< OPINION About Rapids And Whirlpools Peiiiaps it is fitting that June is both Dairy Month and Rivers Month in Pennsylvania. There are shared lessons for those who choose to dairy farm and those who choose to handle a boat in a river. All rivers can be described in terms of pools separated by rapids. At those plapes where fast water meets slow water, there are whirlpools along the edge where the different waters meet. In constantly turbulant water, those with their oars in the water must constantly shift their position in order to keep their boat from sinking. The dairy industry is like a river, not only in that there are “pools,” but because the industiy also has every type of “water” that a river can offer. Those in the dairy industry should be very aware of constantly turbulant water. But all who navigate any kind of “ship” in any kind of “waters” should be reminded that there is a difference between the turbu lance caused by fast rapids between pools and that caused from the downward twisting of a whirpool. Those who are indeed running the rapids will do well to watch ahead for rocks, and change course with enough power to propel the craft to its next safe position, to take ftill advantage of the forces of the river. It requires a steady concentration and an oar in hand ready to use. But it can be very enjoyable. Those who find themselves locked in a whirlpool are well advised to set a tangential course away from the center and paddle hard for the edge either into the mainstream, or further into the backwater. Some people don’t seem to know when they are in fast water or a whirlpool. One good way to tell is how much effort is required to stay on course. In a rapids, the effort is constant, but not continuous, with per iods of effort marked by intermittent and engergy recharging rests. In a whirlpool, the effort can either be minimal the force of the water just keeps the craft going around and around and farther down or extremely difficult fighting against a current conti nuously, never gaining, with the best possible outcome being maintaining position. Probably the best possible pieces of advice to boaters are: always scout the fast waters before deciding to shoot them; and when the loss of control seems imminent, head for shore. tour of preserved farm. Hay Day, Eastern Ohio Resource Development Center, Caldwell. Northeast Piedmontese Field Day, Covered Bridge Farm, Lewls- ville, Ohio, 10 am. Bucks County and Montgomeiy County joint bee meeting, Dela ware Valley College, Doylcstown. Crawford County Daily Princess Pageant, Cochranton Commun ity Church, Cochranton, 8 p.m. Erie County Dairy Princess Pageant, Hoss's Steak House, Erie. Sullivan County Dairy Princess Pageant, Dushore Main St, Dushore, 7:15 p.m. SUN Area Dairy Princess Pageant, Susquehanna Valley Mall, Hummels Wharf, 7 p.m. Kempton Country Fair, Kcmpton Community Center Fair- Show, Columbia Riding Club, 9 am. Schuylkill County Daily Princess Pageant, Red Lion Cafe, Pine Editor: It is hard to believe that my year as dairy princess is coming to a close. I have had many education al experiences as well as a lot of fun in this past year. Some of my duties included speaking engage ment at schools, malls, stores, farm and non-farm meetings. I rode through many parades, did several radio spots and wrote newspaper articles as well. In doing all of this I feel I have edu cated the public on the importance of the Dairy Industry. I also feel I have brought a sense of awareness To Dispose Of Plastics Correctly Leon Ressler, Lancaster County sustainable agricultural extension agent, states there is more waste plastic on today’s farms than ever. Plastic bale wraps, silage bags, plastic mulch, trickle irrigation tubing, and plastic barrels will quickly clutter your farm if not dis posed of regularly. Resource recovery incinerators that are located in many counties provide a cost effective way to solve this pollution on the farm. These facilities bum wastes at 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit, elimi nating most of the toxic waste pro duced by open fires. Additionally, the exhaust gases are injected with a lime slurry to remove acidic gases. The exhaust then enters a fabric filter baghouse to remove the particulate matter. While there is a per-ton tipping fee to dispose of waste at the facili ty, considering the labor savings on the farm, neighbor relations and pollution prevented, it is a very cost effective solution to trash dis posal on the farm. As we make management deci sions, we need to factor in the cost of proper disposal methods for inputs used and waste generated. We must continue to be good ste wards of the environment. Washington County Fair grounds, thru June 24. SchnecksvUle Community Fair, Schnecksville, thru June 28. Southern Allegheny 4-H Camp, C Ka' akr S Pageant, Leslie Firth Learning to the public just how important dairy products are in our everyday lives. It has been a great honor to have received this position and be of service to the public in the four county area. I’d like to thank the SUN Dairy Princess Committee, the Dairy Maids, the Dairy Mis ses, my family and friends for helping me to have a successful year. I will soon turn the reigns over to the new Dairy Princess and I hope that she will enjoy her role as much as I did. Jennifer M. Hollenbach SUN Area Dairy Princess To Monitor Feed Feed is a major cost in produc ing animals. It is important to maintain an adequate supply and quality of feed. Thus, it is impor tant to work with your feed com pany, broker, or supplier to lock in supplies and prices. With the trading of puts and calls on the futures market, hedg ing feed costs have become less riskier and perform mare like price insurance. Contact an experienced broker to explore ways the futures market may be used in feed cost management. Whenever possible, buy in bulk to take advantage of bulk dis counts. Shop and negotiate for favorable feed prices. You need to be a quality control manager. Be sure you are receiving the quality and weight you paid for. Collect representative samples for moisture and nutrient analyses. Also, be sure to draw additional samples from each delivery. Accu rately identify and label these sam ples, including date and type of feed or ingredient. Store them for future testing should a problem occur such as poor performance, residues, etc. . | ‘ BY LAWRENCE W ALEHOUSE f ®ai3lLS sn DEPEND UPON ME June 22,1996 Background Scripture: H Timothy 4:1-18 Devotional Reading: Philippians 4:8-20 I’m old enough to remember those delightful Burma Shave signs that used to grace our high ways. My favorite is: John said his car couldn’t skid This monument shows It could and did! There’s a lot of wisdom that I’ve found in graveyard epitaphs. Some years ago Charles L. Wallis put together a book of epitaphs. Stories on Stone. One of his stor ies was about U.S. President John Tyler who wrote the following epitaph for his favorite horse: Here lies the body of my good horse. The General. For twenty years he bore me around the cir cuit of my practice, and in all that time he never made a blunder. Would that his master could say the same. MOTTO TO LIVE BY I can’t think of a more desirable epitaph than the words of II Timo thy 4:6,7; “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Nor is there a better motto by which to live my life. Notice that the satisfaction of the writer is found in his efforts, not the obvious results. He has fought the good fight and finished the race, but he doesn’t say he has won either. Keeping the faith, he has continued to fight and run and he leaves to God the outcome. For. despite what may or may not seem to be the results of his efforts, he already knows that his reward will be in keeping the faith. “Hence forth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day ...” (4:8). The other day, in looking through some boxes of memora bilia, 1 found a little card that used to lie beneath the glass top of the To Consider Custom-Mixed TMRs Custom mixed TMRs (total mixed radons) is a new service that is making its way onto the list of custom services a farmer may use, according to Glenn Shirk, Lancas ter County dairy extension agenL. These custom services allowT the farmer to cut operating costs, meet labor demands, and reduce the cost of investing in expensive equipment. Custom mixed TMRs may be an additional source of income for larger farmers to help defray equipment investment costs. It also helps to reduce labor demands and investment costs for smaller farms. Small farmers have the oppor tunity to share the economy of scale of the larger farmer, such as bulk purchases and services of a competent nutritionist. Custom mixed rations could be delivered daily to neighboring farms and dis tributed directly into the bunk or dumped on a pad. r Feather Prof.’s Footnote: "Cherish your visions and your dreams as they are the children of your soul, the blueprint of your ultimate achievements." desk in my study in Mohnton, Pennsylvania, when I was pastor there. It reads: I am called Not to be successful in my ministry, But to be faithful in my witness That will be success enough. A REMINDER! If I remember correctly, itwasa thought that came to me decades ago during a period of prayer and meditation. I put it on my desk as a reminder against the daily seduc tion of worldly success. I would like to think that I have fairly con sistently held that ideal before me, but I would be considerably than honest in claiming that I ways did. It is very difficult for ' ministers and others not to be bitten by the popularity bug. The writer of n Timothy warns against this: “For the time is com ing when the people will not en dure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths” (4:3,4). I have known for a long time that the surest way to “success” in the ministry is to tell people what they want to hear. It also works for business people and politicians. Yet, God does not call any one us pastors and lay people alike to be “successful” as the world defines it, but “faithful.” The wri-jj ter of II Timothy is feeling aban-v doned: “For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonika.. .” (4; 10). The real test of life is to be faithful to God, to be the kind of person who says to the Lord and means it, “Depend upon me!” The Althouses will walk in the footsteps of Paul and John of Revelation, leading a tour to Tur key next Oct. 17-Nov. 2. For information: "Turkish Delight," 4412 Shenandoah Ave., Dallas, TX 75205/(214) 521-2522.) Lancaster Farming Established 1955 Published Every Saturday Ephrata Review Building IE. Main St. Ephrata, PA 17522 -by- Lancaster Farming, Inc. A Steinman Enterprise Robert G. Campbell General Manager Everett R. Newswanger Managing Edltoi Copyright 1997 by Lancaster Farming