D2—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 19,1984
Chester D, Hughes
Extension Livestock Specialist
Meat has been the major dietary
component for the human race
throughout recorded history. The
Biblical reference to use a “fatted
calf” as the main entree of the
feast celebrating the return of the
Prodigal Son is an early
documentation of the contribution
of this muscle food to civilization.
Efficient production of ruminants
such as cattle has permitted
countries such as the United States
to provide their citizens the best
diet in the world.
Why then are there some people
who assume that it is more
economical to feed cereal grains to
humans than to cattle which
produce beef? These misinformed
folks fail to recognize that ap
proximately 86 percent of a market
steer’s diet consists of roughages
and milk from the beef cow. In
fact, the ruminant animal is one of
the most efficient sources for the
conversion of otherwise wasted
land into human food.
The beef animal is a highly ef
ficient mini-solar condensing
factory that converts solar energy
and low fertility soil to a nutrient
dense food. The approximately
14% of the diet of a typical market
LIVESTOCK
LATEST
Prices up
BY BARBARA RADER
Staff Correspondent
MERCER - High selling animal
at the Pa. Shorthorn and Polled
Shorthorn Spring Sale was
Tuscarora Chief X, consigned by
B&O Tuscarora Shorthorns, of
Neelytown, and purchased by
Walter K. Johnson, New Ken
sington, for $750. The red polled
bull’s sire was Scotsdale Manix X,
one of the top Canadian sires.
Sale prices averaged higher than
last year at this spring event held
at the Mercer 4-H Park on
Saturday, May 5. The sale’s 26
'P Jg <»• and Polled Shor
thorn Spring Sale was Tuscarora Chief X. The December,
1982 bull was bred and owned by Tuscarora Shorthorns,
Neelyton. At halter is owner/consignor James Fogal, with Don
Braham (left).
Livestock Ledger
I
steer which is cereal grain and
other concentrates yields essen
tially the same amount of usable
nutrients after being fed to the
animal as if it was fed to humans.
The beef animal upgrades the
utilization value of these grains
and condenses their nutritive
value.
Another consumer concern in
regards to beef is price at the meat
counter. When putting this issue
into perspective it is obvious that
beef is a good buy. Consider these
grocery store products when
compared on a price per pound
basis:
Item
Cheese Puffs
Corn Chips
Cashews
Peanuts
Round Steak
Wheat Squares
Asparagus
Peanut Butter
Blade Steak
Ground Beef
Guess what? Consumers really
can afford to buy good, nutritious
beef!
The Cooperative Extension Service Is an
affirmative action equal opportunity
educational institution.
at Pa. Shorthorn and Polled Shorthorn sale
head averaged $484, with five bulls
averaging $650, and 21 heifers
bringing a $445 average.
Second high seller and top selling
female was Mapleview Fancy
Bryn BOX, going to W.T. Mc-
Cartney, Sandy Lake, for $575.
This cow-calf pair was consigned
by Richard Peoples, of Volant. The
November, 1980 cow’s sire was
Albo X, with her bull calf sired by
Green Ridge Willie M 515.
Mrs. Harry Foulk, Mercer, was
the volume buyer of three head,
with two of her purchases
originally in the Pa. Junior’s raffle
Prlce/lb.
$11.87
10.90
5.46
3.47
2.99
2.11
1.90
1.62
1.59
1.29
'7\
'Standing room only' crowd
attends NY Bull Test Sale
ITHACA, NY - A Charolais bull
consigned by Steven Guernsey of
Cobleskill topped the New York
Bull Test Sale or May 4, with
Walter Babbitt of Wellsville of
fering the high bid of $2,075. A son
of Flying M Jason 136, this
Charolais consignment was one of
four bulls in the sale to be certified
“superior” and had an average
daily gain of 3.91 pounds.
The second highest selling bull in
the sale was a Shorthorn consigned
by Stony Brook Farms of Locke.
This bull, a son of Stony Brook
Improver 8106, also attained
“superior” status and was the
highest gaining British bull on test
with an average daily gain of 4.13
pounds. The buyer at $1,825 was
Chester Poplaski of Newark.
A standing room crowd only was
on hand for the fast paced sale at
the Livestock Pavilion on the
Cornell campus. The 46 bulls
grossed $50,100 for a sale average
of $1,089.
The three Charolais bulls
grossed $4,900 for a sale average of
$1,633 and the three Shorthorn
bulls grossed $4,050 for a sale
average of $1,350.
The seven Sinunentals grossed
$7,955 for a sale average of $1,135.
The top selling Simmental bull was
a RCF Sir Duke Signal 3A son with
an average daily gain of 4.04
pounds consigned by Jo Ann
Srebnik of New City, NY. The
buyer of this “superior”
designated bull at $1,550, was
held during the sale. At $570 each,
this pair of heifers were the sale’s
second highest selling females.
Consigned by Richard Peoples,
Maplewood Fancy Penny 83, and
Mapleview Waneta 21, were sired
by Green Ridge Willie M 515, and
Mapleview Major AX, respec
tively.
Junior Pa. Shorthorn members
sold well over 600 tickets for the
raffle of a heifer donated by the
Richard Peoples family to benefit
the Keystone State delegates going
to the National Shorthorn Youth
Conference in Louisville, Kentucky
on July 14 to 18.
Four heifers were on display,
with the winner having his choice
of the animals. Holding the win
ning ticket was Rosemary Mc-
Divitt, of Saltsburg, who chose
Mapleview CW 83.
The heifer will be added to the
family’s herd of eight animals
purchased beginning with last
year’s sale.
Richard Peoples and George
Hunter, Stoneboro, were the sale’s
managers, with Grove City
residents Lloyd Braham serving as
auctioneer, and Don Braham
acting as ringman.
Clerking the sale was Pa.
association secretary-treasurer,
Kathy Allen, along with Sheila
Peoples, Volant, Carol Saulen,
Holliston, Mass., and Liz McFeely,
of Mercer.
Hickory Spring Farm of Am
sterdam.
The 17 Polled Herefords grossed
$17,625 for a sale average of $1,030.
The top selling Polled Hereford
was a BT CL Domino 15G son
consigned by Overlook Farm of
Little Falls and Misty Mountain
Farm of Wallingford Vt. The buyer
at $1,650 was South Wind Farm
(Bruce DeForest) of Otego.
The 14 Angus grossed $13,575 for
a sale average of $969. The top
selling Angus bull was a Rosebank
Connection 69 son consigned by
Thorndale Farm of Millbrook. The
buyer of this highest indexing
Angus bull on test was Wilcox
Angus Farm of Falconer, at a
price of $1,600.
A steady market was reported
for the two Red Angus bulls that
grossed $2,000 for a sale average of
$l,OOO. The consignors were
Sunrise Farms of Auburn, and
Maryland
poultry exhibit
ban for summer
The prohibition on bird
exhibitions will not be lifted for the
1984 show season according to Dr.
Ralph Knowles of the Maryland
Department of Agriculture, Office
of Animal Health and Consumer
Services.
“We know this will disappoint a
lot of folks, exhibitors and fans
alike,” says Knowles, “but the
risks are just too great”.
Maryland has not escaped the
effects of the disease that has
created economic havoc in Penn
sylvania and Virginia. Sixty
thousand birds were depopulated
on one farm in Cecil County and
portions of the county were
quarantined for 59 days. That
quarantine was lifted on April 6th
and the farm was repopulated. To
Rosemary McDivitt of Saltsburg shows her shorthorn heifer
won in a raffle to benefit Pa. Junior Shorthorn Association
members. More than 600 raffle tickets were sold for the
heifer donated by the Richard Peoples family of Volant.
Pa. Charolais Assoc.
to hold field day
MCVEYTOWN The Penn- Saturday, July 7. Activiues are
sylvania Charolais Association is planned for the entire day, with the
sponsoring a field day at Bratton Junior Heifer and Steer Show
Charolais Farm in McVeytown, on beginning at 9 a.m.
Kenneth Marquis of Ithaca, and
the buyers were Lester Fanton of
Wellsville, and Maurice Cairns of
Angelica.
The sale concluded the 1983-84
Bull Test program which had 102
bulls enrolled by breeders from
nine states. The 140 performance
testing program was conducted at
Cornell University’s Livestock
Teaching and Research Center at
Harford. Only those bulls that met
strict certification standards were
eligible for the Bull Test Sale.
William Greene, Bull Test
Director, in the pre-sale remarks
noted that five of the bulls mt he
sale were sons of previous New
York Performance Test bulls.
The New York Bull Test and Sale
are jointly sponsored by Cornell
University, Cooperative Ex
tension, the New York Beef Cat
tlemen’s Association, and the State
Department of Ag & Markets.
maintains
date, no further problems have
developed.
The severity of the epidemic is
on the decline in Pennsylvania as
well. State and Federal
agricultural officials are op
timistic that the disease has been
brought under control and, that in
the near future, will have been
cleaned up entirely.
“But until such time and until we
can be sure that all dangers of
reinfection are past, we must
continue to be on guard and
exercise every precaution to avoid
contributing to other outbreaks,”
Knowles concluded.
Likewise, spokesmen for the Pa.
Department of Agriculture forsee
no change in the poultry exhibition
ban here in Pennsylvania for the
summer.