—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Dec. 4, 1976
62
The milk really flowed last year
JONESTOWN, Pa. - “We just do the daily chores the way
they should be done, and try to keep regular time - that’s the
main thing,” says Edwin Funck modestly about his high
producing herd of Holsteins. The central Lebanon County
dairyman finished the recently complete DHIA testing year
with an average production of 19,101 pounds of milk and 737 of
fat on 39 cows. That gave him the top spot for butterfat and
runner-up honors for milk.
Funck is perhaps being just a bit too modest, for he does
have a few management techniques which differ from the
ordinary. Some - like the milking machines suspended un
derneath his cows at milking time, are practices which have
been around for decades. Others - like mixing small grains
with high moisture corn, are ideas which remain un
discovered by most other dairymen.'
Funck operates a total of 274 acres near here (70 of it
rented) with the help of his wife, a son, and hired assistant.
They keep the milking herd on the 91 acre home farm, known
as “Saredhill,” while replacement heifers are kept at a
nearby property. Hay and corn are *he main crops, with a
good measure of small grains thrown in for crop rotation
purposes. On the latter, Funck considers good management
of crops and soils to be equally as important as the decisions
and work which involve the dairy herd. He tests his soil and
forages regularly and follows soil conservation practices. He
is, in fact, a committeeman for Lebanon County Soil Con
servation.
In the dairy business for more than 20 years, Funck has
been on DHIA for most of that time. And he has always had
respectable averages. In 1966, for example, he averaged
13,808 pounds of milk and 549 of fat on 27 cows. The following
year it jumped to 15,256 and 584, respectively, A year later he
broke the 600-pound mark for butterfat with plenty of room to
spare. The final tally showed an average of 16,605 pounds of
milk and 622 of fat on 28 cows.
The Lebanon Countain does not pretend that it’s always
been a steady sweep to the top. His production dropped in
1969, for example, and he speculates that his feeding
program might have had something to do with it. Since then
CALL FOR MORE DETAILS
AGRI-BUILDER
By DIETER KRIEG
BUTLER
Edwin Funck credits his high moisture corn and
grain ration for having had mucn to do with his high
production records.
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he has eliminated pelleted feeds from the ration and
' production has improved. Last year he shipped an average of
16,603 pounds of milk and 625 of butterfat from 39 cows.
That’s hardly different from the 1968 average, but the herd
size has increased.
The big jump in production came this past year when each
of his cows pumped out an average extra 2500 pounds of milk
for the year. In the butterfat column, the statistics jumped by
112 pounds.
“We just hit it good last year,” Funck explained, adding
that staying on top of the heap will be even tougher than
getting there in the first place. He figures the good growing
conditions of 1976 gave him high-yielding harvests and high
quality feeds. “Next year I might not be so lucky,” he said in
anticipation of having to defend his championship herd.
“We still do most things the old way yet,” the successful
dairy fanner replied to a question about management. “We
don’t havefeed bunks or anything like that,” he added.
A stroll through the ham revealed that Funck keeps his
“Saredhill Holsteins” in the same old stanchions which he
had put in his bam in 1964. He milks with the old bucket-type
Surge milkers and dumps the white juice into a sputnik. Not
much has changed over the years, Funck pointed out.
While things have remained relatively constant in the
stable, this is not true for his feeding system. A pair of
Harvestore silos are the hub of the feed center. One contains
small grains mixed with high moisture com, the other
haylage.
Funck is tickled with the way it works. Although he still
bales some of his hay, most of it goes into the silo - which
saves him a lot of time, work and dependence on the weather,
besides doing away with a few machinery investments. That
fakes care of most of his roughage. The smaller structure
takes care of just about all of his protein, and has all but
eliminated his need for a feed dealer. It has erased his
dependence on feed grinding, since a crimper is a part of his
feeding system. All he buys commercially are two mineral
additives and a 40 per cent protein supplement.
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Phone 215-759 1331
(Continued on Page 65)
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Route #l. Box 163
Clear Spring, Md. 21722 IMV
Phone 301-582-1552 w P h
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CONTRACTOR
113 Walnut Lane
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Phone 412-872-6804
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