AlO-Lancnter Farming, Saturday, September 10, 1988
OPINION
Take Time To Be Safe
On a cold January morning a
29-ycar-old east coast dairy farmer
uncapped a concrete stave silo to
feed silage to his cattle. As usual,
the uncapping created lots of dust
inside the silo. Later that after
noon this farmer felt like he had the
flu, only worse. And by evening
he weni to the emergency room
and was hospitalized and diag
nosed as having organic dust toxic
syndrome.
This true case history along with
thousands of others like it contra
dict the popular conception that
farmers are some of our healthiest
workers. .While farming is seen
romantically as a clean, healthy,
happy way of life, the facts show
that on-thc-farm accidents are kill
ing and maiming hunderds of thou
sands of farmers annually across
the nation. And now a whole new
array of health hazards lurk in mol
dy corn bins, dusty hog houses,
newly filled silos, liquid manure
pits and chemical applicating jobs
of all kinds. With nearly 200,000
injuries and 2,000 deaths per year,
agriculture (several years ago)
passed mining as the most danger
ous occupation in the United
Stales.
And the fall harvest season with
its pressure to get the crops in the
bams before bad weather sets the
stage for a serious accident. When
you’re tired or in a hurry, accidents
are more likely to happen. Ron
Jester, University of Delaware
Extension safely specialist says
it’s natural to take pride in one’s
Farm Calendar
Saturday, September 10
PA Holstein Championship Show,
State College, Ag Arena, 9:00
a.m.
Schaefferstown Horse Parade &
Harvest Fair, 10:00 a.m. Runs
through Sunday.
Autumn Harvest Hereford Classic,
Spring Bottom Farm, Fairfield,
11:00 a.m.
Sire Power open house, Tunkhan
nock headquarters, 10 a.m.
Monday, September 12
Bcllwood-Anlis Farm Show, Bell
wood, runs through September
15.
Claysburg Area Farm Show, Clay
sburg, runs through September
15.
Green Township Community Fair,
Commodore, runs through Sep
tember 17.
Tuesday, September 13
Wyoming/Lacka wanna Holstein
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
At Record-Express Office Building
22 E Main Street
Lititz, PA 17543
by
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A SMnnw Enlm prfce
Robert G. Campbell General Manager
Everett R Newswanger Managing Editor
CwwliM IMS fcy L»u>» Firming
ability to work long hours in pur
suit of a goal. However, fatigue,
drowsiness and illness frequently
contribute to mishaps in the field.
Add dust and noise to the hurry and
fatigue, plus possible bad weather
and equipment that’s not harvest
ready, and it’s not surprising that
farmers sometimes make mistakes
or fail to respond quickly enough
in an emergency.
Here are some timely sugges
tions from Jester that can help you
avoid a serious accident this fall.
* Be sure all safety guards and
shields are in place.
♦ Always place blocks or stands
under the combine header before
doing any work underneath it.
* Be certain the combine has
stopped all rotation before making
visual or hand inspections.
* Be sure members of your fam
ily, as well as co-workers, have a
reasonable understanding of the
basic operation of the equipment in
case an accident docs happen.
Sometimes an injury is made more
severe because machinery wasn’t
turned off properly or was moved
in the wrong direction.
Also know what you would do if
you arc first on the scene of a seri
ous farm accident. Know how to
raise or lower the hydraulic cylin
der, turn off the engine or the PTO.
Know how to set the brakes and
slop the unloading augers.
Accidednts can be prevented. The
safety practices you follow in
advance will allow you to reap
benefits not only during harvest
but throughout life. Be careful!
**2
Field Day, Wayne & Roger
Sherwood’s Farm.
Denver Fair, Denver, runs through
September 17.
Albion Area Fair, Albion, runs
through September 17.
Sinking Valley Community Farm
Show, Skclp, runs through Sep
tember 17.
Wednesday, September 14
Com & Soybean Field Day, PSU
Research Lab, Landisvillc.
10:00 a.m.
Berlin Brothcrsvalley Fan, Berlin,
runs through September 17.
Williamsburg Community Fair,
Williamsburg, runs through
September 19.
Solanco Fair, runs through Sep-
tcmbcr 16.
The Big E Fair, West Springfield,
Mass., runs through September
25.
OTO, WHY DID YOU
RETIRE FROM
, FARMING ? y
Wl
NOW IS
THE TIME
By Jay Irwin
Lancaster County Agriculture Agent
To Check Stored Grain
Farmers should check all their
stored grain at this time of year
because heating of stored grain can
be a symptom of insect activity or
just 100 much moisture. In either
case, the heating problem should
be corrected before the grain is
ruined. If grain requires pest con
trol materials (as listed on page 66
of the 1987-88 Agronomy Guide),
it should be done while the air
temperature is still fairly high or
above 60 degrees F. If it’s mois
ture, then check for possible leaks
in the roof. We have too much
money invested in the seed, fertil
izer and labor to lose it in storage.
To Protect Show Animals
September, in Lancaster Coun
ty, is Fair lime. It is also a time to
be concerned about the health of
show animals. Fairs should be a
place where we can exhibit our
animals; they should not be a place
York County FFA Swine Show, 1
p.m.
Thursday, September IS
North East Community Fair, North
East, runs through September
17.
Oley Valley Community Fair,
Oley, runs through September
17.
Solanco Fair, through the 16th.
PA Egg Marketing quarterly meet
ing, Olde Hickory Inn, Lancas
ter, 6 p.m.
Friday, September 16
Eastern Slates Exposition, Spring
field, Mass.
York County FFA Swine Sale,
York Fairgrounds, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, September 17
Pride of York Co. Swine Sale,
York Fairgrounds, 12:30 p.m.
Sunday, September 18
Penn Ag annual meeting, Sheraton
Inn, Gettysburg, Beaver Com
munity Fair, Beaver Springs,
through the 24th.
Monday, September 19
Reading Fair, through the 24th.
Gralz Fair, through the 24th.
Tuesday, September 20
Lancaster Fruit Growers’ meeting,
Kauffman’s Fruit Farm &
Market, Bird-in-Hand, 7:00
p.m.
Ephrala Fair, through the 24th.
Harmony Grange Fair, Wcstovcr,
through the 24th.
Wednesday, September 21
South Lancaster Co. Fair, Quarry
villc, through the 23rd.
Friday, September 23
1988 PA Maple Tour, Penn Wells
(Turn to Page A3l)
I ST COULDN’T
KEEP-OP VSJiThI i T
ANYMORE
for spreading disease and other ail
ments. Be considerate of other
exhibitors and of other show ani
mals. If your animals have an
infection or contagious problems,
leave them at home; it’s like keep
ing a sick child out of school to
protect those who arc healthy. If
you do show, consult your veter
inarian about necessary tests and
protective vaccines.
When you return your livestock
to the farm after the show, isolate
them from other animals on the
farm before introducing them to
their herdmates.
To Check Feed Bins
We are coming into the fall sea
son where we see considerable
temperature change from day to
night. This causes a lot of moisture
condensation, as we sec it on car
windows in the morning. This
same type of condensation takes
place in the bulk feed bins on our
farms. It causes the build-up of
molds on the bins and in the feed.
When feed bins are cleaned out,
they should be inspected thorough
ly, right down to the boot. Also,
when you are taking feed out of the
bin, keep a close watch for chunks
of feed; it will tell you if a problem
is developing.
WITH FRIENDS
LIKE THESE...
September 11,1988
Background Scripture: Job
2:11-13; 4:1-9; 11; 13:1-12.
Devotional Reading: Proverbs
18:24 through 19:7.
You know how the old saying
goes: “With friends like these,
who needs enemies?” That must
be the way Job felt about his
friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and
Zophar, when they came “to con
dole with him and comfort him”
(Job 2:11). That was their inten
tion, but it was hardly the effect
they had upon Job. When all three
'had finished giving him their
advice, he responded with unmis
takable anger, calling their counsel
“lies,” themselves “worthless
physicians,” and demanding that
they “keep silent.”
THEY “MEANT WELL”
Don’t you think Job was a bit
harsh with his friends? After all,
they did come to see him in his
time of suffering. They came with
the best of intentions: to “condole
with him” and what they said to
Job represented the very most cur
rent religious thinking of the day.
It was assumed that prosperity was
a sign of God’s favor, while adver
sity was a consequence of God’s
displeasure, just about everybody
believed that in Job’s time- and
fpr many centuries before and
after.
Let’s see what his three friends
said to him. Eliphaz simply stated
VA MEAN/ TUB \
CHORES AND )
FIELD WORK?/
After cleaning out the bin, it
should be sprayed with a mold
inhibitor and allowed to dry. You
can use calcium proprionate solu
tion as the inhibitor, at the rale of
21 ounces per gallon of water for
the spray. One of the best ways to
prevent this condensation problem
is to insulate the bin. The insula
tion will slow down the tempera
ture fluxualion.
To Stop Feeding Trees
and Shrubs
The time is here when we should
not be applying any fertilizer to
rose bushes, trees and shrubs. The
season’s growing period is about
over and new growth should have a
chance to harden before cold
weather arrives. When we fertilize
during the fall we encourage new
growth, which will be tender, and
will winter-kill in zero weather.
It is best to wait until early
spring to apply any plant food to
these types of plants. Mulching is a
good practice to help conserve
moisture and control weeds, but
keep the fertilizer in the bag until
the 1989 season.
The Cooperative Extension Ser
vice is an affirmative action, equal
opportunity educational
institution.
the popular belief that suffering is
the punishment for sin; “As I have
seen, those who plow iniquity and
sow trouble reap the same” (4:8).
Bildad advised Job to pray because
God answers the prayers of the
upright: “If you are pure and
upright, surely then he will rouse
himself for y0u...” (8:6). Zophar
attempts to console Job with the
observation that he is really suffer
ing less than he deserves: "Know
then that God exacts of you less
than your guilt deserves” (11:6b).
Note that all three of Job’s
friends, although their advice is
different, share one thing in com
mon: each is certain that Job’s suf
fering must be attributable to his
sins. So, these three friends came
with the best of intentions and
armed with the best religious
thinking of the day, but they turned
out to be the kind of friends Job
didn’t need.
BITTER THINGS
Actually, Job’s well-meaning
but harmful friends are still with us
today. Smug in their human under
standing of the complexities of
life, they hand out their simplistic
platitudes to all whom they find in
need. “Everything will work out
all right,” they assure us - and it
doesn’t! “It is God’s will for you to
do this,” they advise us. “God is
punishing you,” they warn us. “just
turn it over to God and your trou
bles will be gone,” we arc prom
ised. And they arc utterly sincere
in what they tell us.
But it is their arrogance - for
that’s what it is when we profess to
know so completely the mind of
God - that makes them, not only
painful friends, but also dangerous
sinners in the eyes ol God.
(Based on copyrighted Outlines produced
by the Committee on the Uniform Series and
used by permission Released by Community
& Suburban Press)
NO...THE
RED TAPE
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