Kutztown dairyman to try
By JUDY MITCHELL
Berks Co. Reporter
KUTZTOWN, Pa. - Jeff
Miller is no stranger to
competition. The son of Mr.
and Mrs. Carl S. Miller of
Kutztown R 3, and a 1975
graduate of Kutztown Area
High School, Jeff has . ac
cumulated an impressive
record of winnings in local,
county, state, and regional
contests over the past five
years.
The young dairy farmer is
now approaching the final
lap of his first national
competition. As the
southeastern regonal winner
oof the FFA Dairy
Proficiency Award, Jeff will
travel to Kansas City on
November 9, to compete with
three other regional winners
for the highest dairy honor
awarded by the FFA
Association.
In a recent interview at the
Miller family farm, Jeff
agreed to tackle the question
of what determines “dairy
proficiency’’ in terms of the
upcoming competition.
Although his answer
required some thought, Jeff
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for national honor
was certain about one thing;
it is not determined by any
single aspect of dairy far
ming such as milk
production averages. In fact,
he pointed out,“my own
averages were down last
year. I had some problems
with several of my animals
last year, and my best cow
had a twisted stomach.” But
as Jeff understands the
proficiency contest, the
judges “look at your record,
the number of dairy animals
you own, and how you run
your operation.” He adds
that leadership ability as
well as past and present FFA
and community activities
are also important.
Considering Jeff’s ac
tivities and achievements,
his record certainly stands
solidly in his favor. A
member of the student
council and an honor student
throughout high school, Jeff
also attended Berks County
FFA Leadership courses for
four years and held the
position of president of both
the Kutztown Chapter and
the Berks County FFA.
YOUR
HUSKEE-BILT MAN
MERVIN MILLER
Lititz, PA
Phone (717) 626-5204
During his high school
years, Jeff served on various
FFA committees and was
actively involved in showing
and judging dairy animals.
In addition to numerous
awards earned at fair and
FFA dairy showing and
judging events, including
first place in the FFA
southeastern regional dairy
judging contest, Jeff was an
FFA state project book gold
medal winner three years,
and first place state record
keeper two years.
As a senior at Kutztown,
Jeff received the DeKalb
Award as the student with
the best overall farming
program. That same year,
he made it to the State level
in the FFA public speaking
contest and was named
Pennsylvania’s State Star
Farmer. Jeff was alos
named Outstanding FFA
Boy by the Reading Fair
Association in 1975 and
received his second In
terstae Milk Producers
Award, an honor which the
milk producers bestow
annually on four Pa.
Agriculture students who
they judge as having the best
dairy program.
Jeff is presently serving as
State Sentinel for the Pa.
FFA Association, and
although he believes his
leadership and scholarship
records together with his
public speaking and dairy
judging experience helped
him get this far in the
competition, he is not
counting on past honors to
win it for him in Kansas City.
Jeff says he thinks “the
number of dairy animals I
own” is probably the most
important single factor that
helped him reach the
nationals, and he hopes his
responsibilities on the family
farm “will help me prove my
worth” in Kansas City.
Jeff owns 15 registered
Holsteins and 27 heifers and
calves which he supports
with 160 acres of rented
cropland and 80 acres of
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rented pastureland. His
primary job on the Miller
family farm is to take care of
the cattle, which includes
feeding the 375 dairy cows
and approximately 150
heifers, as well as handling
the animals’ breeding and
any health problems that
arise.
Jeff has recently acquired
specialized knowledge to to
help him perform his duties
on the farm which he hopes
will also stand in his favor at
Kansas City. After first
attending the Sire Power
Technical Training School in
Tunkhannock, Pa., Jeff went
on to study at the Graham
School in Kansas City last
March where he received
instructions in general
health problems and proper
feeding of dairy animals in
addition to another
specialized course in ar
tificial insemination.
Appearing to be generally
optimistic about his trip to
Kansas City, Jeff says that
“now at least I know a little
bit of what to expect.” When
he attended the Star Farmer
competition in Springfield
last year, he added, he was
Beef cattle winter feeding
may not favor outdoor bales
Despite up to 50 per cent
savings in time and labor,
outdoor storage and “free
choice” feeding of large hay
bales and stacks of corn
stalks to beef cattle in winter
produce less weight gains
than baled hay stored in
doors and fed on a restricted
basis. The findings come
from within the Agricultural
Experiment Station at The
Pennsylvania State
University.
Cattle in the experiments
were significantly fatter
when given rectangular or
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Oct 23,1976
Jeff Miller, Kutztown R 3, is shown hand feeding
one of 20 calves which can be housed in the Miller's
temperature controlled calf barn.
the first FFA member from
the area to attend such a
contest and his teachers
couldn’t even tell him what
to expect. The dairy
proficiency contest, he
round hay bales stored in
doors than when fed loose
round bales or stacks of corn
stalks stored outdoors.
The findings were an
nounced by Dr. Lowell L.
Wilson, professor of animal
science at Penn State, during
the First International Hill
Land Symposium held at'
West Virginia University.
The outdoor winter feeding
experiments compared large
round untied bales weighing
1200 pounds each, large
round string-tied bales
weighing 950 pounds each,
and hay stacks weighing
about 1600 pounds. Following
the 131 day feeding trial,
physical condition of the
cows was quite similar for
each type of outside-stored
hay.
Storage losses for the hay
ranged from slightly over 5
per cent for the rectangular
bales to more than 16 per
cent for the giant stacks. In
addition to Dr. Wilson in
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Tit
f 7
understands, will follow
basically the same format -
“a panel of judges interview
you, and you’ve got to an
swer their questions and
keep your cool.”
animal science, the research
included William L.
Kjelgaard and Paul M.
Anderson in agricultural
engineering, Dr. John B.
Washko in agronomy, and
Dr. Theodore A. Long in
animal nutrition. The project
was supported in part by
Fair Funds administered by
the Pennsylvania Depart
ment of Agriculture.
To equal the amount of dry
matter contained in barn
stored rectangular bales,
considerably more dry
matter was found vital for
hay packages fed outdoors.
This amounted to 20 per cent
more for the giant hay
stacks, 21 per cent more for
string-tied bales, and 32 per
cent more for loose round
bales.
Dr. Wilson said calves
bom near the end of the
wintering trial were kept
with the cows on pasture
throughout the grazing
season. The average 205 day
calf weight was not affected
significantly by the win
tering treatment.
For
Interior
Farm
.Buildings
Where farmers want to
make the best use of outdoor
stored haystacks and bales,
Dr. Wilson and associates
suggest the following:
Place the haystacks or
bales in rows, about 8 to 10
feet apart, with feeding
controlled by an electric
fence. Put enough bales in a
row to provide 2 to 3 weeks of
feed.
Arrange the bales or
haystacks about 10 feet
apart. Allow the beef cattle
access to hay for limited
time each day, then move
them away to a loafing area.
Put up a fence-like feeder.
Putting a roof over the
feeder may result in more
hay going into the cows than
otherwise.
Use a portable feeder rack
with a floor and built on
skids. This can be effective
for small herds.
63