Vol, 11. No. 25
Above Normal
Temperatures
To Continue
HARRISBURG Wet fields
slowed down preparation of Pen
nsylvania farm fields for spring
planting, but above-normal tem
peratures should continue with
Uttle rainfall for the remainder
of this week, the State Depart
ment of Agriculture said Wed
, nesday.
In a weather and crop sum
mary for the week ended Mon
'day, the Pennsylvania Crop Re
porting Service said ithe Weather
Bureau reported unseasonably
high temperatures for the past
week ithat ran into the, nineties
in the andf Reading
areas For the rest of this week
temperatures should range from
normal to six degrees above nor
mal.
High temperatuies in recent
days brought all fruit blossoms
out ahead of the expected sche
dule and most areas are in full
bloom. Blossom trails are mark
ed for motorists in the Adams
and Berks County areas where
guided tours are planned for
Sunday.
Plenty of corn land is still to
be prepared for planting over
the State. Oats planting was be
hind schedule ;at the,end of last
week Warmer weather aided
hay and pasture fields. Stands
are good and cattle are on past
ure, the report declared.
Planting of early potatoes con
tinues in the southeast and farm
ers m other areas are waiting for
fields to dry.
Peas'for processing m south
ern countries are a week to ten
days late and planting is under
way in central Pennsylvania
counties. Harvest of spinach in
volume is in progress in tho
southeast, with quality reported
good ,
Rhubarb is ready to cut and
housewives next week may ex
pect homegrown asparagus on
the markets.
SPRING, OR MAYBE SUMMER, came to •
Lancaster County this week pushing tem
peratures up into the 90’s. The long warm
days, now have the trees bursting with
Qnarryville (Lancaster County) Pa., Friday May 3, 1557
C. WARREN LEININGER, R 2 Denver, left, is the new
president of the Lancaster County Swine Producers Assn,
formed Tuesday night. Vice president is Richard Maule,
R 2 Quarryville. The secretary treasurer, Harold Rohrer,
R 7 Lancaster, was not present. Leininger is a Spotted Pol
and China breeder and Maule raises Berkshires. (LF Photo)
Water Soaked Barley Replaces Corn
In Poultry Feeding Ration Test
Scientist _at Washington State
College, in experiments with
chicks and poults, have discover
ed a treatment using either water
or ait enzyme mixture for barley
that results in just as good growth
of the birds and produces as much
meat per pound of fed as corn
does.
The treatment worked out by
the Washington ‘researchers in
volves soaking the barley or other
cereal grains in an equal weight
of water until they absorb all the
water. Then the gram is dried,
ground, and mixed in a regular
poultry ration.
The reason for the improved re
sults, the Washington scientists
believe, is that the water unlocks
some of the carbohydrates for
merly inaccessible in the grain.
The same results came from simp
ly adding an enzyme mixture to
feed containing barley.
flowers and most pasture is In good shape.
This herd of Holsteins find finds spring a
very enjoyable time with lush pasture in
an abandoned orchard.
At four weeks of age, birds
used in the.expenments had gain
ed 190 pounds more per ton of
feed on the treated barley than
those on the untreated.
County Health Fair Opens
In Lancaster Wednesday
More than 30 exhibits will be
included m the Health Fair spon
sored by the Lancaster YMCA
and participating health agencies
at the YMCA on May 8 through
11.
' The fair is to acquaint the Lan
caster County public with the
various facilities available
through local agencies, and to
educalte the public in the ways
to make use of the facilities.
The fair will open at 1.15 on
Wednesday and will be opei
until 9 p. m. and on Saturday,
from 10 a. m. until 4 p. m.
There is no admission charge.
Lancaster County Swine Producers
Organize at Meeting Tuesday
C. Warren Leininger, R 2 Den
ver, was elected president of the
newly, organized - Lancaster
County Swine Producers Assn, at
the organization meeting at the
Farm Bureau Cooperative in Lan
caster Tuesday night.
Vice president is Richard
Maule, R 2 Quarryville, and secret
ary treasurer is Harold Rohrer,
R 7 Lancaster.
Leminger is a spotted Poland
China breeder, Maule raises Berk
shires and Rohrer is a Chester-
White, producer.
Others named to the board of
directors are Dunoc-Jersey, Arhe
Anderson, Elizabethtown, Ham
oshire, Earl Fisher, R 1 East Earl;
Poland China, Harold B, Endslow,
R 1 Marietta, Yorkshire, Kenneth
Skiles, R 2 Narvon, commencal
feeder, Ivan Click, R 7 Lancaster,
and vocational agriculture inst
ructor, Howard Siglin, Millers
ville
At this election, a third of the
directors were elected foi three,
two and one year terms
Approximately 40 swine pro
ducers heard Dwight Yonkm,
Penn State swine specialists com
mend Lancaster County for being
the first southeastern Pennsy
lvania county to organize such an
assaciation
He outlined the activities of
the state and national swine pro
ducers associations. The state or
ganization, he said, is presently
trying to get the legislature to
outlaw the _useof live virus cho
lera innoculation. The national
organization has several programs
underway to promote the use of
pork and pork by-products.
The second speaker at the meet
ing was Grant Sherntt. of the
animal husbandry department at
Penn State.
He said that meat type certi
fication is one of the most effici
ent ways to improve swine pro
duction He listed three goals.
First is increased sow pro
ductity. For a gilt, the weaned
litter of eight pigs must weigh 270
pounds and an eight pig litter
from a 'sow must weigh 320
Northampton, Wayne Ctys. Certified
Brucellosis-free by State and USD A
HARRISBURG Northamp
ton and Wayne counties were 1
certified as brucellosis-free last
week by the state and federal de
partments of agriculture m an,
announcement by state sec. Wil
liam L. Henning. v
They bring to 55 the number of
Pennsylvania counties where the
troublesome ailment of cattle
(Bang’s disease) has been
brought under control, 25 of them
in the past two years.
In a run-down of testing work
still to be done in 12 counties be
fore the entire state can be certi
fied, only two counties remain to
be signed up for area testing, ac
cording to Dr. H. A. Milo, direc
tor of the State Bureau of Animal
Industry. These counties are
Lebanon and Bradford where 75
per cent of herd owners in only
18 of the state’s 1,569 townships
still must sign agreements for
blood testing of their cattle.
$2 Per Year
pounds
Second is increased growth and
feed efficiency in the animal. Tha
goal here is for the hog to weigh
200 pounds in 180 days.
And third is how well the car
cass will cut out. Backfat should
measure from 1.6 to 19 inches,
the carcass length should be from
29 to 31 inches and the loin eye
measurement should be at least 3
h square inches.
Sherntt said that these basic
repuirements for meat type cert
ification seem rather easy on the
surface because most tarmers can
think of individual hogs that have
exceeded these' repuirements.
But he said that when every
hog on the farm will live up to the
goals, the farmer is doing a top
notch job of management and
feeding.
He also gave some hints on in
creasing gilt litter size by select
ing the correct time for breeding.
Tests have shown that gilts fared
during the third heat period will
average about a pig a litter more.
Best time for service is during the
fust 24 hours of the period.
Breeding during the last or
third 24 hours of the period will
tend to decrease litter size, he
said.
-Sherritt is also an advocate of
lean gilts and sows before and
during the'gestation period. After
the gilt gets to a 160 to 170 pound
weight, the feed should be cut
down to Jkeep gain to about ai
pound and a half a day.
The only time the gilt should
go on full high protein feed is
during breeding time. She should
be on full feed for at least three
weeks before she is to be bred.
Another guest at the_ meeting
was Walter Dunlap Jr., of thp
Lancaster Livestock Exchange,
He told the breeders that the Ex
change is ready to stand behind
then in any project that might
be undertaken. '
A movie on Pennsylvania swine
production was shown
County Agent Max M. Smith
presided at the meeting
Testing has been completed in
six counties where the incidencei
of the disease is-not yet down to.
federal-state certification require
ments. These counties are Chest
er, Cumberland, Franklin, Mont
gomery, Philadelphia and Tioga,
Four other counties Berks,
Lancaster, Perry and York
are completely signed up and
testing soon will expand to all
townships.
To attain certification, less
than one per cent of cattle and
five per cent of herds must be
free of the disease.
Wayne County dairymen attain
ed an 11003031 record, Dr. Milo
§aid. When the first county-wide
test was completed in 1954 it was
found that 3.7 per cent of all
cattle and 16.3 per cent of herds
were infected. On the latest test
only 5/100 of one per cent of cat
tle and one-half of one per cent
of herds were infected.