AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 22, 1994
OPINION
Congratualtions To Fair Exhibitors
Congratulations to all who have shown cattle and livestock
during the 1994 county fair season. And thank you.
Especially to those who showed cattle. It wasn’t the easiest
year to decide to take out time to select, train, wash and trim ani
mals with the threat of bovine virus diarrhea and vaccination
records necessary.
We hope those who opted out this year will be back next, and
those who did show didn’t take anything contagious home with
them.
It’s always pleasant to watch good, groomed animals shown
well, as it is to have judges who explain their placings, even if not
all arc in agreement.
Local county shows are the premier place for the nonfarming
community to see how well farm animals are really cared for.
While the big competitive shows are the highlight of the breed
ers’ year, the county or regional show ring is where the public
relations really count.
Dirty, undercared for animals should never be entered in local
fair shows, no matter that in some instances, where insufficient
animals have been entered for competition, the premium money
is just waiting to be awarded to whomever shows up with an ani
mal of the breed.
There are plenty of misconceptions about animal care being
perpetuated by people who know little or nothing of caring for an
animal.
And there are many more people who go to county fairs who fit
this category than go to see the high-stakes shows.
The impression made on the agriculturally unenlightened at
the local level may be the only real experience they have to form a
perception of the entire community of people who keep, breed
and raise domestic animals.
For all of oursakes, don’t make us out to be liars. Please don’t
show unkempt or unthrifty livestock.
Farm Calendar
Farm and Natural Lands Trust
Harvest Fest, Brown’s Orchard,
Loganville, thru Oct. 23.
Sire Power Sale ’94, Bloomsburg
Fairgrounds, 11 a.m.
Lancaster County Rabbit and Cavy
Breeders Association Rabbit
Show, West Lampeter Fair
grounds, Lampeter, 9 a.m.
Penn State Career Open House,
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Managing Cover Crops For
Increased Productivity, Days
Inn, State College, thru Oct. 25.
Franklin County Conservation
District Field Day, Edwin
Shank Farm, Chambersburg, 9
Chester County Holstein Associa
tion annual meeting, West Fal
lowfield Christian School, Atg
len, 7 p.m.
Lancaster County Poultry Associ
ation annual banquet. Willow
Valley Convention Center,
6:30 p.m.
Lebanon County Holstein Associ
ation annual meeting, Schaef
ferstown Fire Hall, Schaeffer
stown, 7 p.m.
State Grange Annual Banquet,
Lancaster County 4-H Swine Ban
quet, Country Table Restaur
ant, Mount Joy, 6:30 p.m.
New Holland Sales Stables Dairy
Show, New Holland, show 9
a.m., sale 11 a.m.
Pesticide Update Training, Bureau
of Forestry Conference Room,
North Warren. 8 0.m.-lO p.m.
Workshop Series on Computer
ized Farm Record Keeping,
Lancaster Farm and Home Cen
ter, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. and 1
p.m.-3 p.m.
Franklin County Conservation
District meeting, Kauffman
Community Center, Kauffman
Station, 6:45 p.m.
Schuylkill County Cooperative
Extension meeting. First
United Church of Christ,
Schuylkill Haven.
Columbia County Conservation
Field Day, Craig Richards
JFanri^Jumidia^yynj^uth
State 4-H Horse Show, thru Oct.
30.
Md. Shorthorn Association Fall
Calf Sale, Frederick Fair
grounds, Frederick, Md., 7 p.m.
Backyard Composting Workshop
Series, Springettsbury Town
ship Municipal Building/
Compost Park, York, continues
Nov 5. Nov. 6. and Nov. 14.
1
Suil(i;i\, Oilolht ,M)
lasltm Stand.n (I
I imi' lit
National Association of Extension
I iu'sda\, Nim inluT 1
Estate Planning Seminars, Glatfel
ter Insurance, York, also Nov.
Ephrata Area Young Farmers
monthly meeting, Ephrata High
Ag Advisory Council (Penn State)
To Drive To
Save Gas
By driving smartly and properly
maintaining your vehicle, you
should be able to save money by
reducing gasoline usage.
The American Petroleum Insti
tute makes the following sugges
tions to help you increase fuel
mileage.
Reduce your speed. At 55 miles
per hour (mph) most cars obtain
about 20 percent more miles to the
gallon than at 70 mph. Maintain a
constant speed. Variations of more
than S mph could raise fuel con
sumption by 7 to 9 percent.
Avoid jackrabbit starts. They
require twice as much gasoline as
smooth, gradual starts.
Reduce braking by anticipating
the need to slow down or stop. If
you do not have to come to a full
stop by slowing down early, you
may reduce gasoline use by 20
percent.
Plan your trips wisely. A mal
functioning carburetor may waste
3 miles per gallon (mpg); a misfir
ing spark plug. 2 mpg; and a dirty
air filter, 1 mpg.
Regular tuneups may save S to
20 percent on gasoline costs. Be
sure the car has correct tire pres
sure. Gas mileage improves 1 per
cent for every 2 pounds of pressure
needed to bring tires up to the
recommended pressure.
Finally, do not carry extra
weight. Gas consumption
increases by 1 percent for every 50
pounds of extra weight.
To Check For
White Mold
On Soybeans
Dr. Elwood Hatley, Penn State
agronomy department, reports that
many areas have experienced
while mold on soybeans.
The disease develops after flow
ering and during periods of cool,
damp weather. It is most prevalent
in years of adequate to excessive
membership meeting, Penn
State Scanticon Hotel, 9:30
Bradford County Cooperative
Extension annual meeting,
Wysox Presbyterian Church
HalWSjnyiu^^^^
Wayne County Holstein annual
meeting, Bellmont Comers Fire
Nittany Lion Fall Classic Sale, Ag
Arena, State College, 11 a.m.
North American International
Livestock Exposition, Ken
tucky Fair and Exposition Cen
ter, Louisville, Ky., thru Nov.
18.
Quarryville Antique and Craft
Show. Quarryville Elementary
School, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
moisture and in fields with a lot of
vegetative growth. In most cases
the effect is minimal (2 to 3 per
cent). However, loses may be as
high as 50 percent.
Infected plants have lesions
with white cottony growth near the
base of the stem. Large, irregular
black bodies form in the cottony
growth and inside the stem. This
leads to wilting and death of the
upper leaves and finally premature
death of the infected plant.
There is no truly effective way
to control the disease. Manipulat
ing cultural practices, such as rota
tion, planting in 30-inch rows, and
reducing plant populations are the
only way to reduce the effects of
the disease. There is no informa
tion available on variety tolerance
to the disease.
To Evaluate
Fan Tillage
Lynn Hoffman, Penn State
Agronomy Department, reminds
us fall tillage should only be done
when needed to fit longer term
agronomic program needs.
m
ISOSILS
HIDDEN AMONG THE
BAGGAGE!
October 23, 1994
Background Scripture:
1 Samuel 9:15 through 10:1 A,
20-24
Devotional Reading:
Psalms 106:40-48
The story of Samuel and his
anointing of Saul as King over
Israel is one of the most fascinat
ing in the Bible. Here is a man,
unknown to the public, who one
day goes forth with his servant to
look for some asses that had
strayed from his father’s farm.
Failing to Find them.his servant
suggests they consult Samuel the
seer of Ramah to see if he can
help them find the asses. Can you
imagine then how surprised Saul
was when Samuel invited him to
dine with him on the sacred hill
top, gave him choice cuts of food,
and then announced that God had
chosen Saul king over
Israel!
And that was just the begin
ning of these unsettling events.
Samuel also told Saul to go on to
Rachel’s tomb where he would
meet two men with a message for
him, then on to the oak at Tabor
to receive two symbolic loaves of
bread from the hands of three
men, and finally on to Gibeath
elohim to meet a band of
prophets. Strangest of all, Samuel
assured him that at Gibeathelo
him the Spirit of God would
“come mightily upon you and
you shall prophesy with them and
be tumedlhto a new man” (10:6).
All this because he had gone to
a seer looking for help in finding
some lost livestock! Sometimes
when we go seeking the Lord, we
find a lot more than that for which
we were looking.
WHO ME?
Saul reacted to all this as we
might expect. His first reaction to
Saul’s amazing news is a huge
sense of inadequacy. “Am I not a
Benjamite, from the least of the
tribes of Israel? And is not my
family the humblest of the fami
lies of the tribe of Benjamin?
Why then have you spoken to me
in this way?” Actually, Saul
exaggerated: in 1 Samuel 9:1 we
These needs may include man
ure incorporation, improving a
systematic herbicide weed control
effort, improving soil physical
problems, or reducing soil
compaction.
Keep in mind the soil erosion
effects of fall tillage decisions.
Make sure it fits within the con
fines of your conservation plan.
Excess tillage that reduces crop
residue levels prescribed to be pre
sent at planting time in the spring
could put farmers in serious com
pliance jeopardy. Before fall til
lage plans are implemented, far
mers should discuss these plans
with their county Soil Conserva
tion Service people when this is
not permitted in the conservation
plan.
Fanners should consider the
environmental implications and
look at their conservation plan
before hooking up to the chisel
plow or big disk.
Feather Profs Footnote:
"Children are always the only
future the human race has; teach
them well."
are told that Saul’s father is “a
man of wealth” and Saul is the
tallest and most handsome man in
Israel. Isn’t is wonderful how
humble we become when some
one nominates us for a job?
His second reaction was one of
action rather than words; he hid
so that they could not find him.
But, he was to find that day
that —as Jonah had once found—
when God wants you for some
thing, it is pretty hard to hide,
“...and the Lord said,’Behold he
has hidden himself among the
baggage’” (10:22).
What fascinates me about the
story is that, in a sense, Saul was
quite correct in discerning that he
was inadequate for the job. God
chose him and the people wanted
him but Saul did not want to be
king. Yes, God promised that He
would turn him into “another
man” and God’s spirit fell mighti
ly upon him on several occasions.
But, although sometimes in the
power of God’s spirit he was
“another man,” there were times
when he reverted to being the
destructively insecure bumpkin
whose personal inadequacies kept
him from being the king Israel
wanted and needed.
CROOKED STICKS
What this tells us is that God
often—maybe always—chooses
people who are inadequate for the
job He has for them. Under His
power they are sometimes able to
do the things for which God calls
them, but they are also flawed
human beings »vith weaknesses
and tragic inadequacies. Their
human failures do not detract
from or destroy the good things
that God is able to do through
them. Greatly flawed people can
still be, with the help of God, suc
cessful leaders. Or, as someone
has put it, “God can strike a
mighty blow with a crooked
stick.”
All of us are crooked sticks in
God’s hands, so we have no
excuse for hiding ourselves
among the baggage of life when
He wants to use us for His pur
poses.
Lancaster Fanning
Eslablmhed 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St
Ephrata, PA 17522
by
Laneaeter Farming, (no.
A SMvnan Emuprim
Robert Q. Campbell General Manager
Evens a Neawanger Mineghg EdHor
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