A2o—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 14,1981
Dairy conference supplies answers for service reps.
BY DONNA TOMMELLEO
HARRISBURG A dairy farm is
frequented by more than just the
milk inspector, the shipper and the
veterinarian
Add to that list the constant
stream of feed sales represen
tatives, county agents, AI
technicians and even loan ap
praisers and the dairy farm
becomes one busy terminal
Many times, such visitors are
able to pin point problems on the
farm by asking the right questions
But before asking the questions,
these professionals who service a
dairy operation, must have the
answers or at least know where to
find them.
Thanks to an all-day conference
on Tuesday, more than 60 dairy
service persons listened as experts
in the field of dairy nutrition and
milk quality provided them with
practical answers Conference
participants were also brought up
to-date on state agricultural
organizations.
Co-sponsored by PennAg In
dustries Association and the Penn
State Cooperative Extension, the
conference featured Richard S.
Adams, dairy Extension
nutritionist and Sidney E. Bar
nard, Extension food scientist.
The conference at <*he
Harrisburg Sheraton West, was
part of a state-wide education
program. Beginning in late Oc
tober, the conference appeared in
six different locations throughout
the Commenwealth
Pennsylvania Farmer
Association representative John
Moulton presented a brief history
of the association.
“In 1950, owners and operators
of farms and farming business
formed PFA,” Moulton explained
The professional ‘organization,
Moulton said, is not unlike a
chamber of commerce. Moulton
also reported on the progress of the
31st Annual Meeting in Hershey
and updated the membership
count PFA claims more than
23,000 family members across 54
counties in the state, Moulton said
“The purpose of the organization
is to promote, protect and to
represent the economic, social and
educational interest of farm people
Richard Adams, Extension dairy nutritionist outlines goals
for successful heifer raising. "The best plan is to get heifers
into production early," he reports. Adams suggested
breeding heifers between 13 to 15 months of age if they are
the proper size.
in county, state and national af
fairs," explained the PFA rep.
Moulton also reported that new
PFA farm promotional com
mercials are now appearing on
television in the Harrisburg
viewing area
PennAg Industries staff member
Sam Sherk reported on state
legislative activities
House Bill 1351, which would
name milk the official state
beverage, has passed the House
and is on the Senate floor, said
Sherk.
Sherk expressed concern
regarding the animal rights issue.
“Very shortly we’ll (PennAg)be
premienng a slide presentation on
the welfare of Pennsylvania’s
farm animals from a farmer’s
view point,” Sherk said.
Penn State Extension food
scientist Sidney Barnard
presented guidelines aimed at
practical goals for good quality
milk.
Proper cooling temperature was
at the top of Barnard’s list. He
explained that milk storage
temperature, recorded with an
accurate thermometer, should be
no higher than 40 degrees
Fahrenheit
“The colder we keep milk, the
longer it will keep,” Barnard
reported
The consumer determines milk
quality by the taste, said Barnard
And although certain off-flavors
can creep into milk, Barnard said,
the incidence of feed/weed flavor
in not much of a problem today
However, he reported that
consumer complaints continue
And the primary off-flavor is
rancidity, characterized by a
soapy or bitter taste Barnard said
that in 1972, only 2 2 percent of 500
milk samples proved rancid
However, m 1978 the incidence
reached an alarming 33 9 percent
or one out of every three samples
Today the rate has dropped to 17
percent
The causes are traced back to
the farm, unlike oxidized milk
which mostly occurs under the
bright lights in supermarkets
Late lactation cows, risers or
pipeline air leaks contribute to the
problem of rancidity, Barnard
V y* '
y j?
explained Milk processors, he
said, should try and process milk
, no later than 48 hours of collection.
Oxidative flavors have a card
board or metallic-like taste. Some
oxidation problems can be traced
back to the farm where cows are
fed stored feed. A vitamin E'
supplement may correct this, said
Barnard.
High somatic cell counts also
affect the quality of milk and
antibiotic adulteration is not only
dangerous for certain consumers
sensitive to penicillin but quite
costly to the producer, as well.
The only source of penicillin in
milk is from treated cows
Prevention in the key, as no
procedure will remove the an
tibiotic from milk.
The incidence of any adulterants
in milk is very low. Extensive
testing by industry and regulatory
laboratories indicates less than
002 percent' of farm samples
contain detectable levels of an
tibiotics."
Tests used to determine the
presence of penicillin can readily
detect less than 0.01 I.U. or the
equivalent of a 100,000 unit infusion
in a quarter of one cow, which gets
into a load of 45,000 pounds of milk
Farmers cannot rely on dilution,
said Barnard, as milk from one
quarter can be detected in the milk
from 1,000 cows.
Barnard’s guides for
adulteration prevention follow:
✓ Read the directions for all
drugs and medicines used for dairy
cattle Use the prescribed dose and '
withhold all milk for the time in
dicated
(Turn to Page A2l)
The magic number for proper milk cooling is mei Sid Barnard. Higher temperature
40 degrees Fahrenheit or under, recom- could lead to increased bacteria count.
These young heifers have their whole they become the herd replacements of the
reproductive life ahead of them and only future,
through proper nutrition management will
Sid Barnard, Extension food scientist discusses the many
factors of off-flavors that effect the quality of milk. “Con
sumers want safe, pleasant-tasting milk with good keeping
quality,” Barnard explains.
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