AlO-Lancatter Farming, Saturday, April 20, 1996 OPINION Farmer Laughs At Himself So I reckoned I’d got nearer to fanning than any of my ancestors. At any rate none of them were farmers. They seemed to be sensible men and sensible men don’t farm. It’s the roman tics who do, and those who can't help it because they’re bom into it. Sensible men work from nine until live and live in a warm hoAse close to all amenities. They don’t get wet through, or feel the frost grip their fingers, or work in the sun with sweat in their eyes, or lie awake listening to the storm. Farmers are made fools of by the Governments and Nature. They moan at the weather, groan at the prices, and grumble at the middle of man’s profits while thinking up new ways to quieten the bank manager Yet they never believe there is any other worthwhile life. Sensible men can’t understand this, save those who thrill to the sight of new grass in spring, an unlicked lamb, or a cow warm in a bed of straw in winter. David Creaton, in The Beasts of My Fields. 1977. Ohio Performance Tested Bull Sale, Ohio Ag Research and Development Center’s Eastern Ohio Resource Development Center, Caldwell. Delaware Valley College Dairy Judging and Livestock Judging Contest, Feldman Ag Building, 8 a.m. Beef Management Meeting Hands-On Workshop, Walter Dana Farm, 9 a.m.-noon Penn State Dairy Exposition, Penn Slate Ag Arena, University Park, 8 a.m., awards banquet. Holiday Inn, 6 p.m. U. of Del. Ag Day, Delaware Col lege of Ag Science’s Farm, Newark, Dei., 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Pa. Maple Festival, thru April 21, jmdADri^6-28^^^^^^^ 3d Annual Central N.J. Sheep Demonstration, Concord Stud Farm, Cream Ridge, NJ., 10 a.m.-4 p.m. National Wildlife Week, thru 14-Hour Course On Tractor and Farm Machinery, Oclorara High School, also April 23,29, and 30, 6:30 p.m.-9 p.m. Final written and driving tests May 4, p.m.-9 p.m. Ephrata Young Farmers Ladies Night Out, Cloister Restaurant, 6:30 p.m. Beef Evaluation Program, Live Evaluation, Leesport Fanner’s Market, Leesport, 7:30 p.m. Carcass evaluation Peters Bros., Lenhartsville, April 2S, R^oulSyFederau^^ Convention Center, social 5:30 p.m.; dinner, 7 pjn. Octorara Watershed Association annual dinner meeting. Black Rock Retreat, Quanyville, 6:30 p.m. DEP Ag Advisory Board meeting, Rachel Carson State Office County Md. Extension Service, Cliff England Farm, Calvert, 6 p.m. Beef Evaluation Program, Carcass Evaluation, Peters Bros. Meats, Lenhartsville, 7:30 p.m. York County Beekeepers meeting, Mid-Atlantic Production and Type Sale, Frederick Fairgrounds, Frederick, Md., 7 p.m. Maine-New England Beef Expo, Fryebuig, Maine, thru April 28. Pa. State Guernsey Breeders Asso ciation meeting, The Arena, Bedford, thru April 27. Mercer County Sheep Shearing School, Whiting Farm, Pulaski, 9 a.m., thru April 27. Pasture Kickoff meeting, Turbot Township Building, Milton, 10 Sale, Frederick Fairgrounds, Frederick, Md., 10:30 a.m. 17th Annual Pa. Blue Halter Sale. Bedford, 1 p.m. 71st Annual Agriculture Day, U. of Md. College Park, 9 a.m.-4 Kent County, Md. Beef Marketing Roundtable, Easton Hospital I I l(l,H, M,l\ grounds, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., thru May S. - To Free Mired Vehicles Safely Getting vehicles unstuck can be dangerous. Accidents occur when tractors overturn, tow chains and cables break, unattended vehicles roll and crush people, and vehicles shift and trap people digging under them. Distraction is one of the contri butors to accidents. The tendency is to focus totally on getting the vehicle free rather than spotting potential safety problems. Consider the following safety tips when freeing mired vehicles: • Attach tow lines only to draw bars, trailer hitches, or tow eyes. • Use tow cables with caution. They may break and snap wildly. • Do not get between vehicles. • Never use nylon ropes. They can break violently. To Burn Trash Legally Before burning trash, make sure you are following your local ordinances. Many townships have adopted ordinances covering open burning of trash. Items covered in the ordi nances include notifying the local fire company before burning, time of day you may bum, etc. When burning trash, you need to minimize atmospheric pollutants. To eliminate pollutants emitted from a trash fire, complete com bustion must be achieved. It is difficult to achieve the necessary temperatures for com plete combustion with a small trash fire. However, pollutants may be reduced by elevating the temperature. To achieve the highest tempera ture, expose the trash to air, allow ing the fire to bum hotter and more efficiently. This may be done by using grates to allow air to enter through the material. Also, agitat- Delaware Valley Old Time Power and Equipment Association Inc. Days of the Past Swap Meet and Flea Market. Washington Crossing State Park. Titusville. NJ.. 7 a.m. Simd.n. M.n 5 And Club Lamb Sale, Mercer County 4-H Park, Mercer, 6 p.m._ ing the material while burning will help to make sure all materials are incinerated. Finally, be aware of weather conditions and what surrounds the trash pile. Strong breezes or wind could cause brush fires or catch neighboring buildings or equip ment on fire. To Control Cows Weight According to Glenn Shirk, extension dairy agent, cows will benefit from being placed on a weight control program. Cows that are too fat are unhealthy. They have more calving diffi culties, poorer immune responses to diseases and infections, their appetites are sluggish, and they are plagued with more metabolic problems, lower milk production, and poorer conception rates. Even though they have a lot of flesh at calving time, they actually lose more weight and become thinner than cows that calve with less HAVING IT ALL April 21. 1996 Background Scripture: John 10:1-30 Devotional Reading John 10:31-42 The most popular goal in our society today seems to be that of finding a way to “have it all.” This is just a new way of talking about an old ideal. People have always wanted to have a life that is rich, full, satisfying and complete. In the Gospel of John, Jesus says that “I come that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (10:10), A footnote in my Oxford Anno tated Bible says that “abundantly” means “beyond measure.” Those of us who experienced the Great Depression remember when the goal for many of us was not abun dance but survival, when life was a matter of getting enough, not more than enough. Whatever we had of material things could always be measured. 1 could tell you how many toys I had and recount them by name. The same was true of my clothes. So, our age today is a much more affluent one—at least for some of us. There is a great amount of poverty today, but there is a tremendous amount of abun dance as well. Many people today live in a constant state of superfluity—they always have more than they need. Our homes are filled with things: televisions, CD players, VCR’s, computers, fax machines, copiers, and so much more. EMPTINESS Yet, although there is an abun dance of things in our lives, many of us have never found the abun dant life of which Jesus spoke. Acquisition has not made our lives any richer, fuller, more satisfying or more complete. In fact, very often in the midst of all this abun dance, we feel a sense of empti ness that has gotten worse instead of better. Things, no matter how bright and shiny, do not fill that emptiness. The more we acquire, the less abundance we experience. The English poet. Rudyard Kipling, spoke to the graduating class at McGill University, advis- flesh. The goal is to have cows attain body condition score of about 3.S to 3.75 at the time of dry off and calving. At those condition scores, they will have a thin layer of flesh covering their short ribs, hip bones, and the pin bones on cither side of their tail head. These cows calve with a small amount of energy reserves in the thin layer of flesh they are carry ing. More importantly, they have more aggressive appetites. Because they consume more feed, they lose less flesh and have fewer metabolic problems. Appetite and metabolic prob lems also are reduced if bred heif ers and close-up dry cows are gra dually introduced to higher levels of grain intake, starting about three weeks before calving. Also, use some of the same feeds they will be consuming after calving. Feather Prof.'s Footnote: “Transform the ordinary into the extraordinary." ing the graduates not to care too much for money, power, or fame. “Someday,” he said, “you will meet a man who cares for none of these things., .and then you will know how poor you are.” When we look at Jesus Christ we realize how poor we are and how abun dant and full his life was. His cup ran over, ours is always empty. What really baffles us is that, having so little of material things and human success, what little he had he gave away. “I lay down my life,” he tells us. “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again” (10; 17,18). What he had of life, he gave to us. And the secet of it all is that his giving never diminished what he had. Instead of acquiring things fdr himself, Jesus laid down his life willingly—not because he wanted to die, but because he wanted us to live life, “and have it abundantly.” I HAVE THE POWER His free giving of himself, instead of diminishing him, gave him an ever greater fullness of life. It was in giving himself that he gained what acquisition could never give him. We get abundance by giving of what we have. If wc try to hold on to it, regardless of how great or small, we will only lose it Abundance of life is deter mined not by what we get, but what we give. Giving brings us more. Holding on to what we have only diminishes it. All 100 often we tend to think of Christian discipleship as giving up something when we ought rather to be thinking of taking up some thing. But it is never a limitation or sacrifice that is imposed upon us. Jesus said that “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.” The only way we can be certain of having it all is to be willing also to give it all. The Althouses will lead a group to the Holy Land, Oct. 9 to Nov. 2, 1996. Space limited. For informa tion, write them at 4412 Shenan doah Ave., Dallas, TX 75025. Lancaster Farming Established 1955 Published Every Saturday EphraU Review Building lE. Mala St Ephrata, PA 17522 —tv — Lancaster Farming, Inc. sovpnnMrionpnN RstatOiCmpMl Omral Mmgar Copyright 7M5 by Lonaultr Fanning
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