Sam Stoner [Continued from Page 16] % beat 475, and 36 shadowed 400. Aside from special recognition being given to the owners of 600-pound butterfat herds, the following performances were cited for significance: Sam Stoner’s “Carol,’ a registered Holstein, has produced 167,240 pounds of milk and 7,109 pounds of butterfat in 10 lactations. This feat put Stoner’s cow well ahead of a group of 73 Adams County cows which have exceeded 100,000- pounds of milk" and 4,000 of butterfat during their lifetime. The high milk cow m this group of bovines is “Ursula,” owned by Marvin Brown of Littlestown. Her tolly for 10 lactations reads yR9,693 pounds of milk and 5,665 of butterfat. The high butterfat record for the year belonged to M. J. Stamer and Sons’ “Number 42,” a four-year old Holstein with a 305-day record of 21,382 pounds of milk and 1008 pounds of butterfat to her credit. Roy Weaner Jr.’s “Number 28” finished with a record of 25,505 M and 931 F to place her at the top of milk production records for the year. Adams County Agricultural Agent Tom Piper took note that DHIA figures for the County are below the state average on several counts and challenged dairymen to exceed state averages. He made his remarks during the Adams County DHIA ,banquet, held earlier this %onth at St. Johns Church, '/tew Chester. More than 130 SANTA SAYS ... “Give A Gift That Lasts AD Year Long A SUBSCRIPTIOPTTO CLIP AND MAIL THIS COUPON TO: LANCASTER FARMING, P.O. BOX 266, LITITZ, PA. 17543 Subscriptions Will Begin With Christmas Issue LANCASTER FARMING Will Send A Gift Certificate Announcing the Start of the Gift Subscription H PLEASE SEND THE LANCASTER FARMING TO: H Address f| U City State 5* --■•I Gift Card to Read from J| Zip .... County people were in attendance. Piper said: “You don’t buy a cow or raise a replacement to be kept as a pet and not milked. On the contrary, each new addition is expected to im prove your production and add to profits in your business. Just so with records. Study them con stantly and use them for what they are: your most valuable guide for making management decisions. “Why is it that Adams County DHIA herds fail to make the state average? Why is it that so many herds realized a decrease in the herd average in the past year? Yes, your records are trying to tell you something and you should take im mediate steps to get the message if you’d like to improve your income. “But what can I do ... where can I look for help?’’, you ask. Why not give these suggestions a fair trial: 1. Study your records every month to follow the progress of each cow in the herd. 2. Participate in Extension meetings, especially DHIA workshops and aU dairy meetings. 3. Head the Dairy newsletter and call on the County Agent for con sultation. 4. Make regular use of forage testing, including mineral analysis and feed programming. Inspite of the fee that is charged, these services offer your best opportunity for im provement. 5. Be sure your milking equipment is in good working order, properly I I I I I I Only *4.00 Per Year The board of directors for the Adams County DHIA are, seated left to right, John J. Hess, Get tysburg, secretary; Scott Whiteford, New Oxford, vice president; Tim Brown, Littlestown, president sized for your needs. Your service man is willing to check it out. 6. Stay alert for mastitis and make regular use of the California Mastitis Test to detect sub-clinical cases, permitting remedial action before losses get costly. 7. Make regular use of teat dips and check teat ends for condition. 8. Practice recommended milking procedure; wash udder; attach machine within two minutes; milk average cow in four to five minutes; machine strip 0 to 20 seconds. 9. Stay alert for I reproduction problems: average length of dry period 60 days; average length of lactation 305 days; average calving interval 13 months; number of cows settled on first service 60 percent ... on second 80 percent... on third 90 percent. 10. Check condition of heifers entering fhe herd ... freshening at 24-26 months weighing 1100 pounds. 11. If calf loss exce'eds five percent find the cause and correct it. 12. Ask Extension to bring help if ventilation needs attention as evidenced by stale air, ammonia odor, moisture condensation or coughing animals. 13. Cull all animals which fail to make herd average. Lancaster Farmini Standing; Charles Klinger, New Oxford; Paul Guise, York Springs; Thomas Clowney, Get tysburg; Samuel Stoner, East Berlin and Ray Dutterer, Littlestown. 14, Give the cows, wife and kids lots of TLC (tender love and care) and be a professional cow man. After all, you expect as much from your doctor!” Average production per cow in the DHIA program this year was 12,850 pounds of milk, 3.8 per cent test, and 489 pounds of butterfat. The state average is 13,559 M, 3.9 per cent test, and 523 F. Adams County dairymen were also well above the state average hr the amount of grain and hay it took to produce the milk. A pasture season which was 18 days shorter than the state average was most likely responsible for this. The average herd in Adams County has 57 cows, !, Saturday, Dec. 18,1976 compared to a statewide average of 54. Feed costs per hundredweight of milk are $4.53 for the County and $4.17 for the state average. Value of the products after feed costs was $760 in Adams County, compared to $BOl for the state average. Larry Specht, of the Penn State Extension staff, was guest speaker, telling the dairymen present that a verified identification program (VIP) is now available through the DHIA program. This program is designed to help dairymen maintain identification records for grade animals essential to improving their herds. Dairymen and their DHIA supervisors must identify the animals by sketch, photo, tatoo or freeze brand when an application is filled out. A certificate is then issued showing the identification along with the sire, dam, birthdate and other data about the animal, explained Specht. Adequate identification data has always been a major problem in sire and cow analysis. It is hoped that the VIP program will help identify more animals as they may be transferred from one herd to another. Further information is available from DHIA supervisors. At the conclusion of the meeting, Tim Brown was elected president of the Adams County DHIA. Other officers remained un changed from previous elections. Re-elected to three-year terms on the board were Charles Klinger, Paul Guise and Brown. READ LANCASTER FARMING FOR FULL MARKET REPORTS 17