84-Lanc«ster Farming, Saturday, January 28, 1995
On Being a
Farm Wife
(and other
hazards) I
Joyce Bupp
There are a myriad of possible
answers to that provocative query
made famous some years back on
television commercials for a popu
lar fast-food restaurant chain.
“Where’s the beef?!”
In the case of our immediate
surroundings, we might find the
beef at any number of possible
sites.
(However, we usually think of
them, not as the beef, but more per
sonally, as “our girls.” Only on
occasion, when some particular
cow has stomped the milker off for
the third time during milking and
plastered me in the face with a wet,
sloppy tail, do I make threats about
hamburger.)
So, on any given day, the beef
might be exiting the dairy barn, re
entering the dairy barn for evening
milking, parading to the feed bunk,
lounging around the exercise pas
tures, or even keeping appoint
ments with the veterinarian.
One of my personal favorites of
the ever-changing farm scenes vis
ible through the kitchen windows
is the younger beef, our heifer
herd, traveling single file up
through the meadow from the
lower meadow, to take their turn at
the feed bunk. Whether surround
ed by a January snow scene, the
lush green 'of May, or autumn’s
golden brilliance, the daily appear
ance of the string of heifers is like
a visit by a close friend.
The baby beef are my special
responsibility, our bottle calves
who bawl enthusiastic greetings
morning and evening the instant
they hear footsteps at the calf bam
entrance. You never have to won
der where the beef is when they’re
babies; they’ll tell you.
Other answers to “Where’s the
beef’ might include the freezer, the
refrigerator, inside a hamburger
bun, snuggled up in a stirfry, or
nestled beside the carrots and pota
toes of a pot roast.
Not to mention on the outside
grills of our neighbors, who rou
tinely put something on to sizzle
up for summertime suppers just as
we arc finishing up evening milk
ing. After two hours of milking,
fortified only with a quick snack,
the enticing aromas wafting down
from those grills of our nearby
neighbors leave no doubts about
where the beef is.
So we are, on a daily basis, sur
rounded by the “beef.” Which
leads us to one rude reality - there
arc a significant number of unde
sirable answers to the question;
“Where’s the beef?”
Like running across the back
yard.
Especially when the back yard
is at the mud-level of ours on a
recent damp, dreary day, when I
glanced out a window and spied
two big dairy cows loping across
the soggy sod. Enroute to corral the
runaway beef, I ran across a few
more of their friends, also enjoying
recess.
The “beef’ all take personal
pride in eluding anyone who tries
to chase them. Waiting until the
chasee is within a few feet, they’ll
lay their ears back, throw their tails
in the air and kick their heels as
they take off. While thus depart
ing, they gouge inch-deep skid
marks in the lawn.
Chasing the dancing beef
around the yard came right on the
heels of a similar incident a day or
so before. I opened the doibr to the
heifer pens under the old bank bam
and came face-to-muzzle with
some thirty teenage bovines who
had spent part of the night partying
National WIFE Delegates To Meet
JETMORE, Kan. National
Delegates of Women Involved in
Farm Economics (WIFE) will
travel to Kansas City to attend
their Annual Winter Board Meet
ing scheduled for Feb. 10-12.
Delegates from 25 states are
expected to be in attendance at the
organization’s first meeting of the
new year.
WIFE, organized in 1976, is
committed to improving prof
itability in production agriculture
through educational, legislative,
communicative, and cooperative
efforts. As a grassroots organiza
tion, WIFE believes the American
people and policy makers need to
be made more aware of the impor
tance of agriculture to the security
and well-being of the nation.
National WIFE President Mary
Ann Sheppard of Alabama
explained, “The 1995 Farm Bill
strategy for Women Involved in
Farm Economics will be the most
important issue for delegates
attending the board of directors
meeting. Step one of WIFE’S plan
should be completed. At the close
of this meeting, WIFE members
will be ready to testify in Wash
ington, D.C. and at field hearings
across the country when called
upon.”
Congressman Pat Roberts, U.S.
representative from the Kansas
First Congressional District, has
been invited to speak to the WIFE
in the feed alleyway, having found
a loose gate. During their stay, they
totally wiped out a couple of bags
of feed, scattered a half-dozen
bales of good alfalfa and trashed
everything that they didn’t gobble
up.
Thus, the next time you hear the
question, “Where’s the beef?”, you
can be ready with this answer.
Probably messing around
somewhere it has no business.
IT / —'■j • CLOSED SUNDAYS, NEW YEAR,
EASTER MONDAY, ASCENSION DAY,
WHIT MONDAY, OCT. 11, THANKSGIVING,
fIIHIIIIE CHRISTMAS A DECEMBER 26TH
FISHER’S FURNITURE, INC.
NEW AND USED FURNITURE
USED COAL A WOOD HEATERS
COUNTRY FURNITURE A ANTIQUES
BUS. HRS. BOX 57
MON.-THURS. 8-5 1129 GEORGETOWN RD.
FRI, 84, SAT. 8-12 BART, PA 17503
Board of Directors concerning
.agriculture and the ’95 Farm Bill.
Congressman Roberts is the
first Republican chairman of the
House Agriculture Committee
since 195 4. His efforts for leader
ship in agriculture have been rec
ognized by numerous business and
agriculture groups, including
Kansas Wheat Growers, Kansas
Farm Bureau, FFA, Production
Credit Association, and Public
Voice.
Robert Fenemore, environmen
tal scientist from the U.S. Envi
ronmental Protection Agency
(EPA) in Kansas City, will speak
to WIFE members on groundwater
and agriculture regulations. He is
acting director for the Office of
Groundwater Protection. Fen
emore’s other duties consist of
Ice Cream
Festival To Raise
Money For Library
LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.)
The 1995 Turkey Hill Old-
Fashioned Ice Cream Festival is
scheduled for Sunday, July 16,
from 1-5 p.m. at Lancaster Square,
near the Brunswick Hotel in down
town Lancaster. Turkey Hill Dairy
will underwrite all festival expens
es and donate ticket proceeds to the
Library System of Lancaster
County. Proceeds are used to pur
chase hundreds of children’s books
for the county’s 17 library units.
A giant quilt, composed of
squares made'by Lancaster County
children, will be unveiled. Plus fes
tival-goers can buy a chance to win
a beautiful hand sewn quilt
designed exclusively for the Festi
val.
Included among the ice cream
risk assessment facilitator, region-
al pollution prevention coordina
tor, and primary regional agricul
ture contact. He is also involved in
1995 Farm Bill issues and devel-
oping EPA’s position on the bill.
Marty Strange will address
WIFE board of directors on verti
cal integration. He is the program
director and co-founder of the
Center for Rural Affairs in
Walthill, Neb. The center is a non
profit organization devoted to the
economic, social and environmen-
tal well-being of rural America.
Strange’s book, “Family Farming;
A New Economic Vision,” is
regarded as one of the leading cri
tiques of industrial agribusiness.
He is the recipient of a 1992 Pub
lic Achievement Award from
Common Cause.
cones, sundaes, and frozen yogurt,
Turkey Hill will imprint its own
style on the festival with special
ice cream flavors and a variety of
iced leas and Tea Coolers.
In addition to a variety of ice
cream concoctions, the event will
include entertainment and family
oriented activities ranging from
dancers and demonstrations to big
band sounds, hands-on activities
and travelling entertainers. The
festival will be held rain or shine.
Over the years, the Ice Cream
Festival has raised a total of more
than $ 113,000 for the Library Sys
tem of Lancaster County. Ice
cream lovers from throughout
Pennsylvania and bordering states
traditionally converge on Lancast
er for this event.
HERBALIFE
INDEPENDENT DISTRIBUTOR
717-626-5503