■Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 9,1982
Yes, you can make more money
Some farmers spend more to
produce a unit of their product
than others. This is a fact 1 have
gleaned from more than 25 years of
working with farm families on
farm financial problems. 1 am
convinced that many farmers are
making inadequate use of their
resources or do not recognize the
need to change.
Last week I discussed feeding
efficiency. This is the biggest area
for change for dairy and livestock
farmers. When 1 see where one
dairyman sells twice as much for
each dollar of feed as another
dairyman, it is a convincing
statistic.
Winter and summer ventilation
is essential for all types of
livestock and poultry.
—Use multiple fans plus
adequate inlets for winter ven
tilation.
—Open things up, use circulating
fans, block or whitewash windows
on the afternoon sun (west) side of
a building.
—Remember that ventilation
has a number of jobs; moisture
riCKES BOTTOM UNLOADING
IS THE BEST WAY
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Corrugated, Vibrated concrete
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White reflective low-profile roof
Heavy duty pressure/vacuum
valve
Pre-galvanized full guide
Laidig bottom unloader
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Brockeft’s Ag Advice
By John E. Brocket!
Farm Management Agent
Lewistown Extension Office
Some ideas
Ventilation
control; fly control; draft
reduction; controlled air
movement as well as temperature
control.
—Do not put winter ventilation
fans where they draw warm,
moist, germladen air from adult
animals to baby animals unless
your intent is to kill the babies.
Raising calves
—Use colostrum as soon after
birth as possible.
—Dip the naval in iodine.
—Treat for internal and external
parasites on a regular basis.
—Provide clean, dry, draft-tree
livmg and feeding areas.
—Keep different sized animals
separately.
Milking system
—Use somatic cell count as a
management tool.
—Keep to a stimulation time of 1
to 2 minutes (time from washing to
machine on) and a machine on
time of 4'to 6 minutes per cow.
—Don’t try to handle too many
machines.
—Keep bedding dry and clean.
—Treat or sell problem cows.
—Have adequate and uniform
vacuum. Check the regulator on a
regular basis.
SILAGE MANAGEMENT
BOOSTS MILK YIELDS
FOR LANCASTER COUNTY
DAIRYMAN
Most dairy farmers, and
even some nutritionists,
feel that com silage is com
silage an important
source of roughage and
energy but little more than
that.
Ivan Shirk knows better.
Like most fanners across
the U.S. who are trying to
cope with today’s tight
economy, Shirk is con
stantly looking for ways to
increase the income from
his 45-cow dairy operation.
By refining his silage
management practices, the
Lancaster County dairy
man found he could capital
ize on the maximum nutri
tional value of his cbm
silage and make it an in
tegral component of his
feed ration.
In a recent 127-day trial.
Shirk compared two ap
proaches to silage
management. .One ap
proach yielded a high
quality silage, increasing
milk production -by 6.9
percent over the trial
period. The result was an
additional net profit per
cow of $52.51, calculated on
the basis of $l3/cwt for 3.5
percent milk.
Trial Carefully
Monitored
Shirk chopped his silage
to half-inch lengths when'
the com was at the mid- to
full-dent stage. ' Moisture
level at harvest was about
66 percent.
Chopping at 66 percent
moisture reduces field
losses. - Research shows
when moisture level of the
com falls below 60 percent,
field losses may range as
high ns 16 percent or more
due to leaf and ear drop and
downed stalks.
Chopping at the proper
moisture and length also
enhances the crucial fer
mentation process of en
siling.
Shirk simultaneously
filled two 16’x60’ concrete
stave silos by alternating
wagon loads of com silage.
Silage going into one silo
was treated at the blower
with an inoculant from
Pioneer Hi-Bred In
ternational, Inc. The
inoculant is a live bacterial
product which helps ensure
rapid fermentation and
greater preservation of the
ensiled nutrients. It was
applied at a rate of one
pound per ton of forage.
Com silage, in the other
silo was not treated.
Shirk’s Holstein cows
were paired, with one
member of each pair
assigned to one of two
groups. One group received
untreated com silage while
the other received
inoculated com silage. The
silage was about one-third
of the balanced dairy
ration, which also included
alfalfa hay,' supplemental
grain mix and soybean
meal.
Laboratory analysis of
samples from both silos
showed quality differences
between the untreated and
inoculated silages. Lactic
acid production was 5.8
percent greater in the
inoculated silage. Available
protein also was higher.
In addition, dry matter
losses were 44 percent less
in the inoculated silage. The
net result of inoculation was
that more silage of higher
“quality was available to
feed out.
Cows fed untreated silage
produced an average of 44.7
pounds - of milk per day.
Cows fed the higher quality,
inoculated silage produced
an average of 47.8 pounds of
milk per day an ad
vantage of 3.1 .pounds per
cow.
Stated another way, cows
fed the higher quality silage
produced an average of
393.7 pounds more milk per
cow during the trial period
than those fed the untreated
silage.
“When I started to feed
the treated silage I noticed
a big difference over the
untreated silage,” said
Shirk. “The cows ate the
treated silage much better.”
“The smell of the treated
silage was much, better,
too,” Shirk added.
Good management of
silage can help ensure that
more of the nutrients that
go into the silo will be
available in the silage that’s
fed out of the silo. Com
silage can supply more than
just roughage and energy
it also can contribute
nutritive value as an in
tegral part of the total dairy
ration. -
One in a series of articles
devoted to improved
silage making sponsored
by Pioneer Hi-Bred Inter
national, Inc.
ADV