Thanks in large part to our nation’s farmers, the quality of life
the American people enjoy today is the envy of the world. This
was also noted in a proclamation by President Clinton in honor of
National Farm-City Week November 20 to 26, 1998.
Farmers and ranchers provide us with a safe, abundant, and
affordable supply of food and fiber. American agriculture
remains one of our country’s most important and productive
industries, generating more than 22 million jobs and contributing
a trillion dollars to the American economy each year.
We believe it is important that everyone knows about this
important national resource. Not only has agriculture reduced
soil erosion and restored thousands of acres of wetlands, by using
modem technology and environmentally responsible methods,
farmers have greatly imporved our nation’s water supply too.
It is fitting that Farm-City Week coincides with our traditional
Thanksgiving Day activities. Truly, the strength and prosperity
[culture and the land. As we celebrate
md friends, let us remember to count
igs America’s agricultural abundance
to the guality of our lives.
3d Annual 4-H Hoedown, Berks
County 4-H Center, 8 p.m.-ll
p.m.
Md. and Va. Milk Producers Meet
ing, Travelodge, Winchester,
Va., 7 p.m.
Franklin County DHIA Banquet,
Gibblcs Restaurant, Greencas-
22nd Annual Agriculture Industry
Banquet of the Lancaster
Chamber of Commerce and
Industry, Lancaster Host Resort
Ballroom, reception 5:30 p.m.,
dinner 6:30 p.m.
Passing On The Farm Workshop,
Montgomery County 4-H Cen
ter, Creamery.
Md. and Va. Milk Producers meet
ing, Remington Lions Club,
Remington, Va., 7 p.m.
Regional Greenhouse Meeting,
Cambria County extension
Thursday. N«\ ember 26
Happy Thanksgjy ing!
Lancastej^wmine officeclosed.
32nd National Young Farmer’s
Educational Institute, Dou
bleTrcc Hotel, Omaha, Neb.,
thru Dec. 6.
Basic Computer Operation For
Farms and Small Business,
Wasliin"*'
OPINION
Thanks Farmers!
, 'JM ' ' *
❖ Farm
...
County Extension Office 4-H
Center, 9:45 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Lebanon County 4-H Dairy
Achievement Banquet, Leba
non Expo Center, 7:30 p.m.
Computerized Farm Record Keep
ing, Main Course Restaurant,
Cedarbrook Golf Course, Belle
Vernon, 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
RISA’s Annual Community Meet
ing, Exploring Diverse Farm
Marketing Opportunities, Yod
er’s Restaurant, New Holland,
Maryland Farm Bureau 83d Annu
al Meeting, Ramada Inn Con
vention Center, Hagerstown,
Basic Computer Workshop For
Beginners, Huntingdon County
extension office, 9:30 a.m.-3
p.m.
New York Farm Bureau Citizen
ship Award Contest, New York
Farm Bureau annual meeting,
Radisson Plaza-Thc Hotel Syr
Mid-Allantic Crop Management
School, Princess Royale
Occanfront Hotel and Confer
ence Center, Ocean City, Md.,
thru Dec. 10.
Dairy Feeding Systems Confer
ence, Radisson Penn Harris
Hotel and Convention Center,
Camp Hill, thru Dec. 10.
Solanco Young Farmers meeting.
Farm Safety, Solanco High
School, 7:30 p.m.
Regional Greenhouse Meeting,
Huntingdon County Coopera
tive Extension office,
Huntingdon.
Practical Biosecurity for Poultry,
13lh Regional Meeting, Uni
versity of Delaware, Newark,
Del., 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Western Pa. Regional Vegetable
Conference, Days Inn, Butler.
Poultry Plcnlitudc, University of
Delaware, Newark, Del.
Now Is
The Time
By John Schwartz
Lancaster County
Agricultural Agent
To Respond To DOPP
Dairy farmers in Berks, Brad
ford, Chester, Crawford, Franklin
and Lancaster counties should
have received information from
USD A on the Dairy Options Pilot
Program (DOPP). This is an edu
cational program to help dairy
farmers leam how to use the op
tions market to set a minimum
price for the milk they receive. Up
to 100 farmers in each of these
counties will have the opportunity
to participate in this educational
program.
the federal government will
pay 80 per cent of the premium
for the option and $3O of broker
fees. To participate in the pro
gram, dairy farmers must com
plete the application and sign the
contract and return it to Risk
Management Agency (RMA) by
December 11. RMA will notify
selected producers of the time and
location of the required training
meeting.
For Pennsylvania it will be
the first week in January, 1999
To help farmers to better under
stand this program, the coopera
tive extension office in these
counties have planned meetings to
explain DOPP. Contact your
county cooperative extension of
fice for the date and location of
meetings for your county. If you
are interested in learning how you
can manage milk prices, consider
to participate in this program by
filling out your forms today
To Establish Health
program
Chester Hughes, Lancaster
County Extension Livestock
Agent, reminds us that vaccines
used in an established health pro
gram may help reduce many dif
ferent disease problems m cattle
A number of new vaccines and
combination vaccines have been
introduced in the last few years. It
is important to know which vac-
Berks County DHIA Banquet, Ag
Services Center noon
Dauphin County Agronomy
Workshops, Elizabethville
Public Library, Elizabethvillc,
different morning and after
noon sessions, 10 a.m.-2:30
p.m.
Westmoreland County Coopera
tive Extension Association
Annual Meeting, Donohoc
County Extension, 1 p.m.-4
p.m.
Adams County DHIA Banquet,
Cake and Kandy Emporium,
East Petersbutg, 11 a.m., 1
p.m., and 3 p.m., also Dec. 13,
11 a.m. and 1 o.m.
to use them and what other meas
ures are necessary for disease con
trol.
Use of vaccines that are not
appropriate for your operation
may increase costs unnecessarily.
Consult with your veterinarian on
the selection of vaccines. Modify
vaccination programs as diseases,
farm condition* and available vac
cines change. Leave treatment of
sick animals to your veterinarian.
Mark all vaccination dates on
a bam calendar to ensure proper
timing of vaccines. Scheduled
vaccination programs are only one
part of maintaining a healthy herd.
Develop a complete program of
management, sanitation, feeding
and health care to assure a healthy
and profitable herd.
To Vaccinate Properly
According to Chester Hughes,
Lancaster County Extension Live
stock Agent, vaccination does not
always produce immunization.
Sick or stressed cattle may not de
velop immunity following vacci
nation. The immune system of
newborn calves is poorly devel
oped and will not respond to vac-
pv I nv(?FN r * W AIIHOU'-E
£ ®Q!MS
:an these bones live:
November 22, 1998
Background Scripture:
Ezekiel 37
Devotional Reading:
Jeremiah 29:4-14
Ezekiel knew it was a trick
question, so he gave a tricky
answer: “0 Lord God, thou
knowest” (37:3) It was an
answer that wasn’t an answer.
The scene he beheld must have
convinced him that there was no
hope that these bones could live
again. There were not just
bones, but, as the writer tells us,
“...and 10, there were very dry.”
But, if these bones could not live
again, why then would God ask
this question?
Sometimes we find ourselves
in Ezekiel’s shoes. We look at a
situation and it seems totally
hopeless. All the evidence points
in the other direction so that
hope for anything seems quite
futile and absurd. Yet, if God
were to come to us and ask, “Can
these bones live?”, we’d have to
wonder why he was asking. And,
if we’re wise, we will answer as
Ezekiel did: “0 Lord, thou know
est.”
It is well to not here that God
did not ask Ezekiel if he saw any
signs of life. That would have
been a much easier Question to
answer. No, the people these
bones represented were truly
dead and there was not even any
flesh on them to revive There
was nothing in these bones that
gave any evidence or hope for
new life.
NO HOPE AT ALL
The key to this vision, howev
er, was not in the bones. By
themselves, these bones, would
never be anything else again but
bones, dry bones. But God said
to Ezekiel, “Prophesy to these
bones, and say to them, 0 dry
bones, hear the word of the
Lord... Behold, I will cause
breath to enter you, and you
shall live” (37:5).
The hope was not in the
bones, but in the Lord. While the
dry bones could do nothing, the
Lord could and would breath
new life into them. They would
live again because it was God’s
months of age or older. Maternal
immunity from colostrum intake
may last for to 6 to 8 months and
may prevent development of im
munity from vaccination.
Following are some pointers
for effective vaccine use: With
your veterinarian, develop the
right vaccination program for your
farm. Review and update the vac
cine program at least twice a year.
Buy fresh and refrigerated vac
cine from a reliable source. Keep
vaccine refrigerated until time of
use. Follow label directions ex
actly. Give recommended dose.
Give by recommended route. Use
sterile disposable syringes that
have not been used for other
drugs.
Discard outdated vaccine or
opened bottles that cannot be used
right away. Do not use unneces
sary vaccines. Do not mix two
vaccines unless so indicated by
manufacturer's directions. Do not
vaccinate sick or stressed cattle.
Feather Prof.'s Footnote: "You
must do the things you think you
cannot do."
will to bring them to life once
more.
Now, of course this spiritual
experience of Ezekiel is not
about God actually raising up a
whole valley of real dry bones,
but something greater than
that it is about what he intends
to do with his people Israel. The
Hebrew word, ruah, which we
translate here as “spirit,” can
also be translated as “breath”
and “wind.” The “breath” of God
is the “spirit” which he breathes
into us. It is the life that ani
mates our flesh and bones. New
life is impossible for us, but not
for the God who can breath that
life into us.
WHEN HOPE IS LOST
Ezekiel’s vision is directly
derived from the situation of the
exiles in their captivity. That is
why God says to the prophet,
“Son of man, these bones are the
whole house of Israel. Behold
they say, ‘Our bones are dried
up, and our hope is lost; we are
clean cut off’” (37:11). It was
understandable that the people
of Israel should have thought
that. Nothing in their situation
led them to any other conclu
sion.
But even in the midst of
death, figurative and literal,
there are always grounds for
hope. Not because of the bones—
not the physical circumstances
in which we find ourselves—but
because of God and his purpose.
“And I will put my Spirit within
you, and you shall live, and I
will place you in your own land;
then you shall know that I, the
Lord, have spoken, and I have
done it, says the Lord” (37:14).
All of us have seen various
valleys of dry bones. All of us
have been confronted by situa
tions that appeared to be quite
without hope. And when God
asks us, “Son of man, can these
bones live?”, we are wise if we
answer, “0 Lord God thou know
est.” For when God breathes his
spirit on us, even the driest of
bones can live again!
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
Copyright 1998 Lancaster Farming