Dairy profits
*
By SALLY BAER
Staff correspondent
LANCASTER - Over
:onditioned heifers will do
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ierd than heifers which are
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slightly under-conditioned,
according to Donald Ace,
Extension dairy specialist
with the Pennsylvania State
University.
Ace cautioned farmers not
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begin with heifer management
to get heifers over
conditioned because it is an
“irreversible” condition. He
said, “The fat is laid down in
the system long before you
can see it and will result in a
lack of milk production and
poor breeding per
formance.”
Speaking to dairymen at a
meeting sponsored by the
Lancaster County
Agricultural Extension
Service, Ace discussed
feeding programs for ob
taining healthy herd
replacements, but said that
raising healthy heifers
requires correct handling of
the dam before the calf is
dropped.
Ace said this includes
proper care of the maternity
area, but added, “This does
not mean that it needs to be
cleaned out after each cow
calves. It can be cleaned
after every three or four
cows, but just before
freshening fresh straw
should be added to Insulate
from the previous manure
pack.”
Ace called the manure
pack the “greatest incubator
in the world” because it
profides heat, food and
moisture to organisms which
can create a lot of problems
for newborn calves.
“Wetness is a killer,” he
noted, saying that proper
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MANHEIM, PA 17545 717-665-3588
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Don Ace
ventiliation and a dry
calving area are of utmost
importance to healthy
calves.
The first step when a calf
is bom should be to feed it
colostrum. “Get colostrum
in its gut just as quick as you
can,” Ace told the dairymen.
“It is wonderful if you can
get it in in the first 15
minutes. If you don’t get four
to six pounds fed inside of the
first four hours, you’ve lost
fifty per cent of the battle.
“Don’t throw any of the
first milk away - it has twice
the solids, twice the vitamins
and twice the fats, as well as
all the antibodies. A calf is
bom without a shred of
resistance to disease so you
must give it to them.”
Ace recommends that all
the first colostrum be saved
and fed in subsequent
feedings before going on to
the second milking. He said
further that every dairyman
should have a feeding or two
of colostrum stored for use
when needed. He said it is
extremely important to get
the colostrum m the gut
before other things get m
first - like the sawdust which
is sometimes used for
bedding newborn calves.
The quantity of colostrum is
important.
If sour colostrum is being
used, Ace suggested diluting
it two to one, saying that the
original recommendations
for a one to one dilution does
not offer enough nutrients to
keep the calf going. If you
have a lot of colostrum, it is
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alright to dilute it three to
one.
If milk replacer is what
you’re using, Ace said it is
perfectly acceptable to use a
“dairy type” replacement if
the calves are healthy.
However, “If you have a
problem with calves, you
should move up a grade or
two,” The protein level
should be between 20 and 28
per cent, and if it is
vegetable protein it should
be 22 per cent If the crude
fiber content is more than
one half of a per cent, the
replacer is of inferior or
lesser quality, he said.
h.
H
m
In questioning following
the program Ace
acknowledged that in
general there is no problem
with feeding mastitic milk to
calves, “However, up until
three days of age, don’t feed
it.”
Ace said samtation in calf
feeding should not be
overlooked. “Calf' feeding
utensils should go through
the same washing as the
milking utensils and should
be sanitized the same as the
milking utensils.”
He said parasite problems
are a result of sanitation and
of management and said the
cycle must be broken to cure
the problem.
Ensiled forages should not
be fed during the first four
months, Ace said. “Stay
away from com silage and
high moisture grains. If you
feed a lot of silage the calf
won’t get the energy it
needs. After four months, if
the calf is on a good dry
gram ration, then it is okay
to start forages.” During the
first four months, Ace said
calves should be fed all the
high quality hay they will
eat. At a year they can be fed
hay of lesser quality as long
as they are getting gram for
energy and protem.
Ace said that farm grown
grains are fine for feeding
heifers as long as they are
“put together right.” He
added, “I don’t want urea in
a calf ration under four
months. Urea must be used
m a healthy gut - don’t rush
it.” From six months to one
year, a small amount can be
put in the ration, up to one
and one half per cent if it is
also used in the milking
ration to get heifers used to
it.
Ace said there should be
Ladies promote peaches
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -
National Peach Partners
will launch their newly
organized organization at
the 37th Annual Convention
and Trade Show of National
Peach Council February 26 -
14-16 per cent protein in the
ration if legumes are being
fed. If mostly grasses are
being fed with some com
silage, the per cent should be
16-18 per cent, and not over
20 per cent. Ace recom
mended that if a lot of alfalfa
is being used, the calcium
intake should be reduced
and the phosphorous intake
increased.
The age of weaning
depends upon how well the
calf is eating hay and grain.
However, Ace cautioned that
sometimes calves are so
overfed with milk replacer
that they’re not hungry for
anything else. He said calves
should be eating 1-1% pounds
of grain at weaning age,
along with a good feeding of
hay.
The overall feed ration
program is important to
having animals in the proper
condition as they approach
breeding age. Ace said that
controlled research
programs have shown that
thin animals can catch up
with proper feeding.
Problems with fat
animals, however, contmue
through life, and one of the
most costly can be breeding.
Ace cited studies which show
that fat animals have a 25
per cent lower conception
rate than heifers with proper
conditioning.
Ace said it is ideal to plan
to have heifers freshen at 23
to 24 months, but no later
than 27 months. While there
is talk about calving at 21
months, Ace said this could
result in more calving
problems, especially among
over-conditioned animals.
On the other hand, if
animals do not freshen by 30
months or over, Ace said,
“You are feeding a lot of
animals which should be
producing milk.”
“If a heifer is cycling
normally, she should be bred
at 13 to 15 months, so she will
calve and get in the milking
string.” If she needs to be
held back, it can be done
after she is a strong
producer, Ace said.
“Sometimes heifers will quit
cycling, and production is
lost if you wait too long. ’ ’
As heifers approach
freshening, Ace said they
should be pulled from the
other heifers and worked
mto the dry cow feeding
program so they get used to
the ration.
March 1 in San Antonio,
Texas. Early arrivals with
their husbands will be
welcome to plan the show
and tell portion of the
program illustrating ways in
which the nation’s peach
partners promote the Queen
of Fruits back home.
Meetings will be posted for
the Hilton Palacio del Rio
and San Antonio Convention
Center.
Members will also be
manning a booth in the
exhibit hall offering peach
crewel kits, peach prose
stationery notes, check fold
covers, and possible a new
dressy T-shirt with the
“PEACHES” message
Peach craft items would be
welcomed. Contact National
Peach Council, P 0 Box
1085, Martinsburg, West
Virginia 25401, or call 304-
267-6024 for more in-
107