VOL. 26 No. 20
Elevation ET daughter
tops sale at $150,000
BY DICK ANGLESTEBV
LANCASTER A new chapter
in embryo transfer merchandising
literally was written on Thursday
when an Elevation daughter
topped the Great Expectations
Sale at $150,000.
A transfer herself, the three
year-old Mil-R-Mor Roxy Velvet,
sired by the legendary Round Oak
Rag Apple Elevation out of the,
high producing C Glenndge
Citation Roxy, brought the new
local high price at Chapter Four of
the Expectations sales.
It was just about a year ago that
Lime-Hollow Elevation Jessie
topped the Chapter Three sale at
the Guernsey Bam at $116,000.
At this year’s sale, an m-
Nan md fatures
Chickies watershed, Al 6; NFO
gram meeting; A 18; Tractor pulls,
A 29; Charolais wins in Denver,
A3O; Keystone swine champs, C 26;
Expo horse winners, C 29; Poultry
outlook, C 34; Md. opposes power
move, Dl6, No meat quotas, D 18;
White Clay Creek money, D2l
Home and Ybotli
Homestead notes, C 2; Home on
the range, C 6; FFA Europe tour,
CIO, Kids Korner, Cl 6; 4-H news,
CIS; 4-H national conference, C 23;
Farm museum courses, CSS
Regular columns
Editorials, A 10; Farm calendar,
Al 2; Ladies, have you heard 9 C 9;
Ida’s notebook, Cl 2; Joyce Bupp’s
column, Cl 4; Farm talk, DIO
Daily reports
Parallel parking for cows, A2O;
Guernsey meeting changes, A 39;
Dairy cuts pass committee, C 37;
Dauphin County DHIA, D 2; Berks
County DHIA, D 5; A look at loose
housing, Dll.
Stray voltage, the facts may shock you
BY SHEILA MILLER
LITITZ Stray voltage,
sometimes called transient
voltage, stray current, tingle
voltage and electrical pollution, is
a subject drawing much attention
at dairying seminars.
Recently, this subject brought
Lancaster County electricians and
power company representatives
together at the Farm and Home
Center for some insight into the
problem and its cure.
Stray voltage, which in sun-
ternational touch was added to the
local flavor that dominated last
year’s sale-topping purchase
Velvet was purchased on
Thursday by the Balsillas Syn
dicate, of Bogata, Colombia.
Last year, Jessie was
a local group that included M.
Robert Young, of Lancaster; and
Galen Crouse, of Schoeneck This
year, Young was the contending
bidder on Velvet.
As a two-year-old, Velvet is
producing 18,227-lbs in 335 days
with 726 lbs of fat at 4 percent test
She was consigned by Robert and
Kay Miller and family, of Dundee,
111.
Following dispersal of their herd
in 1974, according to son, Craig
Miller, his father prepared to begin
embryo transferring An AI
technician, Robert Miller began
the transfers in 1976
Miller is now a partner in
M.O.M. Transfers, of Dundee, 111.
"We had been hoping for a price
around $100,000,” Craig Miller
commented, following the close of
the rapid bidding
Miller is familiar with the
Colombia group and has worked
with them in ET. In fact, Velvet is
being returned to Dundee by the
Colombia group. She was bred to
Illini Ivy Image bn November 17.
A representative of the Colombia
Exhibitors drop by one-third
at Farm Equipment Exposition
HARRISBURG A sharp
reduction in the number of
exhibitors at this year’s Farm
Equipment Exposition may b€
casting a growing cloud of doubt
over the future of the struggling ag
show that limped into its third year
of existence last week
The number of exhibitors at the
1981 Expo was down ap
proximately a third from the total
with displays during the previous
two years.
Figures provided by Stanley G.
Saellam, Administrative Officer
for Operations of the Farm Show
Building staff, show the continuing
decline in exhibitor attendance at
JSxpo.
plified terms means excess
current load seeking an earth
ground through the path of least
resistance, has been blamed for
symptoms ranging from low milk
production to mastitis by farmers
and specialists in the dairy in
dustry. Researchers at univer
sities around the country have
been studying stray voltage, trying
to find solutions which will over
come the current problem.
According to a study conducted
by William Fairbank and Lloyd
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 14,1941
group said she will eventually be
used in ET in continuing herd
improvement. The group has
unported unplanted heifers, but
the import of embryos has not yet
been approved in his country. Also,
the transfer technology is not yet
available there
Velvet’s dam, the well-known
Roxy, has milk records to more
than 26,000 lbs. and is a consistent
1000-lb. plus fat producer.
In all, 22 head were sold in the
Great Expectations Sale at an
average of $13,457
Second highest seller was
Gillbrook Claretta Dee Dee at
$29,000 Sired by Wapa Arlmda
Conductor, she is out of The
Stemhauers Elevation Dee.
Dee Dee was consigned by
Ronald and Sylvia Mueller, of St.
(Turn to Page A3l)
Ag areas, checkoff changes move
BY CURT HAULER
HARRISBURG In a short but
busy week legislators in the State
Capital reported out of the House
Agriculture Committee H 8143, the
ag areas bill. -
In addition, proposals were
drafted to change substantially the
The first Expo m-1979 had 188
exhibitors
In the second year, the total of
exhibitors slipped to 177,
But for the third show, just held
March 5-7, the number of
exhibitors dropped sharply to 128.
The final total of 128 was quite a
bit below the “over 170” the state
had been touting in its pre-show
publicity and advertising.
"A total of 213 had expressed
interest m the Expo,” Saellam
said.
“But 128 ended up coming to the
show ”
In response to whether a fourth
Expo will be held next year,
Saellam replied.
Craine of the University of
California and the Washington
State University, respectively,
dairy cows which show behavioral
and production changes that can’t
be traced back to feed, water,
disease, weather, mishandling, or
other usual causes, may be suf
fering from stray voltage.
Symptoms of stray voltage, they
say, include:
an abnormal decrease in or
inability to obtain expected milk
production;
Following gavel rap at the $150,000 figure. Mil-R-Mor Roxy
Velvet poses with representatives of seller, buyer and per
sonnel of Great Expectations Sale.
Legislative roundup
voting procedures for dairy, fruit
and other state commodity
programs.
On Tuesday morning the Ag
Committee unanimously passed
HB 143, the Ag Areas bill. If allows
for voluntary establishment of ag
districts and provides some in-
"That’s a good question
"Some of the feelings that I’ve
gotten are good. Some are bad.
And some are on the fence ”
The drop in the number of
exhibitors at this year’s show
appears to be due to a combination
of the economic tunes and farmer
attendance not living up to ex
pectations at the first two shows.
This year, the weatherman also
threw the Expo a curve with an
opening day snowstorm
A random survey of exhibitors
brought forth Expo descriptions
ranging from “terrific” to
“horrible,” with a variety of
comments fading between those
extremes
(Turn to Page A 33)
animals hesitate at or even
refuse to approach certain
drinkers, feeders, or metallic
parlor or holding area equipment;
animals may balk at entering
.the milking parlor or try to jump
across transition joints;
a number of animals are af
fected simultaneously;
general behavior may show
abnormal twitching, kicking,
nervousness in the parlor; and
the symptoms may come and
go unpredictably.
$7.50 Per Year
centives for commitmg land to an
agarea.
It now will pass through the rules
committee and then be brought
before the full House
Several modifications were
written into the bill and some
definitions established, but prune
sponsor Rep. Noah Wenger,
Stevens, said the basic thrust of the
bill is not changed and he remains
optimistic about its future
It will give farmers freedom
from nuisance ordinances against
normal farm practices and protect
them somewhat against land
condemnation.
HB 143 defines normal farm
practices as “the customary and
generally accepted activities,
practices, and procedures that
farmers adopt, use or engage in
year after year” in agriculture,
agronomy, horticulture,
silviculture, and aquiculture.
The bill requires owners of at
least 500 acres of adjoining or non
contiguous land to request an ag
area The earlier 10 percent
minimum requirement ' was
dropped.
An amendment increased from
two to three the required number
of fanners who sit on the local ag
committee Another established
(Turn to Pane A3B)
The researchers were quick to
point out, however, these symp
toms are not exclusively caused by
“metallic structure-to-earth stray
voltages/currents”. An un
comfortable milking process can
cause similar responses, they said
and urged dairy producers to look
into the usual causes before
searching for stray voltage.
Ray Shenk, of Shenk’s Farm
Service, Lititz, reports stray
voltage has been recognized as
(Turn to Page A 26)