AlO-Uncaster Farming, Saturday, July 31, 1393
OPINION
Fun For Farm Families
We’re in the middle of the fair season again with all the
excitement for rural people these local, county and state fair’s
bring. The official Pennsylvania Fairs booklet list 133 fair
events. And neighboring states have their share of fairs too.
Some fairs aren’t very agricultural any more. The midway has
eaten up the agricultural exhibits. But other fairs have some ag
displays and some have only agricultural exhibits and no
midway.
At the fairs where agriculture plays a part, the opportunity to
showcase the farmer’s way of life to urban neighbors is great.
Not only is it a place for farm families to win prizes with lives
tock, produce and crafts, it is a place to show the public where
the food comes from in the grocery store. With all the public
ignorance about farming, more should be done at the agricultur
al exhibits at every fair to educate consumers about food pro
duction and food safety. Ag fairs are not just fun for farm fami
lies. Ag fairs can help spread the message that consumers are
blessed with abundant food supplies because farm families
farm.
Farm Calendar
S.W. Pa. Holstein Championship
Show, Fairgrounds, Union
town, 10 a.m.
Jersey District IE picnic, Long
Meadows Farm, noon.
Lancaster Co. Goat Field Day,
Windy Hill Goat Dairy (Jacob
Fisher’s), Manheim, 1 p.m.-4
Mercer Co. Grange Fair, thru Aug.
Union Co. West End Fair, Laurel
ton, thru Aug. 7.
Adams Co. Farmers’ Association
summer picnic, South Moun-
tinsburg, thru Aug. 6.
Schuylkill Co. Fair, Schuylkill
Haven, thru Aug. 7.
Goshen Country Fair, West Ches
ter, thru Aug. 7.
Clearfield Co. Fair, Clearfield,
thru Aug. 7.
Carroll Co. Md. 4-H, FFA Fair.
Uniontown Fairgrounds, 9 a.m.
Cambria Co. Dairy Club calf/
heifer contest, 9 a.m.
Basic Viticulture for Commercial
Grape Producers, Lehigh Co.
Ag Center, Allentown, thru
Aug. 6.
Ephrata annual bus tour. Chester
County, departing from Elite
Coach, 12:30 p.m.
Southwest FFA Dairy Show. Mor
rison Cove Memorial Park,
Martinsburg.
New Stanton Farm and Home
Show, New Stanton, thru Aug.
Twilight Vegetable Growers meet
ing, Kutztown Produce Auc
tion, S p.m.-8 p.m.
Juniata Co. Sustainable Ag Field
Day, Rits Farm, Honey Grove,
Composting Conference, Mont
gomery Co. 4-H Center,
Creamery. 9 a.m„ thru Aug. S.
Berks Co. FFA Market Hog Show
and Sale, Leespon Auction. 9
a.m. (show) and 7 p,jn. (sale).
Twilight Pasture Walk, Tyson
Farm, Kempton, 7 p.m.
Johnsongrass Control Test Plot,
Jim Martin Farm, Spring
Annual PCTGA summer meeting,
Danville, thru Aug, 7.
South Central FFA Dairy Show,
Shippensburg Fairgrounds.
Berks Co. Holstein Club picnic,
Bitler Farm, Fleetwood, 7 p.m.
Cover Crop/Livestock Manage
ment Systems workshops.
Union Bridge Community Cen-
i m i -2j3^D i m^^^
N.W. Pa. Holstein Championship
Show, Fairgrounds, Franklin,
10 a.m.
Lancaster Co. Poultry Queen
Scholarship Pageant, Farm and
Home Center, 6; IS p.m.
Historical Construction Equip
ment Association annual con
vention and outdoor show,
Brownsville Fairgrounds, thru
Aug. 8.
Juniata Co. Sustainable Ag Field
Day, Ed Hits Farm, Honey
Grove, 9 a.m.
Morrison Cove Dairy Show,
Memorial Park, Martinsburg, 9
a.m.
Eastern Arabian Horse Show and
East Coast championships,
(Turn to Pag* A 27)
Farm Forum
Dear Editor,
Contrary to what some dairy
leaders are saying, the majority of
dairy farmers do know the type of
dairy plan they support
And while a co-op spokesman
may severely question the ability
and intelligence of the majority of
dairy farmers to make sound and
unified decisions on dairy poli
cies; one only has to travel out
onto several dairy farms and you
soon get the picture where dairy
farmers are coming from.
Continually, I visit with dairy
farmers in Pennsylvania and New
York. It doesn’t matter if the pro
ducers ship milk to a dairy co-op
or to a private handler, nearly 90%
NOW IS
THE TIME
By John Schwartz
Lancaster County
Agricultural Agqnt
To Manage
Calf Scours
Calf scours are a result of a com
bination of noninfectious factors
and infectious microorganisms.
Controlling the problem takes
more than giving shots and pills.
Proper management and medical
treatment are necessary to prevent
and treat the disease.
Calf scour prevention has to be a
year-round effort. Some manage
ment ideas include:
• Before the calf hits the ground,
you may help prevent problems by
making sure the herd receives
adequate nutrition.
• Replacement heifers must
receive sufficient feed energy for
maintenance as well as growth.
Failure to meet energy needs will
result in a weak calf at birth and
delayed return to estrus.
• The newborn calf should have
a dry and clean place.
• Be concerned with sanitation.
Confined areas may become wet
from accumulated manure and
urine.
• Perhaps the most important
requirement for newborn calves is
they receive adequate colostrum
early in life. A calf should receive
one to two quarts of colostrum dur
ing the first two to four hours after
birth to provide disease protection.
To Move
Farm Equipment
Safely
If you drive farm equipment on
public roads, make sure it is prop
erly lighted and marked so other
road users may see and identify it
as a slow-moving in time to avoid
collision.
Make sure your farm equipment
has the lighting, reflectors, and
slow-moving vehicle identifica
tion. Keep lights and reflectors
clean. Replace burned out bulbs
and lamps promptly.
Use your flashing lights when
you travel on a public road. If pos
sible, avoid travel during bad
weather and at night Also, avoid
of them want a pricing change
based on the average cost of pro
duction, tempered with a supply
management program, preferably
a two tier program.
National milk producers
spokespeople, and some of their
member cooperatives continually
submit articles to the news media
indicating the dairy farmers that
support two tier pricing are crying
out for mote and more govern
ment help, plus they say the two
tier programs run up additional
costs to the total dairy programs.
Nothing could be further from
the truth. Let’s get it straight. The
supporters of a true two tier prog-
(Turn to Page A3l)
busy highways during peak travel
or rush hours.
If possible, move wide equip-
ment during the day and when
traffic volume is relatively low.
' Use an escort car or a lookout to
help you on blind curves or
bridges.
Obey all traffic laws. Also, be
courteous to other drivers.
To Fill
Silos Safely
Few farm operations are as
dangerous as filling a silo. Know
ing how to handle these hazards
will let you fill your silo safely.
Preparation for silo filling
includes raising the unloader to the
top of the structure. Do this on a
calm, dry day to reduce the risk of
slips and falls. Make sure all
cables, wires, pulleys, and connec
tions are anchored and working
properly before you start.
Never enter the silo while the
unloader is being raised. Moving
machine parts pose the greatest
risk during silo filling.
Ndver step over PTO shafts.
Instead, walk around tractors and
wagons. To prevent getting
'
v ' mmmmm
, Hr LAWKtNU W Al T H OUSt
'his.
WHEN YOU WERE
DEAD!
August 1,1993
Background Scripture:
Ephesians 1:15-2:10, 3:14-19,
Devotional Reading:
Ephesians 1:3-14.
A millennial branch of Christ
ianity used to proclaim: “millions
now living will never see death!” I
recall someone commenting: ‘The
real tragedy is that millions are
“dead” who have never really
been alive!”
A friend of ours is a patient in a
nursing home. The news media
calls her a “vegetable,” suggesting
that although her physical body is
alive, her mind and psyche are not
We live in a day when it is
increasingly difficult to determine
when biological life is over.
Resuscitation brings back to life
many who have been pronounced
clinically “dead.” We used to
think that when the heart stopped
beating and/or all respiration
ended, that was the end of life. Not
any longer.
Quite apart from these medical
concerns is the question of the life
of the spirit. Paul indicates that it
is quite possible to be “spiritually
dead” while the body is still alive:
“And you he made alive, when
you were dead through the tres
passes and sins in which you once
walked...” (2:1). It is quite possi
ble to have all the vital signs of
physical life and still be dead in
the midst of life.
VITAL SIGNS
To be*sure, this is a figure of
speech, but it is also more. There
is a sense in which we can be quite
spiritually “dead” despite a health
y physical body. Our bodies may
be animated with the life force,
but our spirits can be so deadened
that there is really no life in us.
Moving a finger, a hand, or a foot
doesn’t prove that you are alive! It
is said that when Mrs. Dorothy
Parker was told that President Cal
vin Coolidge passed away, she
responded with; “How can they
tell?” With some people it is very
difficult.
Researchers estimate that as
many as one out of every twenty
persons has a near-death expert-
snagged, keep all protective
machinery shields in place, wear
comfortable but close-fitting clo
thing, and keep long hair tied up or
under a hat.
If a self-unloading wagon
becomes clogged, disengage the
PTO and stop the tractor. PTOs
can accidently slip into gear, so
always stop the engine.
Blower accidents are most like
ly when the machine plugs up. If
this happens, turn off the blower,
cut the power, and make sure the
fan blades have stopped turning
before you try to clear the
machine.
Silo blowers, unloading
wagons, and the tractors that pow
er them are loud enough to cause
noise induced hearing loss. Work
ers should wear hearing
protection.
Keep children and other bystan
ders out of the silo filling area.
They not only but themselves at
risk but also may distract the
machine operator, who needs to
pay strict attention to the task at
hand.
Feather Profs Footnote: "The
only limits are those of vision."
encc when the physical body
ceases to function, but is resusci
tated. But I wonder how many
people have near-life experiences,
getting close to being really alive,
but never making it? Important as
life after death is, so is life before
death.
m
For some people it is a matter of
dying so slowly that they are scar
cely aware of it. Poet Stephen
Vincent Jtenet wrote: “Life is not
lost by dying! Life is lost minute
by minute, day by dragging day, in
aU the thousand, small uncaring
ways.” And Robert D. Abraham,
writing in The Saturday Evening
Post, said much the same thing:
For some men die by shrapnel
And some go down in flames.
But most men perish inch by
inch
In play at little games.
INCH BY INCH
Paul says that it is sin that has
the power to kill the spirit while
the body is still alive. Worst of all,
this sin attracts us because it
seems to promise the very fullness
of life it takes away from us.
“Among these we all once lived in
the passions of our flesh, follow
ing the desires of body and
mind...” (2:3).
But the good news is that,
“...God, who is rich in mercy, out
of the great love with which He
loved us, even when we weredead
through our trespasses, made us
alive together with Christ... and
raised us up with him...” (2:4-6a).
In other words, once we recognize
that we are “dead,” we can turn
from our trespasses, accept the
grace of God, and experience the
resurrecting new life offered us in
Christ. From that new relationship
comes the life for which we were
bom: “For we are his workman
ship, created in Christ Jesus for
good works, which God prepared
beforehand, that we should walk
in them” (2:10).
That old farmers’ saying puts it
plainly: “Live as though you
would die tonight. Farm as though
you would live forever.”
Lancaster Fanning
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St
Ephrata. PA 17522
by
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A SMmm Emmprim
Robert G. Campbell General Manager
Evens R. Wawaaangar Managing Editor
Copyright It« 2 by Uncealar Farming