AlO-Uncaster Farming, Saturday, March 11, 2000
OPINION
4-H, A Great Asset
Pennsylvania celebrates 4-H Awareness Week from March 12
to 18. Young people between the ages of 8 and 19 develop leader
ship, citizenship, interpersonal, and workforce skills in a wide va
riety of 4-H programs. These programs fall within four major
academic disciplines: bological sciences, social sciences, arts, and
humanities, and physical sciences.
The 4-H program across the nation runs on “To make the best
better”. And so they do. More than 6,512,600 youth are involved
in pledging their heads to clearer thinking, their hearts to greater
loyalty, their hands to larger service, and their health to better
living.
Because of the large number of minority youth and youth that
live in cities, 4-H has become a unique opportunity for extension,
the 4-H clubs, and their volunteer leaders to acquaint the future
generation with the positive story of agriculture. Only 11 percent
of 4-Hers live on farms, but the Philadelphia Cooperative Exten
sion of the Pennsylvania State University also subscribes to Lan
caster Farming. As this only one example of city involvement in 4-
H, we are sure this helps to bridge the gap between farm and city.
In all, 625,486 volunteer leaders worked directly or indirectly
with youth. The average 4-H volunteer spends approximately 220
hours per year with 4-H, and drives an average of 300 to 400 miles
in a personally owned car. With an average of $5O personal
money spent in service as a volunteer, this contribution to the pro
gram amounts to approximately $1.9 billion per year. Private
sector partners invest almost $lOO million annually through local,
state, and national 4-H youth development programs.
All this to say that the organization founded in 1902 has grown
to include the wide-range of interests of today’s young people.
The agriculture heritage is still alive and well. But today’s 4-Hers
also design web pages, participate in mock legislature, organize
community clean up, and deliver speeches. What a wonderful
asset 4-H is to American society. Keep up the good work.
Garden Wise Conference For
Gardeners and Green Indus
try Employees, York 4-H
Center, Bair, 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
New and Beginning Farmer
Workshop, Paxtonville
United Methodist Church,
Middleburg, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Woodland Owner Conference,
Penns Inn, Pa. College of
Technology Campus, Willi
amsport.
Home Gardener’s School, Mif
flinburg High School, Mifflin
burg.
Pequea-Mill Creek Water Qual
ity, Wildlife Habitat Improve
ment Project, Spring Frolic,
Meet Lions Park, Intercourse,
9 a.m.
Eastern Bison 4th Annual Show
and Sale and Winter Confer
ence, Pa. Farm Show Com
plex, noon.
Wyoming County Annual
Winter Lambing School, De
partment of Ag Building,
Tunkhannock, 10 a.m.-noon.
New and Beginning Farmer
Workshop, Holiday Inn,
Grantville.
Wineries Unlimited 2000, Lan
caster Host Hotel, thru March
16.
Turf and Ornamental Pest Con-
trol Seminar, The Chadwick,
Wexford, 1 p.m.
N.Y. Stone Fruit In-Depth
School, Ramada Inn, Geneva,
N.Y.,thru March 14.
Poultry Management and
Health Seminar, Kreider’s
Restaurant, Manheim, noon.
♦ Farm Calendar ❖
; V
V~. K
Labor Management On The
Farm, Arena Restaurant,
Bedford, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Appalachian Fruit Growers
Annual Winter Meeting,
Arena Restaurant, Bedford.
Penn State Milking School, Mor
risons Cove Community
Center.
Bradford County Agronomy
Day, Wysox Fire Hall, 9 a.m.
Solanco Young Farmers Associ
ation Annual Tour, meet at
Smith Middle School Parking
Lot, 8 a.m.
Calf Raising Workshop, Hoss’s
Restaurant, Belle Vernon, 10
a.m.- 3 p.m.
DHIA Meeting With George
Cudoc, York Extension
Office, 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Commercial Vegetable Meeting,
Schaefferstown Fire Hall, 9:30
a.m.-2 p.m.
Calf Raising Workshop, Browns
Country Kitchen, Portersville,
10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Editor;
The article about dairy farms,
Get Bigger-Better-Or Out,
wasn’t worth printing. Us farm
ers are big enough and good
enough to supply the demand so
To Avoid Soil Compaction
According to Dr. Doug Beegle,
Penn State Extension Soil
Scientist, when a soil is
compacted by a heavy load, such
as a manure spreader, the
structure of the soil is destroyed.
The compaction decreases the
amount of pore space in the soil.
Adequate pore space is important
for air, water and nutrient
movement in the soil. It is also
important for root growth. For
example, a 10 percent reduction
m pore space may result m a 4
times increase m root resistance,
meaning the plant roots will not
be able to penetrate the soil to
receive water and nutrients
needed for optimum growth.
To Avoid Soil Compaction
When Applying Manure
During the past decade, many
articles have been written
emphasizing the importance of
applying nutrients in amounts
which match closely the nutrient
needs of the crop being grown.
Robert Anderson, Lancaster
County Extension Agronomy
Agent, reminds us an area on
manure application which has
been forgotten and may have a
negative effect on crop yields is
the effect application equipment
has on soil structure.
Anderson has observed soils
seem much more compacted on
dairy farms with manure storage
than do dairy farms without
storage. The major contributors to
soil compaction are heavy loads
like manure spreaders on wet
soils. As manure storage becomes
more popular, the period of time
used to spread manure becomes
shorter and the equipment gets
bigger. The two most popular
times to spread manure is fall and
early spring. These are also times
when soils are most often wet.
Compaction may be minimized in
Gypsy Moth Suppression Pro
gram, Carroll County Exten
sion Office, Westminster,
Dairy Employee Milker’s Train
(Turn to Page A 39)
♦ Farm Forum ❖
why get out. To get bigger or
better could mean no time for
church on Sundays. And I don’t
believe this surplus milk talk.
Benuel E. Stoltzfus
Honey Brook
several ways. Avoid driving
heavy loads on wet soils Spread
out the weight as much as
possible with multiple axles and
tires Use radial tires. Do not
overload when soils are wet.
Chester Hughes, Lancaster
County Extension Livestock
Agent, reminds us that
electrocutions rank among one of
the top hazards that claim farm
lives every year. The more
obvious incidents include making
repairs on electrical equipment
without disconnecting the circuit
or not locking out the circuit so
someone may accidentally turn it
back on while you are repairing
WISDOM
WITHOUT POWER
March 12,2000
Background Scripture:
1 Corinthians 2 through 3
Devotional Reading:
1 Corinthians 3:1-9
At the turn of the new year,
century and millennium, there
have been an unusual number of
newspaper stories, magazine ar
ticles and television programs
about Jesus Christ and the
Christian faith. Of course, I
have joined with others in wel
coming this spurt of interest in
the person and message of Jesus
Christ.
Yet, among the things I read
and saw on television, I found
that, for all their interest, they
never came close to the meaning
of Jesus Christ. Often, he was
treated as one more of history’s
celebrities in whom people then
and now either believe or disbel
ieve. None, it appeared to me,
explored what it means to follow
him.
Believing in Jesus Christ is
not enough-you can measure
that with a public poll. Jesus did
not ask for people to believe in
him, but to, “Follow me.” The
writer of the Epistle of James
says, ‘‘Even the demons believe
and shudder’’ (Jas. 2:19). Of
course James is using the word
“believe” in the intellectual
sense-to believe with the mind.
There are hundreds of things
that I believe with my mind, but
do not necessarily believe with
my being, my life. Faith is not
simply a mental proposition to
which we give mental assent, but
a conviction that can transform
us and our lives. So it is quite
possible to believe in Jesus
Christ, but not live as his disci
ple.
I am an avid reader and have
loved books since I first began to
read. Many authors and books
have had a profound effect upon
my life, especially the Bible
itself. The wisdom of the spoken
and printed word is awesome,
but Christian discipleship is not
based primarily upon twenty
centuries of Christian wisdom,
helpful as that wisdom may be.
If I had never witnessed that
wisdom incarnate in others, in
what they are and do, if I had
not experienced it in my own
life, I would have neither the
motivation nor power to be a fol
lower of Jesus Christ. As Paul
says to the Corinthians: “my
*r> ***
To Be Safe With Electricity
. / ,
I BY IAWKENCt W All HOUSt
mmm
sn
Demonstration of the Spirit
the equipment. Also, unexpected
contact with power lines claims
victims. Raised truck beds, gram
augers and raised tractor loaders
can contact power lines with fatal
results. Electrical safety tips on
the farm include: Keep all farm
wiring in good condition.
Disconnect circuits and label
them before attempting repairs.
Do not attempt electrical work
beyond your abilities. Avoid
contacting power lines with
equipment such as grain augers,
raised truck beds and tractor
loaders.
Feather Prof, 's Footnote:
"Always use the word impossible
with the greatest caution."
speech and my message were not
in plausible words of wisdom, but
in demonstration of the Spirit
and power, that your faith might
not rest in the wisdom of men but
in the power of God” (1 Cor.
2:4,5).
The seductive danger of
human wisdom is that it all too
easily becomes a substitute for
the power of God. Many people
would rather argue about Christ
than actually follow him.
Human wisdom, wonderful as it
is, is always a wide open door to
human arrogance, for when we
think we have been able to
entrap the essence of God into
our human words and formula
tions, we blaspheme the God re
vealed in Christ. Any encounter
with the Lord ought to turn us in
the direction of abject humility,
not arrogant pride. How we be
lieve and how we explain what
we believe ought never to take
the place of following Christ.
Words and Deeds
But, isn’t it enough to ‘believe’
in Jesus Christ?, you may ask.
My answer-yes it is, so long as
the beliefs go beyond mere
mental ideas and assent. Con
fessing Jesus Christ as Lord
with your lips is only the begin
ning of discipleship, for we must
also confess Christ with our
lives. Words must not become
more important than deeds.
When Paul says, "And we
impart this in words not taught
by human wisdom but taught by
the Spirit ” (2:13), he is testifying
once again to superiority of
power over mere words. The
Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God is
the source of that power.
Paul is not putting down
wisdom per se, nor am I. He is
simply pointing out the limits of
human wisdom and contrasting
“the wisdom of this age” with
the “secret and hidden wisdom
of God,” mediated nOt so much
in ideas as in the power of the
Spirit. Jesus both taught and
demonstrated the need for re
pentance, the power of love, the
imperative for forgiveness, the
redeeming sacrifice of the cross,
and the transforming force of
the resurrection-all or most of
these still regarded by the world
as so much foolishness, so con
trary to the wisdom of the world.
Yet it is the words of human
wisdom without power that are
the true foolishness.
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St.
Ephrata, PA 17522
—by—
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A Sleinman Enterprise
William J. Burgess General Manager
Everett R. Newswanger Editor
Copyright 2000 by Lancaster Farming