On Being a
Farm Wife
(and other
hazards)
Joyce Bupp
It was just one of those weeks.
Phone ringing off the hook.
FAX busy chewing up paper.
Messages backing up in e-mail
and a half-dozen projects at once
in the computer. Paperwoik arriv
ing with each mail delivery. Bills
to be paid.
Winter tractor repairs under
way always costly. Haymow
nearly empty. And the kitchen
floor feels like gravel underfoot.
While waiting for The Farmer
to hang up the phone so I could
make a call, I began shuffling
through a stack of stuff off the
#1 Yielding Alfalfa
at Penn State University From Barenbrug
BARALFA 54 alfalfa
Baralfa 54 from BARENBRUG is a synthetic variety selected for exceptional yield and excellent
disease resistance. Baralfa 54 is a vigorous high yielding variety with very fast regrowth after cutting
Baralfa 54 displays above average leafiness and is very persistant
1996 STAND
Variel / — lO/11/96 , * Seeded April 20,1995
Baralfa 54 7.88 84.0 * Yields (tons per acre at 12% moisture)
5454 7.60 84.2 * Yields indicated represent the sum of four
DK 127 7.43 88.6 cuttings
Mariner 738 86.1 'Grand mean CV, and LSD values
IMF Generation 713 86 3 represent 64 total entnes
Multiqueen 7.10 80.6 Varieties are listed by rank for 1996 yield
WL324 7.08 84.6 „ . .
WL323 705 82.0 CV-Coefficient of variation
LSD - Least significant difference
Dividend 6.98 81.3
Preferred 6.97 85.8 Table 9
Magnum IV 6.93 85.4 1995 alfalfa variety tnals-Landisville
ABT 405 6.91 90,7
Haygrazer 6.89 80.9 ' Dealers Wanted Please Call
5312 6.89 86.8 1-800-435-5296
WL 332 SR 6.88 82.8
Excalibur II 6.86 84.9
Prism 2 6.84 85.9 FT I 7 . - . .
wl 252 hq 6.81 81.5 In Latest 1997 Trials
Innovator+Z 6.76 83.3 p a
Supercuts 6.76 83.3 Dalalla 94
SSr 1:11 Iti Yielded as Much As
ass, in-wei sa as 807 Tons Per Acre
8H330 +Z S:So is 5 Baralfa S 4 is palatable.
Grand Mean 6.95 84.3 digestible, profitable...
CV (%) 4.35 4.0 Anri PROVEN!
LSD (pmos) 0.42 4.7 M U
You will find Baralfa 54 very competively priced. Baralfa is pre-mnoculated & certified. Barenbrug
is also a producer of:
* Barcel & Dovey Tall Fescue * Brassica & Turnips
* BG-34, BG-14, Tetra-Plus Perennial Ryegrass * Baralfa 321 Q Alfalfa
* Cambria & Pizza Orchardgrass * White and Red Clovers
* Improved high yielding Annual Ryegrass * Horse Master & Stock Master Improved Blends
Call Barenbrug for more information andiiearest distribution cental' at 1-800-435-5296 or write to:
Barenbrug Northeast, PO Box 99, Ogdenaburg, NJawaO -
desk and found “The Stress
Test.” Clipped months ago from
some publication and stuck in the
“save” accumulation of tidbits that
might he useful at some future
date. Or, at least good for a laugh.
Question 1 queried as to whe
ther the testec consistently aver
aged less than seven hours sleep
every night
Seven hours sleep? On a dairy
farm? Dare we count evening naps
in easy chair induced by endless
commercials shown between luge
runs and figure skating on the re
cent Olympics broadcasts?
Next came a query as to if the
Icstcc was a caregiver or mother to
teen-age or small children. On a
stress comparison, two dozen
baby calves and five cats (house
and barn) aren’t even close to
those responsibilities.
The next question asked if the
tcstee often feels that, no matter
how much one does, it’s never
enough. That brought to mind the
motto that has hung on our bulle
tin board for a couple of years and
which reads: “I believe God put
me on earth to accomplish a cer
tain number of things, and right
now I am so far behind I will nev
er die.”
“Are you frequently quite irrita
ble or impatient when you have to
stand in line or get stuck in traf
fic?” quizzed another question.
Irritable at traffic? Me?
“Hey idiot, who taught you to
drive?!” I’ve always wanted to
yell at people who do stupid things
behind the wheel of a car like
not using turn signals or zig-zag
ging through traffic on the high
ways.
NEED YOUR
FARM BUILDINGS
PAINTED?
Let us give you a price!
Write:
Daniel’s Painting
637-A Georgetown Rd.
Ronks, PA 17572
(or leave message)
(717) 687-8262
Spray on and Brush in Painting
* Chicory
* Custom Blends
Guilty. I plead guilty, your
honor.
Next came an absolute no
brainer question: Do you play
more than two roles daily, or often
find yourself doing several things
at once, like talking on the phone
while watching the kids?
Or talking on the phone while
cooking dinner .. . while writing
checks ... while sweeping the
floor ... while driving to work.
Has this test-maker ever heard of
the burgeoning popularity of port
able and cell phones, for example?
Designed for maximizing one’s
management. Unless one runs into
a tree while talking and driving.
Another stress question dealt
with one’s frequency of losing im
portant things like keys, money,
appointments because of always
racing the clock. Hummnn, where
did 1 lay that pen I was using for
this test . . .?
The query on whether one over
eats or eats “junk food” to give
oneself comfort, energy or plea
sure made me seriously ponder
something and dash to check my
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 21,1998-B3
hidden stash.
Chocolate. What happened to
my stash of chocolate? Omi
gosh. I’m out of chocolate.
Aauugghhhh!
One last question put the whole
“stress” test into perspective, re
minding me why mostd of us or
dinary people who operate con
stantly under the normal demands
of daily living don’t even think
twice about it
“Are you in a significantly un
happy relationship at work and/or
home?”
No. No. And, NO!
And, when one is reminded of
the blessing of basic happiness
with one’s life, stress doesn’t
seem to be such a big issue. Per
sonally, that has something to do
with having lived for more than
three decades marked again
this month with a hubby as
laid-back and easygoing about life
as The Farmer.
Who, by the way, just refilled
the chocolate supply when he
picked up hydraulic oil.
Happy Anniversary, Dear.