AlO-lancailar Farming, Saturday, Sajtfwwbar 10, 1994
OPINION
Slow Down
On Health Care Reform
The current national health care debate has become a mad rush
to do something before the November elections. We all want
reform. But we want to know if the enacted plan will lower costs
and not raise taxes to make it work. In addition, we want to know
if the will preserve the right to choose health care providers.
Farmers and small businesses do not want to be forced to
become part of mandatory purchasing cooperatives as some
proposals have required. In mandatory purchasing cooperatives,
farmers worry about their costs. If voluntary cooperatives work
to control costs, farmers will join them. But they don’t want to be
told they must join a plan that raises their costs.
A plan to cover more people is needed, but not at the expense
of the financial ruin with ill-considered mandates orhidden taxes.
Wayne Nelson, president of Communicating for Agriculture,
Inc., headquartered in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, says we don’t
want to say “no” to health care reform. We just want to say
“Whoa!”
It’s time for responsible heads to prevail. Our message to Con
gress: There is no time limit. We have better opportunities to pass
a reasoned plan after the election when facts and figures, espe
cially a detailed analysis of how much health care reform may
add to the trillion-dollar federal deficit, can be assembled.
If we can improve our health care, we’re for this. But in the
process, we don’t want to ruin our present health care system that
is already better than almost any other place in the world.
Farm Calendar
Historic Schaefferstown Harvest
Fair, Schaefferstown, thru Sept
ll
Suiuhn, Si'plemlHT II
Monday, SeptemluT 12
Green Township Community Fair,
Commodore, thru Sept 17.
Poultry Management and Health
Seminar, Kreider’s Restaurant
Mid-Atlantic Layer Management
Workshop, Iredell County Ag
Center, Statesville, N.C., thru
Sept. 14.
Albion Area Fair, Albion, thru
Sept. 17.
Denver Community Fair, Denver,
thru Sept 17.
Sinking Valley Fair, Altoona, thru
Sept. 17.
N.Y,-Pa. Pasture Tours, Steve and
Susan Saxton Farm, Troy, Pa.,
10:30 a.m.-ll:30 a.m. and
Dean and Joy Madigan Farm,
Burlington, Pa., 1 p.m., and
Leslie and Ruth Bresee, Ulster,
Pa., 2:30 p.m.
Carroll County Md. “Save the
Bay” Series, Extension Office,
Westminster, Md., 7 p.m.-9
p.m., also Sept 20,27 and Oct
4, 11, and 18.
Grain marketing meeting. Leba
non Ag Center, Lebanon, 3
p.m.-4 p.m.
Lancaster County Bee Association
Nature Presentation, Muddy
ISunlnfonnationCenter^
York Fair Youth Dairy Show.
Berlin Brothersvalley Fair, Berlin.
thru Sept 17.
Williamsburg Community Farm
Show, Williamsburg, thru Sept
19.
PASA Nutrient Management Field
Day, Fulton County Grazing
Field Day. Mosemann Dairy,
Warfordsburg, and Malot Feed
er Cattle, Harrisonville, 10
a.m.4 p.m.
Solanco Fair, Quarryville, thru
Sept. 16.
Nutrient Management Regulation/
Legislation meeting. Lebanon
Ag Technology Day, Foragement
Management Field to Feed
Bunk, Westmoreland Fair
grounds, 1 p.m.-4 p.m. and 7
p.m.-9 p.m.
York Fair Open Dairy Show.
North East Community Fair, North
East thru Sept. 17.
Oley Valley Community Fair,
Oley, thru Sept. 17.
“Red Power” Roundup. Hook
stown Fairgrounds, Hook
stown, thru Sept 18.
Pasture Walk, Ardin Landis, Atg
len, 10:30 a.m.-noon.
39th Anniversary Steam Show,
Arcadia Exposition Grounds,
Keisterstown, Md.. thru Sept
18.
Fall Field Day, Winsor Acres
Farm, Harpursville, N.Y., ll
Mass., thru Oct 2.
Upper Shore Small Grain break
fast, Howard Johnson Restaur
ant, Rt. 301, Kent County, Md.,
8 a.m.
Farm Records Made Easy, Person
al Computer Workshop Series,
also Oct. 6 and 13, Mercer
N.J., thru Sept. 18.
PASA Field Day, Organic Rasp
berry Culture, Jean Nick,
Kintnersville.
Family Fun Festival, Joßo Hols
tein Farm, John and Bonnie
Hess, Gettysburg, 10 a.m.-2
p.m.
Ninth Annual Dorset Field Day.
To Observe
Hessian Fly-Free
Date
Robert Anderson, extension
agronomy agent, reminds us it is
very important to observe the Hes
sian fly-free date for wheat
The fly-free date refers to the
time after which the Hessian Fly, a
serious pest of wheat, no longer
poses a threat to the crop.
The fly has two generations
each year. The second generation
fly emerges in late summer and
lays its eggs on small wheat plants.
When the eggs hatch, the maggots
feed on the plant and then pass the
winter as a pupa or “flaxseed.”
In the spring, an adult emerges
and lays eggs on the leaves of the
wheat. Upon hatching, the mag
gots feed near the nodes of the
stalk. This weakens the plant and
causes it to break over before
harvest
The fly-free date is simply a
planting time after the fall egg lay
ing period is over. For Lancaster
County this date is between Octob
er 10 and 20.
To Consider
Planting
Cover Crops
Cover crops have many uses and
advantages. Cover crops may help
supplement the production of the
farm by providing additional feed
for livestock as fall, winter, or
The Perry Farm, Whitehouse
Station, NJ., 1 p.m.-4 p.m.
17th Annual Days of the Past,
Washington Crossing State
Honey Harvest Festival, Hashaw
ha Environmental Center,
Westminster, noon-S p.m.
Ovcr-The-Hill Horse Show, Engl
ish and Western (adults only).
Hunter Hill Stables, Covcntry
ville, 9 a.m.
Fertilizer Institute’s 1994 World
Fertilizer Conference. The
Westin St. Francis, San Fran
cisco, Calif., thru Sept. 20.
Grat^?air^GratzMhn^eDt^4.
Reading Fair, Reading, thru Sept
24.
Beaver Community Fair, Beaver
Springs, thru Sept. 24.
Milk Marketing Inc. Fall District
Meeting, District 3, Local 2,
Berlin Fire Hall, Berlin, 7:30
Ephrata Fair, Ephrata, thru Sept
24.
Harmony Grange Fair, Harmony,
thru Sept 24.
Beef Pasture Walk, William Pear
sall and David Hendricks,
Macungie, 6:30 p.m.
N.Y.-Pa. Pasture Tours, Painter
(Turn to Pago A 34)
spring pasture or spring silage.
Other major advantages of cov
er crops include protecting soil
from erosion, acting as a filter to
improve water quality, capturing
unused nitrogen in the soil profile
which may be recovered the next
growing season, and adding organ
ic matter to the soil and improving
soil tilth.
Many plants may be used as
cover crops, with winter grains
being the most popular.
Spring oats sowed in the fall is
an excellent cover crop that does
not have to be killed next spring
with chemicals. If farmers will
have land which will be bare dur
ing the winter, they should consid
er the many advantages cover
crops offer.
To Help
Children Develop
Study Habits
With school now back in ses
sion, it is important we help our
children do their best.
Some tips from Dr. Jim Van-
Horn, Penn State family
sociologist:
• Provide a quite study area with
STANDING ON DRY
GROUND
September 11,1994
Background Scripture:
Joshua 3 through 4
Devotional Reading:
Hebrews 11:23,24
Many scholars believe that the
story of the crossing of the Jordan
River by the Israelites under
Joshua is actually a kind of editor
ial “past-job” of several accounts
of the same event. That would ex
plain why the story is rather con
fusing and chronologically dis
jointed. For example: did God
command that the twelve stones
be set up as a memorial in the river
(4:9), or at both places?
Yet, despite this lack of clarity,
it is obvious that this event is one
of great importance in the life of
Israel. As Joshua himself puts it.
“For the Lord your God dried up
the waters of the Jordan for you
until you passed over, so-that all
people of die earth may know that
the hand of the Lord is mighty,
that you may fear the Lord your
God forever” (4:23,24).
PRESCRIPTION: AWE
So, one purpose of this story
both for die people of Israel and
also us is to inspire a kind of
holy fear of God. Whatever other
attributes we find in our experi
ence of God, we need to experi
ence also a sense of awe and re
verence when we ate confronted
by God’s magnificent power. It is
not because God needs us to
“ooh!” and “aah!” over him, but
because we need it. We are like
the woman who went to her doctor
with a shopping list of physical
complaints. After listening to her
for quite a while, the doctor pre
scribed a weekend excursion to
Niagara Falls. “You need to take a
long and lingering view of some
thing much bigger than yourself,”
he explained. And that’s why
sometimes we need to be in awe of
God, too. Awe and reverence are
good for the human spirit
Titus is also a stray of pragmat
ic faith. Can you imagine how the
people of Israel must have felt as
they arrived at the Jordan? At last,
after all their wanderings and tri
plenty of light. Study time is just as
.important as the place.
• A child should be rested and
relaxed. Allow some time for
active play before concentrating
on homework.
• If possible, plan study periods
for the same time every evening.
• If you have preschoolers in
your home, arrange some quiet
play for them during your older
child’s study period. Coloring,
reading, or listening to a story are
good quiet activities.
• Help the easy distracted. High
distractibility is the one trait most
responsible for poor school work.
If that is a challenge for your child,
work out some at home strategies
with the student’s teacher.
Studies show the more involved
the parent is in their child’s educa
tion, the more successful the child
is in school. Take time to know
your child’s teacher, attend school
functions, and read to your
children.
Remember, education is the key
to their future.
Feather Profs Footnote: "A
positive attitude creates positive
results."
bulations, they stqpd near their
great goal, the promised land. Yet,
blocking their way were the flood
ing torrents of the Jordan River.
So close, yet so far from where
they were going. Often it is like
that for us, too. We are close to
our goal but something stands in
the way. So. like the people of Is
rael. we need to trust in God’s
promise to take us through the ob
stacle and to the other side.
PLAN AHEAD
But that doesn’t mean that the
Israelites were going to be handed
the crossing on a silver platter. No,
the whole event was going to re
quire careful planning. God would
do his part, but the people would
have to do their part, too. You and
I are often faced with the same
pragmatic situation. There is a
goal to be achieved and God has
promised to help us achieve that
goal but it also requires some
thing on our part. Just as the peo
ple of Israel had to plan and pre
pare to cross this last physical bar
rier to the promised land, so we
need to trust in God and make our
plans accordingly. Might it not be
that one reason God seems unre
sponsive to our prayers for help is
that we want him to do it without
any obligation on our part?
This story and the story of Is-
rad’s crossing of the Red Sea in
Exodus remind us that in ancient
, times the image of water was used
' to represent all that threatens hu
man beings in life. In our lives
there ate countless Red Seas and
River Jordans that threaten us. We
find ourselves “in over our heads,”
“up the creek without a paddle,”
and at a point where we need to
“sink or swim.” But from the most
ancient of times God is experienc
ed as the one who parts and pushes
back these threatening waters if
we respond in faith.
In the midst of the Jordan’s tu-
multuous waters the priests and
the people found themselves trust
ing God and standing on his provi
dential dry ground. So can we.
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St
Ephrata, PA 17522
-by
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A Stthmm Entttprim
Robert G. Campbell General Manager
Everst R. Ntwtwtnger Managing fc'dtor
Copyright 1004 by Lancatlar Farming