AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 10, 1992
OPINION
Beware Of
Deadly Silo Gases
Did you ever consider a silo full of freshly chopped com silage as a
potential death trap?
Jennie Hess Brown, York Extension agent says complex chemcial
reactions involved in the formation of silage give off lethal nitrogen
gases and carbon dioxide. The nitrogen gases (predominantly nitro
gen dioxide) present the greatest threat in and around upright silos.
No one ever should enter an oxygen-limiting silo because there never
is enough air to support life.
Avoid breathing silo gas. Two or three breaths of strong gas can
permanently damage the lungs. Staying in the gas may seem okay
because you lose the smell. Several hours may pass before serious
problems occur.
Silo gas has a disagreeable odor which has been described by some
as being bleach-like. The color may range from red through orange to
dark brown. Silo gas is heavier than air so it will settle to the lowest
area. It will settle on top of the silage or drain down into the silo room
if silo doors are open. In the silo room or bam, it becomes a hazard to
both man and beast.
Follow the precautions: stay out of the silo for at least two weeks
after filling, if at all possible. If you must enter to level out the silage,
do it immediately after filling and leave the blower running while you
are there. Keep the doors between the silo room and the main bam
closed, but open all windows and exterior doors of the silo room to
allow fresh air to enter. If you experience any coughing or throat irri
tation in the silo, get out immediately and seek medical attention.
If a person becomes disabled in the silo and you suspect silo gas -
do not enter the silo - call emergency medical personnel at once and
start the blower if it is still at the silo. The life you save may be your
own or the life of a family member.
Farm Forum
Editor:
Dr. Benjamin Spock sold out
the welfare of the American child
ren to a miniority group known as
“The Coalition to Eliminate Ani
mal Agriculture”. The group is
quite obviously sponsoring this
most recent milk scare. This is
evident when one reads the front
page of September 30th Reading
Times, and I quote: “Spock made
Farm Calendar
. v
Saturday, (Hlolht 10
National 4-M Work
Eastern Pennsylvania 4-H Beef
and Lamb Sale, Allentown
Fairgrounds, 10 a.m. _
Sunda\, Oclolut II
Moiulav, October 12
Columbus Day
Sire Power Sale ’92, Penn State Ag
Arena.
Dairy Breeding Management Dis
cussion Group meeting, Kinzer
Delmarva Poultry Industry, Inc.
annual meeting, Delmarva
Convention Center, Delmar,
Md.
Dillsburg Community Fair, thru
October 17.
Pennsylvania Dairy Promotion
Program, Holiday Inn, Denver.
ADC District 9 meeting, Bemville
Basic Arboriculture, Fairmount
Park, Phila., thru October 16
and October 19-23.
“Starting a Small Business,” Mey
er’s Family Restaurant,
Quakertown, 7 p.m.-9:30 p.m.
Red Rose 4-H Beef Club, Lancas
ter Farm and Home Center,
7:30 p.m.
his remarks prior to an appearance
before a meeting in Boston of the
Physicians’ Committee for
Responsible Medicine, a group
that promotes preventive medi
cine and alternatives to medical
research on animals”. It’s a stretch
to suggest that this has anything to
do with our children drinking
milk.
What should truly concern all
of us is the news media’s obvious
attempt to sensationalize this.
(Turn to Page AIS)
National Meeting on Poultry
Health and Processing, Shera
ton Ocean City, Ocean City.
Md., thru October 16.
Ag Issues Forum, Kreider’s
Restaurant, 7:30 a.m.-9 a.m.
4-H Leadership in Action, Canaan
Valley, West Virginia, October
15-18.
Maryland State Grange Session,
Venice Inn, Hagerstown, Md.
American Dairy Association and
Dairy Council annual meeting,
Sennett Federated Church, Sen
nett, N.Y., 7:30 p.m.
Lancaster County 4-H Swine Club
banquet, Bird-in-Hand Family
Restaurant, Bird-In-Hand, 6:30
p.m.
Adams County Holstein Associa
tion Banquet, Gettysburg Fire
Hall. 7 p.m.
ADA/DC District 4, Greenwich
Elk Lodge, Greenwich, NY,
7:30 p.m.
ADA/DC District 6, Club 211,
West of Middletown, NY, 7:45
p.m.
ADA/DC District 12, Sennett Fed
eral Church, Sennett, NY, 7:30
p.m.
Pesticide Test, Schuylkill County
Cooperative Extension Office,
9,a.m.-noon.
To Protect
Stored Corn
From Insects
Com harvesting time is fast
approaching.
As the grain goes into storage,
one of our concerns is to protect it
from insect damage.
There are two major insects to
be concerned about One is the
foreign grain beetle. It does not
feed on the grain but on fungi and
molds. These beetles are more of a
problem when com is stored wet,
poorly aerated, and not cooled
down.
The other insect, the Indian
Meal Moth, feeds on com. It webs
com together with fine silken
threads.
To protect com from these two
insects, thoroughly clean the stor
age facilities and areas around
them. Also, clean augers and
harvesting equipment Then spray
all surfaces with an insecticide to
kill any lingering pests.
Be sure the com is clean and dry
before going into storage. Then
aerate it well and drop the tempera
ture to about 40 degrees.
Spraying the surface with an
insecticide will provide additional
protection. Make sure any pesti
cide you use is labeled for com and
follow all label instructions, espe
cially holding times, before feed
ing to animals.
To Keep
Maintenance Records
Keeping records is a necessity in
any business.
Farming is no exception.
Recordkeeping for the IRS is
S;ituid;n. Ociolur 17
Keystone Autumn Classic Sale,
Woodside Farm.
Schuylkill County Cooperative
Extension annual banquet. Pine
View Acres, Pottsville, 6 p.m.
Second annual Harvest Fest of
York County Farmland Trust,
Brown’s Orchard and Farm
Market, Loganville, 9 a.m.-4
p.m.
“Pennsylvania’s Finest Tailgate”
Promotion, Penn Stale’s Beav
er Stadium. 9 a.m.
«««*! I
Sunday, Oclolht IS
Cambria County Dairy Club Ban
quet, extension office, 12:30
Flower Growers’ Day, Penn State,
Keller Conference Center, Uni
versity Park.
ADA/DC District 1, St. Lawrence
Inn, Canton, NY, 7:30 p.m.
ADA/DC District 14, Tally Ho
■QBfIBSIBHi
Perennials Conference, Swar
thmore College.
Ephrata Area Adult Farmers meet
ing, Ephrata High School Ag
(Turn to Pag* A 26)
required. But keeping, records of
other things on the farm will help
in making many management
decisions.
Good records also help the far
mer take better care of his
equipment
Dr. James Garth, Penn State
agricultural engineer, said, ‘The
owner’s manual and a complete
service log should be kept for each
piece of equipment on the farm.”
The owner’s manual tells us how
often to change oil, lubricate mov
ing parts, check belts for proper
tension and wear, and how to make
adjustments necessary for efficient
operation.
The service log records tell us
when things were done. This eli
minates the need to guess when the
equipment was last serviced or
when repairs were made.
One of the major keys of profita
bility is longevity of equipment.
The best way to extend the longev
ity of your equipment is to follow
the instructions in the owner’s
guide and keep a service log.
LOOKING ON THE
HEART
October 11,1992
Background Scripture:
1 Samuel 16:1-13;
2 Samuel 2:1-7: 5:1-5.
Devotional Reading:
1 Samuel 16:1-13,
King Saul was an impressive
looking man. He probably would
have done well in politics today.
He was tall and attractive and had
the look of a leader. But, although
Saul looked the part, the reality
was that he was a failure asldng of
the twelve tribes. Eventually, God
said to Samuel, the prophet, “I
have rejected him from being king
over Israel” (1 Sam. 16:1).
What was wrong with Saul? It
was not that he did not have the
gifts to be king. He was capable,
but he was lacking in character. In
his heart there was a void and all
the talents he possessed and all his
impressive physical features could
not make up for it. Saul, the man
who had been reluctant to be king,
now wanted nothing else. His ini
tial humility had quickly turned to
selfish arrogance. He probably
could have been a great king, but
instead of using the royal power
for the sake of the people, he
hoarded it for himself.
So, now God comes to Samual,
telling him that he is to anoint a
new king over the twelve tribes.
Of course. Saul is still king, so we
can appreciate that Samual is fear
ful of Saul’s wrath. God instructs
him to carry out his commission
secretly. Go to Bethlehem as if to
perform a sacrifice and ask the
locals to join with you. While
doing this, God will reveal to you
his choice as the new king.
DO YOU COME
PEACEABLY?
The response of the elders of
Bethlehem is interesting: “Go you
come peaceably?”, they ask
Samuel. Apparently, Samuel’s
reputation as the prophet of God
causes them to stand in awe.
Wherever and whenever Samuel
is doing the work of the Lord there
is likely to be something disturb
ing going on perhaps some
change; that’s always disturbing!
Samuel’s not the kind of man who
comes to drop in for a cup of tea.
What does he want with us?, they
wonder.
It appears that the ensuing dia
logue between God and Samuel is
To Understand
Part Per
Billion (PPB)
Today we have the ability to
detect traces of materials or chemi
cals at the part per billion or part
per trillion level.
This is an extremely small
amount that until recently would
go undetected.
The following example should
help you better understand what a
part per billion is. If one aspirin
was dissolved in 96,000 gallons of
water, you would have one part per
billion. If you drank one gallon of
water each day, it would take over
260 years to consume that one
aspirin tablet.
At the one part per trillion level,
you would have to dissolve one
aspirin tablet in 96 million gallons
and live over 260,000 years to con
sume that aspirin by drinking one
gallon per day.
Feather Profs Footnote: "A
people that values its privileges
above its principles soon loses
both." Dwight D. Eisenhower
an inner dialogue and the Beth
lehemites do not realize that a
momentous process is taking
place. They think it is all part of
the ritual. Only Samuel is aware of
what is happening. So, God can
act mightily in our midst without
our being aware of it. In reality
this was an event that would
change the whole course of
Israel’s history, but it was taking
place at the level of a prayer
conversation in Samuel’s mind.
You and I may sometimes dis
count our silent prayer
conversations with the Lord, but
Samuel did not.
JUST A YOUTH
When the sons of Jesse begin to
pass before him, Samuel tries to -
determine which of these the Lord „
has chosen. And he decides as
most of us would decide, by
appearance. Eliab looked tike the
right rtlan, but God said, ”Do not"
look on his appearance or on the
height of his stature, because I ■
have rejected him” (16:7). This
was also true of Abinadab and
Shammah. This may have temper-,
arily stumped Samuel,, but then it
occurs to him to ask Jesse; “Are ■
all your sons here?” Well, said
Jesse, “There remains yet the
youngest, but behold, he is keep
ing the sheep” (16:11).
We can well understand why
Jesse didn’t think it important to
present David to the prophet.
After all, David was just a youth
and the extent of his capabilities at
present was tending sheep. Thai’s
the way it looked to Jesse and that
is the way it would look to most of
us. But the standards by which wc
choose our leaders must be some
what less than satisfactory, if you
consider some of the mistakes wc
have made over the centuries or il
you consider some of the criteria
by which some people will vote
for the next President of the
United States.
The problem, as God puts it to
Samuel, is that “the Lord sees not
as man sees; man looks on the out
ward appearance; but the Lord
looks on the heart” (16:7). And it
is what is in the heart that makes
the difference!
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St.
Ephrata, PA 17522
by
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A SMnrmn fnlrprfra
Robert C. Campbell General Manager
Everett R. Newiwanger Managing Editor
Copyright IMS by UncaMcr Farming