AlO-Lancaster Firming, Saturday, Jurit 12, 1993 OPINION They’re Good For You William Butler Yeats, one of Ireland’s greatest poets, once admonished his daughter that “fine women eat a crazy salad with their meat.” The inference was that real men and common folks don’t eat salads. That was in the early 20th century. If Yeats were alive today, nutrition and health educators in the University of Maryland System and throughout the nation would no doubt try to bring him up to speed both on political correctness and “the New American Plate” message of National Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month being observed dur ing June. The “plate” theme is a national campaign conducted by a trade organization and the American Institute for Cancer Research to help U.S. consumers realize that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables at least five servings a day is a key to healthier living. In Maryland, educators at the Baltimore and College Park campuses of the University of Maryland System have joined forces with several state government agencies and the National Cancer Institute to target a more specific audience with a com prehensive long-range program to help people live longer, healthier lives. That audience is low-income, pregnant women and mothers who participate in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Women, Infants and Children (WIC) food program at 16 sites throughout Baltimore and in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Cecil, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. Approximately 70 percent of die target audience comes from a minority racial background, mostly African American. The Maryland “5-A-Day Promotion” takes its name from a recommendation associated with the Food Guide Pyramid released to the public last year by the U.S. Department of Agri culture, with consensus from various health agencies and organizations. That recommendation was that Americans should eat five servings of fresh fruits and vegetables every day in order to stay healthy and avoid certain kinds of cancer. Most Americans consume only half that many servings of fruits and vegetables. So the major goal of the Maryland prog ram is to bring participants up to the recommended level, both for themselves and their families. With the National Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month in June and the new recommendations to eat five servings a day, mothers across America have added reasons to tell their chil dren to “eat your veggies,” and “eat your fruit.” They’re good for you! ir- Farm Calendar Antique Machinery Show, Gou glersville Grange Hall, Gou glersville, thru June 13. SUN Area Dairy Pageant, Bos cov’s Susquehanna Valley 88lh American Dairy Science Association, University of Maryland, College Park, thru Seminar, Kreider’s Restaurant, Manheim, noon. American Dairy Science Associa tion annual meeting. University of Md.. thru June 16. _ , , i - ... - ■. Tuesday June 15 FFA Activities Week, Penn State, American Milking Shorthorn Soc iety Annual Convention, Dela ware Hotel, Delaware, thru June 19. Pa. Holstein Association Union/ Snyder twilight meeting, Daniel Stoltzfus Farm, Lewis- burg, 7 p.m. Juniata Dairy Princess Pageant, Walker Grange Hall, Mexico, ■BQBnSEBHI Dauphin Co. Dairy Princess Pageant, Dauphin Co. Ag Cen ter, 8 p.m. Cumberland Co. Dairy Princess Pageant, Embers Convention Center, Carlisle, 8 p.m. Kempton Fair, Lenhartsville, thru June 20. Rotational Grazing and Pasture Management Tour, Penn State Research Farm, sponsored by Northwest Pa. Cattlemen’s Association, Mercer. Lancaster Co. Dairy Princess Pageant, Farm and Home Cen ter, 7 p.m. Clearfield Co. Dairy Princess Pageant, Civic Center, Cur wensville, 8 p.m. Erie Co. Dairy Princess Pageant, Erie Zoo, 1:30 p.m. Franklin Co. Dairy Princess Pageant, Lighthouse Restaur ant, Chambersburg. 7 p.m. Somerset Co. Dairy Princess Pageant, Somerset Area H.S., To Keep Cows Cool Summer heat stress may take its toll on cows in the form of reduced dry matter intake, lower produc tion, poorer conception, and increased herd health problems. To minimize these problems, Glenn Shirk, extension dairy agent, offers the following ideas: • Keep cows cool by keeping them in a well-ventilated bam dur ing the heat of the day. • Feed a cooler ration by feeding more concentrate and less forage, but be careful to observe cows’ minimum needs for forages and fiber. Be sure they consume at least I.S percent of their body weight as forge neutral deteigent fiber. • Feed the bulk of forage during the cooler hours of the evening. • Keep ensiled feeds and total mixed rations fresh. • Provide easy access to good quality, fresh water. • Increase the nutrient density of the ration to compensate for reduced feed intakes. • Increase certain mineral levels to compensate for increased excre tion rates. Suggested levels are; 1.4 to I.S percent potassium, 0.4 S to 0.55 percent sodium, 0.30 to 0.35 percent magnesium, 0.50 percent salt and 0.25 to 0.30 percent chlorine. To Provide Adequate Water The cheapest feed nutrient and the one consumeed in the greatest quantity by cows is water. Be sure cows receive plenty of good qual ity water. In addition to the water cows consume in the feed, they also drink about 2S to 33 gallons per day. They should have access to water all day and it should be close to their feeding and grazing areas. A dairy producer’s goal is to maximize feed intake. If pastured cows have to walk to the bam or some other remote area for water, they may be templed to linger near the water rather than graze. Excess walking also increases cows’ demands for energy, leaving less energy available for milk pro duction. Streams supply water to many pastures. If the quality of water is inferior, it may be benefi cial to fence cows away from the stream and pipe good water to the 7:30 p.m. Sullivan Co. Dairy Princess Pageant, Main St., Dushore, 7 Moml.n. .1 (int' 21 SiniimiT lU^ins Eastern Forage Improvement Con ference at University Park, thru June 23. (Turn to Pag* A 34) pasture sites. Another alternative is to house cows during the heat of the day and provide them with good quality water and feed in the stable. Water areas also tend to get sloppy and muddy, thereby increasing the risk of mastitis. This risk is reduced if cows are stabled and the stalls are kept clean and dry. To Control Flies The secret to fly control is the elimination of fly breeding oppor tunities. Flies breed in damp organic matter such as manure, spilled feeds, and bedded packs. They do not breed in liquids or in dry material (under 50 percent moisture). Ideal fly breeding takes place between 50 and 70 percent mois ture. Thus, very few flies come from liquid manure storage areas or dry areas. They could be coming from calf hutches, bedded packs. BY IAWRtNG W ALIHOUSE 'sasiLs sn _5» DOING YOUR OWN "THING" June 13, 1993 Background Scripture: Phillippans2:l-18. Devotional Reading: John 14:1-14. I have recently finished read ing John T. Alexander's biogra phy of Catherine The Great (Oxford University Press, 1989) and was struck by the role that the sense of duty played in her era. It was so important then and is almost non-existent now. I suppose the skein of duty has been un raveling for many years, but we have certainly experienced its demise in our own time. While certainly no historian, it seems to me that it was the 60" s that did in duty, humility and self sacrifice I understand why this hap pcncd--at least I think I do: it was a reaction to the sense of duty carried to absurd dimen sions, those who acted like wild beasts during World War II and, when challenged, responded that they were "only" doing their duty. And, in the 1950" s during the Cold War and even the hot war in Korea, many rebelled against mindless obedience to duty. But it was Viet Nam in the 60" s that brought the coup de grace. This was also the era of the "me-iirst" revolution and we were told to do whatever feels good to us, an admbnition that still is much with us. WINDS OF CHANGE Perhaps our society was over due to break out of some of its stifling conformity and I believe that to some degree these winds of change were necessary. But anything can be carried beyond the point where it continues to be good and constructive. We have gone too far and it is time for us to embrace once more the concepts of duty and serving others, although not necessar ily in the fatalistic way as be fore. The key, I believe, is whether the sense of duty and self-sac rifice is imposed upon us from outside orembraced by us within as "our own thing." Paul points us to Christ as our model: "Have this mind among yourselves, which you have in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, accumulations of damp feed, and wet manure. You first need to control water leaks, keep feed cleaned up, and have good air movement over the manure. For laying hens, you may want to consult your feed company about increasing the fiber content and lowering the salt level in your feed. To successfully control flies, you will need to use a variety of methods. Monitoring fly popula tions, sanitation, water manage ment, pesticides, and natural pre dators arc a few of these methods. Penn State researchers are look ing for more effective control mea sures. We hope to soon be able to identify some new effective con trol measures. Feather Prof s Footnote: "Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action arrives, stop think ing and go in. ” —Andrew Jackson but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant..." (2:5-7). This passage makes it clear that obedience to the cross was not something that was thrust upon Jesus by either God or man. Servanthood was some thing he chose willingly. That is not to say that he wanted to be a martyr, but that he did not want to back away from his mission. He had a choice-the cross was not inevitable or in cscapablc-and his choice was the role of a servant. Because he chose God's will, the cross became for him, not something alien, but an expression of his own desire. HOW WE SEE IT Once more, it is a matter of how we perceive things, in this case: servanthood. As the world sees it, the role of the servant is the role of one who is not in charge of his or her own life. To be autonomous means to be able to do what we choose to do. And there is the rub, Jesus chose to serve and so servanthood was not demeaning to him. He felt no loss of self in offering himself. In fact, we may infer that he felt truly fulfilled. Servanthood is only demeaning if imposed upon us. But if we choose it, we lose nothing and we are none the less for it. In fact, we arc more. Paul shows us how much more, rather than less, Christ was for his choice: "Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow...and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord..." (2:9- 11). So, Paul is not calling us to Christian servanthood to im pose upon us something that we do not want, but to offer us a fulfillment that putting "me first" can never give us. It is Ork., even necessary, to do "your own thing" when, in doing it, you are also first of all doing his thing. When they arc one and the same, we experience the highest pos sible gain. We do not have to choose between serving others and fulfilling ourselves, for they are one and the same. Lancaster Fanning Established 1955 Published Every Saturday Ephrata Review Building 1 E. Main St. Ephrata, PA 17522 by Lancaster Farming, Inc. A SMinun Entfpri— Robert C. Campbell General Manager Even* R. New Manger Managng Editor Copyright IMS by UncaMsr Forming