New methods devised to measure milk output
(
NEWARK, Del. - A dairy
cow worth her salt pumps
out 200 to 300 dollars of fluid
annual net farm income. But
any barn might be harboring
an unrecognized under
producer who swallows up
hundreds of dollars in feed
and upkeep costs for little in
return.
It used to be easy to tell
weather a cow was worth her
keep. The farmer simply
milked her and hefted the
bucket onto a spring scale. A
few old-guard Delaware
dairy farmers still operate
this way.
But in modern dairy
operations, buckets have
given way to automatic
milking machines which
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feed all the milk through
pipes into a common collec
tion tank. Thus, fanners
need new ways to determine
the individual cow’s output.
Agricultural engineers have
given them at least three.
One of the officially ap
proved milk-measuring
devices that is popular in
Delaware is the Milk-o-
Meter. According to
-Delaware Extension dairy
specialist Dr. George
Haenlein, it resembles the
water and gas meters found
in homes. Plugged in bet
ween the cow and the collec
tion tank, the Milk-o-Meter
smooths the cow’s squirts
and spurts into a measured,
steady stream. Each
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quarter-pound of milk
registers on the meter. A
sidetracking device can
remove a representative
sample of the milk for
bacteriological and
chemical analysis. Protein
and fat content are deter
mined this way.
Milk-o-Meters cost about
$3OO, Haenlein estimates, but
because they are portable
they need not be owned by
everyone who uses them.
Twenty-five of the devices
are owned by the three coun
ty chapters of the Dairy
Herd Improvement Associa
tion in Delaware.
Farmers who participate
in the DHLA testing program
are visited monthly by an of
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CONTACT
ficial testing supervisor who
brings along several Milk-o-
Meters. One dollar per
month per cow lets the
farmer know what each cow
is producing.
Results are processed
monthly at the Cornell
University Computing
Center and returned to each
farmer. They are also sent,
together with paternity in
formation, to a central com
puter in Washington and
published twice a year.
Dairy cattle breeders from
all over the world study the
reports and request semen
from the sires of the best
milk producers. This is the
secret of the great advances
ITO *
Lancaster Firming, Saturday, May 27,1975-IS
seen in dairy production in
recent years, Haenlein says.
Naturally, these produc
tion records would be wor
thless of the milk-measuring
devices were not accurate.
For that reason, Haenlein
recently brought Delaware’s
DHIA Milk-o-Meters to the
approved calibrating center
at Penn State where they
were overhauled and cer
tified accurate for the next
year.
Haenlein like Milk-o-
Meters because they are por
table and accurate, but he
emphasizes that other ap
proved milk-measuring
devices have equal merit.
One ingeniously simple
device consists of nothing
more than a calibrated
plastic tube which measures
proportionate samples of
milk production. It has no
moving parts to break down.
Even so, severe temperature
changes could warp the
plastic.
Weigh jars also serve the
purpose of measuring milk
production and determining
good and poor cows. All the
milk from a given cow is col
lected in a huge glass jar,
calibrated to measure more
than 50 pounds of milk. It’s
simple, permanent, and not
subject to warping. But it is
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not portable due to its size,
so it can’t be shared among
farmers. Furthermore,
repairs must be made by
specialized glassblowers.
Whicjever device one
chooses, a farmer shoudl
follow'through on a testing
program, Haenlein insists. A
farmer with 150 dairy cows
may wince at the thought of
a monthly testing bill of $l5O,
but it is the only way to know
which cows aren’t paying for
their board.
Pa. Auction
Summary
(Continued from Page 14)
gUts 52.00-53.50, few 54.00 No.
1-3 200-250 lbs. 50.00-53.00;
No. 2-3 190-265 lbs. 48.00-
51.00, few No. 24 270-325 lbs.
44.00- No. 1-3 140-190
lbs. 42.0048.00. SOWS Steady
to $l.OO higher. US No. 1-3
300-575 lbs. sows 42.00-46.00,
No. 2-3 300-650 lbs. 36.00-
42.00. BOARS 27.75-38.00.
FEEDER PIGS 1584.
Compared to 1352 last week
and 2046 a year ago. $l.OO
- lower per head. US No.
1-3 20-35 lbs. feeder pigs
27.0041.00 per head, No. 1-3
35-50 lbs. 38.00-55.00, No. 1-3
50-100 lbs. 45.00455.00.
GRADED FEEDER PIGS
2864. Compared to 1594 last
week and 1876 a year ago.
Mostly $3.00 to $lO.OO lower,
spots $20.00 lower. All sales
per hundredweight. 1-2 2540
lb. 127.00-146.00, few 149.00;
40-50 lb. 116.00-139.00; 50-70
lb. 92.00-117.00. 23 2540 lb.
110.00- few 148.00; 40-
601 b. 95.00-128.00.
SHEEP; 744. Spring si.
lamb& _ unevenly steady,
spotsjSLOO lower Choice SO
HO lbs. 60.00-79.50 few, 89.00
Good 45-95 lbs. 50.00-70.00;
Slaughter ewes 13.00-25.00.
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