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.