Lancaster Fanning, Friday, April 11, 1958—7
Johne’s Disease
Costs More than
Cattlemen Think
Slow, easygoing Johne’s dis
ease can cost considerably more
than many of our cattlemen think.
W e have made a start toward get
ting reliable figures on this wide
spread intestinal disorder through
a herd study conducted by the
USDA Regional Animal Disease
Laboratory, Auburn, Ala Past
estimates often involved uncer
tainty over a herdsman’s memory,
actual cause of losses, and effects
cl control efforts.
ARS animal pathologists A B
Larsen and T H. Vardaman fol
lowed Johne’s disease for 12
months m a naturally infected
puiebred Guernsey herd of 100
adult cows and 6 young stock
animals. No attempts were made
at control during the period.
Faster Growth-Better Health
ONI ” t ’’
H ftfi
||
1
keep |W
Now sell all your milk! The B-B Calf Starter
Program is the secret ... as good as whole
milk. Special quality ingredients increase
appetite, practically eliminate scours, help
your calves reach maximum, growth, safely,
quickly.
Si J./
B-B
i*
%,STAftt£R
BSSM&-, ~J»
Until May 15 FREE CALF STARTER-
M. S. Graybill & Son Clem Hoober
Bareville Intercourse
S. O. Trupe
East Earl, R. D. 1
Pioneer Manufacturers of High Efficiency Poultry Rations.
lt©3
MARTIN’S LIMESTONE
Ivan M. Martin, Inc., Blue Ball, Pa.
OF 18 ANIMALS culled dur
ing the year, seven were elimi
nated because of Johne’s disease.
That’s as many head as were re
moved for reproductive disorders
and more than the total taken out
for all other reasons The seven
culled animals would have been
worth $216 60 a head for dairy
use. But they had to be salvaged
for a total of $2lO a loss of
$1,306 20.
Milk was bringing about $25 a
hCud monthly over feed costs.
Johne’s disease shortened the lac
tation period about six months
for the seven culled animals, caus
ing a milk-production lass that
amounted to $1,050.
Furthermore, 15 heifers that
normally would have been mar
keted at the end of the year as
breeding stock had to be sold for
beef because of the disease con
dition in the herd. These heifers
were valued at only $lOO a head
for beef or $ll6 60 less than
they would have been worth for
breeding use. This was a loss of
wi
FREE
Ask Your B - B dealer.
Ira B. Landis
779 Valley Rd., Lane.
9 r
*n»ii
ALTHOUGH MEDIUM grade steers can be to be long and narrow and rough across
fed out for a profit, they have several un- the top. Fleshing is slight and tends to
desirable characteristics. They suffer from be patchy (LF Photo)
lack of size for their age. The animals tend
Si 749
SO THE ONE-year-bill for
Johne’s disease ran 54,105 20 in
th's herd Yet, herd owners don’-*
oidinanly get excited about this
disease Usually, it spreads slow
1/, incubation takes a year or
longer, only one oi two‘animals
aie sick at a time, and the death
losses occur irregularlj
Caused by bacteria known as
Mycobactd iura paratuberculosis,
Johne’s disease bungs on recui
ieut scorning and unthnttiness
Iniected animals waste away and
eventually die Their droppings
carry the infective bacillus, which
can live outside the body for a
3 ear or even longer An animal
may carry these organisms for
3 ears without showing signs of
infection.
JOHNE’S DISEASE IS hard to
deal with We have no satisfactory
t'eatment Limited measures aid
in control slaughter accom
panied by sanitation, and taking
calves at birth and raising them
on clean ground Our experimen
tal vaccines cause an animal to
react positively to the johnm test
and sometimes to the tubeicuhn
test. Consequently, their use in
terferes with accurate diagnosis
cl both Johne’s disease and tuber
culosis Johne’s disease can’t be
established in small animals in
the laboratory, and the organism
is hard to isolate and grow in
artificial medium.
Most frustrating of all, we
don’t have an absolutely depend
able test. That’s the main goal
For every dollar in
vested in limestone, ex
penment stations con
elude, three dollars are
returned in increased
crops. Sometimes the
ratio climbs to one to 15
This explains why the
Government pays about
half the cost of applying
limestone, if help is de
sired. The Government
is convinced that farmers
cannot afford to not use
limestone.
Where else does one
dollar spent bring at least
three in return’ It does
pay to lisa good limestone'
New Holland ELgin 4 211?
Ph. Terre Hill Hlllcrest 5-3455
in our work with the infected
herd under study
Every three months, each am
nidl is given the standaid lohnin
test (skin injection of sterilized
liquid prepaied from a culture of
the causative bacteria, producing
a swelling in leactois) At the
s r 'me time, "blood samples aie
tiken fiom each animal for use
in efforts to de”elop a different
type of test Intestinal specimexis
fiom animals sent for slaughter
aie examined microscopically foi
the germ that causes Johne’s dis
ease
The researchers hope to learn
more about its spiead and tne
test-reaction pattern ■ — pci haps
even break through on diagnosing
tin? disorder before the clinical
signs appear
9
Healthy Chicks Make Great Layers!
EXTRA PROFITS...
In Spring Chicks
Spring is the natural time to start and grow chicks That s
why spring chicks grow so rapidly and economically into healthy,
well - developed layers
Strong, healthy Babcock, Bessie
chicks quickly 'respond to the
urge of spring. They start off
laying heavily, and come light
into laige eggs from the start
. just like all Bessies Our
experience shows that spring
pullets will by Octoibei, 1959
have laid as many eggs as aver
age strain pullets hatched in
February.
This means you benefit from top fall prices this year And
their long 14 - 15 months of continuous production will
again give top summer and fall production Tn 59 as well
Bessie top production means peaking at 88 - SS'c with 92 - 95'T
A and AA Large eggs
You 11 save money on brooding and rearing costs too with
spring chicks Some poultrymen’s records show over 50 cents
per bird lower cost, compared to winter chicks ‘ Your fuel and
equipment costs will be less These pullets on early range will
reduce \our growing costs
Order Your Babcock Bossies Mow
Whj not start some Spung Bessies’’ Thes can well be the
best money - makers on \our farm Write or call us today, foi
prices and the day jou want jour chicks.
* Cornell Unhersitj booklet A. E. 1059
BABCOCK HATCHERY
Lancaster County Branch
Route 3F, Lititz, Pa. Phone MAtlison 6-5872
Russell Mease Bob Decker
Route 4 H- D. =1
Manheim, Pa. Milford, New Jersey
Phone MO-5 4705 . Phone Milford 4-4909
12,288 Dairy Cows
Exported in 1957
Fiom July through December
oi 1957 a total of 5,163 dairy
breeding cattle were exported
from the Urn ted States according
to latest figuie; of the Foieign
Agncultmal Sen ice January to
June exports *, eie 7 125 head
bunging to 12 2 c B the total in the
1957 calendar x ear
Mexico was the leading buxer
oi U S da rj breeding stock with
some 2 137 gomg south of the
bolder dunni the last six
months Xearh a thud of these
cattle weia Holstems from Mm
nesota
Venezuela with 954 head, was
the second large bujer and took
slightly more Biown Swiss than
Holstems