Alo—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 27,1984
II
&
Sowing today to reap
a better tomorrow
BY DICK ANGLESTEIN
This week, I encountered two entirely dif
ferent events. Despite being entirely different,
the two came together as if they were made for
each other and fit like the dovetailing on an old
wood chest made by an expert craftsman.
The first event was the receipt of a letter
from a sixth grade student who wants to be a
farmer. You can read it elsewhere on this
page
The second event was attending the annual
convention of the Pa State Grange at Get
tysburg
Let’s look at the differences between the
two
The letter involved the hopes and dreams of
a single individual.
Hundreds and hundreds of delegates from
throughout the state participated in the
convention.
The difference in age between the lone letter
writer and the average convention-goer is
about a half-century
The young man was looking ahead - ad
mittedly with some naivete, but also with a lot
of understanding.
And, most of those attending the convention
had to look back to their active years in far
ming.
One looking ahead; the others looking back
But is this really true?
Everything at the Grange Convention
NOW IS THE TIME
To Plan Winter
Weed Control
In Alfalfa
As that alfalfa plant slows down
and prepares to go into dormancy,
other plant populations in that
same field can be increasing in
vigor and growth. These are the
winter annual weeds: chickweed,
shepherds-purse, yellow rocket
and some grassy weeds which
overwinter. All are in their young
stages of growth.
You’ll not see crop injury now,
but wait until that first cutting
comes off next May. Those same
little weeds all will have flowered
and set seed by that time. Not only
do yield losses occur but field
Billy, wo still haven t
me whht y our?
HRLLOWEFN
•S Wee*
Rl-T/I
• 1 1
By Jay Irwin
Lancaster County Agriculture Agent
Phone 717-394-6851
curing problems and lower hay
quality results.
Fall applied herbicide (s), will
largely eliminate the costly winter
weed problem. The Agronomy
Guide lists a number of effective
materials.
The heating season is here and
many stoves and heating units will
be fired up. In order to prevent the
potential for fires and other
problems, I’d suggest that all
chimneys and flues be checked for
cracks and places where sparks
can escape.
In this part of the country,
tobacco sheds have stoves to
I FIGUi
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discussions, legislative resolutions, awards
and speeches - was focused forward, not
backward.
Legislative resolutions are aimed at helping
agriculture and improving the quality of rural
life.
Awards like community service and grange
improvement center on what’s to come and
not what has been.
New granges have sprung up during the
past year and even more are being planned
And, even new Grange services like a tax
and accounting system for farmers, are
recognizing the changing times and adapting
to them
So, while there is some difference between
the young letter writer and many at the
convention, there is much more that is the
same
Both are vitally interested in and concerned
about the future And both are involved in
helping to shape it
Some of those at the Grange convention
won’t even get to see the fruits of the seeds
that they helped to sow this week They could
have stayed home and not become involved
But they chose to become involved.
But the fruits of their efforts this week will
not only help that youthful letter writer, but it
will help the many younger members of
Grange who were back home tending the
farm. And their efforts will help all of
agriculture.
And such is the way of farming - you sow
today to reap a better tomorrow.
To Check Chimneys
and Flues
AND 7W/S IS
FARfO COUNTRY
SO WHAT COULD
BE (FORE SCARY
TO FARfD FOLKS,
IREN-
••' *• »j\ •,
•. * • /
provide comfort for the winter job
of stripping tobacco. Many of these
have been in operation for many
years and may need some at
tention. The mortar around pipes
and between bricks may have
fallen out; in many cases a
repointing job with mortar will
make the system much safer.
Don’t take chances on a faulty
system; it could start a major fire
or the fumes could cause suf
focation.
To Hunt Safely
The small game hunting season
is here. We need to remind our
selves to be courteous and con
siderate while hunting on farms.
(Turn to Page Al 2)
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• • M
Background Scripture:
Ephesians 5:24 through 6:4
Devotional Reading:
Ephesians 5:3-27.
This is one of those tough
passages that most of us would
prefer to skip, if we could: “Be
subject to one out of reverence for
Christ” (5:21).
It is a tough passage because we
live in a different world than the
one Paul lived in. In his day
slavery was an accepted social
institution, the family was
radically patriarchical, and the
status of women was little more
than that of “property.” There was
little personal freedom for anyone
and life was largely a matter of
being subject to almost everyone.
Today we live in a time when
absolutely no one wants to be
subject to anyone. No one wants to
be a slave or even a servant of
anyone else. Children do not want
to be subject to their parents and
society encourages them to persist
in that struggle. Women do not
want to be subject to their
husbands and even the authority of
the state is frequently called into
question.
REVERENCEFOR
CHRIST
Ours, then, is an age of liberation
Dear Editor
I am a classroom teacher at Tri
Valley School District teaching
Sixth Grade. I had my pupils write
about a profession they desire to
choose for the future. One young
fellow submitted his dream “A
Farmer,” which I feel worthy of
sharing with society.
If you deem it worthy of content,
perhaps you could find a suitable
page for printing.
Nolan’s father is a farmer and
Nolan has a great interest in
agriculture.
Thank you.
Mae Kahler
Pitman, Pa.
I would like to become a farmer
because I don’t want a regular
schedule and I can be my own boss.
A farmer may work when he wants
to, but loses money if he doesn’t
complete his chores.
Farmers belong to the land and
feel a great sense of ac
complishment when they harvest a
crop and know their products will
feed many people and animals.
A farmer may have a bumper
r»
ON BEING
SUBJECT
October 28,1984
OUR READERS WRITE,
AND OTHER OPINIONS
I want to he a farmer
Farmer
from subjection of all kinds. It is an
idea whose time eventually had to
come. One can hardly try to live by
the Gospel of Jesus Christ without
experiencing that deep deter
mination to be free of all external
restraints.
As a pastoral counsellor I must
often try to lead people into a
greater sense of self-reliance and
independence. Often this means
teaching people how to assert
themst. d refuse to live in
subjugation to others.
Yet, much as I prize m
dependence and autonomy, I must
confess these are not the highest of
human achievements. Higher and
more valuable than self-assertion
is the art of self-giving. Once we
have learned to exercise our
autonomy, we must also leam how
to go beyond autonomy to higher
responsibility.
Actually, there are two different
ways of being “subject” to
someone else. The first of these is
involuntary submission: we
permit someone to take away our
autonomy. We allow ourselves to
be subjected. In this we are vic
tims.
A MYSTERY
But there is another way of being
“subject.” It is purely voluntary:
no one takes anything from us, we
simply give it. We don’t have to go
along with someone else, but, for
one reason or another, we do so.
Because we have learned the
importance of autonomy, we can
also use that autonomy to give
ourselves to someone else.
Therefore wives are subject to
their husbands and vice versa, not
because they are forced to do so,
but because they choose to.
Society has changed radically
since Paul first wrote these words,
but the need to willingly subject
ourselves is still a vital one.
crop one year and a crop failure
the next. The amount of produce
may vary greatly from one year to
the next, but with hard work and
being willing to stick to it, he can
expect great rewards for his ef
forts.
Nolan Masser
Grade's
Mahantongo Elem.
Tri-Valley School Dist.
More on the Bay
Dear Editor
An important step to alleviate
the Chesapeake Bay problem
would be to strip and terrace all
farmland. Anyone knows that good
top soil is limited and irreplacable.
Soil losses uncover shale and
rocks.
On the farms we operate we have
put in terraces, waterways and
collector ponds. We can control
two-inch rainfall in one hour and
the runoff leaves the farm clear in
six-inch pipe. Before the terraces,
we could go boating in the muddy
runoff.
We Americans do not like to be
told what to do but conservation
practices should be compulsory.
Every generation has an obligation
to posterity.
If justice was done on our farms
and in our homes and industry, the
Bay would not be a problem.
Harold C. Herr
Farm Calendar
Saturday, October 27
Delaware woodlot management
workshop, 8:30 a.m. to 2:30
p.m., Redden State Forest
Lodge.
Mid-Atlantic Forestry Seminar, 9
a.m. to 3 p.m., Frederick, Md.
(Turn to Page Al 2)
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