Management makes
BY LAURA ENGLAND
COCHRANVILLE - At a time
when the economy seems to be
working against the agricultural
industry, especially that sector
involved in dairying, farmers are
realizing the importance of
“buckling down’’ and keeping a
close eye on finances and
management decisions.
One such farmer is a 28-year-old
Cochranville dairyman who
believes in using the “tools”
available to make sound
management decisions. These
tools include the use of DHIA
records, breeding and feeding
programs and the knowledge and
experience of other dairymen.
Melvin Stoltzfus, owner of
Melwood Farm, R 2 Cochranville,
has been farming for seven years
and credits much of his current
success to the use of managment
tools coupled with the help he’s
received from other dairymen,
namely his father, Jacob Stoltzfus,
and E.M. Weir.
It was from these two men that
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Calves are housed outdoors in individual pens and are
weaned at three months.
i * i.
W h
At three years, ET has made her
mark in the Melwood herd. She is classified excellent at 91
points and is projected at 25,000 pounds of milk this lac
tation.
Embryo transfer is part of the breeding program at Melwood Farms. These six calves
are all ET's, from Dunwood Golden Sunlight.
Melvin got his start m the dairy
business. And it was from these
two men that he acquired the
foundation cattle for his high
producing herd of registered
Holsteins.
Melvin bought his 75-acre farm
and 10 of his first heifers from
E.M. Weir. In addition, he bought
cattle from the Dunwood herd
owned by his father. These cattle
constituted about one-third of his
36-cow herd.
Melvin explained that years of
high quality cattle breeding were
behind his original herd. Weir’s
herd had been named high herd in
Chester County, and the elder
Stoltzfus had received high herd
honors on both the county and state
levels.
“My dad’s breeding has had a lot
of influence on the cows,” Melvin
said.
The influence on these cows has
been evident in the production
averages recorded through the
Dairy Herd Improvement
Association. In his first year of
&C' '
i ‘h, 1
* , > I
r ? f
the difference at Melwood Farm
rms, . an junty, is home to a herd of 36 out
standing registered Holsteins which have an average production record of 22,954
pounds of milk and 883 pounds of fat.
farming, Melvin saw a herd
average of 19,041 pounds of milk
and 780 pounds of fat with a 4.1
percent fat test. That average has
increased considerably each
successive year.
In 1983, the herd produced 22,954
pounds of milk and 883 pounds of
fat with a 3.8 percent fat test.
These records earned Melwood
Farm several awards including
the Octorara Young Farmers high
herd award and the Pa.
Dairyman’s Association high fat
award.
While pleased with his herd’s
production ability, Melvin said he
is equally excited about the caliber
of some of his younger cows.
Excited he is because of the
production potential of these
animals and the fact that they are
of his own breeding.
Two of these heifers, one a
descendent of the Weir herd and
the other from the Dunwood line,
fit Melvin’s definition of exciting
and outstanding. As 3-year-olds,
both have classified well, and both
are high producing animals.
Dunwood Golden Sparkle-ET,
owned in part by Melvin and his
brother Alvin and father, has
scored excellent at 91 points as a 3-
year-old. She comes from a family
of six direct Gold Medal Dams, and
is projected to produce between
24,000 and 25,000 pounds of milk at
three years.
Melwood Valiant Mitten is
Melvin’s other pride and joy. From
the Weir line, Mitten has scored
very good at 89 points. She has
complemented this classification
with a 24,000 pound milk average
at two years and has milked over
100 pounds a day during the first seven - Melvin said, are products of
three tests of her current lactation. foundation herd.
In addition to these two milking 11 these younger, more
powerhouses, seven of his 2-year- productive cattle that Melvin sees
olds are predicted for over 20,000 strength in his herd,
pounds of milk. Five of these Explaining this further, Melvin
(Turn to Page A 27)
Melvin Stoltzfus considers the comfort of his cows im
portant. Feed is available at all times.
Melwood Valiant Mitten is an outstanding 3-year-old,
having classified 89 points with a production record of 24,000
pounds of milk at two years.
Large, open-air pens are home to the young heifers who are
grouped according to age and size.