AlO-Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, October 6,2001 k OPINION All Her Daughters In the fall of 1998, this editor had the welcome and exciting oppor tunity to cover the Pennsylvania State Dairy Princess pageant at the Four Points Sheraton in Harrisburg. I watched Nichole Meabon, the incumbent princess (how do you refer to them? Outgoing princess? Year-present royalty? Predecessor princess?), offer the state tiara to Jennifer Dotterer. I had a lot of fun taking photos of the outgoing and the new princess, each in tears. I’m sure Jennifer and Nichole will long remember the life-changing events of their reigns. But equally strong in my memory are the Pennsylvania Dairy Prin cess Promotion Program (PDPPS), which this newspaper has always and wholly endorsed, and its director, Jan Harding. At the pageant, if memory serves me correctly, I remember Jan, who seemed to be trying to hold back tears, talk eloquently about her “daughters.” I was wondering, what do daughters have to do with a pageant? Then, of course, as slow as an editor may sometime seem, it struck me: she’s being honest when she speaks about her “daughters.” She meant her dairy princesses. Throughout all the (at that time up to about 14 years) as executive director, Jan really thought of them truly, through all the years of their “grooming” as dairy princesses and as beautiful young women, her “daughters.” Jan is retiring, but will continue to serve as consultant. Under her leadership, 612 county princesses, 513 county alternates, and 1,388 junior promoters, influencing a total of 2,513 young people, achieved dairy promotion. At the past dairy princess pageant, also at the Four Points Shera ton, new executive director Junia Isiminger said, “I have big shoes to fill.” Jan, along with former directors Bev Minor and Wanda Yoder, re ceived awards during that banquet a couple of weeks ago. Jan will be feted Sunday, Oct. 14, at the Rockspring Ag Progress Days site. For those years of supreme and sublime dedication to the program, and for all her “daughters,” and for those who admired her work, we hope you can attend. It was always a pleasure to work with Jan, the many times her “daughters” visited our office for the annual Dairy Month drawing and as part of the thousands of dairy promotions Lancaster Farming has been part of. We wish her the best. The words “THANK YOU, JAN” cannot be written large enough, with a big enough tyfte size, or with enough meaning to convey thanks from all of us here at Lancas ter Farming. ❖ Farm Calendar ❖ Fall Fiber Festival and Montpel icr Sheep Trials, Historic Montpelier Station, Va. Harvest Fest In the City, Indus trial and Agricultural Museum, York, (717) 848- 1587 or (717) 843-4411. HORSES Pasture Walk, Piper’s Run, Glenwood, Md., 9:30 a.m.-noon. Rabies Clinic, Mason-Dixon Fairgrounds, Delta, 2 p.m.-4 p.m. Pa Apple and Cheese Festival, Manley Bohlayer Farm, East Canton. Goat Grazing Field Day, Schuyler County, N.Y., (607) 753-5077. West Central N.Y. Wool Pool, Canaseraga, N.Y., (716) 624- 5951. National Apple Harvest Festi val, South Mountain Fair grounds, Arendtsville, thru Oct. 7 and Oct. 13-14, 6 p.m., .aratoga, . . iber /our, seven farms, Cornell Exten sion Service. (518) 885-5995 Manheim Community Farm Show, thru Oct. 12. Poultry Management and Health Seminar, Kreider’s Restaurant, Manheim, noon. Obstacle Course, Ludwig’s Corner Riding and Driving Club, Marsh Creek Park, Eagle. 7th Annual John Deere Antique Tractor and Implement Show, St. Peter’s Church, Ma- al AgrAbUp^ra^ ationa. *grAbility Train ing Workshop, Harrisburg, (610)378-1327. Dairy Feeder’s Workshop, Meadow Woods Farm, Leba non, 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m., (717) 840-7408. Nutrient Management Certifica tion Exam, Pa. Dept, of Agri culture, Harrisburg, 9 a.m.- noon. Nutrient Management Certifica tion Exam, Penn State ASI Building, 9 a.m.-noon. Dairy Farm Bill Workshop, Flamingo Reno Hotel, thru Oct. 10,(607)255-1406. Fall Sprawl 11, Planning and Management of Change in Southcentral Pa., Franklin and Marshall College, Lan caster, 9a.m.-1 p.m. Power of Positive Expectations, Wildwood Conference Center, Harrisburg Commu nity College, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Dairylea Cooperative Annual Meeting, Holiday Inn, Liver pool, thru Oct. 10. Land Use and Growth Manage ment Symposium, Franklin (Turn to Page A t To Complete Wheat And Barley Plantings Much-needed rains have delayed small grain planting in many parts of Pennsylvania. Ideally wheat and barley plantings should be com pleted in most of Pennsylvania by the end of the first week in Octo ber. Later plantings can still be suc cessful, however, with a higher seeding rate. The desired population for win ter barley and wheat is 1.5 million per acre (28 to 34 plants per square feet). This requires a seeding rate of approximately 96 pounds per acre for barley and 90-120 pounds for wheat. These seeding rates are adequate if you are seeding under ideal conditions; however, the rates should be increased for seeding under poor conditions. When seed ing later than the suggested dates, increase the seeding rate by 30 per cent. Remember, the seeding rate should be based on the number of seeds per acre rather than pounds per acre. Refer to your owner’s manual to PUT OUT YOUR HAND Background Scripture: Exodus 3:1 through 4:17. Devotional Reading: Exodus 4:10-16. When I was in my first pastorate in the suburbs of Harrisburg one day on the way to call in the hospi tal, I saw a woman hit by a car. As I pulled over to the curb, I was sure that she had not survived, for she had been thrown into the air and came down with a terrible thud. I had always been squeamish about physical injuries. The sight revolted me. So, I as sumed that on this busy street there would be someone less squeamish and more knowledge able to do whatever needed to be done before an ambulance arrived. But, although several other peo ple looked on with me, none made a move to go to the fallen woman’s side. At last, I realized that if any thing was going to be done, it would have to be me. So, for the first time in my life, I put aside my abdominal butterflies and knelt be side the bloodied woman to do whatever I could do. Lancaster Farming An Award-Winning Farm Newspaper • Keystone Awards 1993,1995 • PennAg Industries 1992 • PACD Media Award 1996 • Berks Ag-Busmess Council 2000 • Recognized for photo excellence throughout the years by the Northeast Farm Communicators determine the proper setting for your drill to achieve the appropri ate seeding rate. Sow the seed 1.5 to 2 inches deep and make sure your equipment is covering the seed. Maintain a uniform seeding depth. Shallow seedings cause poor stands. Satisfactory yields depend on having approximately 40 heads per linear foot of row when winter bar ley or wheat is planted in 7-inch rows. To achieve this, you need a stand of 18 to 20 plants per foot of row. Winter grain plants have the ability to increase tiller production as the population is reduced. This reduces the effect of low popula tions on yield. However, popula tions can be reduced to the point that the land area should be re planted into another crop later in the spring. This occurs when about a 50 percent stand, or 9 to 10 plants per linear foot of row, re mains. To Use Treated Small Grain Seed Seed- and soil-borne diseases may reduce wheat, barley, oat, and other small grain yields. Principal diseases include seed decays, seed ling blights, and loose and covered smuts. Seed treatment with a pro tectant fungicide increases stands, improves seedling vigor, and elimi nates covered smut of wheat and barley as well as loose and covered smut of oats. Treatment with the proper sys temic fungicide eliminates loose and covered smut of wheat, barley, and oats, and prevents damage from seed decay and seedling blights. For example, grain yield losses from loose smut are directly pro portional to the percentage of smutted heads. Ten percent loose smut heads in a wheat field mean a 10 percent yield loss. Carboxin (Vi tavax), a systemic fungicide, pro vides excellent control of loose smut of barley or wheat. Other ma terials provide control of seed de cays, seedling blights, and covered smuts, but not loose smut of barley Miradulously, she was still alive, although 1 was sure she could not long survive. Nevertheless, later that same day in the hospital I saw her again and was told that she would recover and live. An 80-Year-Old Failure I must confess that putting out my hand that day to touch her was one of the hardest things I had ever done. But, it seemed, I had no choice because no one else was going to do it and I knew that someone had to at least try. I had no idea how I could be of help to her, but that all became pretty academic when I put out my hand and did what I thought, for me, was impossible, I have since come to realize that most the worthwhile things in the world have been accomplished by people who were just as scared as I was, and just as certain they were , not equal to the task. Today, we celebrate Moses as a great man of faith, but we overlook the fact that he was certain that he was not the man for the job. Up until the time of this great wayside experience, Moses had not demon strated any leadership or spiritual sensitivity. And, most important of all, something we usually overlook when this challenge came to him, he was already 80 years old, an age long past the point at which people today think they can be of any service. I Will Turn Aside So, what made the difference be tween this 80-year-old failure and the man of faith we revere today? For one thing, Moses made the change possible when, seeing the burning bush, he said to himself, “1 will turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not con sumed” (Exodus 3:). or wheat. Fungicide formulations are available for use in commercial treating machines and, in some cases, other formulations are avail able for use in farm drill boxes. In general, treating machines provide more uniform seed treatment. If such service is not available, a drill box treatment may control diseases effectively. Baytan (triadimenol), a recently registered seed treatment, sup presses early season powdery mil dew and leaf rust fungi infection. In years of moderate foliar disease pressure, seed treatment with Bay tan may eliminate the need for a foliar fungicide spray. In seasons of severe foliar disease pressure, Bay tan seed treatment allows more ef fective use of fungicide sprays by delaying the onset of infection. Baytan can only be applied with commercial seed treating equip ment. To Scout Fields For Corn Stalk Rot Dr. John Ayers in the Penn State Plant Pathology Department rec ommends evaluating your com fields now to determine which ones have the greatest potential to de velop stalk rot. Averaged over a number of years, stalk rot is clearly the most important disease limiting yields in Pennsylvania com fields. Anything that stresses a com plant can in crease the potential for stalk rot. Moisture stress was a major fac tor this year in Pennsylvania and this contributes to stalk rot inci dence. Additionally, diseases such as northern leaf blight and gray leaf spot also contribute to stress and can result in increased stalk rot as well. Growers should scout fields for diseases and make har vest plans to minimize losses be cause of downed com. Stalk rot not only results in harvest losses, it can cause problems the following grow ing season because of volunteer plants from ears left in the field. Quote Of The Week: “if passion drives you, let rea son hold the reins. ” Benjamin Franklin Probably that one decision is what most differentiates us from 1 Moses. Too many of us would have said, and do say today, “Hmm, isn’t that strange!” and kept going. God has a message for each of us, but we will never hear that mes sage unless we are willing to “turn aside and see,” to give God a chance to speak from some of the “holy ground” in our own lives. Perhaps another reason that God was able to reach Moses was that when he was challenged, he was honest about his doubts and reservations. When God proposed to send Moses to Pharaoh as his representative, Moses did not beat around the burning bush: “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” (3:11). And: “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice... “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent... I am slow of speech and tongue” (4:10). And fi nally: “Oh, my Lord, send, I pray, some other person” (4:13). And because Moses was upfront with his reactions, God was able to deal with them. To every objection Moses raised, the answer is found in God’s reassurance: “But I will be with you” (3:12). None of us, by ourselves, is equal to the tasks God lays upon us. We may not have all it takes to do what has to be done. But if we give God what we have, he will make up the difference. If we trust him, we can, if we will, respond when he says to us: “Put out your hand ...” Lancaster Farming Established 1955 Published Every Saturday Ephrata Review Building 1 E. Main St. Ephrata, PA 17522 —by— Lancaster Panning, Inc. A Stemman Enterprise William J. Burgess General Manager Andy Andrews, Editor Copyright 2001 by Lancaster Farming
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers