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OPINION
Education Across The
Rural/City Fence Row
Food and fiber production requires 20 percent of the work
force to accomplish the monumental task to feed the nation.
These people are involved in plant and animal science, food pro
duction, supply, processing, transportation, finance, economics,
marketing, leadership, community, public policy, regulation,
human nutrition, recreation, trade, environmental stewardship,
natural resource conservation, and education. Who says farmers
don’t have influence on public and social policy?
Within the next 35 to 40 years, world demand for food will
double. The leverage future oipportunilies and meet responsibili
ties associated with increased population and purchasing power
in developing countries, our nation needs a highly-talented cadre
of professionals, technicians, and skilled workers in the food
system.
That’s why we think the new project of The National Council
for Agricultural Education (The Council) is so important. This
program is called “Reinventing Agricultural Education for the
Year 2020, and will be a collaborative, grassroots activity to help
redefine, broaden and strengthen agricultural education at local,
state, regional , and national levels. The program will begin
immediately and conclude in 1998.
The W. KI. Kellogg Foundation, Battle Creek, Mich., has pro
vided a three-year, $1.49 million grant to help fund this initiative
as a special project of the National FFA Foundation. The idea
behind this program is that agricultural education is the key to
create and sustain healthy rural and urban economies, and that it
can play an important role in the national education reform
movement.
We agree. But we hope the idea is also expanded to include
education in the city school system. Not only could this help pre
pare city youth for the many jobs that will be available in the
agriculture/food system, the information gap between farm and
city could be effectively filled also. Agricultural education needs
to be reinvented on both sides of the rural/city fence row.
Agronomy Field Day, Penn State
Campus, Uniontown, 10:30
a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Northeast Classic, Fairgrounds,
Montrose, noon.
Agro-Business Initiative Confer
ence, Church Hill Elementary,
Church Hill, Md., 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Schaefferstown Harvest Fair,
Farm Museum, thru Sept. 10.
Pasture Walk and Grazing meet
ine^JatlOJe^York^^^
Northampton County 4-H Center
Family Fun Day and Public
Auction, 4-H Center, Nazareth,
noon-3 p.m.
Md. Organic Food and Farming
Association Annual Field Day,
Drew and Joan Norman Farm,
Whitehall, Md., 2 p.m.-6 p.m.
East Central Pa. 2-Cylinder Club,
JD Antique Show, Pikeville
Greene Township Community
Fair, Commodore, thru Sept
10.
Cloister FFA Chapter Fish Fry and
EAYFA meeting, Epkrata High
School, 6:45 p.m.
Poultry Management and Health
Seminar, Kreider Farms
Denver Fair, Denver, thru Sept. 16.
Nutrient Management Workshop,
Conservation Planning, Uni
versity Park.
Albion Area Fair, Albion, thru
Sept. 16.
Sinking Valley Fair, Altoona, thru
Sept. 16.
Managing Milkhouse Waste
Water With Jet Pulse Irrigation
Field Day, Lane and Judy Sol
lenberger Dairy, Fayetteville,
10 a.m.-noon.
Where Is Money In Farming?
Workshop 1, Shinglehouse, 1
p.m.-3 p.m., also Sept. 19 and
26.
Dauphin County Fall Field Day,
Leffler’s Farm, Gratz, 11
a.m.-l p.m.
Lancaster County Honey Produc
ers meeting, Friends Meeting
House, 7 p.m.
Pa. Plastic Pesticide Container
Recycling Program, Jarzinko’s
Ringtown Mill and Hardware, 9
a.m.-l 1:30 a.m.
Pa. Plastic Pesticide Container
Recycling Program, Helena
Chemical Company, Mifflin
ville, 12:30 p.m.-3 p.m.
Farm Field Day, Lane and Jtldy
Sollenberger, hosts, Fayettevil
le, 10 a.m.-12 noon.
Fruit Growers’ Twilight meeting,
Frank Winter’s Side Hill
Orchards, Collomsvillc,
4:30-7:30 p.m.
Lycoming County Fall Crops
meeting, Montoursville, Gene
Sellers test plot, 10 a.m.-12
noon.
Beekeepers’ Meeting, Friends
To Control
Coccidiosis
In Calves
Coccidia organisms may
severely impair the health and vig
or of calves starting at a very
young age according to Glenn
Shirk, extension dairy agent
Coccidia oocysts can survive six
months or more in the soil and in
the fecal material. Thus, reinfec
tions are a continual threat to
young cattle. The organism may be
killed by extreme temperatures
and by prolonged exposure to hot
dry, sunny conditions. Therefore,
it is no surprise that coccidosis is
more of a problem during periods
when cool, wet sloppy conditions
prevail.
Moving calf hutches to new
locations that have been exposed
to sunny conditions may help
reduce the risk. Calves may be
exposed to coccidia organisms
soon after birth and for months
thereafter. Calves raised in close
confinement and calves under
stress are at greatest risk. Thus, it is
recommended that calves be fed a
coccidiostat in their milk replacer
and in their calf starter.
Coccidial compounds should be
fed until cattle weigh about 800
pounds. Coccidosis is not a prob
lem in all herds. For more advice
on coccidiosis, consult your
veterinarian.
To Select
Top Rams
According to Chester Hughes,
extension livestock agent, the
majority of the genetic improve
ment in a sheep flock results from
proper ram selection. Selection of
the ram starts with establishing a
set of goals and outlining the per
formance criteria necessary to
meet those goals. Purchases
should be made from breeders or
ram testing stations that provide
appropriate performance data.
Records are essential, including
immunization status, herd health
management and medical history.
Fertility evaluation (testicular
size and spermatozoa quality)
should be part of the selection
criteria. Spermatozoa output is
directly related to testicular size
and weight, which in turn is corre
lated with body condition. In ram
lambs, testicular growth correlates
with body growth and levels off at
maturity.
The minimum scrotal circum
ference for a yearling ram (12-18
months) should be 33-34 cm. and
30-31 cm. for a ram lamb (6-9
Meeting House, Lancaster, 7
Berlin Brothers Valley Fair, Ber
lin, thru Sept. 16.
Williamsburg Farm Show, Wil
liamsburg, thru Sept. 18.
(Turn to Pag* A 32)
months). Thesemen should havca
minimum of 30 percent progres
sively motile spermatozoa and 7S
percent morphologically normal
spermatozoa and no white blood
cells. A complete breeding sound
ness evaluation includes a thor
ough physical and conformational
examination plus a negative ELI
SA test for B. ovis within 30 days
of purchase.
Purchased animals, regardless
of the source, should be isolated
for an observation period of 30
days prior to introduction into the
flock.
To Provide
Cows With Water
Cows need easy access to an
abundant supply of good quality
water close to feed. Notice the
emphasis on easy access, abundant
supply, good quality and close to
feed.
Glenn Shirk, extension dairy
agent, states our goals are to max
imize water and dry matter intakes.
If water is close to the feeding area,
What Shall We Do?
September 10,1995
WHAT SHALL WE DO?
September 10, 1995
Background Scripture:
Acts 2
Devotional Reading:
Acts 2:16-24
My wife went to a store yester
day and, when she got home, she
found in the paper bag containing
the things she had purchased a
Christian tract.
It purported to outline and ex
plain “God’s Plan of Salvation.”
The author claimed to have dis
covered a system comprising the
grace of God It read pretty much
like a corporation’s organizational
chart or a detailed legal document
The writer implied that if the
reader understood the tract they
also understood the grace of God.
This reminded me of the little
girl who was busy with crayons
and paper and, when her father
asked what she was doing, replied
“I’m drawing a picture of God.”
“But no one knows what he looks
like,” the father protested. “They
will when I’m finished,” she snap
ped.
SURELY YOU KNOW!
Lots of us are sure we can cut
through all the mystery and tran
scendence of God and serve Him
up in a nice little system. But all
these systems come from human
minds rather than from God. They
make simplistic what is beyond
full human comprehension.
Whenever we think that we have
captured God in one of our human
systems, we need to remember
what God said to Job: “Where
were you when I laid the founda
tion of the earth? Tell me if you
have understanding. Who deter
mined its measurements surely
you know!” (Job 38:4,5).
Yet, although we should never
assume we have reduced God and
His grace to a formula, neither
should we make difficult and
complex what is deceptively sim
ple. In Acts 2, Peter preaches
movingly at Pentecost. “Now
when they heard this they were cut
to the heart, and said to Peter and
the rest of the Apostles, ‘Brethren,
what shall we do?’ And Peter said
cows are more apt t» consume
more dry matter.
Are you providing enough
waterers and drinking area for the
herd? A good indication is whether
or not cows have to stand in line for
a drink. Are pipe sizes and water
pressure great enough? Are water
valves of a design that provides
generous flow rates? Are the water
bowls and valves designed and
located in a manner that is easy for
cows to operate? In other words,
do they encourage or discourage
usage?
Would drinking vats be more
desirable? Do cow trainers and
stray voltage problems hinder
intakes? Are the watering devices
kept clean? Is the water from the
well, the stream or farm pond of
good quality?
These are a few things to consid
er as you evaluate your water sys
tem and cows’ water intakes.
Feather Prof.'s Footnote:
"Excellence can be yours if you
use the intensity of your disap
pointments tofuel your endeavor. ”
to them, ‘Repent, and be baptized
every one of you in the name of
Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of
your sins’” (2:37,38).
I wouldn’t pretend that the
length and breadth, height and
depth of the grace of God can be
reduced to a system, but the ques
tion of “What shall we d 0...?”
can be answered, not with arro
gance, but humility.
When we hear the Good News
of Jesus Christ, most of us will be
“cut to the heart” with a sense of
our own moral failure. In a sense,
the Good News starts with what
may seem to be the Bad News
our need to repent. “What shall we
do?” In simple language: “Re
pent. ..” To respond to God’s
Good News in Jesus Christ we
need to acknowledge that we have
not done what He wants or been
what He has created us to be. We
need to realize our need for His
forgiveness. Nothing complicated
about that.
A GIFT OF ALL
“Repent and be baptized..
Baptism symbolizes the grace of
God that is poured out upon us
when we acknowledge our need
for him. It is the sign of our com
mitment to Him and His kingdom.
It is a public avowal that we have
received God’s grace and what we
intend to do about it. Nothing
complicated about that either.
Now, we are ready and able to
receive God’s empowerment:
“.. .and you shall receive the gift
of the Holy Spirit” (2:38). Lots of
people would prefer to argue
about the Holy Spirit than let it be
channeled through their lives. But
the Holy Spirit is not some rare
gift to the few, but the common le
gacy of all who surrender them
selves to God’s grace. You don’t
have to understand an elaborate
system in order for the Holy Spirit
to be alive and well in your life.
“Brethren, what shall we do?”
The answer is simple, but never
simplistic: “Repent, and be baptiz
ed every one of you in the name of
Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of
sins, and you shall receive the gift
of the Holy Spirit”
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
PQblished Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
lE. Main St
Ephrata, PA 17522
—by—
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
ASMnmonEntorprioo
Robert a Campbell General Manager
Everett R. Nawawangar Managing EdHor
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Copyright 1905 by Lonooater Forming