10—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 29, 1972
On Getting Production Facts
How many lambs is a ewe carrying?
This is a question which a new ultrasonic
scanner developed at Cornell University is
answering.
The scanner produces a high frequency
sound which echoes when it strikes the'
fetus. These echoes are reported on
Polaroid film by camera mounted on the
scanner. By holding the two Polaroid
prints, showing the right and left sides of
the ewe, a composite picture shows how
many lambs the ewe is carrying.
According to a recent report in the
Drover's Journal, estimation of the number
of fetuses before lambing can be very
useful m managing. For instance, ewes
carrying more than one lamb require a
higher level of nutrition in the last four to
six weeks before lambing to prevent
pregnancy disease, or ketosis. Also, ewes
with more than one lamb require more
assistance during lambing
Separation of ewes carrying multiple
lambs from those carrying a single lamb
can save the owner considerable cost in
feed and losses of lambs and ewes.
Previously, the only sure way to tell how
many lambs a ewe was carrying was
through x-rays, which are costly, time
consuming and potentially hazardous.
The same instrument developed at
Cornell University is used to measure
back-fat and loin eye area of cattle, sheep
and swine.
We project that this type of instrument,
which can give the producer valuable and
reliable information on his animals,
eventually will be accepted as a very im
portant new management tool This type of
information will replace the previous
system of guesstimates based on study and
experience
Behind the New DES Rules
Most farmers by now have become
familiar with the new seven-day with
drawal period imposed by the USDA on
diethylstilbestrol, more commonly known
to livestock producers as DES
It’s no secret why the new regulation- was
passed Some livestock producers didn’t
comply with the previous two-day with
drawal rule When DES residues were
found in the livers of some animals which
weren’t taken off DES within the two-day
period, national publicity and a public
outcry left the USDA with two alternatives
Greatly tighten the restrictions or ban
the use of DES entirely When complied
with, the previous two-day withdrawal was
reported to be very effective. But because
a handful of producers didn’t follow the
rules, all producers who use DES now are
not only faced with a seven-day with
drawal, but they must comply with red tape
to show that they have complied with the
withdrawal rules.
We expect the new rules to be effective.
LANCASTER FARMING
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How Many Lambs? How Much Meat?
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or
The only comparable type of information
now available is through experience with
what actually happens when the ewes have
their lambs or by study of carcasses after
slaughter. But this information is after the
fact. It isn’t reliable enough or accurate
enough for the farmer to get the top-notch
results which he could expect from an
instrument such as the Cornell scanner.
Imagine the value of such an instrument,
for instance, for the swine, cattle or sheep
breeder who is striving to develop a line of
animals with high feed efficiency which still
have an unusually high percentage of
useable meat. A scanner which could give
reliable mfoimation on the meat charac
teristics of the animal while it's still alive
could enable the breeder to develop a
culling system which is many times more
effective than the eye-ball system, it could
enable him to do in three or four
generations of breeding what may now be
taking a dozen generations or more. It
could help him avoid many costly set-backs
which result from using breeding stock
which have an appearance of quality, but
which may be lacking in reality.
We think the short-comings of the eye
ball system are repeatedly demonstrated
in carcass events when animals which are
judged on foot as being among the best
often show up relatively poorly in actual
carcass tests, and animals which were
downgraded in the on-foot competition
sometimes show up surprisingly well in the
carcass competition.
We foresee problems in getting the
scanner generally accepted But we think
the scanner has the same potential value
as a management tool as the already
proven DHIA milk test or soil test.
It’s another way of getting at the facts
and working with them.
Any producer who tries to take a short
cut, however, should be aware of the
possible consequences to himself and his
industry If caught not complying, the
producer’s animals will be held off the
market for at least seven days; more
importantly, the producer likely will
become a very unpopular person within
the industry—beeuase it probably won’t
take many cases of non-compliance to
result in banning of DES entirely.
The whole procedure may seem to some
farmers +o be very severe and un
compromising. It is.
But farmers themselves have more to
lose than anyone else if the public loses
confidence in its food supply.
Actually, a whole new industry known as
natural or organic foods is already
springing up. This industry promises to
remove the fears that some people have
about chemicals and “unnatural" elements
and products used to grow food.
Naturally, as most farmers can readily
predict, these natural foods cost more. In
the long run, we think they will be proven
not to be superior to products which have
been properly fertilized and treated for
insects.
Indeed, it has long been a popular saying
among farmers that: You get out what you
put in. When plants and animals get the
best possible feed, the result will surely be
the best possible food for people.
Food consumers, like other consumers
today, increasingly can afford and demand
quality—quality which can be counted on
every time a product is purchased. Far
mers can and must assure the consumer
that this kind of quality will be provided.
To Furnish Stilbestrol
Certificate
New Consumer and Marketing
Regulations require that all
cattle and sheep producers who
sell animals for immediate
slaughter must furnish a signed
Certificate from the feeder. The
Certificate must state that the
animals had not been fed
stilbestrol for seven days, and
that if fed the hormone at any
time, it was fed in the legally
prescribed manner. Most all
marketing concerns will have the
blank Certificate for the feeder’s
signature. Local producers are
urged to follow these directions in
order to produce a marketable
product and to stay out of trouble.
To Put Leases in Writing
Nearly 20 per cent of our
Lancaster County farms are
operated by tenant farmers; this
means there is some kind of a
lease arrangement between
landlord and tenant; it may be a
share lease or a cash agreement.
There are many ingredients in a
good lease and not one
arrangement will be suitable to
all farms; however, one common
suggestion is that the lease terms
be put in writing and that both
parties have a signed copy. We
realize that verbal agreements
are very common and easy to
make, but they are also more
likely to result in mis
understandings and poor
relations. Written leases should
include the responsibilities of
each person and the timing of
important transactions.
TAKE ME TO
YOUR LEADER!
Lesson for January 30,1972
Background Scripture Luke 16 1-15.
19-31, 20 45 through 21*4
Devotional Reading: 2 Corinthians t
1-9.
The Covenant Players have a
play in their repertoire about a
man who dies and finds himself
in a luxurious room By his side
is an attendant who has the pow
er to give the man whatever he
wants. After a while, however,
the man explodes:
“I’m so bored' I’ve
had everything,
been everywhere,
done everything!
I have ten yachts,
twenty sports cars,
and fifty plati-
num watches But
Rev. Althouse 11 j, ust
things. They have
no meaning.”
The attendant says nothing,
but with a curious expression on
his face, the man goes on to say
to him. “I want to go to the
other place; I want to go to Hell'”
The attendent looks puzzled as he
replies: “Why Mr. Smith, I
thought you understood: this is
Hell!”
His concern for our money
Jesus didn’t mind talking about
moneys to people (just count up
all the times he spoke on this
subject!). He was concerned
about their money because he
wanted to save them from a Hell
of their own making.
To Be Careful With
Aerosol Cans
You can buy most anything in
an aerosol can these days, but
these empty containers can be
real “bombs” unless they are
handled carefully. Never leave
an aerosol can on a stove,
radiator, or in ‘direct sunlight;
never discard it in a fire or in
cinerator. Some gas may remain
in the can and the heat causes
expansion and it may explode.
Also, never puncture an aerosol
container, because there may be
more pressure than expected.
Before discarding the container,
hold the valve open until all gas
has escaped.
To Protect Drains and Spots
Electric heating cable can be a
very helpful piece of equipment
around any home or farm. Many
farmers use this cable to keep
exposed water pipes from
freezing. Now the engineers
suggest that these cables can be
used to keep ice from forming in
downspouts and roof drains. It is
recommended that the cable be
zig-zagged along he edge of the
roof and then down into the
downspouts. Make sure the cable
is safely grounded and fastened
with wire clips. On some slate
roofs the melting snow will turn
into ice along the lower edge of
the roof and cause the water to
back up under the slate; heating
cables may be used to keep this
from happening and allow the
water to enter the roof drain and
down the spout. Homeowners can
buy a roof cable kit that will
include all the materials needed
to install the cable along the edge
of the roof.
Jesus knew that a man’s use of
money was a good measuring
stick of his faith. For example,
he realized that the failure of
men to share, their material pos
sessions was not just a lack of
generosity, but a lack of faith. He
advised men to go ahead and
share freely with one another.
They need not be afraid that if
they share they will not have
enough for their own needs. God
himself will supply the needs of
the person who shares what he
has with others.
Thus, if we are afraid to share
what we have for fear we will not
have enough for ourselves, our
problem is not that we don’t be
lieve in giving, but that we don’t
believe in God and his promise
to take care of our needs.
A substitute for God
Jesus was also very much
aware that money, though neither
good nor bad by itself, could be
an evil influence in people’s lives
whenever they prized it too high
ly. “The Pharisees,” Luke says,
“. . were lovers of money . .
(1614). God gave men physical
possessions so that they might
use them to “be fruitful and mul
tiply.” Men were to be the mas
ters of all material possessions.
But when men loved “things” too
much, they were mastered by the
objects they loved.
So “money" became the mas
ter of some men and Jesus was
led to say. “No servant can serve
two masters; for either he will
hate one and love the other, or
he will be devoted to the one and
despise the other.”
It is a choice all of us have to
make: “You cannot serve God
and mammon” (16:13). Only one
of these can be your Leader.
(Based on outlines copyrighted by the
Division of Christian Education, National
Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S A.
Released by Community Press Service.)