Lancaster farming. (Lancaster, Pa., etc.) 1955-current, April 11, 1998, Image 10
AlOLanamr Fanning, Saturday, April 11, 1988 OPINION The Future of Agriculture It was reported by the Associated Press last week that an exper iment with genetically engineered animal heart cells indicates that science one day may learn how to replace damaged cardiac muscle with new tissue after a heart attack. The study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sci ences demonstrates for the first time that mammal heart cells can be genetically engineered to grow and reproduce endlessly in a test tube. Dr. William C. Claycomb of Louisiana State University Medical Center says that his lab also was able to show that geneti cally altered mouse heart cells could survive and beat like normal heart muscle cells when placed into the damaged heart of a pig. To predict what role agriculture will play in the genetic engi neering sciences of the future is beyond our ability. Who would have thought 10 years ago that dairy fanners would be willing to pay over $7,000 for a pick of transplanted embryos six month in advance of birth at the state Holstein sale. Yet, ET cattle and the process of collecting embryos from the best cows is now quite common and even financially within the reach of most dairy farmers. Then we have genetically engineered com and other grains. And we have cloned sheep and dairy cattle. Even now you can imagine that someday, maybe soon, you will call your genetic engineer and order replacement parts for your best bovine speci men the same as you would order a part for a disabled tractor or piece of farm machinery. We can wish the agriculture of the future to be the same as we know it today. But wishing will not make it so. More likely, with in the lifetime of our grandchildren, they will look back on our generation and remember antiquated things as we do when our grandpa replaced one of his teams of mules with a Farmall A tractor. S;ltiii(l;i>, \pril II 3d Annual John Deere Antique Ron Mdiithn. \pril 13 lmsda\. \piil 1-4 Management Intensive Grazing 4-H Day Course, Holiday Inn, Clarion, 8:30 ajn.- 9 pjn., thru April IS. Pa. Poultry Sales Conference, Holiday Inn, Gtanttville, thru April IS. York County Holstein Barn Meet ing, Heindel Dairy Farm, Brogue, 7 p.m. Delmarva Poultry Boosters Ban quet. Salisbury, Md, Passing On The Farm Workshop. Schoonover’s Restaurant, Mid dlebury Center, 9 a.m.-3 pjn. Ephrata Young Farmer meeting, Katina Showman from 4-H, nsylvania’* Opportunities For the Millennium, Eden Resort and Conference Center, Lancaster. Farm To Table Series, Chester County extension office, West Chester, 7 p.m.-8:30 p.m. Farm and Natural Lands Trust of York County Bth Annual Meet ing, Aldersgate United Methodist Church, York, 7:30 Marketing Your Farm Market, Kutztown Produce Auction, 7 ❖ Farm Calendars p.m. One-Day Youth Institute, Farm and Home Center, Lancaster, 9 ajn.-2 p.m. Propagating Perennials. Carroll County Ag Center, Westmin ster, M<L, 9 ajn.-ll a.m. Xeriscaping: Hardy Succulents and Drought-Tolerant Peren nials, Carroll County Ag Cen ter, Westminster, Mi, 7 pjn-9 pin. Establishing Trees In Urban Areas Seminar. National Institute For Environmental Renewal, Mayfield. Berks County Conservation Dis trict Banquet, Berks 4-H Com munity Center, Leespoct, 7 p jn. Video Conference On Nutritional Supplements, originating from lowa State University and downlinked to Bradford Coun- ty extension office, 10:30 ajn.-S p.m. Manor FFA Awards Banquet, Penn Manor High School, 6:30 (Turn to Pag* All) Editor, My husband and I own and operate a 45-cow dairy farm in Susquehanna County. We also are raising approximately 40 replacement heifers. The average age of our major To Harvest Ryelage With this spring's unusual warm weather, rye is maturing very fast, according to Glenn Shirk, Lancaster County Exten sion Dairy Agent. If you are plan ning to harvest rye as ryelage, it should be harvested very soon. Once rye starts shooting heads, dry matter yields increase consid erably, but feed quality drops rap idly. So, check your rye fields now to determine if they are ready to harvest as ryelage. To Be Aware Of Rabies There seems to be an increase in the number of rabies cases this year, especially in northern York County. Raccoons are by far the most common carrier. Other carri ers include fox, skunks, bats, groundhogs and possums. Pennsylvania law requires all pets, including dogs and cats, to be vaccinated for rabies. An in fected animal may act dazed or disoriented or may appear ill. A wild animal that approaches peo ple, especially in daytime, is a suspect for rabies. Parents need to remind children they should not go near animals they do not know, especially wild animals - no matter how cute they look. If you see a strangely acting animal, stay clear and do not try to capture it. Call 911 or your lo cal police department. If a human is attacked by a wild animal, call your local health department. Remember, rabies is a deadly disease that needs prompt atten tion. S £* * A*- To Evaluate Winter Wheat Stands While most wheat fields look good at this time, some fields should be evaluated to determine if their potential production is worth keeping, according to Robert An derson, Lancaster County Exten sion Agronomy Agent. If stands are thin, total production will be reduced. To check the potential produc tion of a wheat stand, determine the length of row needed to equal one square foot. To do this, divide 144 by the row width in inches. For 7 inch rows it is 20.6 inches and for 8 inch rows it is 18 inches. After determining the length equipment is over 25 years old. Our equipment is in constant need of repair because it is worn out. There is no money for investing in new equipment let alone enough money to update (Turn to Pago All) of row needed to equal one square foot, count the number of plants in that distance at several loca tions in the field. Then determine the average number of plants (not tillers) you had. If you have an average of over 24 plants per square foot, the yield is near 100 per cent. If the number of plants per square foot is 18 to 21, the yield potential is 90 to 95 per cent. Once the number drops to 12, the yield potential is around ri ( Wfy-- ■ ■c.;- ~ BY LAWRENCE W ALIHOUSE ‘sasiLi sn Is ‘Seeing* ‘Believing’? April 12,1998 Background Scripture: John 20:19-29 Devotional Reading: Mark 9:14-24 I've always thought that the Apostle Thomas has gotten a “bum rap’ from many people who have judged him from the com fort and safety of 20/20 hind sight. Without justification, I believe, he has been saddled with that unfortunate so-bri quet, ‘Doubting Thomas’ and held as a negative example of how not to respond to the Good News. Yes, I know that even before this post-resurrection encounter with the Christ Thomas had already gained a reputation for being a doubter. But did he deserve this reputation? In John 11:16, when Jesus resolves to go to Jerusalem even though this decision fraught with danger, Thomas’ response is one of both pessimism and intense loyalty and courage. In John 14:5, when Jesus assumes that the disciples know the ‘way to the Father’s house,’ Thomas alone is humble and honest enough to confess that he does n’t know what Jesus is talking about. Are we to assume he was the only one who didn’t “know’? We need also to consider Jesus’ reactions to Thomas on these two occasions. It is not recorded that he was angry, impatient or disappointed with Thomas. In fact, his expressed doubts gave Jesus the opportu nity to clarify what he was try ing to say. When, at last, Thomas does understand, he is one of the most loyal disciples. So, up to John 20, I don’t think he has deserved to be called “Doubting Thomas.” THE OTHER ELEVEN Let us take a look at the other eleven apostles on the night when Jesus first appeared to them. Were they a group of fervent believers waiting for Jesus to appear? No, John tells us they were meeting behind locked doors “for fear of the Jews.” What'fears put us behind closed doors? They were in hiding when “Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Having heard those words, did they jump up and greet him joyfully? John doesn’t say that. Instead he tells us that Jesus then showed them “his hands and his side." Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord” (20:20). Then and only then. Notice, too, the message which Jesus brings them; “Peace be with you.” Twice he says this to them because he knows that they have been without peace in their hearts (20:19,21). Shattered by sorrow and despair, they are deeply in need if the peace which the risen Lord 65 per cent. If the number is 7 or less, then the yield potential is 50 per cent or less. Fields with a low yield poten tial will result in more income if planted to another crop. An early harvest of wheat as silage, hSy or pasture forage crop should be done early enough to allow planting of the next crop in a timely manner. Feather Prof, 's Footnote: "People may doubt what you say, but they will believe what you do." bestows upon them. Is that not what we often need to hear hin say to us, too: “Peace be with you’? Most of the negativity that haunts my life comes from fear. And fear often manifest itself as hostility, faithlessness, and despair. With Christ’s peace in my heart the fear doesn’t stand a chance. When Thomas enters the room where the rest are in hid ing, they tell him, “We have seen the Lord!” It is then that Thomas speaks those words that have marked him through the centuries: “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe” (20:25) Once again Thomas is open enough to admit his doubts; and is his attitude really all that unreasonable? What the other apostles were asking him to believe was the very thing that up until his appearance before them they had not believed either! The consequences of this belief are of the most profound nature. Jesus was crucified and buried, but he has risen from that grave and was here with us! “UNLESS I SEE...” Their experience can open the door an 4 point the way fij us, but each of us must be able to say with Thomas “Unless I see..l will not believe.” The res urrection of Jesus can mean nothing to any of us unless wte too can say that in some way we also have ‘seen’ the Lord. The resurrection is too vital, of too great consequence, for us to accept it as a second-hand belief. Note, then, what happened with Thomas. Jesus appears to the apostles again, but this time Thomas is with them. Instead of rebuking Thomas for his reac tion to the report of his fellow apostles, Jesus invites him to actually touch his wounds. Unlike his fellow apostles on their first encounter with the risen Christ, he exclaims, “My Lord and my God!” Still not rebuking Thomas, Jesus says: “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe” (20:29). Blessed are those who will be able to encounter the risen Lord without having to experience his physical wounds and presence. We do not have to ‘see’ Jesus physically, but we do have to encounter him spiritually and, when we have, we join Thomas in proclaiming, “My Lord and my God!” Lancaster Farming Established 1955 Published Every Saturday Ephrat* Review Building IE. Main St Ephrata, PA 17522 -by- Lancaster Farming, Inc. A Steinman Enterprise i Robert & Campbell General Manager | Everett R. Hewawanger Managing Editor! Copyright 1990 by Luowur Fuming