AlO-Lmcast«r Farming, Saturday, January 31,1M7
OPINION
Let’s Go To The Keystone Cornucopia
Since 1981, the State Council of
Farm Organizations has been
pairing agricultural and food in
dustry leaders with state and
federal legislators and
policymakers. And the pairing has
occurred over plates laden with
fresh Pennsylvania-produced
foods.
Where has this tasty meeting
occurred? Each year at the
Council’s Keystone Cornucopia,
the premier agricultural and food
industry celebration. This year the
event is set Monday, February 9.
This provides a united front for
the Commonwealth’s agricultural
industry. The Council ac
complishes this by pulling together
the tremendous number of
organizations and associations
serving agriculture in Penn
sylvania.
This is the only event of the year
where processors and producers
join forces to promote and
celebrate the bounty of our state’s
agricultural product.
Also, it is possibly the only event
of the year that pulls together the
various farm organizations and
cooperatives that serve the state’s
farming community. Events like
the Cornucopia show officials in
Harrisburg that agriculturists
work together for the betterment
of our agricultural economy.
Tickets are rather expensive
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t3 '7 , 1
Farm Calendar
Saturday, January 31
York County 4-H Beef Banquet,
Porter’s Fireball, 7 p.m.
Cumberland County Holstein
Breeders annual meeting,
South Middleton Fireball,
Boiling Springs.
Witmer Fire Company turkey
supper, noon, Witmer.
Garden State Dairy Goat
Association Meeting, Polish-
American Hall, Whitehouse
Station. Call 201-996-6682.
N.J. Beekeepers Association,
Trenton State College. Call
Jack Matthenius, 609464-2265.
Monday, February 2
Pa. Nurserymen and Allied In
dustries Conference, Penn State
University, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Delmarva Dairy Meeting, Hartley
Fireball, Hartley.
Montgomery County Extension
Annual Meeting, Montgomery
4-H Center, Creamery, 7 p.m.
For tickets call Extension office
at2IMBM3IS.
Hunterdon County Sheep Breeders
Association monthly meeting, 8
pjn., Extension Center.
Tuesday, February 3
Swine Producer’s Meeting, Valley
Bank, Shippensburg.
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$30.00 each. But there is a coupon
on page A-13 that allows you a $5.00
discount.
What do you get for your $25.00?
First, you are treated to a feed fit
for royalty...and Pennsylvania’s
commodity royalty will be there to
help you enjoy yourselves! From
the hour-long reception to the
laden buffet-table, you may eat
your fill of Pennsylvania’s bounty.
Second, you have an opportunity
to visit with agricultural and
elected leaders. From PFA, the
Grange, PFU and PAFC
representatives, to state House
and Senate Ag Committee
leadership...from Food Processors
Association members to dairy,
poultry, beef, pork, mushroom and
vegetable groups...you have an
opportunity to talk with and share
opinions with leaders from your
commodity area.
Third, you have the opportunity
to hear a few words from the new
Agriculture Secretary designee as
well as veteran Farm Journal
editor emeritus Lane Palmer.
And finally, you can treat
yourself to a scrumptious make
your-own sundae bar to top off the
evening!
The planners of this event would
like more production farmers to
attend for the impact it will have
on the effort. It should be worth the
cost to be there.
Cumberland County Extension
Annual Meeting, South Mid
dleton Firehall, Boiling
Springs.
Dairy Day, Westminster, Md., 9
a.m.
Ephrata Area Young Farmers
officers and banquet committee
meeting, Ephrata Jr. High
School Conference Room, 7:30
p.m. >
Wednesday, February 4
Delmarva Com and Soybean
Technology Conference,
Wicomico Youth and Civic
Center, Salisbury, Md.
Pa. Young Farmer Association
Winter Conference, Gettysburg.
Farm Financial Management
(Making Smart Decisions
Seminar), session 1, Franklin
County 4-H Center, Cham
bersburg, 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Schuylkill County Winter
Vegetable Meeting, Dusselfink
Motor Inn, Pottsville, 9 a.m. to 3
p.m.
Hunterdon County Board of Ag
monthly meeting, Extension
Center, 6 p.m.
Thursday, February 5
In-depth Dairy Nutrition Series,
/WOP. AND TMAT£
/ REASON TN\
NOW IS
THE TIME
By Jay Irwin
Lancaster County Agriculture Agent
To Protect Your Longa
Be it in the coal mines or on the
farm... dust can destroy lungs.
Farmers who are exposed to dust
over long periods of time risk the
disabling disease called “farmer’s
lung.” As the dust accumulates in
the lungs the tissue hardens. This
can lead to a variety of respiratory
ailments including bronchitis and
asthma. If the condition is not
diagnosed soon enough, irrever
sible lung damage may occur.
Preventing farmers’ lung
doesn’t necessarily require any
elaborate or expensive equip
ment...a simple mask when dust
can’t be avoided...for example
when handling dry bedding,
sweeping dusty walls or walks or
grinding and mixing feed.
Keeping the overall level of dust
down is also helpful; therefore, as
soon as feed sacks or chemical
containers are emptied, they
should be discarded in the proper
York County 4-H Center.
Maryland Agricultural Dinner,
Martin’s West, Baltimore.
Mercer County Corn Day, 10 a.m.
to 3 p.m., Mercer Vo-Tech
School.
Friday, February (
Lancaster County Pork Producer’s
Banquet, Blue Ball Fireball,
6:30 p.m.
Second Annual Cordova VFD
Farm Toy Show and Auction,
Cordova Firehouse, Cordova,
Md. Times Friday, 6 to 10
p.m., Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
(auction to follow at 6 p.m.).
For more information call 301-
364-5490.
Monday, February 9
Sixth Pennsylvania Cornucopia
Banquet, Hershey Convention
Center.
Luzerne County Corn Clinic,
Luzerne Extension Office,
Wilkes-Barre, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, February 10
Capital Region Turf and Or
namental School, Holiday Inn,
Grantville.
Atlantic Breeder’s Cooperative,
North Western, Country Table
Restaurant, 7 p.m.
Lancaster County Sheep and Wool
Growers annual meeting, 7:30
p.m., Farm and Home Center.
Making Smart Farm Decisions (3
sessions), York County Ex
tension office, 7 p.m. Also on
Feb. 17 and 24.
Making Smart Farm Decisions (3
sessions), Cumberland County
Extension Office, 12:30 p.m. to 3
p.m. Also on Feb. 17 and 24.
(Turn to Page A3l)
manner. Regular housecleaning of
work areas is another good idea.
Not only will the area look bet
ter...you’ll feel better without all
that dust in your lungs.
To Observe Rabies
Vaccination Law
Rabies is spreading across
Pennsylvania, threatening the
lives of humans and animals.
Unvaccinated dogs and cats are a
threat to the spread of the disease
because of their frequent contact
with people and their potential
contact with rabid animals.
Because of this risk, it has been a
good practice to vaccinate dogs
and cats for rabies.
As of February 13, 1987 all dogs
and cats over 3 months of age must
be vaccinated. Violators can be
fined up to |3OO per day of
violation. Innoculation must be
administered or supervised by a
licensed veterinarian.
The Pennsylvania Department
of Agriculture will assist
municipality, civic groups and
others in establishing vaccination
clinics. For more information,
write the Pennsylvania Depart
ment of Agriculture, 2301 North
Cameron Street, Harrisburg, PA
17110-9408, or call 1-800-PA
PENNA.
To Plan Legume Seeding
It’s not too soon to make plans
for seeding clover, alfalfa or
winter grains. Many of our good
stands have been obtained by
making a broadcast seeding in late
February or early March.
The value of seeding at this time
is to take advantage of the alter
nate freezing and thawing to work
the small seeds into the topsoil.
GETTING WHAT’S
COMING TO YOU
February 1,1987
Background Scripture:
Galatians 2: 15-21; Ephesians 2:1-
Devotional Reading:
Romans 1:16,17.
Today, more than ever, people
are very intent on “getting what’s
coming to them.” In fact, it would
seem this has become one of the
controlling motivations of our
society. Our law courts are full of
civil suits by people who believe
that someone or something owes
them some kind of remuneration
or indemnity for injuries or
damages real or imagined. For
example, one of the victims of a
recent air hijacking incident has
sued his travel agent on the
grounds that the travel agent
should have known of the terrorist
threat and warned him ac
cordingly. In another legal action,
a mother was seeking legal redress
from a tobacco company because
her son had become addicted to
tobacco, contracted lung cancer
and died.
I am not suggesting that many
suits are not legally justified. I am
only concerned that increasingly
we are seeking to hold others
responsible for our own freewill
choices. Furthermore, we ought
not to see all of life from the per
spective of “what we have coming
to us.” A portrait artist once said
Wheat is usually the best grain to
make late winter or early spring
legume seedings. Barley and rye
tend to develop too much growth
and increase the potential for
lodging which smothers out the
small legume plants.
Broadcast seeding when the soil
is “honeycombed” in early March
works very well, but the use of a
band seeder may be a better way
to establish a new legume stand.
To Plan Your Estate
During my lifetime the
management of farm labor,
livestock, crops and machinery
has been very important in order
to obtain maximum production.
Many farmers have excelled in
these areas. Now, as we look into
the mid-eighties, I feel that money
management is of growing im
portance to the farmer and
warrants much more attention and
knowledge. The planning of your
estate, including the making and
updating of a will and also the
proper farm transfer, is very
important, especially with recent
changes in the tax laws.
Today, the average farmer
handles more money in one month
than his ancestors did in a year.
We urge more attention to estate
planning and money management
as part of good farm management.
We hope you plan to attend the
Estate Planning meeting on Feb.
26 and the Farm Transfer meeting
on March 12, both at 7:30 p.m. in
the Farm and Home Center,
Lancaster. Attorney John Becker,
farm law specialist and Jesse
Cooper, farm management
specialist, at Penn State
University will be the speakers.
that, often when he is painting a
portrait, people tell him to “be
sure to do me justice." What most
of them need,” he said, “is not
justice, but mercy.”
I don’t know about you, but that
brings me up short. If right now I
were to be offered strict and
perfect justice for my 56 years of
life, could I afford to choose it? It
doesn’t take me long to answer;
with an emphatic “No!” To be
sure, there have been some in
justices perpetrated against me in
my life. I could make— as you
could— a nice little list of them.
(Because I haven’t really allowed
myself to forget about some of
them, they are rather easy to
remember.) I can think of people
who have taken advantage of me. I
have been cheated numerous times
and pickpocketed once. I have had
people treat me unfairly, some
who have lied to me, a few who
have tried to cause me trouble. If I
was “getting what is coming to
me,” I would certainly get a
substantial indemnity on the basis
of those injustices.
If we could stop right there, l—
and all of us— would be sitting
pretty. But, of course, we can’t
stop there. For there are also in
justices that I have committed. (Of
course, these are much easier to
understand and partially justify
than the ones committed against
me!) And if I were to have to be
punished or penalized for my sins,
I know that I would owe far more
than what is owed to me. Clearly,
what I want— what I’m banking
on— is mercy, not justice. As Paul
puts it to the Galatians, “But if, in
our endeavor to be justified in
Christ, we ourselves were found to
be sinners...” (2:17). In the light of
God’s justice, that’s what all of us
are found to be.
What all of us better bank on is
the grace of God— counting on
getting “not what’s coining to us,”
but infinitely more. In Ephesians 2
we are assured of the richness of
God’s grace: “But God, who is rich
in mercy, out of the great love with
which he loved us, even when we
were dead through our trespasses,
made us alive together with
Christ...that in the coming ages he
might show the immeasurable
riches of his grace in kindness
toward us in Christ Jesus.”
(2:4,5,7).
God grant that I— and you
may never get just “what’s coining
to us”!