AIQ-Uncastef Farming, Saturday, September 26. 1998 OPINION All Roads Lead To Harrisburg The Keystone International Livestock Exposition is set for September 30 to October 5 at the Farm Snow in Haris burg. This exposition is recognized nationally as a showcase for the nation's top beef, cattle, swine, sheep, and horse exhibits. 1998 has been designed as the year of the horse so exhibitors will receive special attention as part of the effort to increase publ ic awareness of the horse. But all the other livestock species receive plenty of international attention too. Over 4,400 entries are expected for the show which uffc rs r record $200,000 in pre miums. A stockmen’s trade show with commercial exhibits are part of the over-all livestock show, and a tantalizing assortment of foods prepared by various Pennsylvania commodity groups will at to the reasons why you should visit the show. Draft Horse Hitch shows are featured. And all the major breed shows bring together in one place the best of the best. We recognize the PLA youth winners Travis Moyer, Heather Bankert, Paul Kitzmiller, and Heidi Svonavec, and Jim Watkins, the new Hall of Fame winner. If you have- a 1 interest in the business of livestock farming, this is an event you will not want to miss. All roads lead to Harris burg for livestock producers starting next Wednesday. S;i(iir(lii\. ScpU-mluT 26 7th Annual Harvest Sheep and Wool Festival, Salem County Fairgrounds, Woods town, NJ., thru Sept 27. World Beef Expo. Wisconsin State Fairgrounds, Milwaukee. Eastern National Livestock Show. Maryland Slate Fairgrounds. Timonium. Capitol Area Beekeepers Associa tion Banquet Summerdale Fire Hall. 6 p.m. Bloomsburg Fair, Bloom sburg, thru Oct 3. Pa. Avicultural Society Third Annual Tailgate, Lake Tobias, Halifax, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Native American Festival, Indian Steps Museum, Airville, thru Sept 27. Falmouth Goat Race, Falmouth, 10 a.m.-S p.m. Schuylkill County Therapeutic Riding Program Benefit Horse Show, Schuylkill County Fair grounds. Summit Station, 9 a.m. Adams County Ag Center Cam paign Kickoff, site is located off Old Harrisburg Road across from the Adams County National Bank Branch office, 2 p.m.-S p.m. Swine Skill-a-Thon, Berks County Tuesday, September 29 Morrison Cove Community Fair, Martinsburg, thru Oct, 2. Pumpkin Variety Demonstration, Penn Vermont Farm, Bedmin ster, 1:30 p.m.-6;30 p.m. Rural and Farm Safety Day, Troy Fairgrounds, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Field Day and Pasture Walk, Roman StoltzfOos, Gap, 10 Walkersville High School, Walkersville, thru Oct 2. Calvert County Fair, Barstow, thru Oct 4. Brunswick FFA-FFA Alumni Community Show, Brunswick High School. Brunswick, thru Oct I. New Holland Fanners Fair. New i. Farm Show Complex, Show, Leitersburg, thru Oct 3. Tri-Valley Community Fair, Hegins, thru Oct 4. Field Day On Seasonal Dairy Grazing, Cove Ml Farm, Mer cersburg, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. 6th Annual Ickesburg Fire Com pany Perry County Old Iron Club Antique Days, Fire Com pany Grounds, Ickesburg. thru Oct. 4. Seasonal Dairying Field Day. Cove Mountain Farm, Mercers- burg, 10 a.m.4 p.m. Cornell College of Ag Alumni Recognition Banquet, Cor- nell’s Statler Hotel, Ithaca, 4-H Super Saturday, Mercer County 4-H Park, 4 p.m. Mercer County Conservation Dis trict Open House, Mercer County Conservation Farm, 10 National 4-H Week, thru Oct 10. Open Youth Schooling Horse Show, Northampton County 4-H Center, Nazareth, 10 a.m. Solanco Young Farmers Family To Plan Fall Alfalfa Harvest Fall is here and the annual con cerns of management of alfalfa fields during the fall are upon us, according to Robert Anderson, Lancaster County Extension Agronomy Agent. When should alfalfa be harvested? What effect will harvesting now have on the life of the stand? These are a cou ple of the questions being asked each fall by fanners. During Sep tember and early October weather conditions remain favorable for al falfa growth. In addition, fields are usually tall enough to harvest. However, when it comes time to harvest it is important to understand what the benefits and risks are to the crop if it is harvsted. One of the tr~ f vV' • // A BY LAWRENCE W AIIHOuSE HI _ SaSILS TWELVE STONES September 27,1998 Background Scripture: Joshua 4:1-3, 8, 10, 11, 20-24 Devotional Reading: Psalms 78:1-8 In my youth, it seemed to me that the church I attended spent an inordinate amount of time in the past. As a congrega tion, I thought we were con stantly remembering a lot of things that had happened a long time ago. I wasn't against Picnic, Karl Herr and Family. 4th Annual Fall Antique Tractor and Implement Collector’s Show, St. Peter’s Church, Hollidaysburg, thru Oct. 8. Manheim Community Farm Show, Manheim, thru Oct 9. Poultry Health and Management Meeting, Kreider’s Restaurant, Manheim, noon. Dauphin County Farm Bureau Banquet, Halifax Ambulance and Rescue Building, Halifax, 7 p.m. Dauphin County 4-H Achieve ment Night, Dauphin Ag Resources Center, Dauphin, 6:30 p.m. Roadside Marketing Field Day, The Spring House, Eighty- 1998 Pa. Feeder Calf Roundup Tele-Auction Sale, Buckhan- (Turn to Pag* A3S) key considerations is the impact that a fall harvest will have on winter survival. To Understand Fall Growth of Alfalfa The shorting day length and cooler temperatures tell the winter' hardy alfalfa varieties to develop cold resistance. During the harden ing process, plants reduce top growth and increase the amounts of carbohydrates they store in the roots. This carbohydrate storage is important. In the spring, the car bohydrates stored in the roots are responsible for the first 6 inches of new growth. After this initial growth, photosynthesis will pro duce the needed carbohydrates. Winter survival and spring re growth is dependent on having adequate amounts of carbohydrates stored by the plant in the fall. Up to 50 percent of the stored carbohydrates are used during the winter by the plant. Harvesting al falfa at the wrong time in the fall may cause the plant to use some ot the stored carbohydrates to make new fall re growth reducing the amount for winter survival and spring growth To Manage Fall Alfalfa New alfalfa varieties have helped to eliminate some of the winter kill problem, according to Robert Anderson, Lancaster memorials and remembrances per se, but I was living in the here and now and wanted help with the present. In those days I was rather disdainful of anything old; archi tecture, art, music, habits, cus toms, and so forth. I rather imagine that my attitude then was not unique and my com plaint has been raised by count less others. In reflection, I believe that I was wrong in thinking that we dwelt too much in the past. If my church erred, it was not in memorializing the past, but in failing to help its youth understand the value of the past for the present and future. sn My dictionary gives three def initions for the work "memorial" and the first, "something designed to preserve the memo ry of a person or event," is the one most applicable in Joshua 4:7. God intends for the twelve stones from the Jordan River to be a "sign" to preserve the mem ory of that great event when the people of Israel were enabled by God to cross the Jordan Riyer, an event that should not be for gotten: So, "..when your children ask in time to Come, "What do these stones mean to you?" Then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord..." (4:6, 7). A PRESENT POWER The purpose of remembering, however, is not just to celebrate the past, but to rekindle as power for the present the faith the past inspired. Mr. David McClelland of the Harvard Medical School found that, in his own experience, he could abort colds by thinking about two things: past moments when he felt deeply loved and cared for by someone else, and a time when he loved another person. The remembrance of past love received and given was able to mobilize his immune system to fight off the threatening cold. He was also able to successfully teach this technique to his stu dents In a similar manner, the remembrance of a past encounter with God can empow er us for meeting current and County Agronomy Agent. Good management can improve winter survival of alfalfa. If the alfalfa field has come into bloom during September or early October, it should be har vested. Normally, alfalfa will be gin new growth after reaching full bloom regardless of being har vested or not. Even if harvest is delayed beyond full bloom, it will do little to keep stored carbohy drates in the roots. Newer stands are less susceptible to winter in jury following fall harvest than older stands. It is now felt that the length of time since the previous harvest is more important than the actual date of fall harvest. If it has been at least 45 days since the last har vest, further delay of harvest is not necessary. Other management considerations to help improve winter survival of alfalfa include maintaining good soil fertility and pH which will reduce stress and planting the most disease resis tance variety with high yield po tential. Feather Prof.'s Footnote: "A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the type of house I lived in or the kind of car I drove. But the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child." future challenges. So, nothing is a true memorial that points only to the past. Remembering some great event of time gone by, we must be inspired for the present and fit for the future. A memori al keeps our present and future in touch with the past. THE POWER OF REMEMBERING The Jews celebrate Passover as a memorial, not simply to remember the past, but to tap its power for the challenges of today. We celebrate the Last Supper for the same reason and the power of this memorial for us is to be found, not alone in that night when Jesus shared this Passover meal with his dis ciples, but that he is present in our lives now. A memorial win dow or pew in our churches cele brates not only a person of the past, but the faith of that person that is still an inspiration for us today. The twelve stones set up by Joshua and his followers were still visible in the day when this book was written. He tells us: "...and they are there to this day" (4:9). Sometime between the time of Joshua and Jesus, they disappeared. We do not know what happened to them, but, because of the Book of Joshua speaks of them, they continue as a memorial to another of God's savings acts in the history of his people. It is important for us to remember that God has done so that we may continue to look to see what he is doing now and live in the faith that he will con tinue to act redemptively in the future. That is what these twelve stones and all memorials remind us. Lancaster Farming Established 1955 Published Every Saturday Ephrata Review Building 1 E. Main St. Ephrata. PA 17522 -by Lancaster Farming, Inc A Stemman Enterprise William J. Burgess General Manager Everett R Newswanger Managing editor Ccpyright 1996 by Lancaster Fjt n 9