—Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, September 23,1978
120
Today’s cattle breeds will be here tomorrow
By JERRY WEBB
University of Delaware
NEWARK, Del. - Con
sumers of the future can
expect to get their steaks
from the same breeds of
cattle as they do today. The
Farmers have options
with their grain loans
NEWARK, Del. - If your
corn or grain sorghum loan
is about to mature, you have
two options besides
redeeming it or forfeiting
your crop to the Commodity
Credit Corporation, ac
cording to Joe Penuel, an
official of the Agricultural
Stabilization and Con
servation Service (ASCS).
First, Penuel says, you
can extend your loan on the
same terms for an additional
30 days. Of, if you choose,
you can place your crop
directly into the farmer
owned grain reserve.
Expanding the loan gives
farmers more time to weigh
the other options. In ad
dition, the loan program for
1977 com and grain sorghum
has been reopened, giving
farmers who didn’t take out
loans earlier a chance to
enter the grain reserve.
Farmers signing up for new
loans on their 1977 crops
must agree to enter the
reserve.
Through the reserve
program, farmers shield
their commodities from the
market to help strengthen
prices. They receive
payments to store the
commodity on their farms or
in commercial warehouses.
In turn they pay interest
I Chambersburg, Pa. 17201
Jra| lOLLENBERGER Phonenz^sss
CONCRETE
"H" TYPE FEED BUNKS
3V2 ’H h
I I ——; \ |”
12” ■- j 28”
4 ” -{ — I
58 ' Approximate weight 4000 lbs.
Maturing
• Large Capacity
• Steel Reinforced a ro °f ar| d feeder
• Movable for future expansion • No corners to retain spoiled feed
INSTALLATION OF BUNKS
We have the necessary equipment to handle and install these heavy bunks.
Customer shall make roadway to feed lot passable for our delivery truck.
idea of a completely new
type of animal that can
profitably turn tough grass
into tender steaks is ap
pealing, but research
suggests that such an animal
isn’t likely anytime soon.
charges the first year, but
not the two succeeding
years, and agree to leave
their commodities in the
reserve until prices climb
substantially or for three
years.
For more information on
commodity loans and the
farmer-owned grain
reserve, contact the local
county ASCS office.
Interest currently centers
on “exotic breeds” such as
the “beefalo”, which is a
cross between a buffalo and
present breeds of cattle. , „
Developers of the beefalo
say their animal makes
more efficient use of grass
and other inexepensive
forages than do regular
cattle. The beefalo has not
been tested by the Depart
ment of Agriculture or any
land-grant university in the
United States. However, the
Canadian Department of
Agriculture tested buffalo
cattle crosses for 4i) years -
from 1916 until IS'35. Only
they called their animals
“Cattaloes” rather than
beefaloes.
The Canadians found
cattaloes to be hardier than
cattle and concluded that
they might have a place on
northern ranches where
MARTIN’S
BARN-DRI
Use in any stable or animal
pen that has a tendency to
become slippery when wet.
• Cow Stables and Runways
• Hog Pens
• Sheep Stables
• Dog and Cat Kennels
• Chicken Houses
• Other damp areas
See your local dealer.
MARTIN LIMESTONE INC,
• Strong enough to support
cattle cannot be grown
profitably. But the
Canadians also found that
cattaloes had many
reproduction problems. For
example, bulls withas little
as three-sixteenths buffalo
blood were practically
sterile.
Their conclusion was that
most farmers should stick to
more conventional animals.
Research by the
Agriculture Department
does show that larger breeds
of cattle do make slightly
more efficient use of forages
than smaller breeds. For
example, the large Sim
raentals put on 100 pounds of
meat for each 661 pounds of
feed they consumed in a 279-
day test involving seven
breeds of cattle. The smaller
Jerseys required 707 pounds
of feed for each 100 pounds of
gain. All animals in the test
were getting a ration of
about one-third grain and
two-thirds forages.
Research by the Tennessee
Agricultural Experiment
Station shows that breed size
did not affect feed efficiency
as much as animal maturity.
Cattle, like people, use
feed most efficiently when
they are young. After they
reach maturity, much of the
feed goes to produce fat.
Since small breeds of
cattle mature more quickly
than larger breeds, the
results from feed tests
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depend somewhat on the
length of the test. For
example, results may be one
thing if all breeds are tested
for the same number of
days. They may be different
if each breed is stested only
until optimum maturity.
The experts seem con
vinced that much progress,
remains to be made in cattle
breeding, feeding and
management. But they say
we’ll make this progress
with the breeds that are
available today.