AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 14, 1999
OPINION
Ag Progress Is For Kids , Too
We often get caught up in concerns about the severe drought, about
making monthly expense payments on the farm, on sick animals, and
all the worrisome chores of farming.
Many of us decide we need a break. Those who can often take
advantage of August’s “dog days” and head to the mountains or the
shore.
Some decide to attend the biggest statewide agricultural showcase
event of them all Ag Progress Days next week in Rockspring.
What many of us forget when we attend Ag Progress is there are lots
of things for kids. More so than ever before, Ag Progress is becoming
child- and family-oriented with an array of programs to delight the lit
tlesl and oldest ones in the family.
New this year is the “Farm Safety and Health Challenge Game,” a
contest which tests the farm safety knowledge of children. The contest
is scheduled Tuesday, Aug. 17, in the College Exhibits Building
Theatre. Youth will be competing for slots at the championship at next
year’s Pennsylvania Farm Show.
For the second year in a row, the Junior Livestock Exhibit Tent will
be open for the annual Ag Progress Lamb Skillathon and Live Lamb
Show Wednesday, Aug. 18 at 10 a.m. Watch youth test their sheep
know-how and compete for prizes. The Skillathon tests knowledge in
quality assurance, feed and nutrition, meat cuts, equipment, and man
agement. The lamb show rewards contestants for their animal and
showmanship skills. Prize money and savings bonds will be awarded
to outstanding youth.
For the whole family, a new exhibit is the A Maze N Com maze.
Come in and get lost in Penn State’s com! Spend a few minutes, or
even hours, with your kids in the fun com maze.
4-H and FFA youth will compete for prizes in the Horse Show and
Skillathon on Thursday, Aug. 19 at 11 a.m. at Ag Progress.
As usual, there are other annual events that make Ag Progress such a
mid-summer tradition, including the SciQ and SciQ junior contests,
which lest children's “agricultural IQ.” Contestants and audience
members alike can win prizes, including SciQ T-shirts and Penn State
University Creamery ice cream. SciQ is scheduled in the College
Exhibits Building Theatre Wednesday, Aug. 18 at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
SciQ Junior, for kids between 8-12, will be played Tuesday, Aug. 17 at
10 a.m. and Wednesday at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.
There are lots of oilier events for the whole family, so come on out!
Pa. Holstein South Central
Championship Show, Fair
grounds, Shippensburg, 9:30
a.m.
Tioga County Holstein Show,
Whitneyville Fairgrounds,
Wcllsboro, 9 a.m.
Washington County Ag Fair,
Washington, thru Aug. 21.
York County 4-H Fair, 4-H Center,
Bair Station.
Bullskin Township Fair, Wood
dale, thru Aug. 21.
Cameron County Fair, Emporium,
thru Aug. 21.
Franklin County Fair, Chambers
burg, thru Aug. 21.
Fulton County Fair, McConnells
burg, thru Aug. 21.
Huntingdon County Fair, Hunting
don, thru Aug. 21.
McKean County Fair, Smethport,
Dayton Fair, Dayton, thru Aug. 21.
Harford Fair, Harford, thru Aug.
21.
Lawrence County Fair, New'
Castle, thru Aug. 21.
Venango County Fair, Franklin,
thru Aug. 22.
R&T Reunion, Waterloo Boys
Two-cylinder Club of South
east Pennsylvania, Kinzers,
Ag Progress Days, Rockspring,
❖ Farm Calendar ❖
thru Aug. 19.
Blue Valley Farm Show, Bangor,
thru Aug. 21.
Perry County Fair, Newport, thru
Aug. 21.
Grazier Twilight Walk, Ron Man
Annual PFGC picnic, Harpster’s
Evergreen Farm, 6:30 p.m.
Pa. Performance Tested Boar Sale,
State College.
Middletown Grange Fair, Wright
stown, thru Aug. 22.
Ephrata Area Young Farmers bus
tour to Moyer Packing, leaves
from Elite Coach, Ephrata, 7:15
a.m., returns 8:45 p.m.
Pa. Ag Republicans annua) fund
raiser chicken barbecue, VFW
Pavilion, Rt. 45 approx, three
miles east of Ag Progress Days
site, social 5:30 p.m., meal 6
p.m.
Rough and Tumble Engineers 51st
Annual Threshermen’s Reun-
Fair, Clinton, thru Aug. 21.
Mount Nebo Fair, Mount Nebo,
thru Aug. 21.
Wye Field Day, Wye Research and
Education Center, Queen
stown, Md., 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
No-Till Pumpkin Production,
David Zook’s Farm, New Hol
_land1 lnan i -3n i nu^___ —
Bucks County Holstein Show,
To Monitor Water Supplies
Several farmers have seen their
water source dry up because of
the draught Now would be a
good time to be monitoring your
well or other water sources You
should be developing contingency
plans if your water source
diminishes or dries up You may
want to line up alternative sources
of water, securing temporary
water storage facilities,
developing different water use
patterns, Storing water and have a
rationing plan Also, look for
ways to conserve water, recycle
water and control water leaks If
you run low or out of water,
contact your county emergency
management office They may be
able to help you find alternative
water sources and temporary
water storage Through proper
planning and taking precautionary
steps, you should be able to avoid
a disaster
To Consider Herbicide
Residue - 1
Two issues anse with the
cunent draught situation in the
Noitheast, according to Dr
William Curran, Penn State
Agionomy Depaitment One issue
is the potential tor herbicide
lesidues in soil and subsequent
canyovei to lotational crops
Heibicide te-ciop testiiUions aie
based on susceptibility ot
potential rotation crops to
heibicide residues 01 are based on
limits set by EPA toi potential
lesidue in teed 01 food ciops In
di aught conditions, seveial
herbicides have the potential to
persist longei in the soil and
injuie susceptible ciops In corn,
pay paiticular attention to atrazme
and simazine (Pnncep) which
may cause pioblems in a nonnal
yeai Most ot the other corn
heibicides with a tew exceptions
should not limit the ability to
establish a tall torage ciop it
necessaiy Soybean heibicides
may be another matter Several of
our commonly used soybean
herbicides limit planting of fall
seeded crops as well as normal
rotational crops. However, with
the introduction of Roundup
Ready soybeans and the use ot
Bucks County Fairgrounds,
Wrightstown, 11 a.m.
Westmoreland Ag Fair, Greens
burg, thru Aug. 28.
East Central 4-H/FFA Dairy
Show, Beaver County Fair-
Pa. Holstein Central Champion
ship Show, Fairgrounds, Hun
tingdon, 6 p.m.
Warren County Holstein Associa
tion Sale, Fairgrounds, Pitts
field, noon.
Pond Management Seminar, Hon
ey Hollow Environmental Edu-
(Turn to Page A 39)
Roundup, herbicide residues and
rotation restrictions are less of a
concern. Make sure you read and
follow label directions
To Consider Herbicide
Residue - 2
Two issues arise with the
current draught situation in the
Northeast, according to Dr.
William Curran, Penn State
Agronomy Department. The
second issue is grazing and forage
restrictions following the use of
herbicides if early harvest or
emergency forage is needed. As
for grazing and forge restrictions,
most corn herbicides allow
grazing or harvesting of corn for
silage following their use
However, almost all products
have some time interval or
waiting period ranging from zero
days up to 85 days following
WHEN UFE IS ‘THE PITS’
August 15, 1999
Background Scripture:
Genesis 37:1-35
Devotional Reading:
I Samuel 18:1-9
I can identify with Joseph, can
you?
One day everything is bright
and sunny and life is really good;
and the next day the sun is hidden
by thick clouds and life is in “the
pits.” In Joseph’s case this was
true both figuratively and literally.
How quickly we can fall from the
“king of the mountain” to the
“bottom of the pile.”
As terrible as those pits are,
have you noticed that we are more
likely to find God there than any
where else? When all is going
well, we tend to forget about God,
forget even to thank him that
things are going so well.
I can also identify with Joseph
in two other ways. First, he was a
victim of his brothers’ intense
jealousy. Sometimes when we’re
in “the pit,” it is because others
have been jealous, resentful or
contemptuous of us. I never had
any brothers and sisters, but when
I was a child I remember that
some of my cousins were obvious
ly jealous of me because I was an
only child and did not have to
share as they did. It didn’t matter
that I had never done anything to
them.
ARE YOU
‘SELF-ABSORBED’?
Secondly. Joseph, despite his
innocence or maybe because of
it contributed to the animosity,
perhaps unconsciously but just as
surely, Joseph was perhaps con
ceited, exasperatingly self-assured
and self-absorbed. If Joseph had
tempered his superior status as Ja
cob’s favorite with a little humili
ty, some awareness of his bro
thers’ feelings, things might have
been different. Some people can
not help being a favorite or bless
ed with superior circumstances,
but they can carry this with some
humility and sensitivity.
If, as a “slightly spoiled” only
child, I had been more sensitive to
my cousins’ feelings, perhaps
things might have been different. 1
think I was rather oblivious to
their sensitivities —just as Joseph
must have been to his brothers. In
nocently. it seems, he blurts out
his dreams to them. But, as one
who was later to save his life, all
Egypt and his family with the
interpretation of dreams,
shouldn’t he have realized that
these dreams true or not
herbicide application. Other
products specify a certain crop
maturity being necessary before
harvest Many soybean herbicides
are more restnctive In fact only
Basagian. Firstßate, Lexone,
Sencor, Lorox, Liberty, Micro-
Tech, Poast or Poast Plus, Prowl,
Treflan and Roundup allow
feeding of soybean forage
following herbicide application
The Roundup label specifies a 25
day pre-harvest inteival following
an in crop application of
Roundup Check specific product
labels for the correct time interval
necessary before harvesting either
corn or soybean tor forage or
silage and for more detailed
information.
Feather Prof.'s Footnote "If
\ou care enough for a result, you
will most certamh attain it "
would be offensive to them?
Should he not have been more
careful of flaunting his long-sleev
ed coat, which was much superior
to those of his brothers?
What Joseph did or didn’t do
helps us to understand but not jus
tify the brothers’ actions. Genesis
tells us, “... when his brothers
saw that their father loved him
more than all his brothers, they
hated him and could not speak
peaceably to him” (37:4). Note
that he says “could not” instead of
“would not.” Their hatred was so
intense that they were barely able
to restrain themselves. Can you
identify with that?
PLAYING FAVORITES
Despite Joseph’s insensitive be
havior, their hatred was not just
the result of what he did or didn’t
do, but what their father did. It
was their father’s blatant favor
itism that helped to poison this
family. So Jacob also bore respon
sibility for this sorry stale of af
fairs. Having experienced the tra
gic consequences of his own mo
ther’s favoritism toward him. he
made the very same mistake in his
own family. Uiis is something
else with which many of us can
identify.
So Jacob’s tragic family to
day it would be called “dysfunc
tional” was attributable, not
just to one person or situation. Ja
cob, Joseph and his brothers all
shared in it—just as in our family
problems and tensions today.
We’d like to think that it is all
someone else’s fault, but that is
rarely true, I find. It takes two or
more to tangle.
When the episode closes, Jo
seph has been sold off into sla
very. first to the Midianites and
then to Potiphar in Egypt.
Psychologically, he was still in the
pit Situationally, he did not seem
to be any better off. But what we
know and what he could not see
then was that his life was entering
a recovery stage. Eventually, his
being sold into slavery would ful
fill the grandiose but accurate
dreams of his youth. God had not
put him in the pit that was the
work of Jacob’s family—but God
took him out of the pit and was al
ready at work turning this tragic
experience into something good.
Can you identify with that?
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St.>
Ephrata, PA 17522
-by-
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A Stemman Enteipnse
William J. Burgess General Manager
Everett R. Newswanger Editor
Copyright 1999 by Lancaster Farming