Vol. 17 No. 27 sylvania Secreta Agriculture Jim McHale and three officials from an Italian dair>'i-°‘°P- a ! ,ans were a * Charles Myers’ Black and White ho’.’stein Rohrerstown Road to examine 85 bred Holstein ruTiil 6 !?,* which were purchased for dairy farmers on the island of Sardinia. “Bocca bella!” Holsteins Going to Italian Co-op Cries of “Bocca bella!” (that’s “beautiful cow” in Itallian) were heard frequently on Wednesday at Charles Myers’ Black and White Holstein Farm on Rohrerstown Road. The occasion was the largest single export sale of Pennsylvania dairy cattle ever held. Assembled at the farm were 85 carefully selected bred heifers. Three Italian dairy experts from the island of Sardinia were there to check the animals, and they liked what they saw. Oscar Kennedy, marketing coordinator for Holstein Fresian Services in Brattleboro, Vt., said the cows were selected by members of Holstein associations in different parts of the country. Over 400 heifers will ultimately be bought by the Italians for members of a farming co-op. About one-quarter of the cows come from different areas of Pennsylvania, inclding Lan- Luigi Gaddeni (foreground) ponders dam performance records white members of the Pennsylvania Holstein Association discuss the progress of the Wed nesday afternoon sale. Library Seed o£ AgrioinJ tors 107 Prttoe i3ldg» Uiiivors caster County. The Myers farm served as a collection point for the bulk of the Pennsylvania cows. Wednesday night the heifers were loaded on trucks and taken to Richmond, Va. There they will board ships for transport to Italy. They will be used to increase milk production m that country. All the cattle were selected on the basis of dam performance. Only considered were calves from dams with annual milk production records of 16,000 pounds or better. Grand dams were required to have posted 14,000 pounds. On hand for the Wednesday afternoon sale were officials of the Pennsylvania Holstein Association and Secretary Jim McHale, Pennsylvania Depart ment of Agriculture. William C. Nichol, secretary of the Pennsylvania Holstein Association, said a similar sale is being sought with Russia. He said that it would be at least a year, though, before anything definite was accomplished. DHIA Board Boosts Tester Pay, Benefits DHIA supervisors were granted a one-cent per cow fee increase and a boost in health insurance payments by the DHIA board of directors, meeting at the Farm and Home Center Tuesday night. The fee increase is effective July 1. Presently there are 14 supervisors testing some 30,000 cows monthly. A committee of testers and (Continued On Page 25) Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 27,1972 State Squashes Rumors on Regional Laboratory Closings Rumors have been flying for the past week or so on the possible closing of Penn sylvania’s six Animal Industry Laboratories. These rumors are simply not true, Raymond Kerstetter told LANCASTER FARMING in a telephone interview Wednesday morning. Kerstetter feels con fident that all six labs will con tinue operations for the for seeable future. The rumors, Kerstetter feels, were sparked by a couple of things. First, a March, 1972, report from the Governor’s Review of Government Management. The report recommends closing the Evans City (Butler County) and Tunkhannock (Wyoming County) The new random sample pullet house dedicated this week at Penn State is said to be one of the finest such facilities in the nation. Among the guests at the dedication ceremonies were (left to right): Robert R. Penn State Poultry Facility Dedicated Sixty Pennsylvania poultry men and industry leaders at tended the dedication of the new Pennsylvania Random Sample Pullet Growing Facility, located on the Rock Spring Farm of Penn State University near Pine Grove Mills. The facility was con structed by the Pa. Dept, of Agriculture. Both the College of Agriculture and the Dept, of Agriculture have a joint interest in the project. The Pennsylvania Random Pullet House completes the Random Sample Facilities, reported to be the finest in the nation. Robert R. Parks, hat chery man from Altoona, Pa., served as master of ceremonies. Parks in his opening remarks stated that Random Sample Testing Facilities have made a terrific contribution to the in dustry, which in turn has laboratories Second, the Department of Agriculture did make an m-depth study of operations at all the labs “When people see you looking at things,” Kerstetter says, “they wonder why you’re looking. They talk about it, and that’s how rumors start.” Kerstetter emphasizes that the studies were conducted not with an eye to closing the labs, but to see exactly how well they were functioning In addition to Evans City and Tunkhannock, there are labs in Harrisburg, State College, Doylestown and Kennett Square. After the Governor’s report was published, both Kerstetter and Secretary McHale met with members of the Governor’s benefitted the consuming public. The Poultry Industry has become very efficient and therefore are producing America’s cheapest protein food. Eggs and poultry meat have been on the plentiful Farm Calendar Sunday, May 28 6:45 p.m. Fulton Grange Covered Dish Supper and “Go-to-Church” Night, Oakryn Grange Hall. Monday, May 29 Memorial Day Friday, June 2 6:30 p.m. Ephrata Young Farmers annual Family Strawberry Ice Cream Social and Family Recreation Night, Warren Bollinger Farm, Lititz RD4. Review committee who were instrumental in drawing up that section of the report which deals with agriculture. McHale and Kerstetter discussed the need for effective animal disease control They explained that speed is especially critical in the control of poultry disease After the meeting, Kerstetter said he felt reasonably confident that both Tunkhannock and Evans City would remain in operation If Evans City were to close, farmers in Butler and surrounding counties would have to take their diseased birds to State College for tests. Tunkhannock farmers would go either to State College or to Doylestown. Parks, hatchery man from Altoona and master of ceremonies; Dr. David McClay, Dean of the College of Agriculture; and William Minnich, representing the Penn sylvania Department of Agriculture. food list for many months and give the “low income” family the opportunity to buy wholesome, nutritious food, high in protein, at very economical prices. During the last 20 year period, prices on many commodities have in creased very substantially, with increases of over 100 per cent in some instances. During the same period, egg and poultry meat (Continued On Page 4) /it This Issue Classified Ads 29,30,31 4-H News 14,15 Guest Editorial 10 Market Reports 2,3,4 Sales Register 28 Thoughts in Passing 12 What’s New 7 Women’s Section 20 thru 24 I $2.00 Per Year