AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 12, 2000
OPINION
Ag Progress Progresses
The one thing you can be sure of very sure of is Ag Progress
Days at Penn State’s Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Cen
ter at Rockspring will feature breakthroughs in science and technol
ogy related to agriculture.
The yearly event happens next week (see many related articles in
this issue) and again the educational value of the featured research
projects will be almost unlimited. It does not matter if your interest
is weeds, eggshells, combines, or anything else around the farm. You
will find an interesting tie presented by some of the world’s best pro
fessors and researchers at Penn State.
This showcase of agriculture, especially the way Penn State re
lates to and supports agriculture, should be on all farmer’s “to-at
tend” list. To see the big equipment working in the fields is fun. But
to take the time to visit the educational displays is... well, educa
tional.
Therefore, if you want to have fun, if you want to be educated, or
if you want both, make this trip to Centre County Tuesday,
Wednesday or Thursday, Aug. 15,16, or 17.
SoumcentrarHolrteui
onship Show, Shippensburg
Fairgrounds, 9:30 a.m.
Washington County Ag Fair,
thru Aug. 19.
Lancaster County 4-H Beef
Show, Manheim Farm Show,
10 a.m.
Chemsweep, Lebanon Expo
Center, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Farm-City Day, Carey Farm,
Bullskin Township Community
Fair, thru Aug. 19.
Huntingdon County Fair, thru
Aug. 19.
McKean County Fair, thru Aug.
19.
Dayton Fair, thru Aug. 19.
Kutztown Fair, thru Aug. 19.
Lawrence County Fair, thru
Aug. 19.
Venango County Fair, thru Aug.
19.
Vegetable and Small Fruit Field
Day, Horticulture Research
Farm, Rockspring.
Northeast District Dairy Show,
Susquehanna County Fair
grounds.
Capitol Region Summer Turf
and Ornamental School, Mes
siah College, Grantham, 8:30
Fruit and Vegetable Day,
Rockspring.
Ag Progress Days, Rockspring,
thru Aug. 17.
Erie County Fair and
Wattsburg, thru Aug. 20.
Pa. Hay Show, Rockspring.
Farm Market Business Farm
Tour, Peacework Organic
Farm, Henderson and
Palmer, Newark, N.Y., 1
p.m.-3 p.m.
Middletown Gra”' F~ : ~ hr'
•range
Aug. 20.
PFGC 40th Anniversary Cele
bration, Wayne Harpster’s
Evergreen Farm.
Ag Progress Days Lamb Show
and Skillathon, Rockspring.
National Christmas Tree Asso-
ciation Meeting, Rochester,
N.Y., thru Aug. 19.
4-H Ag Science Day Camp,
Dauphin, thru Aug. 18.
♦ Farm Calendar ♦
Pa. Ag Republicans Annual
Fund Raiser Chicken Barbe
cue, VFW Pavilion on Rt. 45,
three miles east of Ag Prog
ress Day,s 5:30 p.m.
25th Performance-Tested Boar
Sale, Pa. Dept, of Ag Meat
Animal Evaluation Center,
State College, 6 p.m.
Huntingdon County Holstein
Show, Fairgrounds, Hunting-
Findlay
Aug. 19.
Mount Nebo Fair, thru Aug. 19.
Frederick County Md. Checkoff
Luncheon at Ag Progress
Days.
Ag Progress Days 4-H Equine
Skillathon, Rockspring.
Washington County Holstein
Show, Fairgrounds, Washing
ton, 9a.m.
Wye Field Day, Wye Research
and Education Center,
Northeast ChampionshipHoT
stein Show, Troy Fair
grounds, Troy, 10 a.m.
Westmoreland County Fair,
thru Aug. 26.
East Central District Dairy
Show, Beaver County Fair
grounds, Beaver Springs, 9:30
a.m.
Bucks County Holstein Show,
Fairgrounds, Wrightstown, 11
a.m.
Warren County HolstemSale!
Pittsfield Fairgrounds, noon.
Central Championship Holstein
Show, Huntingdon Fair
grounds, 6 p.m.
Crawford County Fair, thru
Aug. 26.
Pasture Walk, Dixie and Erick
Coolidge, Wellsboro.
Progressive Field Meeting,
begins at Jeff Foust Farm,
near Milton.
South Central District Dairy
Show, Farm Show Complex,
Harrisburg, 8:30 a.m.
Pa. Angus Association Field
Day, Octoraro Angus, Breeze
wood, 9 a.m.
Ephrata Area Young Farmers
Ice Cream Social, Woodcrest
Retreat. 6:30 p_.m.
(Turn to Pago A 39)
air, t
To Estimate Corn Yields
A good estimate of corn
grain yields may be made
once pollination has been
completed, according to Rob
ert Anderson, Lancaster
County extension agronomy
agent.
To make this estimate, first
determine the number of feet
of row in 1/I,oooth of an acre
by dividing 43.56 by the row
width in feet. For 30-inch
rows, the distance would be
17-feet five-inches (43.56/2.5).
For 32-inch rows, the distance
is 16-feet four-inches and for
36-inch rows the distance is
14-feet and six-inches.
Once you have measured
the required distance, count
the number of harvestable
ears in that distance. Next,
harvest every fifth ear. Using
the ears that you have har
vest, count and average the
number of rows of kernels
air, ti
BEWARE OF SUBSTITUTES
Background Scripture:
Colossians 2:6-19.
Devotional Reading:
Romans 8:31-39.
For 40 odd years many Chris
tians believed that the greatest
threat to the Christian faith was
“godless communism.” If only
we could defeat and discredit
communism, we thought, the
Christian faith would be trium
phant.
Well, communism has pretty
much been defeated and discred
ited, but the Christian faith does
not appear to be marching on to
victory.
Religious spokespeople have
had to admit that the 100 years
just over were not, as was ex
pected, “The Christian Cen
tury.” Commentators on the
world scene note that Islam is
the fastest growing religion in the
world.
The Christian Church is dwin
dling and disappearing in former
strongholds: England, Germany,
Scandinavia, Spain, France, and
even Italy, where Roman Cathol
icism has been a bulwark for al
most 2,000 years.
I have believed for some time
that the greatest threat to Chris
tianity is, and has always been,
not the “-isms” on the outside,
but those within. And not so
much from those that are easily
identifiable such as liberalism,
and the average number of
kernels per row.
When counting the number
of kernels, do not count the
smaller kernels on the tip or
butt of the ear. Yield in bush
els per acre may now be cal
culated by multiplying the
number of ears you counted
in 1/I,oooth of an acre times
the average number of rows of
kernels on the ears checked,
times the average number of
kernels per row. Then divide
this number by nine. This will
be a close approximation of
the number of bushels of com
per acre you may expect to
harvest.
To Estimate Soybean Yields
Soybean growers may make
a rough estimate of soybean
yields once pods have set,
according to Robert Ander
son, Lancaster County exten
sion agronomy agent.
To determine the yield in
bushels per acre of soybeans,
it is necessary to estimate the
number of pods per foot of
row.
Do this by counting the
number of pods in several
three-foot sections in the field.
From this information, calcu
late the average number of
pods per foot of row.
Once this is done, divide
your row spacing by 7.5. By
dividing the average number
of pods per foot of row by the
number you obtained by di
viding your row spacing by
7.5, you will have an estimate
of the yield in bushels per
acre.
For example, if you have an
average of 197 pods per foot
of row and the rows are
30-inches apart, the calcula
tion is 30-inches divided by
7.5 equals four. Then you di-
conservatism, denominational
ism, ecumenism, parochialism,
you name it but from those
that bear no name and are not
obvious to most of us.
These are the beliefs and prac
tices that, instead of openly chal
lenging the gospel of Jesus
Christ, subvert it by becoming
substitutes for it. We are not on
guard against these dangers be
cause we see and understand
them as .part of the gospel
which they are not.
Only Shadows
What are these hidden and in
sidious threats? Paul warned the
Colossians, “I say this that no
one may delude you with beguil
ing speech ... Sec to it that no
one makes a prey of you by phi
losophy and empty deceit,
according to human tradition,
according to the elemental spir
its of the universe ... Therefore
let no one pass judgment on you
in questions of food and drink or
with regard to a festival or a new
moon or a Sabbath” (2:4,8,16).
These things, says Paul, “are
only a shadow of what is to
come; but the substance belongs
to Jesus Christ” (2:17).
Paul is speaking here about
the tail wagging the dog, the
trees obscuring the forest, and
the trivial pursuits of religion
taking the place of essential
Christian discipleship. We do
not see these threats as hostile to
our faith because we have ac
cepted them as part of it. I can’t
name them all, but some have
long been apparent to me. There
is the materialism of Christian
life that drives out the spirit and
the consumerism that set the
values of our society. There are
vide 197 by four to give you a
projected yield of 49.25 bush
els per acre.
To Wash Hands
Hand washing is a basic
task we learned when we were
very young. It is considered
the single most important
means of preventing the
spread of bacteria, reported
Nancy Wiker, Lancaster
County extension family liv
ing agent.
Unfortunately, hand wash
ing appears to be well on its
way to becoming a lost art in
this country. This is a concern
to public health officials, since
poor hand washing is believed
to be a contributing factor to
the 76 million cases of food
borne illnesses and the result
ing 5,000 deaths that occur
each year.
It seems that we know we
should be washing our hands,
but we are not actually doing
it. In studies done across the
country, it was found that less
than 66 percent of all adults
actually washed their hands
after using the restroom.
Proper hand washing tech
nique includes the following
steps:
1. Use warm water.
2. Moisten hands, then
apply soap.
3. Rub hands together for
20 seconds, both sides.
4. Use a nailbrush if neces
sary.
5. Rinse thoroughly.
6. Dry on a paper towel.
Set a ■ good example for
your children. Wash your
hands before and after han
dling food, before meals, and
after using the restroom.
Feather Prof.’s Footnote:
“To know how to suggest is
the great art of teaching. ”
political and economic ideologies
that take the place of the gospel.
There are standards of conduct
that have been around so long
that we hardly realize they are
not part of the gospel. These sub
stitutes clothed in Christian garb
can really be unrecognized anti
christs.
One example; I believe that the
capitalist system and free enter
prise (not necessarily the same
things) are the best economic
philosophies we have yet put into
practice. But they are not part of
the gospel of Jesus Christ. They
are not Christian unless we make
them Christian, infusing them
with Christian values and under
girding them with Christlike
love.
Without Christ, capitalism can
be and at times has been just as
oppressive as communism and
fascism. Worst of all, we can
make the mistake of letting them
become a substitute for Christian
discipleship, when we equate the
so-called “law of the market
place” with the Ten Command
ments and Christ’s command
ments to “love one another as I
have loved you.”
Beware of beguiling and insid
ious substitutes!
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St.
Ephrata, PA 17522
—by—
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A Steinman Enterprise
William J Burgess General Manager
Everett R Newswanger Editor
Copyright 2000 by Lancaster Farming