AlO-Unc«ster Fanning, Saturday, September 13,1986 OPINION Harvest Time Can Be Hazardous To Your Health You’re inclined to think it can’t happen to you. It’s only your neighbor who might get his hand in the forage harvester or get a leg caught in the com picker. Not you. But your neighbor probably has the same thoughts. And farm accidents don’t always happen to someone else, especially around harvest time. Hundreds of farmers are killed each year during the rush to get crops in. And thousands more suffer disabilities and injuries that cause expensive lost time. In a few weeks, we will be reminded of this problem during National Farm Safety Week (September 21 to 27). But it’s appropriate that we provide this word of caution now as we enter the harvest season. PTO shafts represent one of the greatest hazards. To avoid becoming entangled in them, replace or install guards on all power shafts. Shut off the power and take out the key before un clogging, adjusting or servicing harvesting heads, cutters, power drives and other dangerous machinery parts. Also shut off the power and take out the key to prevent injury from the unloading auger before entering the combine grain tank. Follow a no “riders” policy on all farm equipment. Make sure children and nonworkers are off of and away from machinery before starting up. Place blocks or stands under the header before working underneath it. Don’t rely on hydraulic pressure to hold it up. Always lower the header for safety when parking a machine. Display a slow moving vehicle emblem and use flashing lights to make road travel safer. Be sure the loading auger is in the transport position. Ron Jester from the University of Delaware Extension Depart ment says that “a serious accident could cost more than your harvest. Don’t lose a lifetime trying to save a few minutes. Many farm ac cidents that cause injuries and fatalities can be prevented. Safety isn’t a time consuming liability,” Jester suggests. “It’s an asset that speeds up progress.” Many farm accident victims work alone and are not found for hours after an accident. Access to Farm Calendar Saturday, September 13 Weekend horse ride in the Blue Mountains, sponsored by Central Berks Riding Club. For flyer, call Gene or Beverly at 717-366-1131. NOW THAT WE’RE GETTING- INTO THE HARVEST SEASON. I WANT TO URGE YOO TO PLEASE BE CAREFUL/ fatigue, resulting-nawi LONG HOURS OF FIELD WORK, CAN LEAD TO —r SERIOUS FARAA ACCIDENTS ... > > TMue. C3RPOJTEJL- an emergency communication system can sometimes make the difference between life and death. Install two way radios in tractors, trucks and self propelled equip ment and establish a means of SOS communication on .the farm, such as hand signals, horns or flairs. Monitor one another. Check periodically to see that all is well. Take mid morning and mid af ternoon snacks to workers. Not only to provide a rest period but also to check on them. Tell someone where you’ll be working and approximately when you will be back. Children also need protection. They are vital, fun loving, curious and eager to enter the grown up world. But unfortunately many children won’t have the chance to realize their potential because they will be victims of farm accidents before they grow up. About one in three persons (over 30,000 annually) killed accidently in the U.S. is under age 25. In fact, statistics show that accidents are the leading cause of death in this country for people from one to 38 years of age. Jester says that farm children are often exposed to work place hazards. Many become victims of accidents involving farm machinery, livestock, chemicals and other tools of the trade. All a farm child needs to do is run out the back door to encounter oc cupational hazards from farm machinery, the farm shop, the animals, the stock watering tanks, the silos and bins and the electrical equipment around the farm. Although small children don’t usually help with the work. They often are allowed in farm work areas to watch and to play, and sometimes children are allowed to ride along. Farm children often want to be big like Daddy. But farm parents have an especially large responsibility to protect their children from unnecessary hazards by keeping an eye on them and knowing what they are doing. Certainly, accidents do happen. But lets work together to insure the safest year possible during harvest time this year in Lancaster Far ming Terriotory. We’ll all be so glad we did when Thanksgiving rolls around on November 27. Monday, September 15 Beaver Community Fair, Beaver Springs; continues through Sept. 20. Orate Fair, Grate; thrughSept. 20 o o OO o OC < e» NOW IS THE TIME By Jay Irwin Lancaster County Agriculture Agent The proclamation of September 21 to 27 as National Farm Safety Week is very important during this busy corn harvest and fall grain planting season. “Be Protected from the Unex pected,” the 1986 theme for the farm safety campaign, stresses the need for preventive safety measures. People who operate and work on farms suffer more than their share of personal and economic loss from accidents and work-related illnesses. Mi|ph of this loss could be avoided if people would not only work and drive safely, but also take the extra steps to protect themselves ahead of time from potential hazards. Agriculture remains among the nation’s three most hazardous major industries in terms of ac cidental deaths according to Nationai Safety Council figures. Mining and the construction in dustry are the other two most hazardous fields. Tuesday, September 16 Harmony Grange Fair, Westover; continues through Sept. 20. Annual Meeting, Allied Florists of Delaware Valley, Zeigler and Sons Wholesale, Philadelphia. Small Fruit and Tree Fruit Field Day, Penn State, Rock Springs Research Farms. York County 4-H Pork and Lamb Roundup, Weikert’s Buying Station, Thomasville, 7 p.m. Twilight Marketing Meeting, Whistle Stop Farm and Nur sery, John Ringoes Road, Ringoes, 6:30 p.m. Register by Sept. 12. Call 201-788-1338. Lehigh Valley Horse Council Meeting, 7:30 p.m., Hob Nob Hill Horse Center, Kesslersville Road, Easton. Wednesday, September 17 W. Pa. Flower Growers, Oglevees’ Mercer Greenhouse. Southern Lancaster County Fair, Quarryville; continues through Sept. 19. Sinking Valley Community Fair, Altoona; continues through Sept. 20. Veterinary Nutrition Forum, 7 p.m., Host Town, Route 501 Lancaster. Program; Dr. Richard Weidman speaking on dietary control of kidney stones in poultry. For reservations call 717-757-9657. Thursday, September 18 Huntingdon County 4-H/FFA Livestock Buyers Banquet, First Methodist Church, noon. continues SO IF YOU'RE > STARTING TO GET TIRED, JUST DO \NHA iT UNCLE OTIS &EOAU^ To Observe National Farm Safety Week To Be Aware of the Century Farm Program The Century Farm Program is aimed at recognizing the efforts of Pennsylvania’s farm families which have preserved the tradition of the rural heritage of the pioneer farm. The program was started as part of the Nation’s bicentennial ob servance in 1976, but is being continued for its value in promoting the ideals of the family farm and the importance of far ming to Pennsylvania’s economy. To be eligible for certification as a Pennsylvania Century Farm, a farm must have been owned by the same family for the last 100 con secutive years, and a family member must currently reside on the land. In addition, the farm must consist of ten or more acres of the original holdings or gross at least $l,OOO a year from the sale of agriculture products. We encourage you to participate in this program that is ad ministered by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. Applications are available at the County Extension Office. To Check Ventilation Systems We are in a time of year when ventilation is very important, and understanding the principles of the basic farm laws are critical to understanding our ventilation systems and why we should do some things and why some things cost us money. Theere are three basic fan principles: (1) “As we vary the speed of a fan the volume of air varies in direct proportion.” It is a one-to one ratio if we double the speed of a fan, we can double the capacity of air. We could do this by changing pulleys but do not do this, Lancaster dairy goat meeting, North East; continues through Farm and Home Center, 7:30 Sept. 20. p. m . Oley Valley Community Fair, 1986 Women in Ag Day, Villa Leo Oley; continues through Sept. Quality Inn, Harrisburg. 20. (Turn to Page A 22) North East Community Fair, GOD’S POT OF GOLD September 14,1986 Background Scripture: Genesis 9:1-15 Devotional Reading; Psalm 78:32- 39 It is a popular piece of folklore that tells us that at the end of the rainbow there is waiting to be found a pot of gold. It seems that the rainbow has always been regarded as a sign of good fortune or of God’s providence. Thus, in the story of Noah and his ark, God tells Noah and his family: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth” (9:12,13). as the fan systems are designed as received by you. Principles 2 and 3 will explain. (2) “As you vary the speed (volume) of the fan, the pressure varies by the square.” In other words, if you double the speed of the fan by changing a pulley, the pressure would go up four times. The reverse is also true. If you restrict the inlets, raising the static pressure, you slow the fans down. (3) “As you vary the speed (volume) of the fan, the power varies by the cube.” So if you double the speed of the fan, it would take eight times the power to do it. Power in this case is electricity so you can see from motors burning out if you change pulleys or a shutter sticks shut creating too much back pressure. Give these fan principles some thought, for efficient ventilation and in some cases, the safety of birds and animals. To Mow Weedy Pastures If your pasture is weedy, get out the mower. There are two good reasons for this; one, it eliminates the production of weed seeds and two, it removes mature forage which lets plants send out new and tender growth. But, before you mow, you should graze the pasture heavily so as to utilize all the available food. The animals eat some weeds, but they also eat some of the tall grasses that would be wasted by mowing. Remember, to mow closely 2 to 3 inches. And instead of trashing the clippings, use them. Many farmers recover enough hay from pasture mowing to winter feed some of their cattle. The Cooperative Extension Serviceisanaf firmative action equal opportunity educational institution NEVER AGAIN The proverbial “pot of gold” might seem highly desirable at first thought, but God’s promise is of much more importance to us than any pot of gold, no matter how big or valuable it might be. For God’s rainbow symbol is to signify something that is vital to civilization and the race itself: “ . never again shall all flesb be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth” (9:11). So, of infinitely more value than a pot of gold is God’s assurance of the new beginning the op portunity to change course from the wrong one to the right one, to pick up the pieces of failure or disaster and start over again. In that sense, the rainbow is one of life’s most important symbols for the possibility of a “new begin ning,” vital not only in individuals but society itself. THE PROMISE It is in the story of Noah that the Biblical term “covenant” first appears. Although the term is difficult to define and explain, perhaps it will help for us to think of a covenant as a mutual promise. In Genesis 9 God promises never to destroy humanity again. That makes this passage from Genesis a pretty timely message, for we live in a day when it seems great multitudes of people firmly believe the end of the world is “just around the corner.” They seem resignedly pessimistic about the world and its "immanent destruction.” I find this attitude particularly prevalent among the younger generation one recent high school graduate asked me just this evening; “Do you think the end of the world is inevitable 9 Are we going to blow ourselves up?” At that moment I thought of the rainbow and God’s promise and remembered the covenant that God gave to Noah and all of us. Based on copyrighted Outlines produced bv the Committee on the Uniform Series and used by permission Released by Community & Suburban Press
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