AlO-Umcaster Farming, Saturday, September 5, 1992
OPINION
A Winning Attitude
In a letter to the editor of our town newspaper, Charles
Longenecker from New Holland noted that Alabama State
Coach “Bear” Bryant had written the following:
“If anything goes bad, I did it.”
“If anything goes semi-good, we did it.”
“If anything goes real good, then you did it.”
That’s all it takes to get people to win football games for you.
Longenecker’s point was aimed at the President and Con
gress as they blame each other for the woes of the country. We
asked permission to use Longenecker’s point in another situa
tion.
Many dairy persons from various parts of the state and nation
blame each other for the woes of the industry. If Bryant could
get his university teams to win games with this philosophy, why
couldn’t the same attitude be used to bring a more unified effort
among farmers?
Farm Forum
Editor:
I read, with interest, your edi
torial on August 8,1992.1 applaud
your support for the Veterinary
College at the University of Pen
nsylvania. The contribution of this
vet school to the State has been
well documented. I would point
out that the graduates of the vet
school have made a large impact
on a national basis. Their
approach to large animal medicine
has been in the forefront of the
changes that are occurring in vet
erinary colleges across the coun
try. They are providing leadership
in the new concepts of production
medicine. The new veterirtlrian is
being trained in a broader array of
factors that affect the animal on
the farm. Animal health is still the
major emphasis. They also pro
vide training in nutrition, record
analysis and total analysis and tot
al farm analysis and management.
This approach is giving the animal
industry in Pennsylvania the com
petitive edge over the rest of the
country.
I am concerned that you suggest
that the College not pursue nutri
tion research and consulting. First
the nutrition research is being car
Farm Calendar
Pcnnsylvania Rabbit Conference,
Clinton County Fairgrounds,
Mill Hall.
Juniata County Fair, Port Royal,
thru Sept. 12.
District Dairy Show, Mon Valley,
Washington County
Fairgrounds.
District Dairy Show, Crawford
County Fairgrounds.
District Dairy Show, Dayton Fair
grounds, Clarksburg.
Greene County Ram and Ewe
Sale.
First Annual Antique Tractor and
Equipment Show. Tractor
pulls, pedal pulls, toy display
and flea market, Rte. 54,
Washingtonville, LeLong Fair
ground, Montour County,
Washingtonville, and Sun.,
Sept. 6.
Northwest 4-H Dairy Show,
Meadville.
tied out on farms in the area. I
think that if you ask the producers
where this research is being con
ducted you will find nothing but a
positive response about the inter
action. Second, this research is
being conducted by some of the
top scientists in the country.
Third, the young veterinary stu
dents are being exposed to the cut
ting edge in nutrition concepts and
are being trained in dairy manage
ment. It is suggested that these
activities rather than competing
with industry will help keep the
producer competitive and will
help keep the producer in busi
ness.,! Vould suggest that the pro-'
ducer will benefit from research
being conducted in two locations,
both at Penn State and at U Penn. I
would also point out that this
research is mostly funded in
BOTH locations by industry. The
animal industry in Pennsylvania
can consider themselves lucky
that they have such a forward
looking group at New Bolton Cen
ter. The loss of this College would
be a travesty to your industry.
Charles J. Sniffen, Phd.
President, Miner Institute
Wheal and Barley Growers annual
planning meeting, York County
Extension Meeting Room #2,
Ag Issues Forum, Willow Valley,
7:30 a.m.-9 a.m.
West Maryland Ag Field Day,
Western Maryland Research
and Education Center.
Lancaster County Honey Produc
ers Meeting, Farm and Home
Center, 7:30 p.m.
Tillage Field Day, Richard Trinca
farm, Rebersburg, 10:30
a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Adams County Farmers Associa
tion Tour, Everett Weiser Farm,
Pesticide Test, Schuylkill Co.
Cooperative Extension, 9
a.m.-noon.
Pa. Holstein Fall Championship
To Plan
Corn Harvest
Silo filling time will be delayed
on many farms this year because of
the cooler summer we have had.
We simply did not receive the
required heat units and growing
degree days necessary to mature
com at the normal rate. So before
WHEN GOD SAYS
“GO”
September 6,1992
Background Scripture:
Genesis 11:27 through 12:9.
Devotional Reading:
Genesis 13:14-18,
Although Abram’s story is set
in a time some thousands of years'
ago, it has a lot of relevance for ~
the world we live in today, for
ours is a time of rapid and radical
change. People are on the move
today and it would seem that the
one thing of whcih we can be cer
tain is uncertainity.
These are times that severely
challenge our faith. For faith is
easier to come by when things are
relatively stable. But in a world
marked by instability, it is harder
to trust.
The word “faith” can denote
Show, Ag Arena, State College,
9:30 a.m.
York Interstate Fair, thru Sept. 19.
Thurmont and Emmitsburg Com
munity Show, Catoctin High
School, Thurmont, Md., thru
Sent. 13.
Beef Grazing Tour, Waffle Hill
Farm, Churchville, Md.
Southwestern Pa. Beef Field Day,
R.D. Whetzel Farm, Greene
County, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Forest Stewardship Landowners
Workshop, Dauphin Co. Ag
Center, 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Erosion and Sedimentation Con
trol Workshop, Pennsylvania
College of Technology, Earth
Science Center, Montgomery, 8
a.m.
State York/Hampshire/Duroc
Show and Sale, Lebanon Fair
grounds, show noon, sale 6 p.m.
Horse Plowing Contest, Schaeffer
stown. 10 a.m.
I*-
Sunday, September 13
Penn Ag’s 114th Convention,
Mountain Laurel Resort and
Conference Center, White
Haven, thru Sept. 15.
Horse Parade/Horse Pull, Schaef
fcrstown, 12:30 p.m.
Schuylkill County Agrißusiness
jumping into silo Ailing, be sure to
check the moisture content of sev
eral stalks in the field and check
the maturity of the ears in both the
fields to be ensiled and in the fields
to be picked or shelled.
Next you need to ask yourself,
will the grain com have enough
time to mature before frost? If not,
you might have to salvage some of
the later maturing fields as silage.
If that is the case, you may want
to save some of your silage fields
for picking or shelling. Now is the
time to assess the maturity level of
your com fields and plan your
harvest strategy.
To Maintain
Body Condition
In Cows
One of the most stressful times
in a cows life is the time of calving
and the weeks that follow. To
minimize stress it is important that
cows have adequate body reserves
at calving time.
To accomplish this, aim for a
body condition score of 3.5 to 3.75
in late lactation when the cow is
dried off. Maintain this score until
calving time and avoid losses of
flesh or weight.
what we believe. When we speak
of the Lutheran faith or the
Methodist faith, we are speaking
about the doctrinal ideas held by
Lutherans and Methodists. Let us
make no mistake about Abram’s
faith. The writer of Genesis is not
talking about ideas, creeds or doc
trines. Actually, we know practi
cally nothing of the content of
Abram’s beliefs. What the writer
of Genesis is depicting is Abram’s
trust in God. When God said to
Abram, “Go from your country
and your kindred and your father’s
house to the land that I will show
you”(12:l), Abraham trusted God
and obeyed him. That was
Abram’s faith.
BUNGEE-JUMPING -
"Recently I saw some people
doing bungee-jumping. I’m sure
you know what it is: people are
Now, I want you to know that I
believe what that article said—
rightly done, bungee-jumping is
probably pretty safe—but don’t
expect me to try it! In my mind, I
believe it could be safe, but that'
belief does not extend down into
my legs. Jumping off a high perch
requires more than believing an
idea. I must trust that idea to the
point that I can commit myself to
jinc^ariTrroure^M)jn i -4D J nv
Denver Community Fair, Denver,
thru Sept. 18.
Maximizing Your Pastures Poten
tail on a Rotational Grazing
System, Pinncy’s Dairy Farm,
Horse Run Road, Singlehouse,
Pesticide Evaluation Field Day,
Fruit Research Laboratory,
Dclmarva Broiler Housing and
Flock Supervisors Conference,
Delmarva Convention Center,
Delmar, Md.
Solanco Fair, Quarryville, thru
Sept. 18.
Eastern Stales Exposition, West
Springfield, Mass., thru Sept.
27.
Master Gardener Training Prog
ram, Carroll County Extension
Office, Westminster, Md., 9
a.m.
Oley Valley Community Fair,
Oley, thru Sept. 19.
Lycoming County Woodland
Owners Association annual
meeting, Montoursvilie, 6 p.m.
(Turn to Pago A 32)
The development of the unborn
calf in the last two months of pre
gnancy requires that the cow gain
about one to two pounds per day
during the dry period. If she draws
upon her body reserves toxlevelop
the fetus, the cow will enter into
calving with depleted reserves.
Thus, it is important for the cow
to be fed a little extra grain two to
three weeks before calving. It is
important to feed dry cows proper
ly so they will get off to a good
start in their lactation.
• This requires two dry cow
groups. The second group is made
up of the cows two to three weeks
from calving. During this time,
while consuming their dry cow
ration, they should also be intro
duced to small quantities of the
lactating ration to help smooth the
transition to the lactating ration
after calving.
It may also be beneficial to offer
the freshening cow a stress pack,
especially if she goes off feed at
calving time. This will help ensure
an adequate intake of essential vit
amins, minerals and other nutri
ents at this very crucial time and
help to get her back on feed
rapidly.
it My beliefs have to be stronger
than my fears. And I confess I am
not going to entrust my life to a
long, rubber cord, no matter how
strong it is and no matter how
many statistics you show me.
That’s the challenge that came
to Abram. God said “Go,” and the
question was not whether he
believed in God, but whether he
trusted him enough to journey into
the unknown. Perhaps his father,
Terah, was the original recipient
of the call to go to the promised
land. Terah and his family did
leave Ur of the Chaldeans for the
land of Canaan. But when they
had covered a little more than half
the ;way, they stopped and settled
in HaTan.’ 1 ■* J
interrupted~journey
I can relate to that, for some
times my life has been like the
interrupted journey from Ur to
Canaan. Sometimes God has
called me and I have trusted him
enough to start off on my venture.
But later, I realize that somewhere
along the way I have settled down
considerably short of the goal.
Often, when I have stopped and
settled down along the way, I have
not realized that"! was stopping
and settling for something less
than that for which I began the
venture.
I’m sure that, along the way,
there were times when Abram was
tempted to do just that. What
makes him a person of faith, then,
Us that he met two great chal
lenges: to trust God enough to
both begin and continue the jour
ney to the end. It is not enough to
go when God sends us; we have to
keep going until we get to the end
of the line.
One of the jumpers said, “Once
you leap, there’s nothing but that
long thin line to depend on”! Reli
gious faith, then, is a little like
spiritual bungee-jumping. Essen
tially, when god says “Go!” it is
the leap of faith, not calculation,
that we must make.
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St.
Ephrata, PA 17522
by
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A Stmnrmn Enlmprmm
Robert C. Campbell General Manager
Everett R. Newiwanger Managing Editor
Copyright 1(92 by UneoMor Forming