AlO-LmcMtar Farminc, Saturday, April 20,1085
NOW IS THE TIME
To Glean Pastures
Before Turning Animals
On Them
A careful check of pastures
before turning cows into them can
be time well spent. Trash, broken
glass, and wire may produce bad
udder and foot injuries. So, move
or bury the debris. Nails sticking
through boards may produce
serious puncture wounds in feet.
Old farm implements should be
hauled away; cows seem unable to
resist stepping through old discs or
harrows, often with disastrous
results.
One old paint bucket may finish
enough lead to kill half a dozen
cows. They like the taste of lead
pamt as much that they will
struggle with each other to get as
much as possible from an old paint
can.
Fertilizer and fertilizer bags are
deadly; especially those con
taining nitrates. Cows will eagerly
kill themselves eating it.
In spite of laws, we still have a
few people who will pitch a bagful
of junk out of their cars while they
drive along our highways. A walk
through your pasture fields before
turning your cows out, is time very
well spent.
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
STATE COLLEGE - Com
petition will be fierce today as
Penn State’s 68th Little In
ternational Livestock Exposition
gets underway at the Ag Arena.
Sponsored by the Block and Bridle
Club, the exposition features
students showing University beef
cattle, horses, sheep and swine.
This year, about 120 students will
be judged on their livestock
grooming and showmanship
techniques. Students in
agriculture, liberal arts, science
and a number of other colleges at
Penn State, drew lots for their
animals several weeks ago and
have been practicing with them
ever since. The Little I gives
students a chance to gain practical
experience working with livestock.
Events of the day begin at 8 a.m.
in the ag Arena. Cattle and swine
classes will be judged first,
followed by sheep judging at 11
a.m. and horse judging at noon.
The champion showmen and
fitters in cattle and swine classes
will be selected at 1:45 p.m. and
HASTE CAN BE
HAZARDOUS TO ,
YOUR HEALTH !
TAKE YOUR TIME TO INSURE A SAFE PLANTING SEASON!
By Jay Irwin
Lancaster County Agriculture Agent
Phone 717-394-6851
scientists who ran germination
tests on weed seeds which had been
buried for up to 50 years.
They report that 29 percent of
Johnsongrass seed germinated
after being buried for 3% years;
morning glory 74 percent after 5Vz
years; pigweed 66 percent after 40
years; and dock 52 percent after 50
years. They further reported that
51 of 107 species tested still had 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
we may suddenly be faced with a
weed problem we thought was
cured several years ago.
Farmers are continually faced
with disease problems; LT in
poultry, pseudorabies in hogs,
Johnes in dairy, and others. 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 poultrv and livestock
“Little I” opens today
the championships for horses and
sheep will begin at 2:15. The all
around grand champion com
petition will begin at 2:45 when
champion showmen show all four
animal species.
Judges are; Mallory Mort of
Ghent, New York for cattle; Ann
Swinker of Brownsville for horses;
Robert Calvert of Mercer for sheep
and Ray Meyer of York for swine.
All are Penn State alumni.
This year’s Little International
is dedicated to Sue Riglin,
secretary in the Department of
Dairy and Animal Science, for her
outstanding service to the club.
Block and Bridle is also
recognizing Mick Colvin, 1985
Distinguished Alumnus in the
Department of Dairy and Animal
Sciences. Colvin, of Schellsburg, is
director of the Certified Angus
Beef program. Both will be
honored at the club banquet for
Little International winners
Saturday night at the Penn State-
Sheraton.
Penn State students in Block and
Bridle have been responsible for
To Practice
Strict Sanitation
is so great, p’ jeers should be
alert to the possibility of spreading
diseases. Then returning from
another farm, or public place,
different clothes and footwear
should be used. Stray dogs, cats,
flies and wild birds could 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.
To Manage Poultry
House Equipment
General management of poultry
house equipment is important in
maintaining a comfortable en
vironment for chickens and
turkeys. Defective equipment
should be repaired or replaced
promptly, especially if it is in
volved with the delivery of feed or
water to the birds.
Rusty and bent cages will allow
some birds to escape and may trap
or injure other birds. It can also
cause an increase in crax. All
sharp edges on the poultrv
equipment must be removed to
avoid injuries. Rusty and decaying
feed binds are another problem;
they allow moisture to get to the
feed, resulting in mold growth and
sick birds.
The Penn State Extension Service is an
affirmative action, equal opportunity
educational institution.
organizing all aspects of the Little
International. Keith Bryan of
Media is show manager, assisted
by Robert Livingston of Dover.
Species superintendents who
instruct participants on grooming
and showmanship techniques are:
cattle - Kaye Sweigard of Halifax
is superintendent, assisted by
Blaine Clowser of Dayton, Ralph
Horchler of New Wilmington, and
Bill Wise of Spring Grove; Horse -
Jeff Brown of Port Allegany is
superintendent, assisted by Bnan
Egan of Nanty Glo; Sheep - Jim
Black of State College is
superintendent, assisted by Bnan
Barkley of Manns Choice; swine -
David Hartman of Turbotville is
superintendent, assisted by Paul
Winklosky of Derry.
The Penn State Little In
ternational Livestock Exposition
on Saturday, April 20 is free and
open to the public. It will be held in
the Ag Arena on Park Street Ex
tension across from Beaver
Stadium on Penn State’s
University Park Campus. Lunch
will be available.
READ THE
CONTRACT!
April 21,1985
Background Scripture
Job 1 through 4.
Devotional Reading:
Job 1:13-22.
One of the most pervasive ideas
in the world today - even among
people who profess not to be
religious is that we are bom into
this life clutching m our hands a
divine contract that guarantees us
freedom from suffering, tragedy
and injustice. For, just as soon as
we are confronted with any or all of
those experiences in life we begin
to complain loudly that God is
unjust or, if we deny there is a God,
that life is unfair. Nothing so gets
in the way of intelligent religion
than this expectation.
Where did we ever get this idea
that God would impose justice
among his creatures or that the
world was ever conceived as fair?
God desires justice for his children
and calls us to be fair with one
another, but he does not unpose it
upon his world - never has, and
presumably never will. You and I
will be judged for our injustices
(and more), but he will not compel
us to be just. That’s the kind of
world he created: with potential
for either good or evil, dependent
upon the exercise of our own free
will.
IT HAS COME TO YOU
Everyone knows this is the way
Farm Calendar
Saturday, April 20
Little International, Penn State
University.
Spring Highlight Sale, Guernsey
Sale Pavilion, 11 a.m.
Huntingdon County Holstein Heifer
Sale; 11 a.m., Huntingdon
County Fairgrounds.
Sunday, April 21
York County Rabies Clinic, 9 a.m.
to 2 p.m.; York Fairgrounds.
Monday, April 22
Sheep Industry Tour; continues
through Thursday.
1985 NASDA National Food and
Agriculture Exposition, Kansas
City.
Tuesday, April 23
Stanton Grange Spring
Homemaker’s Day.
Thursday, April 25
Adams County Poultry Meeting,
Bermudian Springs High
School, Gettysburg, 7:30 p.m.
Special meeting for dairymen on
“over-order pricing,’’
Hackettstown High School, 8
p.m.
the world is and no one really
questions the arrangement - so
long as it seems to be working well
for us. But let something go wrong
and we go running for our con
tracts to protest that suddenly
things are not going the way
they’re supposed to go. The
problem with most of us is that we
haven’t really read - and un
derstood - the contract.
* Job is a stirring
„ ' »n it seems
The
illustrai.
to him that
possibly happen to him has, in icu.i,
happened, he cries out: “Let the
day perish wherein I was b0m...”
(Job 3:3). Up until this point, Job
has been a pillar of faith in the
midst of his adversity, but now he’s
had enough, things have gone too
far. His friend Ehphaz (with a
friend like him, who needs an
enemy?), chides him, “Behold,
you have instructed many... But
now it has come to you, and you are
impatient” (4:3,5). Job, just think
about all the glib advice you’ve
given to others when they’ve had
troubles!
WHERE WE REAP
But Eliphaz goes on to assure
Job that, if he is righteous, the
suffering will be only for a little
while. “Think now, who that as
innocent ever perished?” (4:7).
Furthermore, all those who are
evil will eventually be punished;
“As I have seen, those who plow
iniquity and sow trouble reap the
same” (4:8).
Job knows that that is not the
way it is, however: there is no
guarantee that being righteous will
bring us through life without
suffering. Nor is there a warranty
that promises to make evil people
suffer in this life. If we are to reap
justice and fairness, it is in a realm
of reality that transcends this
earth.
It is high time we read the
contract.
'&*■
“SsSk
Friday, April 26
NJ State Calf and Bred Heifer
Sale, 7 p.m., Harmony, NJ.
Ene County Calf Sale, noon, East
Waterford, Pa.
Saturday, April 27
Cumberland Blue Genes Sale.
York Sheep and Wool Field Day,
York Fairgrounds, 9:30 a.m.
Dairy Exposition, Penn State
University, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Diary Goat Seminar, Montgomery
4-H Center, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Tour of “The Goat Works,” the
largest goat cheese producing
farm in the United States,
Washington, NJ, 1 p.m. to 4:30
p.m.
Sunday, April 28
Annual Meeting, Pa. Association of
Meat processors, the Embers in
Carlisle.
Motaday, April 29
Pa. Sheep and Wool Growers
Annual Meeting, Keller
Building, Penn State Univer
sity.
Tuesday, April 30
Pa. Wool Sale, Nittany Lion Inn,
Penn State University.
Wednesday, May 1
Lancaster County Conservation
District, monthly board
meeting, Farm and Home
Center at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 4
Apple Blossom Festival, South
Mountain Fairgrounds.
Md. Sheep and Wool Festival,
Howard County Fairgrounds;
continues tomorrow.
A r *Qr|