find her father are equally
fruitless. Her inquiries only lead to cold, im
personal small semen tanks instead of the
massive real-life fatherly image she sought.
In a tearful scene, she learns her father died
some years even before her birth.
The confused heifer finally ends her futile
search, only to be caught up in the continuing
cycle of conceiving but not mothering off
spring.
And, some poultry farmer can take a fling at
a novel entitled “The Last Survivor.”
It is a first-hand account by the sole sur
viving chicken of the Avian flu disaster.
By hiding behind the false partition of a
small backyard coop, this lone feathered felon
escapes the horrible fate of millions of its
friends and neighbors.
While the para-military depopulation
operation swirls around outside, this hidden
hen scratches out a crude diary so that coming
generations will not easily forget what has
happened.
In the end, the hen emerges from hiding into
a completely foreign antiseptic world of locked
doors and keep-out signs.
These are just a couple of ideas that could
lend themselves to possible ag best sellers
about farm animals. I’m sure there are many,
many more.
Having suggested the central characters
and genesis of a plot, I’ll bypass writing the
actual novel itself.
Along with the nonsensical ideas for the
bdoks themselves, blame the lack of interest in
the literary followthrough on some spring
fever.
In any event, let’s have a spell of good
drying-out weather so spring field activities
get get under way with earnest.
After all, who's going to have any time to do
some extra reading.
I’ll wait for the “Made for TV movie” anyway.
But then again, Twilight zone has been off
the air for quite a few years.
Directors, 9:30 a.m., Extension
Office.
Lebanon conservation demon
strations rescheduled from last
week due to weather. Begin at 1
p.m. at Evergreen Road and
South Lincoln Ave.
Grange Week Pa. Legislative Day,
Harrisburg Host Inn.
Workshops at 1 p.m. and
banquet at 6:45 p.m.
Wednesday, April 25
Frederick County Conservation
Field Day, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.,
Albert Stambaugh farm, Rocky
Ridge, Md.
Thursday, April 26
Bradford annual sheep and wool
growers meeting, 7:30 p.m.,
BOY/ I NEVER''-
VEf)
Extension Office.
Biological farm and garden
workshop, 7:30 p.m., Parkeville
Fire Company, Hanover.
Pequea Valley FFA banquet, 6:45
p.m., Plain and Fancy
Restaurant, Intercourse.
Friday, April 27
N.J. State Holstein Calf Sale, 7
p.m., Warren County
Fairgrounds.
York Farmers Forum, 7 p.m.,
Rutter’s Restaurant, Red Lion
Saturday, April 28
Chester-Delaware Pomona
Grange legislative banquet,
Wagontown Fire Hall.
Bradford County Maple Festival,
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,*p£
THE ASTONISHMENT
OF EASTER
April 22,1984
Background Scripture:
Mark 15:1 through 16:20
Devotional Reading:
Mark 15:6-15.
In many Bibles, particularly the
more recent translations, the
Gospel according to Mark ends
with verse 8, usually with a
notation that “Other texts and
versions add as 16:9-20 the
following passage:.. ”
It is not my purpose to pursue the
scholarly arguments concerning
what is the original ending of
Mark’s Gospel. There is real value
in 16:9-20 and it does not matter to
me if it was originally part of Mark
or added later in some versions.
At the same time, I must confess
that, if we end Mark with verse 8,
the last sentence of this gospel hits
us with a tremendous intensity:
And they went out and fled from
the tomb; for trembling and
astonishment came upon them,
and they said nothing to anyone,
for thev were afraid.
HE HAS RISEN!
It is possible that Easter has
become for many of us so tame and
predictable that we have lost the
sense of excitement it should
generate. In Greece on Easter
Sunday the resurrection means
more than just the biggest worship
service of the year. The Greek
Orthodox still have the capacity to
become emotionally involved in
NOW IS THE TIME
Lancaster County Agriculture Agent
Phone 717 394-6851
To Understand
Persistent Weed Problems
Just how persistent do we have
to be in order to control weed
problems? Well, the answer to this
question comes from weed
scientists who ran germination
tests on weed seeds which had been
buried for up to 50 years.
They report that 29% of John
songrass seed germinated after
being buried for 3% years; mor
ning glory 74% after 5% years;
pigweed 66% after 40 years; and
dock 52% after 50 years. They
further reported that 51 of 107
species tested still have live seeds
after 20 years.
The reason these seeds remain in
the soil for such a long period
without sprouting is apparently
related to environmental con
ditions. According to weed experts,
some seeds need just the right
combination of moisture, tem
perature, and nutrients before they
will germinate. This explains why
Rffjfppy Jsnsreß
_ TO >OU ML „
the sheer magnitude of Christ’s
resurrection. They still are able to
tremble at the thought of it and
their capacity for holy
“astonishment” remains.
If we are not truly “amazed” or
“astonished” by this eternal event,
it is because we don’t really
comprehend what it means. To be
“ho-hum” about Easter means
we’ve missed the point.
And what is amazing and
astoni° hi "" about the resurrection
is not tnat the stone was
mysteriously rolled away from t,
tomb, nor that they found there a
young man dressed in a white rob,
nor even that, as the young man
indicated, Jesus was no longer
there in a tomb. What makes
Easter an occasion for a holy
“tremble” or two is the ex
traordinary proclamation that “He
has risen,” that “He is' going
before you to Galilee” and “there
you will see him, as he told you.”
THEY WERE AFRAID
The very last thing Mark tell us
in this “short version” is that the
disciples fled from the garden,
“for they were afraid.” Why? Why
should they feel “afraid” 9
Perhaps this was not fright so
much as a kind of “holy fear,” the
sense of awe and wonder in the
face of something that overwhelms
our minds and hearts.
Furthermore, I believe the
disciples realized that the
resurrection of Jesus confirmed
that, in being with him, they had
been in the presence of the
Almighty God and that should
always be an astonishing thought
for us.
So it is for us; to experience
Easter in the deepest sense is to
know that we are confronted with
the presence and power of God.
And if we “tremble” just a bit in
the knowledge of that, is it not a
fitting response to the astonish
ment of Easter?
By Jay Irwin
we may suddenly be faced with a
weed problem we thought was
cured several years ago.
Our poultry producers are
hopefully seeing the end to the
avian influenza disease, hog
producers are faced with the
pseudorabies problem and dairy
farmers are concerned with
Johnes disease. We urge livestock
and poultry producers to make
every effort to prevent the spread
of contagious diseases. Many of
these infections are brought home
by the owner, or with the purchase
of a new animal. There are a
number of infections that can be
spread very easily from farm to
farm.
In this part of the country where
the density of poultry and livestock
is so great, producers should be
alert to the possibility of spreading
diseases. When returning form
another farm, or public place,
different clothes and footwear
should be used. Stray dogs, cats,
flies and wild birds should be
controlled as much as possible.
New purchases should be
segregated and tested before
mixing with the home herd or
flock. We urge every producer to
give attention to the prevention of
diseases through good
management and the use of good
sanitation practices.
Most of the crops we plant will
require additional plant food in the
form of nitrogen, phosphorus and
To Practice
Strict Sanitation
To Be Careful With
Fertilizer Placement
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