02—Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, February 25,1984
Charolais sires gain roll
of excellence status
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Two
Charolais sires, Poker King Junior
GV 18G and ACF Apocalypse 40,
gained Roil of Excellence status
with the American-International
Charolais Association.
Poker King Junior GV 18G
owners Stone-Del Farm, Hartville,
Ohio, San Dan Charolais Farms.
Ltd., Erskine, Alta., Can., and
Thorpe’s Whiskey Trail Charolais,
Palo Cedro Calif., and ACF
Apocalypse 40 owners, Adams
Charolais Farms, Springfield,
Ohio, Miller Farms, Osceola,
lowa, and Gentry’s Double Hook
Ranch, 'Whitman, Neb., were
honored Jan. 19 at the annual
Charolais National banquet at the
Airport Hilton Inn in Denver, Colo.
Poker King Junior GV 18G was
calved May 12, 1975 and was bred
by Gotthold Reich, Green Vale,
Bashaw, Alta., Can. He is sired by
Poker King 1006 and out of Lady
Ava GVIE, a daughter of Caid who
is noted for his outstanding
daughters. Poker King Junior GV
18G was the Grand Champion bull
at the 1977 National Western Stock
Show for Green Vale and San Dan
Charolais Farms, Ltd., Erskine,
Alta., Can.
Progressive Charolais breeders
across the country have chosen
Poker King Junior GV 18G for their
breeding programs. His progeny
have a tremendous growth rate
and strong sex characteristics.
They are eye appealing cattle that
are accepted in the showring and
by commercial cattlemen.
Poker King Junior GV 18G has
sired numerous champions in
cluding the 1982 National Reserve
Grand Champion Female, Miss
JXN Junior 135, and the 1984
National Reserve Grand Cham
pion female, JXN Dancing Queen
Take guesswork
of boar selection
NEWARK, Del. - “Now, what
do you think of that boar? ’ ’
“Well, he’s deep enough, he’s got
good feet and legs. But I’d like to
see a little more width between his
shoulders.”
A typical conversation. Two
people trying to appraise a boar as
best they can, by looks alone.
“Choosing the right boar should
rank high on your importance
scale,” says University of
Delaware extension livestock
specialist Ken Kephart. “The fact
is most, if not all of your herd’s
genetic progress rests in the hands
of the seedstock producer.”
Why?
“Even if you have only eight or
10 boars, they make up half your
herd,” he says. “One boar can
easily crank out 1,000 pigs a year.
But more than 20 to 22 pigs per
year from a sow is rare.”
Selection for genetic superiority
(bigger litters, faster growth
rates) in the sow line alone is not
enough, says Kephart, guoting
Maurice Bichard of the Pig Im
provement Company who points
out that by selecting for improved
performance among sows and not
among boars, genetic progress will
stop after only four or five
generations.
In other words, producers who
are seriously interested in im
19P. An outstanding son, six-tune
R.O.E. Champion bull, Sir Stone-
Del King 019, contributed many
points toward the recognition.
ACF Apocalypse 40 established
himself as the youngest bull in the
Charolais breed to gain R.O.E.
status, as his progeny had a
tremendous day at the 1983
American Royal.
ACF Apocalypse 40 was calved
March 25,1960 and bred by Adams
Charolais Farms, Springfield,
Ohio. This extremely flat-muscled,
large-framed son of R.O.E. sire
Riverwood Elevation 44 is out of an
outstanding matron, Euphrasie
Fauchelevent, a 4T/Yates-bred
cow.
ACF Apocalypse 40 had an ex
citing show career. He was the 1981
National Calf Champion bull, 1982
National Reserve Grand Cham
pion bull and 1963 National
Reserve Champion bull. He was
also selected Grand Champion bull
at the 1982 National Western and
1981 Houston Livestock Show.
ACF Apocalypse 40 is playing an
important part in today’s
Charolais industry. His progeny
are sought after to improve frame
size and body structure. He is
popular among purebred and
commercial breeders in all parts
of the country.
ACF Apocalypse 40 sired the
Grand Champion female at the
1983 National Junior Heifer Show,
ACF Sabrina 342. He is also the sire
of the popular 1984 National Grand
Champion female, BR-MF Lady
Tyger. He sired the first-place
Junior and Senior Get-of-Sires at
the 1984 National Show.
ACF Apocalypse 40 met an
untimely death on Oct. 31, 1983. He
will undoubtly leave his mark on
the Charolais breed.
out
proving the genetic performance
of their herds had bettei find boar
producers who are just as serious.
Do they have solid records of
farrowing performance? Can they
prove with numbers that the hogs
on their finishing floors perform?
Do they test boars at home and/or
in central test stations? That is,
can they provide proof that they’re
selecting for improvement?
What else should a grower look
for in a seedstock source and the
boars produced?
Low levels of disease. “Go to the
farm if possible and keep you eyes
open,” Kephart advises. “Ask
what disease problems are
present. If there’s a problem you
don’t have, you don’t want to add
one more to your list.”
Confirmation and type. “Visual
appraisal is still essential and
always will be,” the specialist
says. “A lot can be learned by
looking at a boar. We can see the
difference between straight legs
and those with some slope and
cushion. We can see fat. We can
see muscle. And with some
practice, we can detect differences
in breeding stock that will make
the right changes in the end
product. Just remember that
appearance isn’t the only factor
worth considering.”
(Turn to Page D 4)
His cattle lab
JEFFERSON CITY, MO. -
David Snyder’s laboratory is a
barn, really. Its straight, practical
steel walls, nearly uninterrupted
by windows, topped by a steel roof,
make it look like a barn - just like
all other such livestock- and hay
holding facilities across rural
America.
David Snyder does most of his
work on a farm - Lincoln
University’s Greenberry farm,
just beyond the subdivisions of
Jefferson City, Missouri’s capital.
It looks like a farm, it sounds like a
farm, it smells like a farm. And on
it is Snyder’s laboratory.
David, 32, is an animal scientist,
having obtained a Ph.D. at
Michigan State University in 1977.
He, along with other animal
scientists in various countries, is
trying to improve the efficiency of
beef cattle growing. Even during
his undergraduate days, he
specialized in the study of animal
reproduction. In post-doctoral
work, he became interested in
Lincoln University. Already
recognized for its research in other
fields, especially nutrition, Lincoln
planned to upgrade its livestock
research. David was hired.
David set out immediately to
establish a beef herd with a high
rate of twinning. On a national or
international scale, his purpose is
clear. If each beef cow produced
two calves instead of one, it would
take only half as many cows to
produce the same amount of beef.
In reality, of course, cattle
twinning is not so simple. Cows
bearing twins need more personal
care at calving time. Twins are
bom earlier, smaller and weaker
than most single calves. Fur
thermore, there is some difficulty
in cleaning out the birth canal.
While it is difficult for some cows
to provide enough milk to feed
even one calf, cows bearing twins
must provide enough milk for two.
Many of them just can’t do it.
For all these reasons, twin
calves need to be weaned earlier
and put on strength-building
supplemental feed.
To complicate David’s project,
nearly all the female calves that
are born as twins with males are
born without the ability to
reproduce. Their hormones in
termix with those of the male twin
in the mother’s uterus and this,
somehow, is believed to sterilize
the females.
Those may be the reasons so few
efforts are underway to build twin
bearing beef herds. Even so,
another such herd is being
developed on a much larger scale
at the Roman Hruska Animal
Research Center, a USDA facility
at Clay Center, Neb. Scientists
there helped David start his own
herd by telling him about some
twin-producing cows which could
be bought.
Similarly, research on
“manufactured twins” is ad
vanced at Colorado State
Interest high
ITHACA, N.Y. - Interest in the
1984 New York Bull Test has
heightened with the issuance of the
report for the second 28 day weigh
period.
The 103 registered bulls on the
current 140 day performance test
program at Cornell University’s
Livestock Teaching and Research
Center at Harford had an average
daily gain of 3.77 pounds for this
second period.
The three Shorthorn bulls
recorded the highest breed
average daily gam for the period,
4.95 pounds. The son of Stony
Brook Improver 8106 owned by
Stony Brook Farm of Locke is
leadmg the “Class of ’B4” with an
average daily gam of 5.39 pounds
for the period.
A Polled Hereford bull owned by
Elm Farm of Richmondville and a
Graystone Granite son was the
second highest gaining bull with an
is a
University, another land-grant
institution. There, embryos con
sisting of about 70 cells are placed
under a microscope and divided in
half with a microsurgical blade.
The resulting demi-embryos are
then placed in foster-mother cows,
usually one per recipient cow, in a
procedure similar to artificial
insemination. Scientists at
Colorado State stress the value of
identical twin calves in research.
The technology has been tran
sferred to more than a dozen
commercial firms.
David now has eight cows with
very good twinning records and
four of their calves. He bought both
cows and calves from Midwest
farmers who could prove these
cows usually bore twins.
One problem that David faced
immediately and which has
discouraged other scientists from
building twin-producing herds, is
the problem of waiting for the
genetically inclined cows to bear
twins. Cows carry their calves nine
months and are not usually bred
again for at least a few weeks.
David cut this time with embryo
transplants. In this system, the
cow with the desired traits - such
as twin-bearing tendencies - is
treated so she produces several
eggs, then bred either artifically or
with a bull. A week later, in
David’s case, he transfers several
embryos with the desirable
in NY bull test
average daily gain of 5.21 pounds.
An Angus bull and a Simmental
bull tied for third place honors with
an average daily gain of five
pounds. The Angus bull is a
Progression son and is owned by
Gallagher’s Farm of Ghent.
Another Progression son con
signed by Gallagher’s Farm
topped the 1983 Bull Test Sale at
$4,000. The highest gaining Sim
mental bull was a son of RCF Sir
Duke Signal 3A owned by JoAnn
Srebnik of New City.
The one Hereford bull on test
recorded the second highest gain
per breed, 4.43 pounds and the one
Salers bull recorded an average
daily gain of 4.07 pounds for the
same period. This was followed by
the five Red Angus bulls with an
average daily gain of 4.02 pounds.
The 32 Polled Hereford bulls on
test had an average daily gain of
3.97 pounds; the 14 Simmentals,
Missouri
hereditary characteristics to or
dinary milk cows, which serve as
surrogate mothers until the calves
are bom.
Meanwhile, the original cow with
the twin-bearing tendencies is
taken through the same routine
again, and her new embryos are
transplanted to milk cows. So a
cow with desirable genetic
characteristics might be bred
three or four times a year instead
of once.
In a room adjoining the
operating room, David pored over
samples of hundreds of cubic
centimeters of fluid, looking for
embryos. At the end of two hours,
however, he concluded there were
none. This was quite unusual and
unexpected. Furthermore, another
cow was waiting in the operating
room for an embryo transplant.
David decided to transplant a
frozen embryo into waiting cow
No. 110, a sturdy Holstem-Fnesian
dairy animal. She had come into
heat the same day as No. 23 and so
was considered well suited to
receive No. 23’s embryo.
From a canmster of frozen
embryos recently flushed from
other twin-bearing beef cows,
David selected the embryo of a
Simmental cow. He added fluid to
warm it up and examined it under
a microscope. It had survived
storage at a minus 196 degrees
centigrade.
3.70 pounds; the seven Charolais,
3.63 pounds; the 37 Angus, 3.60
pounds; the one Welsh Black 2.75
pounds; and the two Beefalo bulls,
2.23 pounds.
Seventy-six breeders from New
York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
Maryland, Vermont, Delaware,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire
and Montana are participating in
the Bull Test program which is
jointly sponsored by the New York
Beef Cattlemen’s Association,
Cooperative Extension, the State
Department of Ag & Markets, and
Cornell University. The bulls are
evaluated under uniform, unbiased
conditions for such heritable traits
as rate of gain.
The performance testing
program will culminate with the
Bull Test Sale May 4 at Ithaca
when those bulls meeting ctr
tification standards will be offered.
barn