AtQ-UwcMtpr Farming,^Saturday, Juny .15,1996,
OPINION
Point To Your Head
And Smile Knowingly
In his book It Was on Fire When I Lay Down on It, Robert
Fulghum says the single most powerful statement to come out of
brain research in the last 25 years is that we humans are as diffe
rent from one another on the inside of our heads as we appear to
be different from one another on the outside of our heads.
“Look around and see the infinite variety of human heads—
skin, hair, age, ethnic characteristics, size, color, and shape,”
Fulghum said. “And know that on the inside such differences are
even greater —what we know, how we learn, how we process
information, what we remember and forget, our strategies for
functioning and coping. Add to that the understanding that the
‘world’ out ‘there’ is as much a projection from inside our heads
as it is a perception, and pretty soon you are up against the realiza
tion that it is a miracle that we communicate at all. It is almost
unbelievable that we are dealing with the same reality. We oper
ate on a kind of loose consensus about existence, at best.
“From a practical point of view, day by day, this kind of infor
mation makes me a little more patient with the people I live with.
I am less inclined to protest, “Why don’t you see it the way I do?”
and more inclined to say, “You see it that way? Holy cow! How
amazing!"
Farmers have added differences to overcome. In addition to
not being exactly like anyone else on the planet, we have also
polarized ourselves around different methods of farming and spe
cie or commodity enterprises: high input vs low input; grazers vs
drylot; dairy vs livestock; hay or grain vs row crop.
Now is the time to stop looking at our small individual differ
ences and start to look at the large overall sameness we farmers
share. All farmers can work together if they put their heads to it.
The dairy promotion programs have overcome some of their
differences and are now not competing for consumer attention. In
addition, the president of one of the larger farm organizations has
stated that his major goal is to get all different kinds of fanners to
communicate so we can approach our political and social chal
lenges together.
Albert Einstein’s brain was studied to see if it was special in
some way. However, it wasn’t his equipment but what he did with
his brain that broke through the mysteries of science. In fact,
someone asked Einstein to see his laboratory, and he smiled and
pointed to his head.
When farmers in all segments of agriculture start communicat
ing and working together for the good of everyone, not just our
own little agricultural nitch, we also will be able to pdint to our
heads and smile knowingly.
Northeast Piedmontese Field Day,
Norway Farms, Fredericks
burg. Ohio, 10:30 a.m.
Bucks-Montgomery dairy prin
cess pageant, Quakertown
Christian School, 7:30 p.m.
Beaver-Lawrence dairy princess
pageant, Westfield Grange, Mt
Jackson, 8 p.m.
Sullivan County dairy princess
pageant. Main Street, Dushore,
7:15 p.m.
Susquehanna County dairy prin
cess pageant. United Methodist
Church Hall, Montrose, 8 p.m.
Warren County dairy princess
pageant, 4-H Center, Warren
County Fairgrounds, 8 p.m.
York County dairy princess
pageant, York Galleria Mall,
Pa. Vocational Educators Confer-
pageant. Community Building,
mmpt.]
i; »:•
❖ Farm Calendar*
Mainsburg, 7 p.m.
PcnnAg’s 1996 Annual Grain
Meeting, Eden Resort Inn, Lan
caster, dinner 7 p.m.
Ohio Small Grains Field Day,
OARDC’s Northwestern
Branch, Hoytville.
Farm Resources Management Plan
Field Day, farm tours in Lehigh
County, tour leaves Lehigh
County Ag Center, 9:15 a.m.,
HHBSSSfIBEHH
American Guernsey Association
Convention, Hunt Valley Inn,
Timonium, thru June 24.
Crop Production and Nutrient
Management meeting, Soulh-
R» .1 R. ~.h Fr
and Fun Fest, Artworks Expo
Cento', Ephrata, thru June 22.
To Salute
The Egg Industry
May 31, 1996 marked a very
important day for the Pennsylvania
egg industiy.
The Pennsylvania Poultry Fed
eration and the Pennsylvania sec
retaries of agriculture and health
signed a memorandum of under
standing officially establishing the
Pennsylvania Egg Quality Assur
ance Program (PEQAP).
This marks a joint effort
bctwccn'industry and government
to establish a food safety program
for egg production. Based on
research and pilot program
between industry, Pennsylvania
and United States departments of
agriculture. University of Pennsyl
vania and Penn State, a manage
ment program has been developed
that reduces bacteria contamina
tion of eggs.
The industry is responsible for
implementing this voluntary prog
ram with egg producers while the
Pennsylvania Department of Agri
culture will monitor industry com
pliance. A new logo and educa
tional programs have been deve
loped to inform consumers of the
program.
This is an excellent model how
industiy, government, and univer
sities can work together to solve a
major industiy problem.
To Ground
Electric Fences
When utilizing electric fencing,
you cannot have too many ground
rods, according to Chester Hughes,
extension livestock agent
Sometimes one ground rod will
work, but three are better.
- % V
When an animal touches the
fence, the electricity must travel
Lycoming County dairy princess
pageant, Lycoming Mall, 1:30
p.m.
Adams County dairy princess
pageant
Kempton Country Fair, thru June
23.
Blair County dairy princess
Williamsbi’ - Grade
Fort Worth, Texas, thru June
25. -
Perry County dairy princess
pageant. Perry County
Cooperative Extension, 8 p.m.
SUN Area dairy princess pageant,
Susquehanna Valley Mall,
Selinsgrove, 7 p.m.
Hickory Ridge Antique Farm
Show, Horace Potter residence.
Milford, Del., thru June 23.
Clearfield County dairy princess
pageant. Civic Center,
Curwensville.
Portable milking system demon
stration, Dan Dclp dairy farm,
(Turn to Pago A3l)
through the animal into the soil and
through the soil to a ground rod.
The cuirent then travels from the
ground rod to the fence charger,
where the circuit is completed.
Only then does the animal feel the
shock. Therefore, the more ground
rods, the more electricity gets back
to the fence charger.
That is why the best ground sys
tem consists of three galvanized
ground rods at least six feet deep
and spaced 10 feet apart For best
results, install your ground rods
where soil moisture is constant
Always use clamps to attach the
ground wire to the ground rods.
Hughes reminds us that your
electric fence is only as good as its
ground system.
To Clean
Sprayers Thoroughly
The newer herbicides may cause
HOW MUCH IS YOUR
FAITH WORTH?
June 16, 1996
HOW MUCH IS YOUR
FAITH WORTH?
June 16, 1996
Background Scripture:
James 2:14-26; 5:7-20
Devotional Reading:
Genesis 22:1-8
I can’t think of a text more
appropriate for our time than
James 2, especially 2:15, 16.
where James asks, “If a fellow
man or woman has no clothes to
wear and nothing to eat, and one
of you say, 'Good luck to you. I
hope you keep warm and find
enough to eat,' and yet give them
nothing to meet their physical
needs, what on earth is the good of
that?"- (J.B. Phillips).
It is a hard-hitting question; yet,
I cannot help smiling because it is
so strikingly sarcastic. Can you
think of anything more ridiculous
than responding to a person in
need with nothing but good
wishes? I am both amused and
chagrined because I realize that
the ridiculous person to whom
James is referring here is some
times myself. I sometimes
respond to wrenching human need
with little more than good wishes.
So do many of us who claim to
follow Jesus as Christ and Lord.
When confronted by human
need, we are likely to want to
know first if they are doing any
thing for themselves and second
whether being in need has become
self-righteous we may demand
that they first get a job any job
before we will consider helping
them. We may even want to know
something about their morals
before we consider giving them
aid.
INESCAPABLE LOGIC
There’s something to be said
for that It has an inescapable log
ic. Some peoplq are too lazy to
help themselves. Some people do
make being in need a life’s voca
tion. Some people will continue to
take from us as long as we con
tinue to give. We don’t want to
encourage that! .
But, the gospel is not really
about inescapable logic. The
scribes and the Pharisees were
logical. The Sadducees and priests
were very rational. There was also
a lot of common sense on the part
of the Zealots who wanted to over
throw Roman rule by force. And
we can perfectly understand
injury to other crops even at very
low concentrations. This could Ik
especially true for com herbicides
accidentally applied to soybeans.
For example, water alone will
not remove hormone-type herbi
cides like 2,4-D, Banvel, Clarity,
etc. The Banvel and Clarity labels
recommend the tank be rinsed with
water, flushed out, and filled with
an ammonia and water solution
and left stand for several hours. If
proper cleaning procedures arc not
followed, herbicide adhering to the
walls of the sprayer will be
released and applied to the crop,
thus causing crop injury.
Always follow herbicide label
instructions when cleaning spray
ers to prevent crop damage.
Feather Prof.’s Footnote: *The
desire to excel is what changes
ordinary people into extraordin
ary individuals."
others who held back from follow
ing Jesus because there was far too
much emphasis upon love and not
enough upon law.
Some people today still take
comfort in Paul’s dictum that “we
hold that a man is justified by faith
apart from works of the law”
(Romans 3:28). Saved by their
faith, they place little value in
works. Sometimes it is assumed
that Paul and James were at log
gerheads over this issue: Paul
holding solely to faith and James
similarly championing works.
What they overlook is that by
“faith,” Paul meant trust, while
James meant belief. Both Paul and
James would agree, I am sure, that
no one is saved by their beliefs
only those beliefs in which they
trust to the extent that they are
willing to act on them.
SOMETHING YOU DO
So, the theology of Paul is
nowhere for us to hide. In
Romans. Paul also says “For he
will render to every man accord
ing to his works...” and “For it is
not the hearers of the law who are
righteous before God, but the
doers of the 1aw...” (2:13).
Faith, then, is not something
you merely believe although
that is a starting point but a
belief in which you trust and that
moves you to do something appro
priate about that belief. Faith is
something that feeds the hungry,
clothes the naked, comforts the
afflicted, visits the prisoners, and
heals brokenness wherever it is
found.
Leslie Weatherhead tells a story
of a boy carrying a basket of eggs
on a London street Tripping over
the curb, he dropped the basket,
smashing the eggs. A few people
gathered round the sobbing boy.
“What a pity!” one said. “Poor
little chap!” exclaimed another.
Then, one man stepped forward,
put his hand in his pocket and
said. “I care a half-a-crown,”
Turning to the man next to him, he
asked: “How much do you care?”
and the man responded, “I care a
shilling.” “In a little time,” wrote
Weatherhead, “they translated
feeling into action.”
So, how much is your faith
worth?
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Pflblished Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
IE. Mein St
Ephrata. PA 17522
-by—
Lancaster Fanning, Inc.
A SMtman EMwprfee
Robert Q. CampM General Manager
EwraaaNMMMnaw HeMtfngEdUer
Copyright 1996 by Laneaatar Faming