AlHjncastor Farming, Saturday, May 2,1992
OPINION
During the last seven years, six workers on New York state
farms were killed when they became entangled in self-unload
ing forage wagons. Most were youthftrl workers. Somehow,
they missed the message that forage wagons are dangerous.
Prevention techniques are not complicated but are often ig
nored. The purpose of new safety devices on forage wagons is
misunderstood and the devices are misused. Consider the fol
lowing safety precautions recommended by John G. Pollock,
Farm Safety Specialist at Cornell University.
Keep wagons well maintained. Workers climb into running
units because of a breakdown. The urgency of keeping the hay
ing operation going overrides the need to work safely. Preven
tive maintenance before the haying season can greatly reduce
downtime. Conveyors, augers, and beaters should work
smoothly, without excessive clatter. Moving parts and PTO
drives should be shielded if possible. The safety trip bar should
be operational.
The safety trip bar should not be used as a drive-control de
vice. The trip bar is an emergency mechanism; it will not pre
vent accidents. It may reduce the severity of an injury but the
trip bar is designed to work when an entanglement occurs. Us
ing the trip bar as a drive-controller may give false security to
workers believing it is acceptable to work close to the beaters
when they are running. Always shut down the power to the wa
gon before working on or near any power shafts, pulleys, gears,
augers, conveyors and especially the beaters.
Observe other wagon safety rules. Move wagons at reason
able speeds. Don’t coast downhill. Avoid ditches, steep banks,
and obstacles. Keep tires in good repair. Don’t overload the
wagon. Keep riders off wagons. Be cautious when hitching and
unhitching wagons: block the wheels to prevent unwanted
movement. Use a tractor large enough to provide proper brak
ing for the loading of the wagon.
Equip heavy highway haulers with brakes. Saving some
money when purchasing wagons and trailers through not buy
ing brakes may be a fatal mistake. Listen carefully to the advice
of the manufacturer and dealer. Brakes may not be required but
they are smart business.
Be particularly safety conscious on public roads. Young
workers often have the task of hauling wagons back and forth
from field to storage facility. You must be confident that the
worker is skilled and mature enough to handle the job. Know
the laws and obey them. Use good road manners by staying in
your lane. If traffic backs up behind you, pull over and stop to
let it pass. Be courteous even if other drivers are not.
Farm Calendar
Annual Spring Shorthorn Sale,
Mercer 4-H Park.
York County Goat Field Day,
Rose Spenkle’s Troubled Acres
Farm, York/New Salem, 10
a.m.-4 p.m.
The 19th annual Maryland Sheep
and Wool Festival, Howard
County Fairgrounds, West
Friendship, Md., 9 a.m.-6 p.m.,
thru May 3.
4-H County Council, Bradford
Extension Office, 7:30 p.m.
Keystone Select Limousin Sale,
Greene County Fairgrounds,
Waynesburg.
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St.
Ephrata, PA 17522
by
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A Sltinrmn Enltrprin
Robert G. Campbell General Manager
Everett R. Newswanger Managing Editor
e«p|iilflil IMI kr Umwar finln§
Sunday. May 3
Sundae Sunday, Penn State,
The 19th annual Maryland Sheep
and Wool Festival, Howard
County Fairgrounds, West
Friendship, Md., 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
Monday, May 4
Pa. Grange legislative banquet and
afternoon workshops, Sheraton
Inn, Harrisburg.
4-H Tractor Safety Certification
Program, extension office,
Towanda, 7 p.m.-9 p.m.
Hands on Approach to Erosion
Control, Camp Lackawanna,
Vasberg 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
(Turn to Page All)
BOV. UNCLE OTIS, YOU R(
EFFICIENT FARM HE'
GAVE YOU THE INCH'
COME'UP WITH ALL
WORK SAVING*
PROCEDURES ?
10 Increase
Biosecurity
The recent laryngotracheitis
(LT) outbreaks, and now the new
bronchitis outbreak in chickens on
the Eastern Shore, reminds us of
the importance of good biosecurity
programs.
Every poultry and livestock far
mer should have a % biosecurity
program for their 'farm. This
includes limiting visitors, requir
ing all visitors to put on clean
clothes and hats and wear clean
and disinfected footwear, and iso
lating all new animals before intro
ducing them to the rest of your
animals.
Also, you need to examine your
own biosecurity program. Keep
visits to other livestock and poultry
farms to a minimum. Always
wash, shower, and put on clean
clothes before working with your
animals.
Have a pair of shoes or boots
that never leave your farm. This
should be the footwear you put on
to care for your animals.
By practicing good biosecurity,
you will reduce the risk of intro
ducing unwanted disease organ
isms on your farm.
To Buy Effective
Fence Charger
How many miles an electric
fence charger claims it can power
has little to do with its ability to
control livestock.
Most fence manufacturers apply
a mile rating based on the fencer’s
theoretical ability to maintain 500
Farm Forum
Editor
I just sent in my vote to Dump
the National Dairy Board. Our
advertising campaign is an insult
to our intelligence as dairy far
mers. Nowhere on any dairy pro
duct is the fat free content shown.
Four percent milk is 96% fat free.
Four percent cottage cheese is
96% fat free. Ten percent ice
cream is 90% fat free. My point is
that consumers understand large
numbers showing the fat or fat
free content of the products they
purchase. It doesn’t take too much
intelligence to see which numbers
our diet oriented society will react
(Turn to Pago All)
»N AVERY
to 700 volts on a wire under labor
atory conditions. Since it takes
2,000 to 3,000 volts to control
livestock or 4,000 volts for sheep
and predators, the number of miles
on the fencer label has little to do
with the real-life fence on your
farm.
You may use the mile rating to
compare one fence charger with
another. A 20-mile fencer should
be twice as powerful as a 10-milc
fencer.
Low impedance fencers, which
put out less voltage and more
amperage than conventional
fencers, ate rated by joules. A joule
(equal to a watt for one second) is a
more meaningful rating for fencer
effectiveness.
A one or two joule fencer is
adequate for most livestock
fences. A 5 to 12 joule fencer is
recommended for sheep and pre
dator fences.
Br lAWktNtt W AM HDU St
‘sums
THE
LIVING STONES
May 3, 1992
Background Scripture: I Peter
2:1-25.
Devotional Reading: Isaiah
62:1-23.
It seems to me that I've read
something on the Saturday reli
gious page of our newspaper
about a few Christian rock bands
that try to interpret the Gospel of
Jesus Christ to young people
through rock music. If I were con
templating such a ministry and
I'm not! I might be tempted to call
my musical group "The Living
Stones" (with perhaps some apo
logies to "The Rolling Stones ").
There is a good Biblical prece
dent, I Peter 2:4,5 "Come to
him, to that living stone, rejected
by men but in God's sight chosen
and precious; and like living
stones be yourselves built into a
spiritual house..." Peter uses an
interesting analogy here in a pas
sage that is sometimes summed up
as "the stoneship of Christ." Actu
ally, his analogy of a "living
stone" seems an absolute contrad
iction. Stones are not living
things. They are the very epitome
of that which is without life. Peter
is apparently aware of this con
tradiction and is using it knowing
ly to contrast Christ with the life
less stones of the temple. For it is a
"spiritual house" which we have
in Christ, not a material one.
CHRIST'S "STONESHIP"
We still have some trouble with
that today, don't we? When we
speak of the church we are likely
to think primarily of the building
that houses a local congregation.
Or, if not the church building, then
at least the church as an organiza
tion or institution. But, no matter
how beautiful the church building,
or how admirable the church orga
nization, we know that the true
A*- #S
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(^LAZINESS iy
To Prevent
Environmental Mastitis
Glenn shirk, extension dairy
agent, reminds us the incidence of
environmental mastitis usually
increases in rainy seasons and in
periods of warm, moist conditions.
These infections are caused by col
iform and strep non-ag bacteria.
To help reduce these problems,
many dairy farmers do not wash
cows’ udders prior to milking.
Instead, they dry wipe the udder
and dip the teats in a sanitizer solu
tion. Thirty seconds latter, they
wipe the sanitizer off the teat with
a clean towel and attach the milker
unit
It is also important to keep stall
beds, alleys, and pens clean and to
fence cows away from wet sloppy
areas.
Feather Prof s Footnote: "Peo
ple make the law, churches make
the people."
Church APRIL of Jesus Christ is a
living "spiritual house" composed
of "a holy priesthood". The build
ing gives us a good place to wor
ship and teach and the organiza
tion helps us to equip and direct
our ministries, but it is the living
people of God who are the true
Church.
Peter expands on this analogy,
reminding his readers that Jesus is
the "cornerstone chosen and preci
ous" in God's sight. The Church is
built upon him and no one else,
but this living cornerstone was
"rejected by men” and he recalls
Psalm 118:22, "The very stone
which the builders rejected has
become the head of the comer"
(2:7). Christ is also likened to "A
stone that will make men stumble,
a rock that will make them fall"
(2:8) and it is certainly true that
for many people Jesus, the "living
stone," has been a stumbling
block" instead of a "cornerstone."
OUR "STONESHIP"
But "Peter is also concerned that
we be "like living stones... built
into a spiritual house, to be a holy
priesthood, to offer spiritual sacri
fices acceptable to God through
Jesus Christ" (2:5). To be in
Christ's Church, then, is not a mat
ter of qualifying by virtue of who
we are, but what he wants of us.
Too often, Christians act as if by
being members of the church they
thereby belong to a sanctified "in
group." We are in the church, not
to show the world how worthy we
are, but so that God can use us for
his purposes. We cannot afford to
chortle:
We are God's chosen few.
All others will be damned:
There is no place in Heaven
for you,
We can't have Heaven
crammed!
So it is with humility and com
mitment, not pride, that we read:
"...you are a chosen race, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, God's
own people..." These are not ranks
to boast of, but jobs to be about
For we arc all those things, not
because of our great worthiness,
but because God has a job for us to
do: "that you may declare the
wonderful deeds of him who
called you out of darkness, into his
marvelous light” (2:9)