o—Lancaster Farming, Saturday 1 COMMENTS By DIETER KRIEG, EDITOR j Bulls strengthen the milk flow The upward trend in dairy production has been discussed and looked at from various different angles, but one area which hasn’t been given a whole lot of publicity are bull studs. No dairyman can deny that good breeding is one of the most im portant factors in achieving good production That means having good bulls. While production per cow and herd averages have been going up, so have predicted differences for bulls In fact, they're up to astonishing levels. A year and a half ago, for example,' it was noted in Lancaster Farming that more than 100 bulls had predicted differences of more than 1000 pounds of milk In the most recent Holstein sire summary, put out by USDA last month, and published in Lancaster Farming this week, no fewer than 185 bulls have passed that milestone More astonishing facts are revealed m the sire summary. To name one - A Brown Swiss sire is rated tops over all breeds Unlike the figures which give predicted difference in dollars (in come), the milk production dif ferences aren’t inflationary and stand as an accurate assessment of THE IGNORED WARNING Lesson for November 13,1977 Background Scripture: Luke 14:12-14 16:19-31; James2:l-7 are using the new corn crop in both dairy and beef rations should be alert to the moisture content of the com and the cob, in many cases. When this mixture is ground with high moisture content, it will heat and mold in 24 to 48 hours, depending upon conditions. This heated com is toxic to many animals and may cause severe bloating RURAL ROUTE By Tom Armstrong I APfReciATS THIS IHTtKVItW FOR the CITY PAPER j SIR, OU FAR* I LIFE • / November 12.1977 how sires are getting better and better With all that many bulls available which offer such potential im provement in milk production, it’s no wonder that milk is flowing like it never did before No bull, sires strengthen the milk flow And it should be pointed out that the improvements aren’t just coming in the black-and-white breed The Ayrshire breed has more than a fifth of all of its bulls on the USDA list with predicted milk differences of 1000 or more pounds. Specifically, that works out to five out of 23. Perhaps the biggest surprise of all is that a Brown Swiss bull reigns as the super sire over all breeds “Nakota Pavanne Evilo” bested even the top Holstein sires with a predicted difference of 2234 pounds of milk, 70 pounds of butterfat and $203 What’s more, he had a 77 per cent repeatability factor to go with that phenomenal performance. The best record of a Holstein bull, according to this most recent USDA sire summary, stands at 2035 pounds of milk predicted difference unsteadily to his feet. Although he had never been drunk in his life-not even tipsy, as a matter of fact there were times when he ate so much that his brain seemed numb and his body unresponsive to him. This was one of those times. Although on the table before him every one of the dishes and platters that covered the large table were empty or nearly empty, the little food they held seemed to nauseate him. He had done it agam--stuffed himself to the point of acute discomfort. should be ground daily and then mixed with other grains. TO PROTECT SMALL PIGS THIS WINTER Severe cold weather may not affect a finishing hog that weighs 150 pounds or more; however, in the case of small feeder pigs weighing less than 100 pounds, the experiences of chair in the comer. Sinking into the chair with a serious of sighs and burps, he thumbed through the newspaper, his eyes skip ping past a pathetic picture of an African child and mother in the last stages of starvation. He had long ago programmed himself to ignore that sort of thing. It wasn’t any of his concern. Popping a Di-Gel in his mouth, he turned to the sports page. Send Lazarus The imaginative story above is a simple updating of the first portion of Jesus’ goot under the colder at hand when many bams conditions. Hovers should be will be filled to capacity, placed over the pens in the Without proper ventilation, sleepmg end so the body heat the ceilings and walls may can be used to keep them drip with condensation; this warm; boards, plywood, happens when cold air and straw, or com fodder may be hot air come into contact, or used. When the small pigs when a cold surface is in pile up in the comer of the contact with warm air. pen, they need additional Additional insulation is one warmth. Livestock comfort way to improve this is needed for best results. problem. Another practice . AND WE/ES KVow FKon ONE yea* to the next Kow you'll cone oar. tel MB ; WHY PO YOU KEEP OH FARMING ? in milk and 57 of fat, with a repeatability percentage of 65. Predicted difference in dollars was pegged at $177. Two other Brown Swiss bulls came up with performance data which bested that of all but the highest ranked Holstein sire. All told, four Brown Swiss sires exceeded $l5O in predicted difference, compared to six for the Holstein breed. Eight Brown Swiss sires had predicted differences for milk above 1000 pounds, com pared to 185 for the black-and whites. Guernseys, too, are making im provements, with nine bulls eclipsing the 1000 pounds of milk im provement mark. The highest ranking sire of this breed shows a predicted difference of 1219 pounds of milk, 68 pounds of butterfat, $145, and a repeatability factor of 57 per cent. Repeatability, by the way, has nothing to do with repeat services Rather, it’s an indication of reliability. Simply put, the higher the repeatability percentage, the more proven the bull. Moving on to the Jersey breed, we find that as many of these “little fellows” have gone above the 1000 pound milk mark as what there were Holstein bulls to accomplish that feat porches, but we still have people like the destitute Lazarus around us— sometimes no more than the distance to the television set and the evening news. In other words, we are Dives with more than enough for all our material needs and we are still surrounded by the Lazaruses of our world. If we are gomg to “get into” this parable of Jesus, we are the ones who need to picture ourselves in Hades’ inferno with Dives. And it is in sharing his devilish anguish that we need to look into Paradise and see there in How about comae back NEXT WEEK. MAYBE ILC TfllWK OF SOMETHING-. a decade ago. The Jersey breed boasts 23 bulls who have this distinction, according to the USDA figures. That is almost as many as all other colored breeds combined, and a fifth of the total the Holstein breed had just 18 months ago. The top Jersey bull listed has a predicted difference of 1518 pounds of milk, 65 pounds of fat, and $159 -- which is equal in dollar figures to the fifth-rated Holstein sire. The repeatability on this one is 77 per cent. USDA lists just 12 bulls for the Milking Shorthopi breed, and three of those surpass the 1000 pound mark. In fact, they each pass 1200 pounds, with the top individual’s performance statistics standing at 1398 pounds for milk, 59 for but terfat, and 144 for the predicted margin in dollars. The repeatability is calculated at 84 per cent With such performance data, and with dairymen making use of it, it’s no wonder that we’re getting so much milk. No matter which way you strain it, it comes out as a credit to breeders of oairy cattle -- regardless of the color of the hide and miserable at us from tv screens, newspapers, and posters. With Dives we need to reach the horrifying conclusion that unshared abundance will untimately be the damnation of us. If they do not bear We can appreciate Dives’ frantic request to send Lazarus back from the dead to warn our loved ones who, like us, continue to live in the midst of plenty without thought"of those who are destitute. It seems logical to conclude thaf “if someone be done by the use of exhaust fans and air inlets. The manual control of doors and windows might help the condition, but is far from satisfactory for mast bams. TO TEST FORAGE QUALITY The FaU is a good time to leam the real feeding value Farm Calendar Today, Nov. 12 Travel and Adventure Program on Spain, spon sored by the Paradise Rotary Club, 7:30 p.m. at Conestoga Valley High School. Blue Mountain Young Farmers hold square dance and promenade ice cream party in the dining hall of the high school, 7:30 p.m. Music and calls by Elwood Staudt. (Continued on Page 31) Jl y sSh* ««»> they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if one should rise from the dead/’ In other words, it is not th?*j we don’t know better, bud that despite what we know we still choose to ignore the Lazarus on out doorstep. We have sermons, scriptures, books, pictures and films-if we can manage to ignore these (and we do), we will find some way to ignore a Lazarus risen from the dead Did not Christ rise from the dead and don’t we still Ignore his warning? of both hay and silage crops. This testing service is available through our Penn State Extension Service and might save hundreds of dollars this Winter in buying less protein feed. When both the silage and hay are tested, then a suggested grain ration may be requested for best results; this is very important to dairymen, and we urge more local producers to utilize this service. Many farmers are making excellent hay and silage crops these days, higher in feed nutrients than years ago, and thus need less protein to give the proper balanced ration. EoraJ testing doesn’t cost money, it saves money.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers