Efficiency - A Must
Dairy Program Theme
“Efficiency - A Must" has
been selected as the theme
for the 10th annual
Southeastern Dairy Con
ference scheduled for
February 4th at the Guern
sey Bam on Rt. 30, Lan
caster.
Sponsors of the event who
include: Curtiss Breeder’s
Service, John W. Eshclman
and Sons, New Holland
CATUmtN ... We Specialize
in shipping fever medications.
Intrj-N. and Intra-Muscular Vaccine We offer a complete
medicatio.l program . Cattle off feed, poor appetite, worms, bloat,
diarrhea, lice, toot rot. and respiratory conditions.
Ir Service & Sales.
STOCK PRODS
BATTERIES
WOOD CANES
ANIMAL CLIPPERS
BLADES
COW TRAINERS
TMBENZOLE WORMER
PELLETS —BOLUSES
HEATED LIVESTOCK WATERERS,
FARM GATES, AND HOG FEEDERS.
ZIMMERMAN'S ANIMAL HEALTH SUPPLY
& fa
/jh C- rlpS*
R.DJ4, Utitz. Pa. 17543 Phone 717-733-4466
3 miles W. of Ephrata along WOODCORNER ROAD
LOW COST MACHINERY STORAGE
I
■-
OPEN FRONT $ 3,940.
CONTACT THESE REPRESENTATIVES
FOR ADDITIONAL HELP IN PLANNING YOUR NEW
Supply and the Pennsylvania
Power and Light Company,
chose the theme since the
constantly changing times
and economic conditions call
for the utmost efficiency
especially for dairymen.
Eugene C. Meyer,
Managing Editor of
“Hoard’s Dairyman” will be
the keynote speaker. Meyer
has traveled extensively
i i
I 1
* - T
30' x 48' x 12'
throughout the United States
as part of his editorial
responsibilities with
“Hoard’s Dairyman,” a
national dairy farm
magazine published in
Wisconsin. Meyer is well
known to the dairy industry
as he was active in the FFA
and 4-H dairy program and
majored in dairy science
from lowa State University.
He is presently working with
the magazine’s dairy herd in
Wisconsin.
ORDER YOUR SPRING
FARM SODS NOW
Cert. Pennscott Red Clover
Pa. Grown Red Clover
Cert. Ladino Clover
Cert. Garry Oats
Cert. Pennfield Oats
Cert. Clintland Oats
Cert. Cfintford Oats
Erie Spring Barley
GRASSES
Maine Grown Certified Seed Potatoes
DeKalb Com
Cert. Iroquois Alfalfa
Cert. Saranac AR Alfalfa
Cert. Cayuga Alfalfa
W-L3OS Alfalfa
W-L3ll Alfalfa
Cert. Vernal Alfalfa
Cert. Buffalo Alfalfa
Thor Alfalfa
P. L. ROHRER & BR0„ INC.
Smoketown. Pa.
WILMER MARTIN
Home Phone
(215)445-5652
MELVIN STOLTZFUS
Home Phone
(717) 392-0066
SUPPLY CENTER
Eugene C.
M,,..
1027 DILLERVILLE ROAD,
LANCASTER, PA.
PHONE 717-397-4761
Meyer
Sudax
717-29921
ll K
!
!Vi
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Feb. 1.1975
Beef
(Continued from Page 1)
eight animals a week go
from the Groff herd directly
to a nearby butcher shop.
"tast year, we figured we
made about $5O more per
head by selling direct,” Jim
said. "The butcher pays the
trucking, which is usually
about $5, and we didn’t have
to pay any commissions
which is usually another $35.
And we averaged a bother $lO
per head because our buyer
always pays the top market
price.”
Their outlet likes his cattle
finished to choice and prime,i
and that’s what the Groffs
aim to supply. And they do it
entirely with homegrown
feed. “Our only feed pur
chase, which figures out to
around $2.50 per month per
animal, is liquid protein
supplement,” Jim said. The
IPS is fed free choice to all
the animals in the herd.
Actually, there are two
herds of about 220 animals
each. When the 'steers first
come into the operation,
usually at around 500
pounds, they are put into a
starting group of animals
and fed com silage and LPS.
"We figure it takes about a
year to get a steer from 500
to 900 pounds on our feeding
program,” Jim said. “When
BUILDING.
they’re up to 900 pounds or
so, we move them from the
fccdlot on the farm where I
live to the lot on the farm
where Carlton lives. There
they get 15 pounds of shelled
corn a day, along with LPS.
It takes about 120 days to get
the steers from 900 pounds to
market weight. They gain
about two-and-a-half pounds
a day on finishing ration.”
Feed efficiency is boosted
with Ralgro implants, two on
each animal. When the
steers arrive in the first
feedlot, they're wormed,
they get a nasal IBR vac
cine, and a Ralgro implant.
The second implant comes a
year or so later when the
steers are moved to the
second feedlot.
The Groffs expect to do
better this year than last.
“Last winter, when we were
buying 61-cent feeders,”
Carlton said, “we needed 48
cents to break even. The
feeders we have now came a
lot cheaper than that. About
a third were put in at 40 cents
and the rest at 30 cents. So
our breakeven point is down
a lot from last year. It
wouldn’t be a good idea for
us to sell our com, because
39-cent cattle are just as
good to us as $3.40 com.”
“We did sell some com out
of the field this year for
$3.40,” he went on to explain.
“It cost us $1.50 a bushel to
grow it, which includes seed,
fertilizer, tases, lease rent
and equipment depreciation.
There’s very little labor
included in that cost. So,
$3.40 a bushel looks pretty
good. But in addition to the
cost of planting, we had to
pay trucking and drying out
of that $3.40, and that was
about 80-cents a bushel. 1
doubt that we’d be better off
selling com.”
In the coining year,
Carlton expects to see a shifty
which would be even more
conducive to feedihg com
rather than selling it. “If
$1.30 is a realistic figure
today for growing a bushel of
com, then it’s going to cost
35- to 40-cents more this
spring. There’s no way a
farmer can grow com shell it
and dry it for less than $2.25
this year. But I see mighty
cheap com next year, maybe
even under $2.25. Especially
if we get good weather, and if
the seed quality is there, and
if farmers can get the fer
tilizer. We’ll have a big crop.
And there won’t be any
animals around to eat it,
either.”
The Groffs had an ex
ceptionally good com crop in
1974. They shelled some 165
acres, and averaged 150
bushel yields. They sold
some of the shelled com, but
put most of it in a Har
vestore. They chopped
another 120 acres, which was
stored in an conventional
silo. Sometime in the spring,
they usually find themselves
running out of silage, so they
feed rye chop instead.
Besides the com, they grow
about 80 acres of small
grain, and have another 60
acres in orchards.
In the spring, they like to
buy an extra hundred head to
take advantage of the rye
chop and pasture. “If you
can put them on pasture and
feed,rye chop too, they’ll
gain a pound a day,” Jun
said.
Feeders are bought from a
(Continued on Page 24]
TRY A
CLASSIFIED
AD!
17