—Lancaster Farming, Saturday. Jan. 29, 1977 22 New Bolton By JUDY MITCHELL Berks Co. Reporter ROBESONIA, Pa. - Ap proximately 30 persons braved the sub-zero tem peratures on January 17 to attend the Conrad Weiser Adult Farmers meeting which featured guest speaker Dr. David Krom feld, professor of nutrition in the School of Veterinary Medicine with the University of Pennsylvania. A native of New Zealand who received his veterinary training in Australia, Kromfeld is a specialist in the field of dairy cattle nutrition as it relates to specific diseases. At Monday evening’s meeting, he outlined for those present some of the changes which are taking place at the University’s New Bolton Center in regard to field services. At New Bolton, according to Kromfeld, they are trying to coordinate previously “erradic” and “intermittent” services in nutrition, clinical reproduction, mastitis, and calf management into one operational unit so that a single call to the Center’s “Animal Health Delivery Service” will provide help to the farmer in any of those areas. Kromfeld’s speech touched on some of the progress being made at New Bolton in dealing with dif ferent health problems on dairy farms through nutritional analyses and data derived from metabolic profile studies. His depart ment, he said, is employing some “fairy novel” sup plements in its recom mended feed programs designed to correct specific health problems “with success that to me is sur prising.” “I am really pleased at this point,” be reported, “just how things tend to improve in general, evenwhen we’ve gone in on farms that have health problems and have had some so-called scientific nutritional work before” that time. The main thrust of the scientists presentation, however, centered on what be termed “my hobbyhorse for the past two or three years,” and that is the study of economics as it relates to animal health. Farmers themselves, Kromfeld stated, sometimes question whether or not something that is Conrad Weiser Adult Farmer meetl Dr. David Kromfeld biologically elective is also economically effective. “There is only one way that biilogical effectiveness always means economic gain,” he pointed out, “and that is when it costs you nothing. The minute that it costs you something, then you get into the field of economics which really is a matter of decision making.” The veterinarian trained in economics, according to Kromfeld, can provide valuable input regarding the economic value of a given health measure which management can then “translate into something that works on your farm.” Australia, Kromfeld said, is way ahead of the United States in the area of economics and animal health. “In Australia,” he reported, “the veterinary schools are all set up to service agriculture with economics in mind.... But the U.S. has had virtually no one studying the subject." Kromfeld cited the dif ference in the approach to mastitis control between the U.S. and Australia. “In America, you get rid of strep agalacti,”; he said. But in Australia," he added, “they se that it is not economically worthwhile to do. From an economical point of view, you are much better off doing teat dipping, looking into milking machines, and looking after quarters in the dry period.” This does not mean that in Australia fanners are not concerned with milk quality control, Kromfeld emphasized. “It is not that they do not want to' get rid of mastitis, but it is a Center upgrading service question of what is economically the most ef fective way of controlling it.” Significant progress in the economics of animal health, according to Kromfeld, is not being made in the U.S. at present because of the lack of funding for research and training of veterinarians in that field of study. A government commitment to fund such a project two years ago, Kromfeld said, resulted in a last minute disappointment when the monies promised went in stead to sponsor the ghetto buying project in Philadelphia which was labelled ag research. Applied animal research for dairy cattle, the veterinarian claimed, is being sorely neglected in Pennsylvania. Although milk comprises 40 per cent of the agricultural returns in this state, Kromfeld said, last year dairy cattle got only 3 per cent of the funds allocated for agricultural research. Dairy farmers, he observed, seem to lack a “central voice or a central lobby and some sort of power in Harrisburg to get funds made available to study dairying.” How economics are being related successfully to animal health at New Bolton within the limited studies undertaken there were touched on in a summary of actual case histories presented by Susan Donoghue, a layman fellow in clinical nutrition at New Bolton. In one such case, she reported, a complete in vestigation of management and feeding practices at a dairy farm with 50 milking cows reporting a 95 per cent incidence of Ketosis and a 50 per cent incidence of milk fever determined that the problem was one of nutrition. A feeding program to correct the health problems was formulated, Donoghue said, but care was taken to devise a program that took into account such economic factors as how much land was available for crops, how much storage space was available, how much labor was available, and thereby determining the best solution for that par ticular farm. The farmer in question, Kromfeld in terjected, cooperated quite fully with the study team and “he was pretty pleased with the results.” Newly elected officers present at the Conrad Weiser Adult Farmers meeting held on Jan. 17 were; Lester Gelsinger, Robesonia Rl, president (center front); (from left to right back) Allen Gaul, Wernersville, vice YOU’RE INVITED TO A FREE THURSDAY, Here’s a rare opportunity .. a chance for farmers and others to learn how to save valuable time and money by doing their own welding. With improved new Century equipment, it’s easy We’ll demonstrate it. 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