Lancaster Earning, -Saturday, January
OPINION
We Wish The New Governor Well
This week Pennsylvania has a new governor. Tom Ridge was
sworn into office in Harrisburg to become the state’s 43rd
governor.
Throughout his election campaign, Gov. Ridge made many
contacts in the agriculture community, and some of the first
organized support came from members of his party in agribusi
ness. And the new governor continued to maintain that his sup
port of agriculture was because of the basic foundation that agri
culture has for Pennsylvania’s economy. His idea was that you
needed to treat agriculture as a business before you can call it a
way of life.
As recently as during his tour of the Farm Show last week,
Gov. Ridge said his presence at the state’s largest agriculture
event of the year should be taken as “a commitment to restore the
vitality of Pennsylvania agriculture and see to it that the men and
women who work our farms and agribusiness comunity realize
their full potential.”
One of the major platform policies was Gov. Ridge’s promise
to make the Department of Environmental Resources (DER)
more friendly. This caught the attention of many farmers and
small business people because of their experience with this ruth
less governmental regulatory agency. No other single point of
reinventing government will have more effect on how farmers
farm than this DER issue.
Above all, people have hope that the new adminstration can
bring changes that will benefit all Pennsylvanians. “There is
nothing wrong with Pennsylvania that Pennsylvanians can’t fix,”
Gov. Ridge said.
We wish Gov. Tom Ridge well as he starts his new term of
office.
Bth Central Md. Farm Toy Show,
Carroll County Agricultural
Center, Westminster, Md., 9
Pa. DHIA Dist. 15 and 17 meeting,
Lebanon County Extension
Office.
Northeastern Pa. Maple Syrup
Producers’ Association annual
meeting and dinner, Pleasant
Valley Grange Hall, 10 a.m.-3
p.m.
Chester County Crops Day,
Guthnesville Fire Hall.
Professional Horticulture Confer
ence Of Virginia Trade Show,
Virginia Beach, Va.
Pa. Cattlemen’s Association bus
tour to National Cattlemen’s
Association Convention and
Trade Show, Nashville, Tenn.,
thru Jan. 29.
Farm Management Workshop,
Upper Dauphin Young Far-
Crosskeys Restaurant
Bucks-Montgomery Counties
Crops Day, Family Heritage
Restaurant Franconia.
Basic Sheep Management Short
Course, Neshaminy Manor
Center, Doylestown, also Jan.
31, Feb. 7,14.21,28 and March
7.
Clarion County MFS Workshop,
also Jan. 31.
Perry County MFS Workshop,
Ickesburg Fire Hall, also Jan.
31.
Union County MFS Workshop,
Lewisburg Club, also Jan. 31.
Worker Protection Standards,
EAYF meeting, Ephrata High
School, 7:30 p.m.
Farm Records Workshop, York
Extension Office, 10 a.m.-3
p.m.
Franklin County Com Clinic,
Kauffman Community Center,
9 a.m.-2:45 p.m.
ADC Dist. 3 meeting, Solanco
Fairgrounds, Quarryville,
11:45 a.m.
Clean and Green information
meeting, Farm and Home Cen-
Pa. DHIA Dist. 4, Oxyok Inn.
Lehigh and Northampton Counties
Crops Days, UGI Auditorium,
Bethlehem, 9 a.m.-3;15 p.m.
Juniata County MFS Workshop,
Family House Restaurant, also
Feb. 1.
York County Com Clinic, 4-H
Center, Bair Station, 8:30
a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Capitol Region Greenhouse meet
ing, Cashtown Fire Hall, 9
a.m.-3 p.m.
Mount Joy Farmers’ Co-Op,
Country Table, Mount Joy,
11:30 a.m.
Carroll County, Md. Mid-Winter
Forum meeting, Ag Center,
Westminster, 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Regional greenhouse meeting,
Musselman’s Greenhouse,
Cashtown.
To Be Aware
Of Crop Insurance
A new law has made Federal
Crop Insurance an integral part of
USDA farm programs.
Farmers must buy at least a cata
strophic level of crop insurance
coverage (CAT) to be eligible for
many program benefits, including
commodity price support, produc
tion adjustment programs, certain
Farmers Home Administration
loans, and Conservation Reserve
Program.
CAT coverage will compensate
producers for crop losses in excess
of SO percent of their actual pro
duction history at 60 percent of the
expected market price for that
crop. The coverage is comparable
to disaster program benefits in
recent years. The new law also
provides increased premium subsi
dies that make additional coverage
more affordable.
Producers thinking about insur
ing spring planted crops have until
March 15,1995 to sign up. Addi
tional coverage is generally avail
able only from private insurance
agents.'
To Study
Crop Insurance
Costs
Framers may obtain catastroph
ic level of crop insurance (CAT)
coverage for a nominal administra
tive fee of $5O per crop per county.
The maximum cost for all insur
able crops in a county is $2OO per
farmer or $6OO per farmer for all
Schuylkill Co. Dairy Day/DHIA
annual meeting, Penn State
Schuylkill Campus, Schuylkill
PA. DHIA Dist. 18 meeting,
Hoss’s Steakhouse, Lionville.
Woodland Owners of Centre
County, Centre County Vo-
Tech School, Pleasant Gap, 7
p.m.
Berks County Crops Day, Berks
County Ag Center.
York County Ag Recognition Ban
quet, Wisehaven Hall, 7 p.m.
Luzerne pesticide exam, Wilkes-
Barre, 8 a.m.
N.Y. and Pa. Horticultural Produc
ers Conference, St. Bonaven
turc U., Allegany, N.Y., 9:30
a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Bradford County Cooperative
Extension board meeting, Tow
anda, 7:30 p.m.
Wayne County Dairy MAP, exten
sion office, Honesdale, 10
a.m.-3 p.m.
Pest control meeting, Dover
Young Fanners, Dover High
School Ag Classroom, 7:30
p.m.
Cumberland Com Clinic, Hunts-
(Tum to Pago All)
counties in which there arc insur
able crops. CAT coverage for
insurable crops is available until
the sales closing date for each
crop.
Sales closing dates vary by crop
and region. For Pennsylvania
counties, the CAT sales closing
date for apples, barley, forage,
grapes, peaches, and wheat is
March 15, 1995.
The 1995 spring planted crops
will not have additional time to
sign up for insurance coverage.
Remember, sales closing dates
vary by crop and region so produc
ers should consult a crop insurance
agent or the local Farm Service
Agency (ASCS) office to verify
the sign up date and ask any ques
tions they may have.
To Review
Insurance Policies
Remember last year? Record
snowfall and ice caused a lot of
damage to farm property.
Frozen pipes and fallen roofs
were a couple of the loses fanners
experienced. However, many far-
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TRANSFIGURATION
ANYONE
January 22,1995
Background Scripture:
Matthew 17:1-23
Devotional Reading:
2 Peter 1:16-21
Nothing in my background and
education predisposed me toward
the mystical or miraculous. The
Pennsylvania Dutch are not partic
ularly known for their visionary or
ecstatic religious experiences.
Even as a seminary student I was
skeptical of those whose Chris
tianity was not as hard-headed and
practical as mine.
Nevertheless, along the way I
have had a few mystical experi
ences that have been both trans
forming and ineffable. One of the
most memorable of these was my
call to the ministry. It happened on
the old P&W high-speed trolley
line between Philadelphia and
Norristown, PA in my second year
as a student at the University of
Pennsylvania. I remember vividly
the sensation of brilliant light that
filled that railway car, although I
was the only one to whom it was
obvious.
Since then, in reading and hear
ing about the transformative expe
riences of other people, I have
been intrigued with the fairly con
sistent theme of “light” in these
experiences. It seems that when
ever a person is lifted up into an
awareness of God and his or her
own highest self, there is an expe
rience of supernormal light. This
is particularly true in many of the
accounts of the Near-Death-Expe
rience.
SHINE AS THE SUN
The experience of a kind of
divine light is significant in some
of the mystical experiences in the
Bible. When Moses came down
from Mt. Sinai his face was seen to.
be bathed in a heavenly light.
When Jesus was born it was the
radiance of a star that guided wise
men to his cradle. When He
ascended a mountain tradition
ally Mt. Tabor or Mt. Hermon
with three of his disciples we are
told that “He was transfigured
before them, and His face shone
like the sun, and His garments
became white as light” (15:2).
We do not have to totally
mers found out too late that their
insurance policy did not cover
snow or ice damage.
Now would be a good time to sit
down with your insurance agent
and discuss your insurance cover
age. A type of insurance you may
want to consider is income inter
ruption coverage. This insurance
could become very valuable in
making loan payments if you have
a loss from fire, roof collapse, etc.
and lose the use of your confine
ment housing.
Also, review your health, liabili
ty and life insurance coverage. In
view of recent food safety claims,
be sure your liability insurance
covers products and animals you
sell.
These insurance policies are
designed to reduce the risk of you
losing your farm. The amount of
insurance you need depends on
how much money you can afford
to spend on unexpected costs and
still stay in business.
Feather Prof.’s Footnote: “Our
success tomorrow relies on effec
tive strategy today."
understand what happened on this
mountain to realize that, as far as
his disciples were concerned,
Jesus was in the presence of God
and His appearance was temporar
ily altered because of it. It was as
if for a moment the disciples could
see Jesus in His true and ultimate
nature physical body trans
formed into a spiritual substance
that appears to mortal eyes as
heavenly light. (Paul speaks of a
“resurrection body” in 1 Cor. 15.)
But the experience of Jesus on
the Mount of Transfiguration is
significant not only for Jesus but
for us. When Peter, James and
John beheld the transfigured
Jesus, they caught a glimpse, not
only of his destiny, but their own
as well. And ours, too. No one can
adequately or accurately explain
what happens when we stand in
the presence of God, but there is a
sense of transfiguring radiance
from our Creator.
A BOOTH HERE
It is understandable that Peter
wanted to remain on the moun
taintop and continue to dwell in
the eternal light. “Lord, it is well
that we are here; if you wish, I will
make three booths here, one for
you and one for Moses and one for
Elijah.” Perhaps the three disci
ples believed that the final age had
arrived: I probably would have
assumed that.
But Jesus knew that this was
not yet the time and he led the daz
zled disciples down from the
mountain back into the valley of
everyday reality where a father
was waiting for healing of his
epileptic boy. The divine light that
they experienced on the mountain
top would be the power by which
this boy was to be healed. The
glimpse of eternity empowered
Jesus to continue his mission in
the here and now.
Call it what you will, the trans
figuring mountaintop experience
gives us a momentary glimpse of
what God creates us to become
and on the strength of that enlight
enment we return to live and labor
in the valley for the time being.
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
lE. Main St
Ephrata, PA 17522
—by—
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A Stolnmon Enterprise
Robert a Campbell Qeneral Manager
Everett ANewawanger Managing Edttor
Copyright 1995 by Lancstlu Fuming