AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 22, 1998 A Good Thing To Do In many situations that arise in agriculture, what is good for one segment of farmers is not as good for others. Livestock far mers want low grain prices for feed. And grain farmers want high grain prices to insure a profit from their fields. So when you support the production of ethanol from our grain crops, it may seem like you are talking against what livestock far mers would want. But as Dan Glickman, national ag secretary, wrote earlier this year in Farm Bureau News, ethanol is a clean burning fuel that has created thousands of jobs and provided a multi-million-dollar boost to our rural communities. Of course, foreign oil companies want to see an end to the fed eral tax exemption for ethanol. But the more we produce and use homemade fuel, the less reliant our nation is on foreign countries for oil. In addition, ethanol is good for the environment. New research shows that ethanol can reduce greenhouse gas emissions when used instead of traditional fossil fuels. To bring the livestock industry along with grain farmers, we need to keep the price of milk and meat high enough so eveiyone can make a profit. To grow extra com for fuel need not disrupt the agricultural economy. Let’s use a renewable source for at least some of our fuel needs. This seems like a good thing to do. Pa. Holstein Central Champion ship Show, Huntingdon Fair grounds, Huntingdon, 6 p.m. Warren County Holstein Club Sale, Warren Fairgrounds, Pittsfield, 11 a.m. South Central District Dairy Show, Farm Show Complex, Harrisburg. Crawford County Fair, Meadville, thru Aug. 29. Susquehanna County 4-H Lives tock Clubs 4-H Livestock Auc tion, Harford Fairgrounds, Har- West End Fair, Gilbert, thru Aug. 29. Williamsburg Community Farm Show, Williamsburg, thru Aug. 29. Somerset County Fair, Meyers dale, thru Aug. 29. Garden Tractor and ATV Pull, Kutztown Fairgrounds. Hookstown Fair, Hookstown, thru Aug. 29. Mountain Area Fair, Farmington, thru Aug. 29. Elizabethtown Fair, Elizabeth — Northeast District Jersey Show, Troy Fairgrounds, 9:30 a.m. 2nd Annual Ephrata Agway/ EARS Golf Tournament, Fair view Golf Course, Quentin. South Mountain Fair, Arendtsvil le, thru. Aug. 29. Animal Production Food Safety Workshop, Radisson Airport and Hotel and Conference Cen ter, Columbus, Ohio. Narrow Row Com Field Day, Penn State Southeast Field Research Farm, Landisville 7 rtnJmal OPINION ❖ Farm Calendar ❖ Workshop, Embassy Suites, Omaha. Neb. { Thursday. August 27 | Animal Production Food Safety Workshop, Doubletree Hotel Denver, Denver, Colo. Timber Harvesting In North Jersey Woodlot, Lorenzen Woodlol, Whitehouse, NJ., 6 p.m. Field Day, Mahlon Lapp’s, Peach Bottom, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Pa. State Plowing Contests In Con junction With Olde Tyme Days, Manchester, seminar 1 p.m., matches begin Aug. 28. York County Beekeepers, Penn State Extension Office, meet- •ping. Days Inn, Penn State, thru Aug. 30. 3rd Annual Virginia Cattlemen’s Summer Roundup, Wytheville Community Center and farm tours, thru Aug. 29. Centre County Grange Fair, Centre Hall, thru Sept 3. Field D' Ai Fair, Harrisburg, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Maryland State Fair, Timonium, Indiana County Fair, Indiana, thru The Great Allentown Fair, Allen town Fairgrounds, thru Sept. 7. Erie County Fair at Wattsburg, Waltsburg, thru Sept 6. Greene-Dreher-Sterling Fair, Newfoundland, thru Sept. 7. Big Knob Grange Fair, Rochester, Stoneboro Fair, Stoneboro, thru Sept. 7. Sullivan County Fair, Forksvillc, To Plan Fall Alfalfa Seeding According to Robert Anderson, Lancaster County Extension Agronomy Agent, alfalfa seeding time is near In Pennsylvania the current seeding rate for a pure seeding of alfalfa is 15 to 20 pounds per acre The amount ot seed needed for successful “Seeding is dependent on the condition of the seed bed and the seeding method Under ideal soil conditions, the seeding rate may be reduced Fac tors which allow for reduced seed- ing rate include insuring good germination by providing good seed to soil contact, having ade quate moisture and sufficient heat units to have the plant growing well before the first killing frost. In Pennsylvania more seeds are lost to diseases and insects The recommended rate is 18 to 20 pounds per acre without a fun gicide and insecticide treatment and 15 to 17 pounds per acre with a fungicide and insecticide treat ment. This should give you the optimum number ot at least 19 plants per square foot the seeding year thru Sept. 7. Wyoming County Fair, Tunkhan- Somerset County Fall Classic, Fairgrounds, Meyersdale, 7 p.m. Allegheny County Fair and Expo. Pittsburgh, thru Sept. 7. Vegetable Study Circle, Kutztown Saturday, September 5 Northwest District Dairy Show, Crawford County Fairgrounds, Meadville. Mon Valley District Dairy Show, Washington County Fairgrounds. Juniata County Fair, Port Royal, thn^ent^2^^^^^^^^ Spartansburg Community Fair, Spartansburg, thru Sept. 12. Cambria County Fair, Ebensburg, thru Sept. 12. To Select Alfalfa Varieties Variety selection is a key factor in maximizing alfalfa yields. Robert Anderson, Lancaster County Extension Agronomy Agent, recommends selecting a high yielding variety which is disease resistant or tolerant The Pennsylvania Alfalfa Variety Trails for last growing season are available at your county Penn State Cooperative Extension of fice This report ranks the alfalfa varieties which were on test for fall dormancy, bacteria wilt, tusarium wilt, phytophthona root rot, aphid resistance and verticil hum wilt. In addition, the report gives the yields over a one to four year period, depending on the number Of years the variety was on test. The tests were conducted at both Rock Springs and Hershey PA To Be Aware Of Silo Gas Dangers Each year at silo filling time and tor a short period afterward, farmers risk the danger of silo gas THE CURE FOR ANGER August 23, 1998 Background Scripture: Proverbs 12:16; 14:17,29; 15:18; 16:32; 19:11; 22:24,25; 25:28; 27:4; 29:20,22 Devotional Reading: Matthew 5:21-26 I have known a few people who did not have enough anger for their own good, 3s well for others. But, mostly, I have known people who have too much. For these people, anger is a poison in their lives that injures both themselves and others. It is a sickness that places us and others under a se vere handicap. But it is one that can be cured. John Hunter, a doctor in 19th century England, had a heart at tack that nearly took his life. As a physician, he knew that his emo tions could affect his heart and he said, “My life is in the hands of any rascal who chooses to annoy and tease me!” Yet, despite this understanding, he became angry one day and dropped dead from a heart attack. We don’t know what it was that angered Dr. Hunter, but I wonder whether it was important enough to die for. When I lead congregations in a two-day seminar, “Adventure in Healing and Wholeness,” I ask participants to write down the three things that anger them most. Then I ask, “Are any of these worth dying for? Are any of these worth poisoning your mind, body and heart, as well as those of others?” THE WAY WE ARE? Someone I was counseling ad mitted he had a terrible temper, but he brushed if off saying, “That’s just the way I am!” as if it were a condition of which he had no control. Plutarch has writ ten: “I learned that anger is not in curable if one wants to cure it." I agree: unless we are seriously mentally ill, we can cure our anger and temper problems. Our mistake is assuming that feelings are the scat of our anger and feelings seem to be beyond our control. But the scat of anger is not in the feelings, but in the which may cause death to humans and livestock. The greatest danger of lethal gases is from 12 to 72 hours after filling a silo Silo gas may be produced by any crop that is en siled regardless of soil type or fertility level. There are three gases produced by the ensiling process. Nitrogen dioxide is red dish brown Nitrogen tetraoxide is yellow The third gas is nitric oxide which is colorless Following a few simple rules will prevent the tragedy of a silo gas accident. I Run silo blower for 15 to 20 minutes before going into a silo and keep it running while in there, 2 Stay out ot the silo for at least one week after filling, two weeks if possible 3 Ventilate silo room for two weeks after filling and 4. Keep doors between silo and livestock closed Feather Prof's hoot note "Teamwork- Pitch in. share tal ents and enjoy the leuards of vt in- ning 1 " way that we think. Anger is caused, not by what happens to us, but by the way we perceive and in terpret what happens to us. Thus, angiy thoughts cause angry feel ings and it is always possible to change our thinking if we want to. Listen to Proverbs; “The vexa tion of a fool is known at once, but the prudent man ignores an insult" (12:16). “He who is slow to anger has great understanding . . ." (14:29) “Good sense makes a man slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense” (19:11). He is talking about how the man thinks, rather than how he feels. He thinks with good sense when confronted with an offense. He prudently ignores the insult He is not interpreting these situations as threatening to his well-being. NO SUCH RULE There have been more than a few times when I have interpreted something someone said to be a challenge that demanded an angry response. It is as if there is an im placable rule: if he says this, I must respond with this. But there is no such rule. If I must respond in a certain way to what another says or does, then they, not me, arc in control of my life. But they are in control only if I permit them to be. Dr. Hunter said, “My life is in the hands of any rascal who chooses to annoy and tease me.” Do you notice in these words a mind-set that virtually guarantees that he will lose control? These people are * rascals ” and they “choose to annoy and tease him.” He has given control over his life to these “rascals.” To control the feelings that have the power to poison and des troy our lives, we need to change the way we think about ourselves, about other people and about what is really important in life.” Plut arch was right, if we want to cure anger, we can! Lancaster Farming Established 1955 Published Every Saturday Ephrata Review Building 1 E. Main St. Ephrata. PA 17522 -by Lancaster Farming, Inc, A Slemman Enterprise William J, Burgess General Manager Everett R. Newswanger Managing Editor Copyright t 996 by Lancaster F^rwrig