12—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 23, 1 'M
Farm Business
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Tri-Town Steady Spipper, bred by J.Z. Nolt, of Leola. has
entered the young sire sampling program of Atlantic
Breeders Cooperative. *
Nolt bull enters
Atlantic program
LANCASTER Atlantic
Breeders Cooperative has selected
Tn-Town Steady Spipper to enter
the young sire sampling program
for 1981. He is one of 40 Holstein
bulls to enter the program this
year. Bred by J.Z. Nolt, Leola, the
bull will be known as 15H398
Steady.
During sampling, Steady will be
randomly mated to approximately
600 Holstein cows through artificial
insemination service in herds His dam, Tri-Town Gay Joan, is
owned by Atlantic members. He scored “Very Good” m body
will remain at Lancaster conformation in the Nolt herd and
headquarters bams for the next has two records over 21,500 pounds
four years as he continues to grow of milk and 800 pounds of butterfat.
and await evaluation of his Joan’s sire, Harrisburg Gay Ideal}
J>n®eny. If the 'results proven Si popular 5 bull in* the Atlantic'
satisfactory. Steady will then go stud* Her dam is also “very good”
into extensive service throughout .:,aqd..has several Jiigb production
the Cooperative's 12,000-member Records. ' - ",
seed research continues
DEKALB, II Estimates place
the number of crop species grown
commercially m the U.S. at nearly
1,000. Only a few of these are
native to the country. Most
originated elsewhere and were
introduced by Indian tribes
moving from the south, by
colonists who brought seed of their
own crops, by plant explorers and
diplomats, and by individual en
trepreneurs who sought to fulfill a
desire for something new and
different.
Some of the introductions proved
to be woefully unadapted. Others
escaped from cultivation and
became serious weed pests. Most,
however, filled a need and have
found a place in America.
Among the introductions proven
to be very important to U.S.
agriculture are the sorghums,
none of which are native here.
Sorghum types grown in the U.S.
fall into four utilization groups;
—Grain sorghum generally a
dwarf type suitable for combine
harvest. Grown for grain but can
be used to make high energy
silage.
Forage sorghum generally
a tall-growing type harvested
primarily for silage, or,
sometimes, as dry bundle teea.
May or may not have sweet juice.
Grassy sorghum fine
stemmed and fine leaved types
that are used primarily for grazing
but may be harvested and used as
green chop, silage or hay.
Sweet sorghum—tall growing
types that produce high quantities
of sweet juice. Some forage types
area and his semen may be
marketed to other parts of the
world.
The bloodlines in this young
bull’s pedigree are specially
selected for Atlantic’s breeding
program. His sire, S-W-D Valiant
is scored “Excellent” in-body
conformation and received the
Gold Medal Sire award from the
Holstein Association last year.
Sorghums show
are sweet. Used for production of
syrup for cooking use and now
receiving considerable attention as
a biomass crop useful for alcohol
production.
There are also some weedy types
of introduced sorghum that have
escaped and become established
as serious pests. Included are
johnsongrass, shattercane,
Sorghum alum and various crosses
involving one or more of these.
Public breeders have conducted
most of the limited research
directed to improvement of the
sweet varieties. Private or com
mercial breeding teams do most of
the research on the other three
types, with F-l hybrids dominating
the market in each case.
DeKalb Agßesearch, Inc.
initiated hybrid sorghum research
in 1949 and made the world’s first
commercial hybrid sorghum seed
available to farmers in 1956. The
first hybrids were grain type,
followed shortly by forage and the
first grass type hybrids. Sorghum
hybrids were quickly accepted by
U.S. farmers, and by 1960 over 90
percent of the grain sorghum
acreage was planted to hybrids.
Until recently, sorghum was
considered relatively free of
serious disease and insect pests.
Sorghum research teams have
made significant improvements in
resistance to such diseases as the
smuts, downy mildew, maize
dwarf masaic virus, anthracnose
and stalk rots caused by various
fungi.
Insects of greatest importance
include greenbugs, sorghum
* A'
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Ag chemical
for pesticide
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Future
* world food demands could be
seriously threatened unless
reforms are made in the patent
protection system for pesticides, a
top official for the agricultural
chemicals industry warned.
“The federal regulatory review
process for new pesticides has
caused an unforeseen erosion of
the patent system,” said Nicholas
L. Reding, chairman of the Board
of Directors of the National
Agricultural Chemicals
Association and Group Vice
President and Managing Director,
Monsanto Agricultural Products
Company, St. Louis, Mo.
Reding, testifying on behalf of
NACA before the Senate Judiciary
Committee on the Patent , Term
Restoration Act (S. 255), told the
panel that from five to seven years
' of patent life are lost under the
current federal pesticide
registration process.
This unchecked erosion of patent
protection, he added, serves as a
disincentive to continued industry
innovation that will be needed to
- meet rising worldwide food
demands.
“Most of the increases in food
required to meet the projected
increases in demand over the
remainder of this century must
come from raising the productivity
of land already in cultivation,”
Reding said. “Achieving
significant increases in land
productivity requires capital input
and use of technology on a massive
scale.”
Reding said, however, that
without adequate patent protec
tion, the industry cannot continue
to undertake the massive research
involved in discovering and
developing new pesticide products.
“When protection is devalued,”
he said, “mufh of the incentive to
1 invest capital *
in innovative pesticide research
goes with it.”
Reding noted pesticide patent
how
nudge and chinch bugs. A success
story illustrating the way in
dustrial research can respond to a
problem concerns greenbugs,
which were first noted to cause
economic damage to sorghum in
1968. Sorghum greenbug
resistance, first discovered in
agronomically undesirable types
by research workers of the Kansas
Agricultural Experiment Station,
was incorporated into parent lines
and resultant resistant hybrids
were first offered in 1975.
Most of the industry followed this
lead and at present, a high per
centage of all grain sorghum
hybrids carry this or similar
sources of resistance to sorghum
greenbugs. More recently, forage
and grass type sorghums with this
type of greenbug resistance have
become available.
In 1980, a new form of greenbug
(biotype E) was found to be able to
successfully attack the previously
resistant hybrids. Prompt
screening of available breeding
material identified a few
promising parents that DeKalb is
using to produce experimental
sorghum hybrids which should
withstand biotype E greenbug
infestation.
Seed research effort in the
United States is diverse and
dynamic. It operates relatively
free of government regulation and
is able to respond quickly to
changes in consumer preferences
and needs. Commercial research
teams are in a position to respond
efficiently and well
holders have only the remaining the registration process and would
time of the 17-year patent life be an important first step in
following the 5 to 7-year maintaining the incentive needed
registration process to recoup - f° r pesticide research and
their invested capital, develop development.
market strategies, prepare en- NACA is a non-profit,
vironmental c .? n iP* lanc . e - Washington-based trade
procedures, regain all other costs organization whose 115 members
and realize a profit. make and formulate virtually all
Passage of the Patent Term the cro p protection chemicals used
Restoration Act Reding told the m ted states and a large
Committee would help res ore a percentage used abroad,
portion of the patent rights lost to
Timely tips:
Getting your
baler ready
LANCASTER Haying season
is just around the corner and it’s
important for your baler to be in
tip-top shape when that first
cutting is ready to be taken off.
Some timely routine main
tenance checks and a thorough
cleaning will help insure that this
basic farm implement will be set to
move into the fields and remain in
good operational condition
throughout the long upcoming
season, according to service ex
perts at Sperry New Holland
dealerships.
First, examine the P.T.O. shaft
at the drive area and check for
worn universal joints. Make
certain the sliding members move
freely and are well-lubricated.
Next, move on to the P.T.O. slip
clutch. Disassembly will show any
worn or rusty discs. When
reassembling, refer to the slip
clutch setting in the operator’s
manual.
■ On engine-equipped balers,
. thoroughly clean the exterior of the
engine paying close attention to
cooling fins on air-cooled engines
and radiators on liquid-cooled.
Replace the crackcase oil and the
oil filter and service the air
cleaner. Check the drive belts for
cracks and replace where
necessary, using the manual as a
guide.
Another area of vital preventive
maintenance centers on the baler
chains. They should be kept oiled
during the off-season and
lubricated on a daily basis when in
use Always check for alignment
and adjustment.
When a chain becomes stretched
to the point where all idler ad
justment is used, it’s time to install
a new chain to prevent excessive
WHAT'S NEW!
Water brochure offered
CONRAD, la. Ritchie
Livestock Fountains is offering a
livestock watering brochure to
producers to help plan, install, and
maintain quality livestock
watering systems.
The brochure gives maintenance
and management information to
help producers get maximum use
from watering systems for in
creased livestock performance.
The brochure addresses water
needs for beef cattle, dairy, and
swine operations.
rfUiJdt'
Brochure explaining
to producers for beef, dairy and swine operations.
industry calls
patent relief
wear and replacement of
sprockets.
■ln the baler pick-up area,
replace any bent or missing
fingers, straighten or replace
damaged guards and check the
weight on the pick-up wheel. Also
loosen the spring'tension op the
pick-up slip clutch. Disassemble
and check for worn or rusty discs
or plates. Reassemble and set at
the tension prescribed in the
manual.
Moving on to the feeder area,
check and adjust the bearing
clearances on the feeder carriage,
feeder bar and tracks. Replace any
broken or bent feeder fingers.
Sharp knives are important for
the formation of good bales.
Remove and sharpen both the
plunger and stationary knives.
Shims are used to align the knives.
Make certain they are returned to
original locations after shar
pening, using the - manual for
It's a good idea to check the
knotter-twister area for grooves
and' replace worn „ parts as
required. For a wire-tie machine,
examine the rollers and guides on
the underside of the bale case and
remove any accumulation of hay.
or rust. Coat the inside of the. bale
case to prevent further rusting.
For general maintenance, keep
the baler properly" lubricated.
Make certain all fittings take
grease, even if removal is required
to clean an accumulation of har
dened dust or grease. Drain and
refill all gearboxes.
The baler’s hydraformatic
system should be serviced only as
recommended in the operator’s
manual.
Water quality and temperature
are stressed for optimum water
consumption* and weight gams by
livestock. Also, characteristics of a
good waterer are given analyzing
thermostatic temperature control,
construction, proper heating
elements, and waterer cleaning.
For your copy of “Ritchie
Fountams-How to Use Water to
Boost Profits”, contact Ritchie
Livestock Fountains, 120 South