Alo4.ancaster Farming, Saturday, August 3, 1998
OPINION
If working in agriculture qualified farmers for certain
Olympic events what type of competitions can you envision?
Perhaps hay bale throwing, tractor toad racing or machinery
lifting crane to mind. We might all list fence hurdling, animal
herding, or even riflety or archery as potential sports in which
fanners can make our country proud.
With 39 people losing their lives in Pennsylvania in 1995,
Deborah Webb, Extension agronomy agent in Union County
suggests we Idok at agricultural Olympics in a different light.
Why not break a world record for the least amount of farm acci
dents in the United States? Farmers could condition their minds
and bodies for this event by doing hundreds of repetitions such
as replace safety shields, replace safety shields, replace safety
shields.
When fanners participate in marathon work sessions during
planting and harvesting seasons they would prepare for the
contest knowing their physical limitations, planning their safe
ty strategy, conserving their energy and making their move at
the right time. No Olympian, no farmer wants to “hit the wall”
where they are physically and mantally numb and either make
serious mistakes or cannot continue.
We do not send our children into the sports arena unpro
tected and untrained. Farm children need to train to live and
play on the farm by exercising caution and practicing safe
habits until they know the routines in their sleep!
Farm parents could act as coaches and spotters as their older
children take on more responsibilities. Children develop new
“gymnastic” skills while driving a tractor, operating machin
ery, thinking and reacting to changing situations and topogra
phy all at the same time. Parents need to develop that split
second reaction time in their children and not let them try the
risky moves until the children are mentally and physically
ready for the challenge.
The best part of all the training for the Olympics is the
moment you become a champion. Yet Olympic gold medals
can be lost or won in a single moment. There are no guanmtees.
The most an athlete can do after a lost opportunity is regroup
and hope for better circumstances in the next competition. A
farm accident can also happen in a moment What can a farmer
or child do if in that moment they are hurt or killed? The oppor
tunity to work in the farm arena would not come around again.
Train and practice to be a SAFETY champion think, go
slow, make carefiil decisions. Are the two ears of com stuck in
the unloader worth your arm? Are the two minutes saved by
stepping over the PTO worth the loss of your arm, your life?
Part of an athlete’s consolation is knowing they gave every
thing they had to their event. Farmers who make safety their
main goal will also know that they have given their all to pro
tect themselves and their family from serious injury.
Some accidents will happen but with awareness, planning
and training, the accidents will be less frequent and less severe.
Let us all be a fan of farm sefety and help to break the world
record for Pennsylvania together.
Clinton County Fair, thru Aug. 10.
Greene County Fair, thru Aug. 10.
Lancaster County Conservation
Expo, in conjunction with the
Shirktown Threshing Festival,
Robert Shirk Farm,
Churchtown.
Pa. Sheep Producers Field Day, Ag
Arena, Penn State, 10 am.
Pa. Performance Ram Test Field
Day, Ag Arena, Penn State, 10
a.m.-2:30 pm.
Pa. Performance Tested Ram and
Invitational Ewe Sale, Ag Are-
na, Penn State, 3 p.m.
Adams County 4-H Fair, South
Mountain Fairgrounds,
Arendtsville.
Horse and Pony Roundup, Twin
Brooks. 8 a.m.
Bedfoid County Fair, thru Aug.
10.
Schuylkill County Fair, thru'Aug.
10.
West End Fair-Union County, thru
Aug. 10.
Adams County Farm Bureau annu
al summer picnic, South Moun-
Cochranton Community Fair, thru
Aug. 10.
Dawson Grange Community Fair,
thru Aug. 10.
Tioga County Fair, thru Aug. 10.
Penn State, thru Aug. 8.
To Handle
Milk Properly
Milk is a very nutritious food,
not only for us, but also for spoil
age organisms.
Glenn Shirk, extension dairy
agent, reminds us to help preserve
the goodness of milk by remem
bering the three Cs clean, cool,
and covered.
Milk needs to be cooled down
very quickly after milking and held
at 35 to 38 degrees F. until it is
picked up by the tank truck. For
milk to cool down quickly, the
compressor must be working
efficiently.
In hot weather the efficiency of
compressors decrease. To help the
cooling process, Shirk offers the
following suggestions:
• Be sure compressors have a
good air supply to replace the hot
air given off by the compressor.
• Use precoolers to lower the
temperature of milk and reduce the
workload on the compressor.
• Install a larger compressor.
This may be necessary if you
increase milking rates and the flow
rate to the tank.
To Identify Corn
Rootworm Beetle
Corn rootworm beetles are
beginning to feed on com silks and
tassels.
The adult western com root
worm beetle is '/* inch long or
about half the size of the common
lightning bug and are shaped
somewhat like the lightning bug.
When adults first emerge from the
ground, the beetles are tan or green
in color.
Within a short period of time,
the western rootworm beetles
develop three dark stripes on their
wings. Many of them will look
dark brown or black in color rather
than striped. The adults are very
active and fly when disturbed.
The other rootworm beetle of
concern is the northern. The north
ern rootworm beetle is green in
Eohrata Area Young Farmers
Annual Educational Bus trip to
New York state, thru Aug. 8.
Elk County Fair, thru Aug. 10.
1996 Empire Farm Days, Seneca
Falls, N.Y., thru Aug. 8.
York County Holstein picnic at
David and Norma
Lucabaugh’s.
Hanold Fair, thru Aug. 10.
Grazing management meeting,
Colleen Epler Ruths Farm,
between Danville and North-
etable Crops Day, OARDC’s
Vegetable Crops Branch,
Fremont
Ohio Sugar Beet Twilight Tour,
OARDC’s Vegetable Crops
Branch, Fremont.
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color. If you do not find the adult
beetle, you may see symptoms of
the larvae or worm stage of the
insect and the damage it did to the
com.
The damage from the larvae is
often seen as a “gooseneck plant”
This “goose necking” is caused
when the larvae feeds on the roots.
As a result of the root feeding or
pruning, the plant falls over when
any wind blows. When the plant
tries to grow up toward the sun, a
“gooseneck” is formed. This root
feeding is the real damage done by
the insect but it is not noticeable
until it is too late to do anything
about it
To Scout
Corn Fields
For Root
Worm Adults
Corn growers should be
DO YOU KNOW THIS
TUNE' 7
August 4, 1996
DO YOU KNOW THIS
TUNE?
August 4, 1996
Background Scripture:
Psalms 40
Devotional Reading:
Psalms 36:5-12
Yesterday, my wife and I went
to a church outside Dallas where a
ministerial friend of ours was
holding his last service before re
tiring. He made it an informal ser
vice, most of it composed of poe
try and songs that he had written
across the years to express his
Christian faith and commitment It
was a compelling testimony and
very effective in communicating
the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The service made me realize
that we don’t give enough time
and space to personal testimony in
our congregational and communi
ty life. Often the best way to con
vey the gospel is a matter of tell
ing His story through our stories. 1
realize that many of us are shy of
talking about God in our own
lives, but we ought to encourage
and help people to at least share
with others what God means in
their own lives. We are not all
called to preach and teach, but we
are all called to witness to what
God has done for and with us.
In the 40th Psalm, the Psalmist
has experienced help from God —
probably healing from a serious
illness and he has shared this
wonderful experience with others:
“I have told the glad news of de
liverance in the great congrega
tion; ... I have spoken of thy
faithfulness, and thy salvation”
(40:9,10).
TELLING OTHERS
The Psalmist is not expounding
on the scriptures or propounding a
theology. He is simply telling
others what he experienced. “I
waited for the Lord; he inclined to
me and heard my cry . ..”
(40:1,2a). He waited and ousted in
God and his waiting and trusting
were justified when God healed
him. What did he discover for
himself and others as well?
“Blessed is the man who makes
the Lord his Oust.. ." (40:4).
There are millions of us who
have experienced pretty much
what the Psalmist experienced.
checking their con fields from
now through mid-August for adult
rootwcrm beetles. You only need
to check fields that will remain in
com next year.
Rootwonrs are only a problem
if the field is planted in com in suc
ceeding years.
You need to determine how
many fields have adult beetles,
which species they are. and how
many beetles there are per plant
When the number of adult western
beetles is one or more per plant or
two or more adult northern beetles
per plant and the field will be
planted in com next year, a soil
insecticide should be applied to
that field at planting time next
year.
Feather Prof.’s Footnote:
"Possibilities: The only things that
are indy limitless."
who have pul our trust in God and
then have found, after much pa
tience, that the Lord has saved us.
As a preacher I have had lots of
opportunity to speak of what God
has done for me in my sermons
and lessons and I have, al
though, in reflection, not nearly as
often as I might There have been
far more of God’s “wondrous
deeds” than I have spoken of even
in my sermons, lessons and writ
ings.
Many years ago—4s if I count
correctly I wrote a hymn that
expressed in some measure what
God had done for me. It never
found its way into any hymn
books, but it was popular in some
youth camps and in one of my
congregations and apparently was
found helpful by a number of peo
ple. Now I regret that I didn’t
more often put my testimony to
music, so that I could say with the
Psalmist: “He put a new song in
my mouth, a song of praise to our
God” (40:3).
A PECULIAR TURN
If you read Psalm 40 you will
note that it takes a peculiar turn. It
starts with a ringing testimony to
God’s faithfulness, but then ends
with a plea for more help. “Be
pleased, O Lord, to deliver me!”
he cries, “O Lord, make haste to
help me!” (40:13). Whereas the
help he received previously had
probably been healing of a serious
physical disease, this time he
speaks of evils “without number”
that have encompassed him and
complains that “my iniquities
have overtaken me” (40:12).
There are also detractors who tor
ment him.
Despite the exuberant note on
which the psalmist began, he ends
it with these anxious words:
"Thou art my help and my deliver
er, do not tarry, 0 my God!”
(40:17b).
So, is he a man of faith or a man
of anxiety? Both, it seems to me.
Like many of us. he has personally
witnessed the manifest steadfast
love of God, but he also faced new
trials and tribulations. Just as we
do.
Does his “new song” of both
salvation and anxiety sound fami
liar to you? It should, for we could
sing right along with him.
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Bphrata Review Building
1 E. Main St.
Ephrata, PA 17522
-by-
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A Steinman Enterprise
Robert G. Campbell General Manager
Everett R. Newawanger Managing Editor
Copyright 1996 by Lancaster Farming