VOL 18 No. 1
Clarence Stauffer, left, discusses heifer management with
Elam Bollinger, a dairy farmer from Manheim. Stauffer is this
area's GEM (Genetic Evaluation and Management) con
sultant, GEM >s a program administered by the Hdlstein-
Friesian Association of America.
GEM Helps Solve
Breeding Problems
By Jim Leuenberger
Director of Information
Holstein-Friesian
Association of America
“A just don’t take enough time
on picking breeding bulls for my
cows. I could if I took the time. I
use the Sire Summaries from
HFAA, but it takes a long time to
sort through all the bulls. So I
called our GEM. consultant
shortly after I heard about the
GEM service and had him
evaluate my herd and help me
select service sires.”
These were comments made
recently by dairyman Elam
Bollinger of Manheim, an early
participant in GEM - Genetic
Evaluation and Management -
service of Holstein-Friesian
Services, Inc.
“The money I spent for GEM
was one of the best investments I
Promotion Plan Gets DHIA Ok
The board of directors of the
Red Rose DHIA voted Monday
evening at their regular quar
terly meeting to adopt a
promotional program that has
been initiated by the state DHIA.
organization.
According to assistant county
agent Alan Bair, the program
was adopted so that dairymen
who aren’t using DHIA can
become familiar with it. He said
about a third of the counties in the
state had adopted the promotion.
Under the program, new herds
going on test between now and
January 1, 1973, will receive one
month’s free test. All herds begun
under the program will be started
as a twice-a-day DHI herd. These
herds can be converted to any
currently. ♦.♦ available* t tes.tiqg ~
ever made!” So said Alden
Ballard, Holstein dairyman from
Vermont who also enrolled his
herd in the GEM Service.
These comments are just a few
of many like them that have been
made by satisfied Holstein
dairymen who have had their
herds evaluated by a GEM
Service Consultant.
Although only being offered in
limited areas of the country at
,the present time, plans are to
eventually have GEM con
sultants available throughout the
country. Pennsylvania dairymen
currently serving as consultants
are: Clarence Stauffer, Ephrata;
George Bridenbaugh, - Mar
tinsburg; Dean Heam, Warren;
C. Wesley Baxter, Fredonia, and
Albert Smith, Springville.
The need for such a service has
(Continued On page 33)
program the second month on
test.
Only herds that have not
previously been on test are
eligible for the program.
The directors felt that
production testing is such an
important part of herd
management that all dairymen
should be encouraged to test.
Anyone interested in the program
is invited to contact the DHIA
supervisor or director in his area,
or the agricultural extension
office in the Farm and Home
Center.
It was also announced that the
annual DHIA meeting will be
held January 16, 1973, at the
Farm and Home Center. Harold
Stebbins will be the guest
f.t-J.yA H H t.M t M ♦ i
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 25, 1972
Testing Milk for Protein
- Researcher Tells Why
Testing milk for protein is a
subject that’s getting more and
more attention lately, and rightly
so, according to Herbert C.
Gilmore, head of Penn State’s
milk testing program.
“There’s a very real possibility
that federal legislation may some
day require a listing of all
components on every package of
food sold. That includes listing
protein content on milk cartons,’’
Gilmore told LANCASTER
FARMING.
One of Gilmore’s respon-
Farm Calendar
Monday, November 27
7:30 p.m. - Octoraro Young
Farmer meeting, vo-ag
department, Octoraro High
School.
DHIA Quarterly Directors
.jj* meeting, Farm and Home
Center.
Buck Season Opens
Tuesday, November 28
9:30 a.m. - Chester County Ex
tension sewing course, Men’s
Knit Jackets, St. James
Episcopal Church,
Downingtown.
7:30 p.m. - Ephrata Young
Farmers Beef Herd
Management course,
“Marketing Finished Cattle”,
vo-ag department, Ephrata
High School.
Garden Spot Young Farmers
meeting, vo-ag department,
Garden Spot High School.
Thursday, November 30
7:30 p.m. - Red Rose FFA
meeting, Garden Spot High
School.
Mt. Joy Rotary
Buy 70 Capons
Members of the Mt. Joy Rotary
Club sponsored a 4-H dressed
capon exhibit at Hostetters
Banquet HaU in Mt. Joy on
Tuesday. The members bought
all ten capons entered in the
exhibit, the two turkeys shown,
plus an additional 60 capons from
the 4-H’ers.
James Sauder of Mt. Joy
exhibited the.grand champion
capon. Reserve champion honors
went to Pam Wivell of Columbia.
The other three exhibitors
placing in the top five were
Beverly Garber, Philip Garber
and Julie Garber, all from Mt.
Joy.
Kevin Ulrich, Ephrata, showed
the grand champion turkey while
his brother, Ricky, took the
reserve prize.
Kermit Birth, extension
poultry specialist from Penn
State, was the judge for the
exhibit as well as the luncheon
speaker.
In charge of the capon project
was Roy Sauder, 4-H club leader
♦ frppl Wt JPY V4»fM***M**t +
Vi i yy
sibilities is overseeing the
nation’s first milk testing
program with a sophisticated
piece of machinery that
automatically analyzes protein
as well as fat content of milk
samples.
“We got the machine just this
past July,” Gilmore says, “and
we started testing in September.
Right now we’re analyzing
protein content in about 9000 milk
samples a month.
“About 8000 of those samples
are ones we’ve chosen as part of
our testing program. The other
1000 or so are being tested for
dairymen around the state
who’ve requested the service.
The test for butterfat costs 10-
cents per sample. The additional
test for protein costs another 5-
cents, or a total of 15-cents for
each sample.”
Gilmore pointed out that the
i , 8
| Farmers Almanac |
Debuts Today I
Almost everyone believes in, or
at least enjoys, the Old Farmer’s
Almanac. That’s why, starting
today and continuing each week,
you’ll be able to read the
Almanac’s weather predictions
for the following week in LAN
CASTER FARMING.
Those predictions, made many
months in advance, aren’t
something to chuckle over. As a
matter of fact, the Old Farmer’s
Almanac has batted 80 per cent
correct, higher than the official
U.S. weather reports.
The folksy predictions are so
James Sauder, left, won grand champion honors at the
Elizabethtown-Donegal Area 4-H Dressed Capon Exhibit
held this week at Mt. Joy. Pam Wivell, center, had the reserve
champion. Penn State poultry specialist Kermit, Birth, right,
52.00 Per Year
i program is still in its infancy, and
' protein tests cannot presently be
carried out on the same scale as
they are for butterfat. If demand
for the program should increase,
however, Gilmore said the ser
vice would be made available.
“The combination automatic
tester is the real key to this
program,” he pointed out. “It
used to take several days to get a
readout on a protein analysis.
With this machine, we can handle
close to 200 samples an hour.”
Before the start of the
program, Gilmore and his
colleagues expected that protein
content in milk from individual
cows would generally be about
equal to or lower than the but
terfat content. On the whole, the
testing program bears out these
expectations.
“But there are exceptions,”
(Continued On Page 33)
good that their publisher, C.
Robertson Trowbridge, admits
“there’s a little witchcraft in
them.”
The amazingly accurate
forecasts are based on study of
such things as sun spot cycles and
weather data spanning 180 years.
Besides the weather predic
tions the new almanac feature
will include some folksy and
homey information, along with
some fairly corny gags.
Watch for it each Saturday on
the Poultry Market page.