Long Term Higher Consumption , Short Term Oversupply
Penn State Economist Reviews Swine and Cattle Market
Louis Moore, Penn State ex
tension economist, spoke to
local swine and cattle produce! s
Monday and Tuesday evening at
the Farm and Home Center
Moore reviewed the livestock
trends of the past couple of
years and made projections on
what the future likely holds He
also discussed futures trading
Some Feed History
In reviewing trends in the live
stock industiy, Moore showed
slides indicating the number of
acres of farm land in piodue-
Louis Moore, left, Penn State Extension- economist, dis- - Burdette, citing numerous re
cuSses a Penn State-booklet with, Lester Burdette, Penn search surveys, analyzed the
Stats'Livestock Extension specialist." The two were speakers -types of results’farmers can ex
at the Farm and Home Center early this week. - '* pect to get from various types
Celery Growers Discuss New Season
Area celery growers discussed questions regarding cultural uses super phosphate with
their 1971 season plans and re- practices, how to handle pests, manure and Bergman commend
viewed production problems dur- how to fight weeds, and how to ed this as “one of the best cul
ing the past growing season at a airive at the proper soil fertility tural practices available ”
meeting Tuesday afternoon at level. one fanner as]ced about using
the Jay Hodeckej. eery arm, -phe extens i on personnel gave 10 tons per acre but Bergman
East FetersDurg. specific recommendations based said he wouldn’t advise this
Dr. Ernest Bergman, Penn on. the research data available The Penn State men also
State associate professor of plant to them Besides Bergman, strongly urged taking soil tests
nutrition, told about 30- pro- those present were Dr Peter in arriving at levels of fertiliza
ducers present that there should Ferretti, Penn State vegetable needed Application of fer
be plenty' of seed this year al- specialist, and Di. Richard Os- tl i izer should take into account
though it was “awfully restrict- trowski, Penn State extension t v, e content of an\ manure which
ed last year.” He said there is pathologist Arnold G. Lueck, as- “ay Se aoplid
about seven pounds of seed ociate Lancaster County agricul
available from Penn State, at $lO tural agent, conducted the meet- * n discussing pest problems
an ounce ' in ff pioducers asked about what to
t ~ . , do about the red spider and cab-
He also said the seed will be In discussin 0 soil fertility, so e ba g e worm Lueck noted that
grown outside this year rather producers asked about the use ,< the i oo p er o lV es the most trou
than in a greenhouse because of ■ manure - Bergman su =Q ested
■nrohlems with the red snider in that not more than five tons per
oTPonhniisp acre should be used and that it The importance of pesticides
B " ‘ should be plowed down in controlling these pests was
The producers asked several One farmer said he always underscored
Among those discussing plans for,the specialist; Dr. Richard Ostrowski, Penn
1971 celery crop with area farmers this State Extension pathologist, and Dr. Ern
week were; Arnold G. Lueck, associate est Bergman, Penh State associate profes-
Lancaster County agricultural agent; Dr. sor of plant nutrition.
Petpr, gemj,. S;tst£„; vegetable.... „„„ ~,
tion in the U S has dropped
sharply since the early 1950’s
Mooie said tins is “because of
government programs” in which
“farmers took acies out that
weren’t any good and added
moie lime and fertilizer so that
the total output continued to
rise ” The excess production
was stored and huge surpluses
built up during the 1950’5.
But during most of the 1960’s
and m 1970 “we used more than
was produced.” The result was
that the amount in storage now
is far below what it was 10 years
ago
The increased use of U S
giain stems in large part from
expoits of the major U S feed
crops The U S exports one
half of its soybeans, one-fourth
of its corn, two-fifths of wheat
and one-fifth of sorghum
Mooie emphasized that if the
feed shoitage in this country
continues, this export feed
“would be available ” He was
referring to the corn blight in
1970 which reduced coin output
far below expectations
Outlook Not Bright
In discussing the probable
1971 price tiend for swine and
cattle, Moore said he t “doesn’t
believe current puces will
hold ” He was referring to re
cent sharp rises in cattle and
hog prices, following several
months of depressed market
prices Moore said he thinks the
large numbers of hogs coming
to market will remain high and
that this will continue to depress
both swine and cattle markets.
Penn State Livestock Specialist Reviews
Modern Cattle Management Practices
Lester Burdette, Penn State
livestock Extension specialist,
spoke to local cattle producers
this week at the Farm and
Home Center.
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 20,1971 —
While swine numbeis aie ex
pected to begin to taper off by
mid-year, Moore said that the
USDA reports the 1970 calf
crop was 760,000 head above
1969 figures and these animals
will begin to arrive on the mar
ket 'the latter half of the y ear
January 1 cold stoiage hold
ings of pork weie also up 63
per cent from a year ago This
is the largest supply in 15 years
This will be sold when prices go
up and will have a dampening
impact on futuie prices, he ex
plained
At the same time costs asso
ciated with hog production -went
up because of increases in corn
prices This means farmers will
have to receive highei puces
than before to remain even
He also noted that the farmei’s
share ot the consumer pork dol
lar declined from about 60 pei
cent in February, 1970 to about
43 per cent in November 1970
Because of pressure from farm
ers and USD A, howevei. pork
retail puces have begun to
of rations and management
practices. Some of the findings
contradict practices of some
farmers.
He said several studies show
shelled corn feeds as efficiently
as rolled com. ~
Farmers using an all grain
ration should feed it to animals
750 pounds or' over and it
should be fed 120 days or less
A longer feeder time on all
grain can result in serious prob
lems, he explained.
He cited another study which
shows that giving cattle all the
hay they can eat is a costly
practice The studies showed
that a three per cent hay ra
tion stimulated gains at about
the same rate as a 10 to 20 per
cent hay ration. But the addi
tional hay stimulated the ani
mals to eat other additional
feed without corresponding
weight increases
Burdette explained that a
high level of hay early in the
feeding program, with a cut
back in amount of hay in the
later periods gives best results.
Burdette cautioned fanners
about following the recommen
dations to remove Stilbestrol
from feed for the required 48
hours before marketing He
warned that the growth stimu
lant can be detected by U S. in
spectors and they can detect it
in the livers if it is pot removed
in time. It can be traced back
to the responsible producer and
he can be penalized in future
marketings of his animals. In
addition, the entire industry
could receive unfavorable publi
city
Except for this caution about
removing it before marketing,
Burdette recommended the use
of Stilbestrol “because it can
SECOND SECTION
» It- |<t 5 * *■ * t 1<•
make some adjustments in the
last couple ol weeks, he said.
Moore said that the average
market weight o£ both swine and
Cattle is ahead ot a year ago.
This means that today’s animals
are putting moie meat per an
imal on the maiket, a further
depressing factoi in the price
outlook
Moore said the average market
weight of hogs is up about two
pounds over a year ago, while
cattle are about eight pounds
heavier than a year ago and 43
pounds heavier than two year*
ago.
On the favoiable side, Moore
noted a trend toward better
quality meat, particularly with
pork, which tends to hold de
mand bettei
In addition, there should be
an overall better demand foe
meat as the economy picks up
through the year
Overall, Moore wasn’t optoims
tic Besides pointing out the ad
(Continued on Page 18)
mean an extra eight dollars to
nine dollars a head” for the pro
ducer.
On the question of com sil
age versus alfalfa silage, Bur
dette said that studies show
that corn silage gives more effi
cient gains. He explained thaw
hone of the forage crops con
tain enough energy to make
them compare with com silage.
He said that studies show the
“stress feeds” are of benefit
particularly when lighter cattle
are moved long distances.
Burdette emphasized that cat
tle producers should be busi
ness oriented and not tradition
oriented. Don’t try to top the
market, he warned, but sell ani
mals at the maximum profit
point.
Farmers should realize that
the highest average daily gain
doesn’t always mean extra pro
fit and cattle can be kept too
long.
He also said that producers
should be aware of the return
they receive for feeding crops
through livestock, the amount
of beef produced per acre, and
the return on investment.
Asked about liquid supple
ments, Burdette said they “hare
a lot going foi them,” includ
ing ease of mechanization.
There are some problems, how
ever, including trouble with
keeping some elements from
“settling out ”
If properly formulated, the
liquid supplements can be used
in the feeding program, he said.
Burdette ui ged farmers to at
tend the second educational
Livestock Day at Penn State
March 31
Max Smith, Lancaster County
agricultural agent, conducted
the program.
It 1 ) ' M I f ' t *
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