Longer weight trial recommended UNIVERSITY PARK - Charolais and Siramental beef cattle breed era should /elect their herd bulls from 550-day weights instead of the 385-day weights used commonly to evaluate most beef cattle breeding herds, based on findings at The Pennsylvania State University and in Germany. The research shows that Charolais and Simmental beef bolls do not reveal their true potential for efficient weight gains and feed ef ficiency (pounds of feed needed per pound of gain) during the traditional ages of 225 to 365 days used to measure Angus and Hereford growth qualities. Instead, Charolais and Simmental bulls show their best weight gains and feed efficiencies during the 285 DAIRYING'S NUMBER 1 THIEF - MASTITIS This disease represents one of the most costly problems in dairy herds; the cost being represented primarily in lost produc tion, and at times even the affected individual. Many organisms can cause mastitis, bacteria being the major infectious agent. Often, more than one type of bacteria are present in the same herd. That is primarily why the same medication isn’t always effective. When several cases are en countered, the best procedure is to have the veterinarian take samples, culture the organism, run sensitivity tests which enable him to utilize the most effective medication. When mastitis becomes a herd problem, charao terized by either a high bacteria or leucocyte count at the dairy, use of the CMT (California Mastitis Test) on each quarter of all cows is an excellent screening test. This test indicates the amount of leucocytes (white blood cells) present which in turn indicates the severity of the inflammation present in the quarter. Many times one can detect infection before an acute case of mastitis occurs. Conducting this test monthly and keeping records enables you and your veterinarian the opportunity of conducting a preventive mastitis program. Of the various organisms causing this disease over 90 percent are related to either a Streptococcus or Staphylococcus infection. Streptococcus mastitis and its spread in a given herd is usually related in a general way to sanitation. Existing cases are usually easy to clear up. The problem, therefore, revolves around a prevention of new cases. Thus, any procedures which can be established to prevent spread of infection from cow to Southeastern Penna. George F. Delong Regional Manager 225 West Woods Drive Lititz. PA 17543 Call Collect 717-626-0261 Eastern Lancaster Co. Melvin Herr RR2 New Holland. PA 17557 Ph 717-354-5977 Northern Lane. Co. Leo Elliott 313 Wynwood Dr Willow Street. PA 17584 Phone: 717-464-4235 Worth Western Lancaster Co. Earf B. Cinder RD2, Manheim. PA 17545 Phone. 717-665-3126 days from ages 266 to 550 days. These conclusions were drawn recently by Kent A. Barber and Dr. John 0. Almquist of the Agricultural Experiment Station at Penn State. The two scientists have completed four years of experimental selection trials with 22 purebred Charolais bulls. Their results will be published in the Winter issue of “Science in Agriculture,” the quarterly magazine of the Experiment Station. The Penn State results agree with those for Simmental bulls studied in Germany. The findings were illustrated by comparing two 3-year old Charolais bulls born on the same date. At 365 days of age Bull A weighed 1152 pounds while Bull B weighed 1206 pounds. At 550 Warren Bohnboff D. V.M. Director of Nutrition and Veterinary Consultant Southern Lancaster Co. Henry DeLong, Jr. RDI Box 106 Quarryville. PA 17566 Phone- 717-284-2683 Southwestern Lancaster Co. Ben Greenawall RD2, Conestoga, PA 17516 Phone. 717-872-5686 MSLik William Windle ROl, Atglen, PA 19310 Phone: 215-593-6143 Lebanon Co. Marvin Meyer RD2. Box 157 Annville, PA 17003 Phone: 717-867-1445 days of age however, Bull A weighed 1850 pounds and Bull B weighed only 1552 pounds. “This represented a total post-yearling gain of 351 pounds in favor of Bull A,” Barber and Almquist stated. “Obviously, it would be desirable to propage the genes of Bull A, an animal capable of gaining 3.0 pounds per day while converting feed at the rate of 7 pounds of feed per pound of gain for the 285 day test.” Ihelr conclusions do not mean that the use of yearling weights in bull selection programs should be com pletely abandoned, the Penn State animal scientists quickly pointed out. If 550 day weights are impractical AGRI-KING KEY TO Pm cow should be instituted. These recommendations include strict attention to the cleaning and sanitizing of udders prior to milking; use of a recommended teat dip after milking; strict isolation and treatment of active Streptococcus cases, and a good dry cow treatment program. Staphylococcus mastitis generally relates itself to the design, installation and use of the mechanical millring system. Each of these three areas are equally important in terms of maintaining the maximum level of udder health. Design and installation of mechanical milking machines are varied, thus a discussion of machine function as it relates to mechanical principles at the teat end when the machine is functioning under full load is best discussed. First the vacuum level in the lower teat cup and claw should maintain itself stable within 2” of mercury pressure at all times. This vacuum stability is necessary for complete teat massage during the milking cycle. It is affected by such things as the size of the vacuum pump, size and location of the pipes (both air and sanitary), and the relationship of the pulsations to the design and capacity of the daw. It is almost impossible to maintain vacuum stability in claw type units without alternating the pulsations. The second mechanical function is that of a gentle teat massage. This function is related to the design of the pulsator and the speed at which the liner is allowed to dose against the teat end. Extremely snappy Imlsations are often fdt to be a contributory factor to ong term udder health problems. A third function of importance is the lack of ballooning of the teat end during milking. This is usually related to the height of the milk line, load on the milk line and design of the pulsator. It Is best corrected with a design aid installation'that insures that the pulsated vacuum level does not drastically exceed the milking vacuum level at any time. Improper nutrition is also a very important factor whether it be unbalanced or insufficient. When on a high level of balanced nutrition, a cow not only has greater resistance to infection but is able to restore tissue damaged by the infection to a functional levd in a shorter period of time. rrks Co. Northeast Roger Heller ROl, Robesonia, PA Phone: 215-693 6160 Lehigh & Northampton Thomas Heist Main Street Aiburtis, PA 18101 Phone 215-965-5124 South Central Penna. James L. Yoder Regional Manager RRI. Box 81 Chambersburg. PA 17201 Call Collect 717 264-9321 Adams Co. Area Menno N. fiissler RR4, Gettysburg, PA 17325 Phone 717-528-4849 to obtain, then yearling weights are the next best basis for making sire selections within breeding herds. Barber and Almquist recommended that 365-day weights be recorded and used to eliminate the bottom half of the bulls tested. Bulls which are average or above for 365-day weight should be continued on test through 550 days of age, they affirmed. These results should be used for further culling and selection. They suggested that the results of their studies, and those in Germany, can allow truly outstanding Charolais and Simmental bulls to express their true genetic potential. Eastern Franklin Co. Eldon Martin RDS. Waynesboro, PA 17268 Phone- 717-762-3576 Cumberland Co. Marlin E. Ebersole R 5 Carlisle. PA 17013 Phone- 717-776-7324 Western Washii Charlie Campbell Newville, PA Phone. 717-776-7573 istem Washington Co.. MD Earl H. Moyer RDS, Box 277 Hagerstown, MD 21740 Phone- 301-739-5199 Lancaster Farming, Saturday. Feb. 7,1976 NEPPCO plans summer meeting The 1976 NEPPCO Con vention & Exposition will be held in the new Springfield Civic Center in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts, August 24-26. Two nearby motor inns - Baystate West, a new facility managed by Marriott, & the Holiday Inn - will be Used to accomodate convention attendees. The Springfield Civic Center was completed in 1972 at a cost of over 610 mil. It is comprised of a sports arena, a separate 40,000 sq. ft. exhibit ball with no support poles, banquet hall, meeting rooms, cocktail lounge, kitchen & related facilities. Trucks can drive into the Exhibit Hall from the street. The entire budding is fully air-conditioned. The move from Hershey, PA, to New England was initiated by the NEPPCO Board when it met in Boston, Dec. 3-4, At that meeting, Boston was named first choice for NEPPCO EXPO ’76 because of the Bicen tennial. When it was learned later that Boston facilities were already booked, a number of other New England sites were sur veyed. The August dates, some 2 months’ earlier than the traditional NEPPCO dates, were selected tor several reasons: First, October is the most favored Convention month for all industries in the nation. As a result, it has become very difficult to book facilities for an October convention even 3 or 4 years in advance. Second, because PEIA’s Fact Finding Conference has moved into mid-September & many companies exhibit at You can take your time paying for it too Select a credit plan to fit your budget and say ‘Charge it’. So if you need a new building right now, and a convenient way to pay for it, call us collect today Ephrata, Pennsylvania, Box 300 • (717) 733-2312 V Wickes Buildings A Division ot The Wickas Corporation both shows, it is necessary for the NEPPCO show to be held at least 2 wks before or after Fact Finding so that exhibitors have time to transport exhibits from one show to the other. Finally, it was felt that in the Bicentennial year especially, a late August date would encourage many members - particularly those with children - to combine a trip to the NEPPCO Convention with a New England vacation. Springfield is at the in tersection of 191 (north south) & the Mass. Turnpike (east-west) which makes Boston, Concord, Lexington, & other historic sites just a few hours away by car. Sale of exhibit space will begin later this month. The first mailing to NEPPCO members to register for the show & reserve hotel rooms will go out in April. Do you recall when Ed mund Hillary and his native guide, Tenzing, made their historic climb of Mt. Everest? Coming down from the peak Hillary suddenly lost his footing. Tenzing held the line taut and kept them both from falling by digging his ax into the ice. Later Tenzing refused any special credit for saving Hiluuy’s life; he considered it a routine part of the job. As he put it: “Mountain climbers always help each other.” Should the rest of us be any different? Wouldn’t it be nice to be as sure of anything as some people are of everything? ’ 1 J c u , HIGHWAY 222 75
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers