AlO-Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, March 3,2001 bgfK OPINION Interdisciplinary College students are required to study a wide variety of subject matter, some of which doesn’t seem to have any connection to their chosen study or profession. They often ask, “Why do I have to learn about this? I’ll never use this in my career.” But as we mature and learn about the world and how it works, we realize that a widened horizon contributes to the knowledgeable, well rounded businessperson. At my alma mater, Temple University, there was a course entitled “Freshman Interdisciplinary Studies,” or FIS for short. Likewise, with farming, many families may agree that FIS can be a good philosophy. Children who want to manage the farm are wise to initially take a job in a nonfarm area, or to take up a mission in an other part of the world, simply to gain the much-needed and well-re garded perspective so essential to farm survival. The idea is: first leam other businesses and how they operate. Then take that knowledge and bring it to the farm. Before college, I worked on a neighbor’s farm. I learned a lot of business sense from the farmer, but I also learned a lot about nonfarm business outside of farming after college. And businesses do operate much the same way. I think having that “interdisciplinary” perspective is a good idea, Over the years, I have spoken with many farm families who simply won’t allow their children to manage aspects of the farm until those children first venture into the nonfarm world and spend some time there, taking up another occupation, or managing a nonfarm busi ness. Certainly the experience can provide a deeper and more life lasting commitment to the importance the very philosophy of farming as a business. Western Pa. Sheep symposium. Holiday Inn, Meadowlands, 9 am.-3;30 p.m. Beaver/Lawrence Holstein Club Annual Meeting, The Villa Restaurant, New Castle, 4:30 p.m. Open House, Dauphin Co. Ag and Natural Resources Center, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Woodland Owners’ Conference, Penns Inn, Alvin Bush Campus Center, Pa. College of Technology, Williamsport, 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Regional Christmas Tree Growers’ Meeting and Trade Show, the Chateau Resort and Conference Center, Tannersville, 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Maryland Grape Growers’ Asso ciation annual meeting, Clarksville, Md., 8:30 a.m.- Pesticide Credit, BerKsCounty Ag Center “Passing on the Farm” Work shop, Aidie Mansion, Doyles- town 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Select Sire Power Customer Meeting, Family House Res taurant, Mifflintown, 11:30 a.m. and Camelot Restaurant, Reedsville, 7 p.m. Pesticide training for core cred its, Berks County Ag Center, P' id DerNrTnXomerp^^ 'a. am. je\. j ys*~*i .* >. ..* l**/ Holstein annual meeting, Northern Bedford High School, Loysburg. Select Sire Power Customer meeting, Shadowbrook Resort, Tunkhannock and Yoder’s Restaurant, Mifflin burg, 7 p.m. Hoof Trimmer Clinic, Lebanon Fairgrounds. Franklin County Farm Manage ment Forum, Lighthouse Res taurant, Chambersburg, phone (717) 263-9226. Lancaster County Dairy Days Part 2, Lancaster Farm and Home Center, 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Crops Clinic, Schuylkill County Ag Center, Pottsville, 9:30 ment Conference, Radisson Penn Harris, Camp Hill, thru March 8. Mid-Atlantic No-till Confer- ence, Bloomsburg’s Hotel Magee. Risk Management for Dairy Op erators, Walker Township Building, Zion, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Capitol Region crop herbicide and insecticide update, Adams County Extension Office, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. Forage Management Workshop For Dairy Producers, Berlin Community Building, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Beef Quality Assurance and Deworming Program, Cedar- brook Golf Course, Belle Vemon, 7 p.m.-9:30 p.m. Public hearing, Milk Marketing Board, Room 202 Ag Build ing, Harrisburg, 10 a.m. Northeast Ohio Dairy Manage ment Conference, Sheraton Four Points, Beldon Village, (Turn to Page A 39) To Say Hello It is an honor to be given the opportunity to follow in the foot steps of John Schwartz and those who preceded him in Lancaster County. I have been an extension agent in Lancaster County for the past 13 years. My efforts have been focused in programs related to environmental issues in agricul ture. This has included working with nutrient management, ma nure marketing, composting, water quality, water rights, and nuisance issues. I have had the opportunity to meet many of you over the years THE WAITING ROOM Background Scripture: Acts 1. Devotional Reading: John 16:7-14. What a dramatic reversal the disciples of Jesus experienced from the gloom of Good Friday to the unbelievable joy of Easter Sunday! We can understand their eu phoria and the expectancy with which they asked the Risen Lord; “Lord, will you at this time re store the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). It seems to me that the experi ence of Christ’s resurrection had not made them a whole lot more understanding: they still thought that Jesus’ messianic purpose was to restore the kingdom of Is rael. They were looking for a change in the secular realm: van quish Rome and restore Israel as an independent nation once again. It seems that they ex pected this to take place instan taneously. Just say the word, Lord; we are ready! So Jesus’ reply may have come to them as a shock: “It is not for you to know the times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you shall re ceive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusa lem and in all Judea and Sama ria and to the end of the earth” (7,8). The answer Jesus gave them was the very one that peo- and I look forward to many fu ture opportunities to work with the agricultural community. Al though agriculture is facing many challenges today, there are many exciting possibilities as well. I will do my best to keep you up to date with the informa tion you need to be successful in the days ahead as our world changes rapidly. To Apply For Crop Insurance The final date for applying for crop insurance for spring planted crops is March 15,2001. Any farmer who received dis aster payments for a 1999 crop is committed to purchasing crop insurance for both the 2000 and 2001 crops. Failure to purchase the insur ance will result in a $2OO penalty per crop. If your insurance agent does not handle crop insurance, contact your local Farm Service Agency office for a list of agents who carry the insurance. To Attend The College Of Agricultural Sciences Open House Penn State’s College of Agri cultural Sciences will conduct an open house for future students and their families on Saturday, March 31. This is an excellent opportuni- ple do not want to hear: Wait! Be patient! Learn To Wait In his poem, “The Reaper and the Flowers,” Longfellow says: Still achieving, still pursuing. Leant to labour and to wait. Most of us don’t have to be persuaded to achieve, pursue, and labor, but many of us have never learned to wait. Patience may be our poorest subject. Yet the patience to wait for God to fulfill his promises is an essential ingredient of faith. For centuries the Hebrews prayed: How long, oh Lord?. The Psalmists realized the impor tance of patience; “... those who wait for the Lord shall possess the land” (Ps. 37:9. See also Ps. 25:3,5; 40:1; 62:1; 130:5,6.) And also the prophet Isaiah: “... blessed are all they that wait for him” (30:18) and “... but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength” (40:31). Impatience often clouded the understanding of Jesus’ disciples. Like us, they often wanted his promises fulfilled yesterday. In one of his parables, he tells them to “be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the marriage feast” (Lk. 12:36). After his resurrection, Jesus tells his disciples: “And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high” (Lk.24:49), a com mand which he repeats, charging them “not to depart from Jerusa lem, but to wait for the promise of the Father...” (Acts 1:4). Divine “Long Run’ One reason we mortals are so impatient is that we are mortals. Our sense of time is so different from that of our Creator. We know that, of course, but it is still difficult for us to see time in ty for high school students who are considering a career in agri cultural sciences to become fa miliar with the programs avail able at Penn State. Future students will be able to interact with deans, faculty, and current students. The morning session includes an overview of majors and minors available, scholarships, clubs, organiza tions, and societies, internships, undergraduate research, and ed ucation abroad. Then there will be tours of agricultural research and teaching facilities for each department. Visitors will have the opportu nity to sample residence hall food with brunch in East or North halls. In the afternoon, there will be presentations on various careers in agricultural sciences and a panel discussion with recent alumni. There will also be a bus tour as well as a walking tour of campus. A residence hall tour and a bus tour of the large animal facility will be available in the afternoon schedule. Don’t miss this oppor tunity to learn more about un dergraduate opportunities at Penn State. For more informa tion or to register, call (814) 865-7521. Quote of the Week: “You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist. ” Golda Meir (Prime Minister of Israel 1969-1974) terms of the divine long haul in stead of the human short haul. An old rabbinic story tells us that one day Abraham saw an old man weary with age and travel, coming toward him. In his usual manner, Abraham greeted him, washed his feet, and invited him to supper. But, observing during supper that the man did not offer a prayer of thanksgiv ing, Abraham asked him why he did not worship God and the old man told him that he worshipped only fire. Upon hearing this, Abraham withdrew his hospitality and sent the man into the night. But God came to Abraham and admon ished him: “I have suffered him these eighty years although he dishonored Me, and couldst thou not endure him one night?” This is reminiscent of what Jesus said to his sleeping disciples in Geth semane, “Could you not watch one hour?” (Mk. 14:38). We are wrong if we think that “waiting” is the equivalent of not doing anything. When we are waiting for God, we are doing something: we are actively prac ticing our faith. That’s what the disciples did when, after the res urrection, they returned to the upper room, where they prac ticed the deep levels of their faith while they waited for the promise of the Father. For them and us, the upper room becomes the waiting room. 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. Burgeti General Manager Andy Andrews, Editor Copyright 2001 by Lancaster Farming