AlO-L»ncMty. Fyiplng, Saftijrday, July, 10, .1999 ,
OPINION
We rarely toot our own hom, even though we receive many
complimentary remarks about the scope of our newspaper.
But we have been so honored by this piece in the Interview,
Penn State University's faculty/staff libraries June/July
newsletter, we thought to pass it on to you.
Top Agriculture Newspaper
Preserved On Microfilm
The University Libraries are preserving Lancaster
Farming, a leading source of Pennsylvania agriculture news,
on microfilm. First published in 1955, the newspaper is the
largest farm weekly in the United States and reaches 50,000
subscribers in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. Issues
printed between 1955 and 1983. will be microfilmed.
Lancaster Farming is a dynamic and vibrant publication,
according to Terry Etherton, distinguished professor of animal
nutrition and head of the Department of Dairy and Animal
Science. "This publication is the voice of agriculture,
agricultural policy, and environmental issues related to
agriculture," Etherton says.
Helen Smith, life sciences librarian and agriculture sector,
says Lancaster Farming, which is aimed at both farmers and
their families, is also an important resource for agricultural
economics and historians. "It is valuable as a record of
Pennsylvania agriculture and country life," she explains,
adding that Lancaster Farming is often the only place to get
Pennsylvania specific market prices for crops and livestock.
Microfilming Lancaster Farming will allow Libraries'
patrons to continue to use the publication while the originals
are stored in the Libraries' annex, a climate-controlled area
more appropriate for the storage of fragile newspaper.
The project is being funded by the University Libraries, the
Thaddeus Stevens Irwin Libraries Preservation Endowment,
and the Lancaster Farming publishing office, which provided
financial support and is providing copies of any missing
issues. The microfilming will be completed by the end of July
1999. For more information on preservation projects, contact
Sue Kellerman, head of the preservation department, at (814)
863-4696 or email lsk@psulias.psu.edu. Lancaster Farming's
current issue and additional information on the publication are
available at http://www.lancasterfarming.com.
According to Libraries officials, Lancaster Farming is the
most sought publication in the Penn State University libraries.
Tioga County Annual Farm-City
Day, Wilbur “John” and Sandy
Odgen’s Farm, Lawrenceville,
11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Roth Farm Festival, Roth Farm of
Del Val College, North Wales,
1999 National Limousin Show and
Congress, Great Plains Coli
seum and Fairgrounds, Lawton,
Mason Dixon Fair, Delta, thru July
17.
Nutrient Management For Part-
Time Farmers, Elkton Library,
Southeast Capital Region 4-H
Leadership Conference,
Albright College, Reading, thru
July 16.
Penn State Weed Tour, PSU Agro
nomy Farm, Rock Spring.
Franklin County Holstein Associ
ation Field Day, Marcus and
Chester Martin Farm, Mercers
burg, 10 a.m.
* Farm Calendar ❖
Jacktown Fair, Wind Ridge, thru
July 17.
Living Mulch Research and
Demonstration Tour, Russell E.
Larson Agricultural Research
Center, Rock Springs,
Noon-3;30 p.m.
Penn State Milk Marketing Spe
cialist meeting at Clarion Coun
ty extension office, Shippenvil
le, 10 a.m.-noon.
Grazier Field Meeting, Brian Bit
ner Farm, Trout Run, 7 p.m.
Milk Marketing Meeting, Mercer
County extension office, 7:30
Buder County Holstein Asociadon
Twilight Meeting, Geoige and
Stephen Hartzell Farm, Slip
pery Rock, 7 p.m.
Somerset County Holstein Show,
Meyersdale Fairgrounds, Mey
ersdale, 7 p.m.
Pa. Vegetable Growers’ Associa
don Field Tour to South Jersey,
departs 7 a.m. from Home
Furnishings Factory Outlet
Mall, Morgantown, returns
5:30 p.m.
To Clean up Pastures after
Storms
Robert Anderson, Lancaster
County Extension Agronomy
Agent, reminds us to beware of
summer storms and the threat
they pose livestock on pasture
Animals standing under trees
during a electrical storm are
subject to a lightening strike
You may want to take animals
off pasture before a thunderstorm
Also, it is important to clean up
storm damage before it injures or
kills livestock. A key item on the
clean up list is the removal of
downed tree branches, especially
if they are from a wild cherry tree.
Wilting cherry leaves will
poison livestock when eaten. You
should check and repair fences to
keep livestock in the pasture and
not on roads and other fields.
Other dangers to livestock on
pasture include things added to
the pasture by flooding streams,
neighbors or passing motorists.
Such items could cut, poison or
make livestock sick.
To Clean out Sprayers
Correctly
According to Robert
Anderson, Lancaster County
Extension Agronomy Agent, you
should follow these 8 procedures
when cleaning out your spray
tank to prevent residue carry over
problems.
First, always follow pesticide
label for specific cleaning
instructions
Second, clean sprayer as soon
after use as possible because dried
material is harder to remove.
Third, remove any left over
spray materials in the tank and
booms in an approved manner.
Fourth, fill the tank about half
full with water and add a tank
cleaning agent (commercial tank
cleaner, detergent. bleacn,
ammonia, etc ) as listed on the
pesticide label.
Fifth, circulate the solution
through the sprayer including the
booms and nozzles. Allow the
solution to stay in the sprayer tor
several hours
Sixth, pump the cleaning
solution out of the sprayer
through the nozzles
Seventh, rinse the tank twice
more with clean water
Eighth, remove the strainer,
nozzle tips and screens for
cleaning
Solanco Young Fanners Annual
Bam Tour/Field Day Meeting,
Chester County Holstein Associa
tion Field Day, Sam Stoltzfus
farm, Parksburg, 10 a.m.
Vegetable Twilight Meeting, Lar
riland Farms, Maryland, 6 p.m.
Lycoming County Fair, Hughes
ville, thru July 24.
(Turn to Page ASS)
To Look at Fences
For effective animal control,
wire spacing is more important
than fence height, reports Chester
Hughes, Lancaster County
Extension Livestock Agent
More animals go through and
under fences than over Proper
wire spacing makes your fences
more effective. Regardless of how
many wires your fence has,
always position one wire at
shoulder height of the animal to
be controlled. This is the "nose
wire" that your animals see and
touch when they approach the
fence.
Other fence wires should be
QUALMS & CHUCKLES
July 11, 1999
Background Scripture:
Genesis 15:1 through
18:15; 21:1-7
Devotional Reading:
Deuteronomy 7:7-11
God made Abraham and Sarah
the best of all possible promises
that could Ire given to a I lebrew: a
child to bless their barren marriage
and an assurance that they would
be father and mother to countless
generations. Even today, it would
be a magnificent promise, but then
it seemed too good to be true. The
failure to produce a male heir was
one of the most important life is
sues in Abraham’s culture.
We can sec just how important it
was to him: “O Lord God, what
wilt thou give me, for I continue
childless, and the heir of my house
is Eliezcr of Damascus” (Gen.
15:2). We must remember that the
only immortality in which people
hoped in his day was immortality
through the continuance of one’s
males offsprings. No male children
equaled oblivion.
So, we can hardly appreciate
how vital was the promise God
made: “Your own son shall be your
heir... Look toward heaven, and
number the stars, if you arc able to
number them...So shall your de
scendants be”! (15:4,5). Surely,
Abraham had given up hope of
ever having and ht&r and now the
Lord was promising him his
heart’s desire.
THEY LAUGHED!
The writer of Genesis docs not
tell us how much lime passes be
fore this first declaration of God’s
promise and the second in Gen
esis 17. When the call first came
to Abraham in chapter 12,
Abraham was 75 years old. By the
time chapter 17 opens, Abraham
was 99 years old (17:1). It seems
safe to conclude that some time has
passed between the original prom
ise and the reiteration of it. So we
might assume that, as Abraham
grew older, he couldn’t help won
der how God’s promise would be
fulfilled at an age when men do
not impregnate and women most
certainly do not conceive And if
Abraham wondered, you and I
would probably have just plain
doubled, for we like our promises
fulfilled instantly, if not sooner.
Yet, the promise is given once
again. First, it is implicit: “...you
spaced according to the type ot
animal being controlled - 10 to 12
inches apart for cattle and horses
or 6 to 8 inches apart for sheep
and goats. The bottom wires
should be closer together than the
top wires
Fences taller than 48 inches
are not really necessary. Electric
fences may be lower - 36 inches
for cattle and horses or 30 inches
tor sheep and goats. Shorter
fences also allow closer wire
spacing.
Feather Prof.'s Footnote • "Ice
cream is air conditioning for the
soul."
shall be the father of a multitude
of nations...” (17:4). And then ex
plicit: “As for Sarai your wife...l
will give you a son by her”
(17:15,16). The promise is plain
and simple; there is nothing to
misinterpret.
So how did Abraham and Sarah
react to this incredible promise that
had already been long-delayed in
fulfillment? “Then Abraham fell
on his face and laughed...” Sa
rah reacted much the same way, a
little less openly perhaps; “So Sa
rah laughed to herself.-” (18:12).
Well, she thought she laughed to
herself, but God heard her and he
asks Abraham, “Why did Sarah
laugh...?” (18:13). “But Sarah de
nied, saying, ‘1 did not laugh’; for
she was afraid.” She should have
known better than try to deceive
him. He said, “No, but you did
laugh” 18:15).
THEY QUESTIONED
1 have to confess that when I read
of Abraham and Sarah laughing at
God’s promise, I grow uneasy for
that seems an irreverent response
to make to the living God. Yet, as
1 read this passage again today it
occurred to me that God docs not
seem angry with their laughter. In
fact, he seems to understand their
reaction and does not mind.
Nor docs he seem to mind their
qualms. Abraham protests: “Shall
a child be bom to a man who is a
hundred years old? Shall Sarah
who is ninety years old, bear a
child?” (17:17). Sarah protests,
too: “After I have grown old, and
my husband is old, shall I have
pleasure?” (18:33). Let’s not judge
them 100 harshly, for wouldn’t we
be saying the very same thing? The
promises of God sometimes seem
funny, because they fly in the face
of what we think arc “the facts”
and we question them because they
arc beyond what we have previ
ously experienced.
When the Lord makes promises
to us that seem beyond all prob
ability, God is not offended if we
chuckle and question the seeming
absurdity, for he understands our
incredulity. Faith docs not deny in
credulity, but it goes on beyond it.
So he meets Abraham and us with
a question of his own: “Is any
thing too hard for the Lord?”
(18:14) and how you answer it
makes all the difference.
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St.>
Ephrata, PA 17522
-by-
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A Steinman Enteipnse
William J. Burqess General Manager
Everett R. Newswanger Editor
Copyright 1999 by Lancaster Farming