.*r vsanvirt #obiutsB
AtO-Lancastar Farming, Saturday, February 14, 1998
OPINION
Thanks For Helping
We came across this little piece on the Internet about the ten
commandments for farm wives that may make you smile. Evi
dently someone who subscribes to Dairy-L bad them hanging on
the kitchen wall. They are:
• Thou shalt not sort cattle with your hands in your pockets
(husbands and cows don’t like that.)
• Thou shalt cook meals which can be served thirty minutes
early or two hours late.
• Thou shalt learn to keep farm records...(wben did we turn out
that bull?).
• Thou shalt love the smell of new mown hay, freshly plowed
earth, sweet smelling silage, and ammonia in the bam.
• Thou shalt be inspired to see the sun rise and relieved to see it
set
• Thou shall learn to open gates, close gates, and guard gates.
• Thou shall thrill at the birth of a new calf and at the sight of a
new tractor.
• Thou shall live closer to God with faith to exceed many city
dwellers.
• Thou shall cherish meals together, long nights for the vet to
arrive, and decisions of plowing up the winter wheat.
• Thou shall be exalted at the brotherly hand on your shoulder,
the tender kiss on your forehead, and those three precious words
“Thanks for helping!”
Maybe in no other business is the husband/wife team more
important. In fact, if the whole family is pulling together, the suc
cess of the farming operation is more secure. We think in the
above list, the words “Thanks for helping” should not be consid
ered commandments but rather come from spontaneous appreci
ation for all; each family member contributes to the family farm.
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!
sth Annual Southeast Pa. Grazing
Conference, Lancaster Host
Expo Center, Lancaster, thru
Feb. 17.
Elk Creek Watershed Association
Forum and Open House, Elk
Township Building, Lewisvil
le, 7 p.m.-9:30 p.m.
Pottcr/McKean Crops Day,
Coudersport Elementary,
Coudersport, 9:45 a.m.-3 p.m.
Cost Discovciy For Beef Produc
ers and Beef Management,
Montoursvillc Presbyterian
Church, 7:30 p.m.
Young Farmcrs/FFA Awards Din
ner, West Fallowfield Christian
School, 6:45 p.m.
Tobacco Management Meeting,
Summit Valley Elementary
School, New Holland, 1 p.m.
Bradford County Fairy Days,
S.R.U. School, East Smithfleld,
10 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Adams County Fruit Growers’
M Bigle' illr High
agement Forum, The Light
house Restaurant, Chambets
buig, 9:15 a.m.-2;30 p.m.
PayMid-Atlantic Direct Market
ing Conference and Trade
Show, Willow Valley Resort
and Trade Show, Willow Val
ley Resort and Conference Cen
ter, Lancaster, thru Feb. 20.
Franklin County Fruit Growers
Meeting, Savoy Restaurant,
8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Southeast Region Council Young
Cooperators Conference, Wil
low Valley Reseat, thru Feb. 18.
—■ 9
ISEMIm
❖ Farm Calendar*
New York State Dairy Princess
Pageant and ADADC Annual
Meeting, Four Points Hotel
Sheraton, Liverpool, N.Y., 6
p.m., annual meeting through
Feb. 18.
Dairy Farm Financial Analysis,
Howard Johnsons, Millington,
Md., 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Equine Mini Series-Pasture Man
agement, Holiday Inn, Carlisle,
7 p.m.-9 p.m.
Human Resource Management
Workshop, Eric County Exten
sion office, Eric, also Feb. 24.
Greenhouse Dairy Bams and Barc-
Bonc Parlors, Karen and Rus
sell Tomlinson Farm, Wells
boro, 1 p.m.-2;30 p.m.
Specialty Hybrid Com Program,
Clarion County Extension
Office, 1 p.m.-3:30 p.m.
Dairy-MAP Human Resource
Management Workshop, Erie
County Extension office, also
Feb. 24.
Bucks County Conservation and
Pest Meeting Update, Nesha
miny Manor Center, Doyles
town, also Feb. 24.
Tobacco Management Meeting,
Penn Manor High School, vo
ag classroom, 7 p.m.
Soil Fertility School, Lebanon and
Dauphin Ag Centers, 10 a.m.-3
p.m.
Also Feb. 18.
Milking School, Berks County Ag
Center.
Franklin County Fruit Growers’
Day, Savoy Restaurant, Way
nesboro, 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
PA/Mid-Atlantic Direct Market
ing Conference and Trade
Show, Willow Valley Restort,
Lancaster Feb. 17-20.
To Prepare Cows for
Calving
How well a cow does in her
lactation depends greatly upon the
care she receives in the weeks pre
ceding calving, according to Glenn
Shirk, Lancaster County Exten
sion Dairy Agent. Preparation for
calving and a new lactation begins
not a few days before calving, but
months before calving
Proper nutrition is very impor
tant for a healthy, vigorous call,
good milk production, good con
ception rates and tor the long term
health of the cow.
The dry period is a good time
to do corrective foot trimming and
to administer necessary vaccina
tions for such things as IBR, PI
3, BVD and BRSV. Other vac
cines that may be necessary are a
5 strain lepto vaccine and J-5 vac
cine for colitorm mastitis.
Consult your veterinarian for
specific recommendations. Con
tinue to protect dry cows from in
fections and injuries by housing
or confining them in clean, dry
and comfortable areas.
To Feed Dry Cows
Properly
When profit margins arc tight
and good quality forages are scarce
and expensive, it may be tempting
to skimp on the feeding of' dry
cows and heifers Glenn Shirk.
Lancaster County Extension Dairy
Agent, reminds us, that could be
a big mistake that you will pay
dearly m the months that he
ahead
Test your forages and TMRs
and work closely with a trained
nutritionist to make sure your ra
tions are properly balanced This
is important for building up the
cow's energy and nutrient reserves
Boscov’s Gardening Meeting,
Boscov’s Auditorium, John
Passing On The Farm Workshop,
Clinton County Cooperative
Extension.
Delmarva Com/Soybean and
Broiler Conference, Wicomico
Youth and Civic Center,
Salisbury,
Christmas Tree Short Course,
Penn State Conference Center,
University Park, thru Feb. 20.
New York AD ADC Annual Meet
ing, Four Points Sheraton,
Liverpool, 8 a.m.
Maryland Dairy Industry Associa
tion Pastures Along The Infor
mation Superhighway, Harford
County Extension office. Fore
st Hill, 7 p.m.-9 p.m.
South Jersey Fruit Meeting, Mas
so’s Crystal Manor, Glassboro,
N.J.
Northwest Pa. Livestock and
Grazing Management Work
shop Series, Wesley Grange,
Barkeyvillc, 7 p.m.-9:30 p.m.
(Turn to Pago A 34)
prior to calving.
Aim to have cows dry off with
a uniform body condition score of
approximately 3.5. Feed them a
bulky, good quality forage based
ration. Supplement it with a few
pounds of a dry cow grain mix
with the necessary vitamins and
minerals. Two to three weeks be
fore calving, start adding a few
pounds of the lactating ration to
the dry cow mix.
To Look Up - Power
Lines Are Hot
Coming in contact with over
head power lines can be deadly.
Today's farm machinery is bigger
and taller, making the danger of
working around electric lines
greater than ever. Remember, util
ity lines are uninsulated.
WHAT TO DO
WHILE WAITING
February 15, 1998
Background Scripture:
II Peter 3
Devotional Reading:
Jeremiah 17:5-10
Fifty years ago I read a book by
the late Methodist Bishop Gerald
Kennedy that was to have a pro
found affect upon my life and
faith, both then and now. The
name of the book was The Lion
and The Lamb: Paradoxes of the
Christian Faaith (Abingdon-
Cokcsbury, 1950).
Actually, it saved my faith be
cause it introduced me to the para
doxical nature of the Christian
faith, for me a brand new idea. A
paradox is the holding together in
creative tension of two ideas
which seem quite contradictory.
Before reading this book. I was
struggling with some of the more
obvious contradictions in the
Christian teachings. Despite the
creeds and doctrines, I was finding
that lots of Christian teachings did
not fit together nicely. Addicted to
logic, I thought contradiction was
indicative of error.
Then I read Kennedy’s book
and I was impressed that, instead
of denying the contradictory na
ture of some Christian teachings,
he acknowledged it In fact, he ex
alted it, presenting paradox as an
asset to belief, rather than a lia
bility. For life itself is paradoxical,
full of seeming contradictions.
“Christianity dares to go beyond
logic,” Kennedy wrote, “because
life does... It is not afraid to stale
its truth in paradoxes, because life
does.”
APOCALYPTIC
In my mind—and I doubt that I
am alone in this there is no
Christian teaching more seeming
ly contradictory and paradoxical
than the apocalyptic writings we
find in the Bible, particularly in
the Book of Revelation, I Thessa
lonians 4:13 to S;2, Jude v. 9,
Mark 13. and II Peter. Apocalyp
tic literature was a specialized
type that arose in the Near East in
about ISO BC and flourished for
another 300 to 400 years. Some
scholars believe the Jews were in
troduced to the apocalyptic during
their exile in Persia.
It is a style of thinking and writ
ing that focused on cosmic dual
ism (the universal forces of good
vs. evil), superhuman beings (an
gels and demons), dream-like vi
sions, the destruction of the world,
a heavy code-like dependence
Do not let your body become a
direct link to the ground or the re
sult can be fatal. Know the clear
ance height of all farm equipment.
To be safe, keep all objects at
least 10 feet away from overhead
lines.
Never attempt to raise or
move a power line. If you are op
erating a piece of equipment that
touches a line, stay where you are
and have someone call the utility
company. If you must leave the
equipment that is touching the
line, jump as far as you can so
that no part of your body touches
the equipment and the ground at
the same time.
Feather Prof.'s Footnote: "You
cannot put a price tag on love , but
you can on all its accessories."
upon symbols, and a pessimistic,
fatalistic view of the present age.
If you read II Peter 3, you get a
glimpse of this apocalyptic con
cept The writer is certain that the
present age could not be redeemed
or improved and therefore it must
be brought to a calamitous end by
divine intervention.
Now, the paradoxical aspect of
the apocalyptic is that it appears to
be quite contrary to the teachings
of Jesus concerning the kingdom
of God. These teachings, by con
trast, seem optimistic or hopeful
of what God can accomplish in the
world. God has not given the earth
up to Satan and the kingdom will
come as we open ourselves up to
it Some Christians base their faith
on the apocalyptic, while others
base theirs on the kingdom of
God.
CREATIVE TENSION
This is for me another Christian
paradox. The ultimate truth is to
be found in neither polarity, but in
the creative tension between these
two truths that to the limitation of
human knowledge appear to be
contradictory. There is value in
both concepts, even if we don’t
know how to fit them together in
one complete and harmonious pic
ture.
So, whether you believe Jesus
will return to destroy the world or
look to his return in glory with the
fulfillment of the kingdom, II Pe
ter 3 has some good advice for all
of us. Whether you believe that Je
sus will come at the end of time or
that his second coming is some
thing we experience after we leave
this earthly life, we can appreciate
that what appears to be God’s de
lay is merely the difference be
tween time in God’s sight and our
own (3:8). Furthermore, “The
Lord is ... forbearing toward
you, not wishing that any should
perish, that all should reach repen
tance” (3:9).
In the meantime, we are not to
spend our time speculating on
when and how the kingdom will
come. This is in God’s hands and
“the day of the Lord will come
like a thief. .(3:10). Regardless
how we view the destiny of the
world, we can all “live lives of
holiness and godliness” (3:11).
We do not just impatiently “tread
water” until that day. Instead,
while we wait, we are to “grow in
grace and knowledge of our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ.”
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
IE. Main St
Ephrata, PA 17522
-by-
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A Steinman Enterprise
Robert Q. Campbell General Manager
Everett R. Newswanger Managing Editoi
Copyright 199* by Luicutcr F«rminf