AlO-Lancaater Farming/Saturday, September 24, 1994
OPINION
Big-Time Events
Along with many local and county fairs this week, farmers
have two other major events to attend: the All-American Dairy
Show in Harrisburg and the Northeast Poultry Show in Lancaster.
The invitational youth dairy cattle judging contest brings 4-H,
FFA, and Collegiate teams to the small arena at the Farm Show
complex on Monday. The All-American starts with the new Pen
nsylvania dairy princess to be crowned tonight. And throughout
the week every major dairy breed will have national, state, and
regional shows and sales. And on Thursday, the supreme champ
ion is selected at the climax of the show.
At the Northeast Poultry Show in the Host Resort, the program
consists of exceptionally appropriate subjects of interest to all
producers. Subjects include talks on commodity price outlook,
biosecurity, and effective rodent control on Wednesday. And
special conferences for broilers and turkeys; eggs ate scheduled
for Thursday. Schedules for both these shows are found in this
issue.
Often the work at home makes farmers think they don’t have
time to attend these educational events. But the conversation with
other farmers and producers is often quite valuable. And this con
versation is in addition to the programs and shows that are
scheduled.
If you have an interest in dairy or poultry, this is your week for
some big-time events.
/ " 4 _
Farm Calendar
The Pennsylvania Dairy Princess
Pageant, Sheraton Inn East,
Harrisburg.
Harvest Sheep and Wool Festival
of NJ., Salem County Fair
grounds, Woodstown, N,J.,
\loii(l:n. Sq)lt‘mluT 2ft
State Junior Dairy Show, Farm
Show Complex, Harrisburg.
Pa. All American Dairy Show,
Farm Show Complex, Harris
burg, thru Sept. 29.
Lehigh Valley Horse Council
meeting. Boots and Saddle Rid-
Pa. Fall Championship Show,
Farm Show Complex, Harris
burg, 9 a.m.
Morrison Cove Community Fair,
Martinsburg, thru Sept. 30.
Northeast Poultry Show, Host
Resort, Lancaster, thru Sept
29.
Pa.-N.Y. Pasture Tour, Daryl and
Carol Button, Nicholson, Pa.,
10:30 a.m. and Daniel and Lin
da Bonham Farm, Kingsley,
Northeast Poultry Show, Lancas
ter Host Resort, Lancaster, thru
Sept. 29.
West Lampeter Community Fair,
Lampeter, thru Sept. 30.
New Holland Farmers Fair, New
Holland, thru Oct. 1.
Eastern National Holstein Sale,
Farm Show Complex, Harris
burg, 7 p.m.
Com Production Field Day, Using
Spent Mushroom Compost,
Ken Schlegel Farm, Fleetwood,
9:30 a.m.
Adams County Farm Bureau meet
ing, Harney Fire Hall, 6:30 p.m.
Preserving Family Lane, Sheraton
Berkshire, Wyomissing, 12:30
p.m.-6:30 p.m.
Pasture Grazing Management and
Cross Fencing meeting, GIL
Tri-Valley Community Fair,
Hegins, thru Oct. 2.
Eastern National Holstein Show,
Farm Show Complex, Harris
burg, 8 a.m.
N.Y. Farm Bureau’s Fall Confer
ence, Holiday Inn Arena. Bing
hamton, N.Y., thru Sept. 30.
Pumpking Variety Demonstration,
Trauger Farm, Kintnersville. 6
Heritage Festival, Berks County
Heritage Center, near Reading
Airport, thru Oct. 2.
1? ith Dr Carroll Co>
the State Conservation Com
mission and the Pennsylvania
Association of Conservation
Districts, Westmoreland Coun-
Hollidaysburg, thru Oct. 6.
Manheim Community Farm
Farm, Pleasant Mount, 10:30
a.m.
Farm Forum
Editor,
I want to remind people of the
danger of farm machinery and
especially of farm disks. My small
son was standing near one, and
forgetting it was there, he turned
and walked against it. Since he
was wearing shorts he got several
substantia] scratches and a cut that
required four stitches. I am thank-
Now Is
The Time
ty John Schwartz
Lancaster County
Agricultural Agent
To Pick Up
Farm Show Entries
The 199 S Pennsylvania State
Farm Show Premium Lists have
arrived in the county cooperative
extension offices.
The premium lists contains
details on all the classes at the
Farm Show, rules and regulations,
entry deadlines, and entry forms.
The 1995 Farm Show will be
held in Harrisburg from January 7
to the 12. Remember, many classes
have a November 3 entry deadline.
Pick up your free copy of the
premium list and make plans to
attend and participate in the 1995
Pennsylvania State Farm Show.
To Be Safe
Over the past three years I have
written many articles on farm safe
ty. Last week this newspaper print
ed an editorial on farm safety.
However, we continue to see far
too many farm accidents and
deaths.
Worker safety is becoming a
bigger issue. As farms increase in
size and require hired employees,
farmers need to become more con
cerned about safety.
Farmers need to take time and
review safety rules and operating
W i'(liU's(l;n , Oiloln i 5
National 4-H Wtik
World Dairy Expo, Dane County
Expo Center, Madison, Wis.,
thru Oct. 9.
38th Annual Keystone Livestock
Expo, Farm Show Complex,
Saturday October S
National 4-11 Week
Forest Stewardship Video Confer
ence, Bradford County exten
sion office, 10 a.m.-noon.
Seminar, Kreider's Restaurant,
Manheim. noon.
ful he did not fall against it with
his hands or face.
I want to know if other people
have had similar experiences.
Andrew’s accident happened at a
busy county fair. Is that a wise
place to display a farm disk?
Mrs. Verna Everett,
Kingsley
procedures for all farm tasks
before having an employee per
form them. There needs to be a per
iod of direct supervision before the
employee is permitted to work
unsupervised.
Checks need to be performed to
insure all safety rules are being fol
lowed. Special care needs to be
followed with children. Make sure
: they are old enough to do the job.
Agriculture needs to do a better
.job of policing ourselves in the
• area of farm safety. If we do not
start implementing safety prog
rams for our farms voluntarily,
{government rules and regulations
will be extended to all farms.
Bait stations should be checked
weekly and serviced with new bait.
Rodents are carriers of many
diseases, including Salmonella
enteritidis. Rodents eat and
destroy a lot of feed and even kill
young animals while doing struc
tural damage to buildings and elec
trical wiring.
Feather Profs Footnote:
'Team work: The fuel that allows
common people to attain uncom-
Now is the time to beef up your mon results."
i Now is the time to take control
of safety on your farm and make it
a safe place to work. Your goal
should be no accidents every year!
To Control Rodents
With fall coming, many mice
will be migrating from fields into
bams.
BY IAWHtNCE W ALTHQUSE
m
T 9
THE CHOICE IS OURS
September 25, 1994
Background Scripture:
Joshua 24
Devotional Reading:
Psalms 116:12-19
The great assemblage of the
tribes of Israel at Shechem under
Joshua probably took place more
than 3,000 years ago. That’s a
long time no matter how you tally
the years. Without a doubt, any
thing that happened that long ago
is ancient history.
Yet, ancient history though it
may be, what happened that day
in Shechem is as contemporary in
its importance as your daily
newspaper and the six o’clock
news on television. The historical
and situational circumstances
have changed radically, but
human nature has not. And I am
confident that 3,000 years from
today this story will still be rele
vant.
Joshua assembles the people
of Israel and reminds them of
what God has done with and for
them. From the beginning of their
history up to the present moment,
Joshua is able to trace the pres
ence of God working in their
lives. Instead of asking them to
subscribe to a carefully phrased
creed or set of theological propo
sitions, Joshua directs their atten
tion to what God has done. When
they look at what he has done, it
is more than enough to inspire
them to covenant with God.
IN MY LIFE
Too often in our church life we
speak generally of what God does
without specifying what it is that
we ourselves have experienced,
either individually or corporately.
Some Sunday morning during
worship I’d like to hear, instead
of a recitation of the Apostles
Creed, one or more testimonials
of what someone has experienced
of God in his other life. For we
cannot actually covenant with
God solely on the basis of a set of
intellectual propositions. If you
cannot find any point in your life
when you have experienced God
or his providence, then you have
no basis for a personal' relation
ship. The problem, I’m con
vinced, is not that we haven’t all
encountered God, but that we are
rodent control program. Check
your bam for openings mice may
enter. Patch holes along the found
ation and around Cut housings.
Seal around doors.
Remove old rodent droppings
and watch weekly for fresh drop
pings. Place baiting stations
around the bam where you see
rodent activity.
One and one half inch PVC pipe
cut in one foot sections makes
excellent bait stations. In confine
ment housing, these stations
should be placed every 8 to 12feet.
not all aware that we have. As
Joshua was saying to the
Israelites, when we
captured Jericho, that was the
Lord that enabled us to do that, so
we need to remember things in
our own experience which are
attributable to God —from daily
bread to windfalls, from deliver
ance to transcendence.
How contemporaneous these
words are: “I gave you a land on
which you had not labored, and
cities which you had not built,
and you dwell therin; you eat the
fruit of vineyards and olive yards
which you did not plant” (24:13).
Is there anyone who could
answer, “Not me, Lord!”? All of
us, no matter how well or poorly
off we may think ourselves, have
received grace upon grace. No
matter what our circumstances
may be, there are more blessings
to count than any of us can man
age. It is on that basis, and that
basis alone, that we are chal
lenged to “choose this day whom
you will serve” (24:15).
FAR BE IT
The reply of the people of
Israel is a bit amusing to me
because it is so like our own self
delusions: “Far be it from us that
we should forsake the Lord, to
serve other gods” (244:16) and
even after Joshua explained how
hard it was to follow the Lord,
they replied with enthusiasm:
“Nay; but we will serve the Lord”
(24:21). Is that not us as well? We
take our vows of membership and
we are confident that we will
keep them. But how easy it is to
say them and how difficult to
keep them. That hasn’t changed
either.
Joshua makes a very strong
case of the people of Israel to vow
to serve the Lord, reminding them
of what God has done for them in
the past and of his promises for
the future. He tells them of the
choice that he and his own house
have made. But there is no com
pulsion at Shechem; Joshua does
not force the people to make their
covenant. When all is said and
done, it is their choice as it is ours
every day of our lives: “Choose
this day whom you will serve.”
Lancaster Farming
EtMUmd 1055
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St
Ephrata, PA 17522
by
Lancaster Farming, Ine.
A SMtmtn BUmprim
Robert G. Campbell General Manager
Evmm R. Namwangar Managing Editor
CepydlM IH4 by Laneatlar Farming