AlO-Lancastef Farming, Saturday, October 31, 1992
OPINION
Farms: Risky For Children
Every year between 175 and 300 children arc killed in the United
States while working or playing on the farm. Another 23,000 are seri
ously injured.
Why are children at such risk on farms? Terry Moddox, Dairy
Extension Agent in Huntingdon County says part of the answer lies
within the structure of the agricultural industry. Production agricul
ture employs many individuals whose age is ouside of that found in
other industries -- below the age of 18 and over the age of 62.
Children on farms are often exposed to a wide array of occupation
al and environmental hazards that arc not present in other industries.
In addition to young individuals who work on the farm, many young
sters live and play around the farm exposing themselves to hazards
that are uniquely dangerous.
Children take on many roles around the farm including working,
accompanying adults, and playing. Agriculture-related injuries can
occur during all of these facets of farm life.
Many children are injured while working. Injuries can occur when
children operate and work around machinery. Injury scenarios can
include tractor rollovers, falls from equipment or ladders, and entan
glement in power take-off shafts and other machine components such
as augers. Children are injured during livestock-related chores, such
as feeding animals or cleaning out livestock pens, and are most often
kicked, bitten, or crushed by animals much larger than themselves.
What you can do:
1) Make sure that a child is old enough (physically and mentally
capable) to safely complete a job.
2) Before allowing a child to operate or work around machinery,
train them in its proper operation, making sure that the child under
stands the following:
* how to shut off the machine
* the basic theory of how the machine functions
♦ what aspects of the machine present special hazards
3) Allow the child worker to lake rest breaks when tired
4) Remember that the child’s understanding of the machine is not
as thorough as yours.
Children have been injured while accompanying adults. As the
extra rider, numerous children have been run over after falling off a
tractor. Too many children have been injured or killed by riding on
trailed equipment and falling off, sometimes going underneath the
equipment itself. Children riding in grain trucks and gravity-flow
unloading wagons have been suffocated by flowing gram.
What you can do:
1) For your child’s sake do not let them ride on equipment unless u
is specifically designed for an extra rider.
2) Do not let youngsters enter a grain truck, wagon, or grain bin,
especially when the grain is flowing.
3) Always keep an accompanying child within eyesight. Know
their whereabouts at all times.
Children are injuured while playing. The farmyard can seem like a
giant playground just waiting to be explored and conquered. The
painful reality is that kids are injured while playing in work areas or
while watching someone else work.
All too real examples include: being backed over by trucks, trac
tors, and implements; falling off of ladders, hay mows, or through
floors; becoming entangled in augers, power take-offs, or gutter
cleaners; ingesting milk pipeline cleaner, pesticides, and other harm
ful chemicals; and falling into and drowning in manure pits, lagoons,
wells, stock tanks, and ponds.
What you can do:
1) Provide a play area that is fenced off from machinery and other
hazards.
2) Designate hazardous farm areas as “off limits” to children.
3) Make sure you know where your children arc at all times.
4) Be sure ladders that are “off limits” end at least seven feet above
the ground to prevent child access.
5) Do not leave pesticide or caustic cleaner containers in child
accessible areas.
6) Do not lei youngsters play in gram bins, grain trucks, or grain
wagons.
7) Maintain your equipment and be sure that all guards and shields
arc in place and functioning.
Be Careful! The fall season with corn and bean harvest under way
i-i a prime time for an accident to happen.
nr—
Farm Calendar
w
farm of Edgar and Lorraine
Rits, Honey Grove, 10 a.m.-3
p.m
Annual Harvest Field Day, Rut
gers Cooperative Extension,
Clucas Farms, Oldwick, NJ.
Nittany Lion Fall Classic Sale, Ag
Arena, State College, 11 a.m.
Half-Day Dairy Workshop,
Almond Grange Hall, 10:30
a.m.-noon and Filmore Fire
Hall, 1:30 p.m.-3 p.m.
To Check
Alfalfa Fields
Now is a good time to start
determining which alfalfa fields
need to be rotated to another crop.
Start this fall by counting the
number of plants per square foot
Fields with 4 to 5 plants per square
foot should be considered good
candidates for rotation next spring.
However, knowing the number
of plants per square foot should not
be the only criteria for selection.
Individual plants may respond to
Northeast Lamb Pool, Wyalusing
Sales Bam.
Westmoreland County Farm-City
Night, Mountain View Inn,
Greensburg, 7 p.m.
Fawn Grove Olde Tyme Days
meeting, Fairgrounds, 7:30
p.m.
Lancaster County Conservation
District annual meeting, Stock
yard Inn, noon.
Northeast Silage Management and
Dairy Nutrition Conference,
N.Y. State Grange Headquar
ters, Cortland, N.Y., 10
a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Mid-Atlantic Regional Fruit
School, St. Pius Retreat House,
Blackwood, N.J., thru Nov. 6.
Farm-City Night, Mountain View
Inn, Greensburg, 6:30 p.m.
Half-Day Dairy Workshop, East
Randolph Fire Hall, 10:30
a.m.-noon and Ellicottville,
Cornell Coop. Ext. office, 1:30
ADA/DC District 3, Chateaugay,
N.Y., noon, or Nov. 10.
Lehigh County Cooperative
Extension annual meeting. Ani
mal Rights and You, Seipstown
Grange, 7:30 p.m.
Erie County Cooperative Exten
sion annual meeting, Edinboro
Inn, 7 p.m.
Sustainable Poultry Production
Farm Tour and Workshop for
the Small Producer, begins with
farm tour at Bill and Teri
Robinson, Freeburg, 10:30 a.m.
Northeast Silage Management and
Dairy Nutrition Conference,
Wildwood Conference Center,
Harrisburg Community Col
lege, 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Half-Day Dairy Workshop, First
Citizen National Bank, Ulys
ses, 10:30 a.m.-noon and First
Baptist Church, Galeton, 1:30
p.m.-3 o.m.
I 1 richly. November 6
Lancaster 4-H Dairy Awards
Night, Lancaster Farm and
Home Center, 7:30 p.m.
National Conference on Direct and
Niche Marketing of Lamb and
Wool, Turf Valley Hotel, Elli
cott City, Md., through Nov. 7.
ADA/DC District 13, Vernon Cen
ter United Methodist Church,
(Turn to Pago All)
low plant population by producing
more stems next season.
Wisconsin research shows that
maximum yields are produced
with SS or more stems per square
foot Next spring after growth
starts, return to your suspect fields
and count the number of stems per
square foot When stems average
only 40 per square foot you may
expect yields to be reduced by 25
percent.
Identification of suspected
fields in the fall will improve time
management next spring when
things are rushed.
To Give
Housed Cattle
Attention
The most important cause of
infectious diarrhea is Escherichia
coli. Young calves may pick up
this bacteria from the environment
and dirty feeding utensils. Thus,
sanitation becomes very critical.
Be sure the young calf is bom
and raised in a clean environment.
Because of its nutritional value,
milk is a good media for bacteria
growth. It is very important to
clean and sanitize milk feeding
equipment after each feeding.
Feather Prof s Footnote:
"Cherishing children is the mark
of a civilized society.” Joan
Remember, fresh air is much Cooney
As we bring cattle, especially
heifers, in from pastures it may be
beneficial to deworm them. Con
sult your veterinarian for specific
recommendations.
At the same time, ask your vet
erinarian about the need for specif
ic vaccinations, especially for
respiratory diseases.
To minimize the risk of health
problems with confined cattle,
avoid overcrowding. Also, provide
them with well ventilated, draft
free and dry facilities. If necessary,
install a ventilation system.
AN END TO LIMPING
November 1,1992
Background Scripture:
1 Kings 17:1-7; 18.
Devotional Reading:
1 Kings 18:30-39.
Some years ago, a nationally
prominent clergyman was chal
lenged to appear on a television
program with an equally well
known atheist. During their
debate, the clergyman lost his
temper and, in the view of many
of those who watched the
encounter, the debate as well. The
clergyman became so angry with
the atheist that he lost his ability to
discuss the issues.
Actually, this well-known
atheist makes a lot of Christians
angry, some of them downright
hateful. She is the kind of person
that lots of Christians love to hate.
They regard her as a great threat to
Christianity, little realizing that
their angry responses to her are
greater threats to the cause of
Christ than her atheistic
professions.
BAAL & GOD
The question is not how vigor
ously we defend the Gospel, but
how energetically we live it. To
some degree, this was the situation
with which Elijah confronted the
people of Israel. These people
were not in open rebellion against
God. So far as we know, there
were no atheists among them.
They counted themselves as loyal
Israelites, as part of God’s chosen
people.
So, it was not that they had cho
sen Baal instead of God, but Baal
in addition to God. .They were
enjoying what seemed to them the
best of both worlds, serving both
God and Baal. And that is why
Elijah challenged them with these
ringing words: “How long will
you go limping with two different
opinions?” (18:31). The “limp
ing,” scholars think, is a reference
to a ritualistic dance which the
priests used to perform around the
altar, beding and leaping with var
ious contortions. So, Elijah is
probably using this strange dance
more important than warm air. U
you have fans installed, be sure
they are routinely serviced and the
louvers are clean and open and
close properly.
Check the air inlets. The inlets
are what makes the ventilation sys
tem function. They need to admit
fresh air to all parts of the stable
and enough air to avoid drafts and
to let the fans remove stale air.
To Prevent
Calf Scours
One of the most common dis
eases of young calves is diarrhea.
It is responsible for most of the
deaths that occur within a week of
birth.
as an analogy; they are limping
through life, literally hopping
from one foot to the other obvi
ously, a ridiculous spectacle.
To me this story’s main rele
vance for us today is our similar
disposition to count ourselves as
Christians, yet live by the stan
dards of die world. Vocally, we
declare our allegiance to the way
of Christ, but when it comes down
to day to day living, it is the Baal
of materialism and secular values
by which we live our lives and
measure virtually everything.
Instead of “Like a mighty army
moves the Church of God,” we
limp through life, hopping from
one foot to another. To evoke —
and perhaps, mix—yet another
metaphor: it is virtually impossi
ble to march while you’re strad
dling a fence!
CHOOSE & SERVE
So Elijah lays down the chal
lenge: “If the Lord is God, follow
him; but if Baal, then follow him”
(18:21b). Instead of trying to wor
ship and serve both God and Baal,
decide who you will choose as
Lord and follow him. If the secu
lar world is right about what is
important in life, what consitutes
success and failure, what are life’s
highest values, then, by all means
embrace the secular and stop giv
ing lip-service to God. Don’t
bother defending God. It isn’t
defense he wants from us, but
obedience. It isn’t words, but
deeds.
But, if we really believe that the
love of God in Jesus Christ is the
most important reality in the
world, then we must let that reality
dominate our lives. In other
words, Christ challenges us as Eli
jah challenged the people of
Israel: make your choice and live
accordingly. You can have the
world or you can have the
Gospel—but not both. It is time to
stop limping and start marching.
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
« Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St.
Ephrata, PA 17522
by
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A SMwnan Entopri—
Robert C. Campbell General Manager
Event R. Nevneanger Managing Editor
Copyright IN2 by Ltncaaler Fanning