AIQ-UncMtef Fanning, Saturday, September 21, 1996 OPINION Good And Bad Side On last week’s NBC TV “Dateline” show about Salmonella enteriditis (SE) in eggs, the producers used such phrases as: “You are at risk when you sit down to eat;” “common eggs into a hazardous food product;” “one-half million people getting sick;” “(SE) hides inside grade A eggs” and “everything looks the same.” One of the statements that has the poultry industry up-in-arms was that one in 40 people is exposed to SE in eggs. These figures are believed to be largely inflated. Actually, if handled and cooked properly, eggs are perfectly safe, and getting sick from eating eggs is rare when you consider how many eggs are pro duced in this country. While the industry acknowledges that SE is a problem, more realistic figures place SE in about two eggs in 10,000 from conta minated farms, which is far less of a risk than many opponents of agriculture would like you to believe. The major disappointment in this anti-agriculture publicity event is that the producers of the show had the facts about the suc cessful Pennsylvania Egg Quality Assurance Program (PEQAP), but failed to include the good side of the situation. We can only hope that in the future, the good side of fanning will get as much attention as the bad. Sth Annual Harvest Sheep and Wool Festival of N.J., Salem County Fairgrounds, NJ., thru Sept. 29. Berks 4-H Sheep Roundup Sale, Kutztown Fairgrounds, 2 p.m. Chester County 4-H Center Bene fit Auction, Romano 4-H Cen ter, 4 p.m. Family Day, Springton Manor Farm, Chester County, 10 Lehigh Valley Horse Council Meeting, Back Acres at Sandy New Holland Farmers’ Fair, thru Oct. 5. Keystone International Livestock lixoathniOct^^^^^^^ ADADC District IS meeting, Ran dolph Fire Hall, Randolph, N.Y. Public meeting on growing, mark eting rabbits and/or meat goats. Pleasant Valley Community Center, Conner, Maryland, Expo, Farm Show Complex, Harrisburg, thru Oct. 9. Annual Antique Days. Ickesburg, National 4-H Week, thru Oct. 12. Pa. Association of Conservation District’s Annual Conference, Willow Valley Resort. Solanco Young Farmers’ family picnic, Aument farm, Shoe maker Road, 1 p.m. John Deere Antique Tractor Col- Of Farming ' *A »** i ❖ Farm Calendar* ' t* > ,* _<■ ? i lectors’ Show, Pikeville Equip ment, Inc., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. 49th Joint Annual Conference of State Conservation Commis sion and Pa. Assn, of Conserva- tion Districts, Willow Valley IFamilvßesor^Lancaster^^ Hollidaysburg Community Fair, thru Oct 10. Manheim Community Farm Show, thru Oct. 11. Septic Sand Mound Workshop, Days Inn, State College, 8:30 a.m. Two-session program on farm record keeping, extension office, Towanda, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Also Oct 14. 4-H Achievement Night Dauphin County Agricultural and National Resource Center, Dauphin, 7 p.m. Ephrata Area Young Farmers’ Meeting, Adamstown Equip ment 7:30 p.m. Delmarva Poultry Industry, Inc. annual meeting, Delmarva Conference Center, Delmar, Md. ADADC Dist 16 meeting. Mains- side Tavern, Bloomsburg, NJ, 7 p.m. Unionville Community Fair, thu Oct. 12. Pa. National Horse Show, Farm Show Building. 1996 Chesapeake Bay Program Conference, Ramada Inn, Market Square, Harrisburg, thru Oct 11. ADADC Dist 10 meeting, Brisben Baptist Church, Brisben, N.Y., 8 p.m. ADADC Dist. 17 meeting, Gibson dav Inn. Bethlehem Silo filling is in full swing and with it comes the hidden dangers of silo gas. According to Leon Ressler, extension agricultural agent, silo gas is formed by the natural fer mentation of chopped forages in the silo. Several gases arc formed and the amount of different gases is determined by the type of silo the forage is stored. In a conventional or open top silo, nitrogen dioxide is the major gas formed. This gas is character ized by a strong bleach-like odor and low-lying yellow, red, or dark brown fumes. The gas reaches a peak about three days after filling and quickly begins to decrease shortly thereaf ter, especially if the silo is venti lated. After two weeks it is unlike ly that any more gas will be formed but some could still be present if it was trapped and unable to escape the silo. ✓ "> **' Nitrogen dioxide is dangerous because it causes severe irritation to the nose and throat and could cause inflammation of the lungs. It is especially dangerous because low-level exposure is often accom panied by only slight irritation or pain. Although death may occur immediately, a farmer could breath the gas without any imme diate serious symptoms and then die in his or her sleep hours later from fluid collecting in the lungs. Many victims have relapses one to two weeks after the initial expo sure with symptoms similar to pneumonia. If you are exposed to the gas, it is critical that you seek medical attention. Ideally everyone should avoid the silo during the critical period when gases are forming. Since this is not always possible, it is best to use a self-contained breathing apparatus when entering during the danger period. This is the only breathing device that is certain to protect you from all silo gases, according to Leon Ressler, extension agricultural agent. Dust masks or chemical car tridge respirators do not provide sufficient protection and are not intended to be used where gases are extremely toxic or where the air has been replaced by gases such as carbon dioxide. If you do not have access to a Poultry Management and Health Seminar, Kreider Restaurant, Manheim, noon. ADADC District 6 meeting. Club 211. Middletown, NY, 7:30 p.m. To Beware Of Silo Gas To Enter Silos Very Careftilly self-contained breathing device, it is possible to enter the silo safely if the following precautions are followed. First, ventilate the silo and adja cent areas by running the blower 15 to 20 minutes before entering. All doors should be open down to the level of the settled silage and the windows in the feed room should be open. Leave the blower running the entire time you are inside the silo. Second, never enter the silo unless another adult is present who can go to help if needed. This per son should maintain visual contact with you. Third, although it will not pro tect you from silo gases, wear a dust mask or some other respirator to protect your lungs from the high concentrations of dust and mold spores which are found in silos. To Dry Fruits And Vegetables Dr. Timothy Elkner, extension horticultural agent, suggests you may want to consider drying fruits and vegetables for use during wint er months. s J *Sx£.y BY LAWRENCE W. ALTHOUSEj 'HE £3S!B!LS WAITING IS NOT DOING NOTHING September 29, 1996 WAITING IS NOT DOING NOTHING September 29, 1996 Background Scripture: Habakkuk Devotional Reading: Psalms 31:1-10 Are you a pacer? That is, are you one of those who paces back and forth while having to wait for anything? A friend once told me that long ago he learned that his pacing back and forth drove some people up the wall. So he decided to change and learned to pace inside instead! That way he looks like he’s waiting patiently, even if he’s not Actually, I think that there are lots of people like that: cool on the outside, but hot within. These peo ple often develop physical symp toms to go along with the inner pacing heart disease, high blood pressure, psychoses, ulcers, to name a few. We are a society that hates to wait and I confess it is not one of my best subjects. I don’t like to wait in suspense, but one thing I have discovered is that it is one of the most important lessons we must learn. There are things we cannot control, cannot hurry. A LIFE OF SURPRISES I don’t like surprises unpleasant ones, at least but life is so full of them. Sooner or later in order to survive we have to leant to trust something or some one. A number of years ago I counseled weekly with a colieau ge who was dying of cancer. He and I tried to search for the mean ing of what was happening to him. But one day he said to me, “You know, I used to want answers to everything, but I have suddenly realized that, if you really place your trust in God, you don’t need all the answers. And that’s good, because one never gets them all.” It is natural that we should want answers to our questions that’s the way God has made us. The prophet Habakkuk threw some Dehydrators may be purchased at many department stores or through garden supply catalogs. They come with complete instruc tions for drying fruits and vegetables. Prepared fruit or vegetables are spaced by not touching each other on the dehydrator trays and the unit is turned on. Produce is done when leathery and flat, usually in four hours or overnight Store dried produce in tightly lidded jars or put in bags in the freezer. Vegetables suitable for drying include tomatoes, peppers, carrots, onions, and zucchini. Fruits include apples, strawberries, and watermelon. Dried foods are “refreshed” by soaking or cooking or both in water until the desired volume is restored. Refreshed, dried vegetables are best used as ingredients for soups, casseroles, sauces, stuffings, and stews. Dried fruit is excellent for eating as a snack. Children will usually eat this healthy alternative to conventional snack foods. Feather Prof.’s Footnote: "The harder the course, the more rewarding the triumph." pretty tough questions at the Lord. “O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and thou wilt not hear? Or cry to thee ‘Violence!* and thou wilt not save? Why dost thou make me see wrongs and look upon trouble?” (Hab. 1:2,3) The language is rather archaic but the questions are quite contemporary. And then, in a different vein, the prophet decides to wait for God’s response. “I will take my stand to watch, and station myseif on the tower, and look forth to see what he will say to me...” (2:1). The prophet learned what so many of us leant: ask the questions and then be prepared to wait for the answers. SPt WAIT AND WELCOME The reason we don’t like to wait it that we assume that waiting is doing nothing. But waiting need not be passive. Andre Gide counsels: “...let your waiting be not even a longing, but simply a welcoming.” Longing makes waiting intolerable, but welcom ing waiting with faith can produce great satisfaction. Gide says, “Welcome everything that comes to you, but do not long for any thing else. Long only for what you have. Understand that at every moment of the day God in His entirety may be yours.” Do you remember that last week we said that when God calls us to some task, even though we are not equal to it he supplies what we need? So it is when he calls us to wait we are not equal to the task of waiting, but, if we wel come him into our waiting he will give us the resources with which to see it through. So, the answer which God gives to Habakkuk is the same answer he gives to us: “For still the vision awaits its time; it hastens to the end of it it will not lie. If it seem slow wait for it; it will surely come” (2:3). “The righteous shall live by his faith” because that’s all that any of us have. Lancaster Fanning Established 1955 Published Every Seturday Epirote Review Building 1 E. Main St. Epirote, PA 17522 -by Lencaster Farming, Inc. A Steinman Enterprise Robert 6. Campbell General Manager Everett R. Nawawanger Managing Editor Copyright 1996 by Lancaster Farming
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