Alo—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 22,1984
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BY DICK ANGLESTEIN
Often we get lost in our own little domain of
farming and forget that there is a big, big
world of agriculture out there.
A publication from Holland this week shows
that revolutionary ag developments are under
way in that country which go well beyond our
traditional concept of a land of windmills and
tulips.
For example:
A totally new system of weed control
through infra-red thermal radiation has been
developed. Weeds are zapped with beams of heat
radiation, causing their water-laden cell
walls to explode and killing the weed No
residue and no wind drift
A Northeast Farm Bill Committee has come
up with some drafts of policy statements
concerning what it thinks should be in the
1985 Farm Bill.
Such thinking and working ahead is good
Traditionally, the Northeast has come out on
the short end of the congressional stick in farm
legislation.
But this NE committee, chaired by Clyde
Rutherford, of Dairylea, appears heavily
NOW IS THE TIME
To Beware Of
Frosted Crops
Colder weather means frost. In
fact this is good news to many of us
who have had enough of hot humid
weather this summer. Livestock
producers who have fields of
sudan-sorghum hybrids should
keep in mind that when frost hits
these crops they could be toxic to
livestock for seven to 10 days
following the freeze. After this
period, and the plants are dead,
they may be used safely. However,
any growth coming from the plant
after a killing frost might also be
toxic.
Another frost hazard would be to
permit livestock to graze alfalfa or
clover stands while the frost is still
on the plants. This can cause
severe bloating. Allow the frost to
melt and the plants to dry before
grazing. Good management is
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NE Farm Bill
By Jay Irwin
Lancaster County Agriculture Agent
Phone 717-394-6851
needed on various forage crops
after a killing frost.
To Be Careful
During Silo Filling
Two problems are occunng
during this silo filling season as a
result of the excellent growing
year. One is overloading wagons
causing broken spindles, twisted
frames and bent axles. Com silage
is heavy this year and overloaded
wagons crossing ditches and ruts
in fields causes excessive strain on
equipment. If your wagon is full
when only half way around the
field, change wagons; the “down
time” making repairs is more
costly than the time to change
wagons.
The other problem is “silo gas”.
We are receiving a lot of calls
concerning silo gas. These gases
can develop from one day to 14
days after the silo is filled. Most of
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Grass is being grown in completely enclosed
rooms, reaching maturity from seed in eight
days Nutrition and digestibility are as good as
field grown grass Climate is fully controlled
and water and nutrients are added
automatically
A seed casette containing 16,000 tiny seeds
now permits the automatic drilling of
vegetable, flower and tree seeds into pots just
like field crops are now drilled It brings the
advances of agronomic planting into the realm
of horticulture
In Holland, chicken manure is being com
pressed into briquettes and then burned to
help heat the poultry houses. The system
includes the compression chamber, con
buction unit and automatic fuel feeding
equipment
A fertilizer spreader in Holland now has a
better aim. Distribution of fertilizer from one
side of the spreader can be strictly controlled
and limited to keep valuable fertilizer from
falling on unwanted areas
And development is continuing on wind
turbines -- the modern offspring of the
traditional windmills. Now, they are being
operated electronically to get the most ef
ficiency at very low wind speeds
It’s just amazing that such ag developments
are coming out of such a small country Makes
you wonder, if the U S is ever faced with such
land and ecological constraints and other
problems, what new developments might
come off American agn-drawmg boards -
instead of just ever bigger and more complex
weighted toward the dairy industry We hope
its policy statements cover more than just the
dairy recommendations it has cited
The Northeastern ag problem extends well
beyond just dairy While dairy is the bulwark of
Northeastern agriculture and its economy, we
hope that the other segments of farming are
not forgotten when the needs of our area are
relayed to Washington
these gases have a chlorine
laundry bleach odor. Some are
yellow and some are colorless.
Don’t take any chances never
enter a partly filled silo without
running the blower for at least 15
minutes. These gases are heavier
than air and will come down the
chute into the barn. Be careful
around recently filled silos.
Most producers are about
finished with their spray materials
for the year. Many of these can oe
held over until next year with good
results. However, it is always best
to purchase only enough for one
season at a time. When storing
spray materials, always keep
them in their original container
and always away from children,
pets and livestock. It is strongly
w ELL, I THINK. W ED BE GETTING SOME WHERE
IF THE POLITICIANS WOULD PUT AS MUCH
EFFORT INTO ATTACKING- THE FARMS
PROBLEM AS THEY DO IN ATTACKING
EACH OTHERS FARM PROBLE/D SOLUTIONS.
*l/' *• *
To Store
Pesticides Safely
(Turn to Page Al 2)
THE BEST DEAL
September 23,1984
Background Scripture:
Romans 7:4-25.
Devotional Reading:
Romans 6:12-23,
The young man thought he had
made a deal with God.
He would straighten out his life
and live according to God’s will. In
return, God was expected to save
his marriage.
In vain, I tried to help him un
derstand that God cannot be
manipulated like that. Althought I
could assure him that God would
forgive the mess he had made of
his life, that did not mean that he
would be spared the consequences
of all that he had done in the past.
And the break-up of his marriage
was likely to be one of those con
sequences.
BARGAINING WITH
GOD
When at last his marriage ended
in divorce, the young man gave up
on his short-lived commitment to
put his life in order. His
justification: God had failed to live
up to his end of the deal. Nothing I
said seemed to help him realize
that that wasn’t the deal God had
offered him in the first place.
It wasn’t long after this that I
was faced with a situation of my
own. I was in a position where my
conscience told me that I had to
speak out against a certain
situation. I really didn’t want to do
it, because I knew it would be a
Farm Calendar
Saturday, Sept. 22
Del. Wood Workshop, 9 a.m.,
Blackbird State Forest
headquarters.
Hunterdon County, N.J. Ag
Awareness Day, open house on
12 different farms, 10 a.m. - 4
p.m.
Tewksbury, N.J. Winery Harvest
Festival.
Milk Fitness Exhibit, noon - 4 p.m.,
Hess’s Capital City Mall,
Harrisburg.
Sunday, Sept. 23
106th annual convention, PennAg
Industries, Host Farm, con
tinues through Wednesday.
Monday, Sept. 24
All-American Dairy Show opens in
Farm Show Complex,
Harrisburg, continues through
Friday. Youth judging, 8 a.m.;
Jr. Dairy Show, 9 a.m.; In-
vitational Brown Swiss Sale, 7
p.m.
Pa. Dairy Promotion Advisory
Board, Harrisburg.
Bloomsburg Fair opens, continues
through Saturday.
Reading Fair opens, continues
through Saturday.
“7^
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rather unpopular stand (as it
turned out, it was even»more un
popular than I had realized). I
would be standing virtually alone
and I didn’t relish having to do so.
The time came, however, when I
could no longer refuse to take a
stand. And I did. Yet, when I had
said my piece and done what I felt I
had to do, I was disturbed to find
that I HMn’t really feel all that
“good” tor having done what I
thought to be the right thin?
must confess that I was a little
resentful that almost no one
seemed to notice that I was doing
the “right” thing.
DELIVERANCE!
It was then that I realized that
that had not been the deal God
offered me in the first place. The
deal God offers me and all of us is
far better than that. The fact is
that, at best, we never win the
battle against our tendency to sin.
For, as Paul puts it so well, “I can
will what is right, but I cannot do
it. For I do not do the good I want,
but the evil I do not want is what I
do.” (7:19,20).
This, then, is where our bargains
with God go astray: the problem is
not with God, but with us, for we
are the ones who often are not able
to keep up our end of the deal. Like
Paul, we are tempted to shout,
"Wretched man that I am! Who
will deliver me from this body of
death?”
The deal that God offers us is one
that is not dependent upon our
goodness at all, but upon his grace.
It is the best possible deal we could
ever be offered, for with the
vastness of God’s love and mercy it
overcomes our liability to help
ourselves. And what we get has
nothing to do with what we “have
coming to us”—God forbid! It is
grace, not “just deserts” that
leads us to join Paul in singing,
“Thanks be to God through Jesus
Christ our Lord! ”
Tuesday, Sept. 25
All-Amercian Schedule: Eastern
National Brown Swiss Show and
Milking Shorthorn Show, 9
a.m.; Invitational Ayrshire
Sale, 1:30 p.m.; Pa. Dairy
Princess Coronation, 6:30 p.m.,
Marriott Inn, Harrisburg.
Ag Preserve public meeting, 7:30
p.m., Donegal High School
cafeteria, Lancaster County.
Morrison Cove Community Fair,
Martinsburg, continues through
Friday.
Ephrata Fair, continues through
Saturday.
Wednesday, Sept. 26
York pesticide license update
training, Extension meeting
room, 9:30 a.m. and 7 p.m.
All-American Schedule: National
Guernsey Show and Ayrshire
Show, 9 a.m.
Lampeter Fair opens, continues
through Friday.
Thursday, Sept. 27
All-American Schedule; Jersey
Show and start of Eastern
National Holstein Show, 9 a.m.;
All-American Holstein Sale, 7
p.m.
Annual meeting, Pa. Forestry
Assn., Holiday Inn, Lewistown.
Franklin County Conservation
District annual banquet and
meeting, 6:45 p.m., Kauffman’s
Station Community Center.
Chester-Del. Farmers Assn, fall
banquet, West Fallowfield
Christian Day School, Atglen
Tri-Valley Fair opens at Hegins,
continues through Sunday.
m
Continuation of Eastern National
Holstein Show, 9 a.m., Farm
Show Complex, Harrisburg.
Friday, Sept. 28