On bein a farm -And o hazar Joyce B Supermarket lines will no doubt be extra long for the next few days. Piled up in carts in a Idition to the usual food, cleaning supplies, paper products, cosmetics, pet food, etc. will be the seasonal plump turkeys, sweet potatoes, cranberries, stuffing mixes, pumpkin pies and whatever other goodies families’ traditions and tastes dictate. Pizza, tacos or mousakka, perhaps, even 7 Thanksgiving on the farm always seems to have an extra aura of warmth about it. Maybe it’s because, at least for one day, our nation collectively ponders the freedom and abundance with which we have been blessed, an abundance deeply rooted in the rich soils of America’s farmland. This Thanksgiving finds the ag community still wrestling with the age old problems of drought, supply-demand imbalances, lopsided international trade policies, lagging cash flow, and too many jobs to be condensed into too few hours. Still, I can glance at the family around the dinner table, and then out the kitchen window and WINTER TIRE SALE | STEEL BELTED RADIAL M&S STEEL BELTED RADIAL REVENGER • 2 Steel Belts • Polyester Body Plys • Raised White Letters • M&S Rating • Serrated Black Letters On Blackwall Side Hurst tire service ' 1 Mile West of Blue Ball on Route 322 (717)354 4931 "1 Mon A Fn. 7 30-8 30; , Wed Thurs 7 30-5, Closed Saturdays - beyond, and count blessings in every direction. A herd of them roams the hillside, earning their living for the moment grazing the corn stubble and alfalfa residue, preserving precious feeds for colder days of snow cover. That they have demolished what was left of an aging raspberry row is irrelevant, and perhaps in itself a blessing, forcing me to replant these favorites at a more productive location. Other four-legged, black and white blessings munch away at feed in the dairy bam, returning it to us in the forms of milk and “used hay” for recycling onto the fields. Especially this year we are grateful for the blessings of feedstuffs in silos and hay storage areas, even in quantities less than in more normal harvest seasons. Often, as I split the strings on a bale and spread it in troughs for eager calves-and heifers, my mind turns to a very unique blessing in the ag community. That blessing is the generosity of farmers who have shared their abundant yields FIBERGLASS BELTED M&S • 2 Fiberglass Belts ■1 Belts * Polyester Cord !Stf STEEL BELTED METRIC RADIAL DUAL BITE NYLON 750-16 700-15 H7B-15 with others facing empty barns, and of thousands of others who in some way are physically or financially assisting in sending feeds this year to hungry farm animals. And a related critical shortage this year has given us a renewed personal appreciation for a blessing we inevitably take for granted from day to day. Water. Never before and we literally pray that never again have we come so close to running dry. Indeed, for many weeks, it has been impossible to draw water in the house during late morning hours. That is the period of the day when the cattle drink deeply after morning feeding, and milking equipment cleaning cycles are also pulling from the water supply. For three months, the turn of a house faucet during those hours brought little more than loud, gurgling bubbles of air. And sometimes still does. Various efforts to return the flow of our underground water supply, tapped into when we dug up the meadow during extensive Chesapeake Bay clean-up program implementation, had proved un productive. Our water supply levels continued to drop, and the pump sucked more air every day. Now, timely rains have helped a bit, and a sort of “last ditch REVENGER RV RADIAL STEEL RADIAL SIZE 750R16 800R16 875R16 9 50R1I 215/85R; 235/85R1 Ice Studs For $lO Per Tire ★ FREE TUBELESS VALVES ★ FREE MOUNTING&, BALANCING ★ ALIGNMENT BY APPOINTMENT ONLY is.so 74.50 NO TAX 63.00 75.50 * i/” GIGANTIC •SUCTION Lancaster Farming's CLASSIFIEDS TAX VISA' SB Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 22,1986-B5 emergency” redirecting and blessings of loving families, caring retaining area for water seems to friends and neighbors, com be at last easing the crisis. passionate fellow farmers and the For the moment, at least, we are continuing gifts of life', health, and holding our own, water-wise. daily needs frohi the Almighty, we So. for that blessing, and for the do truly give thanks. Keystone Coruncopia HARRISBURG - The fifth annual Keystone Cornucopia has been slated for Feb. 9,1987, at the Hershey Convention Center. The theme for this year’s event is “Pennsylvania: Land of Bountiful Harvest.” “The Keystone Cornucopia is the one banquet of the year where all agricultural organizations - producer as well as processor - join forces to celebrate the bounty of the Commonwealth’s agricultural community,” said Pennsylvania State Council of Farm Organizations President Ivo V. Otto Jr. “It is an opportunity for us to showcase our industry before our elected state and national officials.,” The gala affair, featuring Pennsylvania-produced foods, We're Buying Quality! Farmer’s Cheese Co-Op Now Offers Premiums For Extra Quality Milk. We Want The Best Quality Milk Because Quite Simply, The Best Quality Milk Makes The Best Quality Cheese. With the use of analytical and computer technology, we will pay you (based on the cheese and cream market) what a hundred pounds of your milk will yield in cheese and cream. Farmer’s Cheese Co-Op will be paying its farmers on a bi-monthly basis, plus offering a group hospital insurance. Qualify Milk Costs More But Via Think It's North It. P.O. Box 198, New Wilmington, PA 16142 ( 412) 946-8729 IN-STORE SPECIALS N* m THRU NOVEMBER Key-Aid Distributors and Pitman Moore offer you a FREE Pair of WRANGLER JEANS \ *hmpmbuv V SBox’sof 50’s \\ \ Levasoie Boluses ® $44.900r \ i 6 - SCO cc Bottles \ i0V»»?9 lB \ oflevasote \ Injectable —■ —536.95 Key-Aid Distributors 225 Woodcorner Rd. Lititz, PA 17543 717/738-4241 Call Us Toll Free! 1-800-453-9243 In PA Call 1-800-253-9243 Set For Feb . 9 begins with a 6 p.m. reception, followed by a buffet dinner at 7 p.m. The planning committee will also feature a well-known speaker for the short program. Tickets for the event go on sale in December and are $25 each if purchased before Jan. 16, 1987. Afte that date, tickets will cost $3O each. They may be reserved by calling the Pennsylvania Association of Farmer Cooperatives, 717-232-7232, and speaking with Cindy Goodling. The Pennsylvania State Council of Farm Organizations is a trade association representing more than 65 businesses comprising the varied aspects of the Com monwealth’s agricultural com munity. If you want more for your milk • CALL (412) 946-8729 Ask For Ron or Jack Farmer's Cheese Inc.
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