A34-Umcaster Farming, Saturday, December 8,1984 They never go to bed hungry at Gerrilynn BYJOYCE BUPP Staff Correspondent ABBOTTSTOWN - “He feeds the cows until he’s sure they’re full. Then he goes around again.” “When they see Dad coming, the cows go, ‘Not him again’.” That’s how the family of Lynn Wolf teases the Abbottstown R 1 dairyman about his feeding program. But his frequent rounds with the cart and scoop have paid off. When the' 1984 York County DHIA year ended in September, the Wolf family’s Gerrilynn registered Holsteins headed the list. Lollipop, a VG-86 Marvex daughter, is Debbie Wolf’s 4-H project animal. As a heifer, she won a number of top-placing ribbons and Deb exhibited the home-bred at state com petition. Jy .mg program, Lynn Wolf has added high moisture corn to the Gerrilynn herd rations. Gerriiynn Irene Apollo Brett, Chris’ 4-H project, won York County's Holstein milk and fat awards this year in the aged cow division. She compiled a 305-day lactation record of 29,110 lbs. of milk and 993 lbs. of fat. A three-generation home-bred, she’s already over 100,000 lbs. of milk in four lactations. Not only did his herd win in milk production, but also topped all other contenders in butteiifat and protein. Completed average for the year on the 70 head was 20,392 milk, 778 fat, 678 protein. Already in 1979, Wolf had topped the county’s milk average, but not fat. Through the ensuing years, though, herd average held con stant over 20,000 and butterfat beyond the 700-pound level. Not bad for a dairyman who had problems getting into his school’s FFA program in high school, because he didn’t come from a farm. Even though Wolf’s father ;eryone can everythini is how Lynn Wolf describes the versatility of his family around the dairy farm. From the left are Debbie, Brad, Lynn, Chris and Gerry. did work away full time, the family kept a few cows for about a year when Lynn and his brothers were teenagers. The three sons did the milking before and after school. “They got a lot of neglect - especially mornings when we were late,” chuckles this affable far mer. After he married Geraldine Boyer, the couple spent four years working with the Ira Boyer family’s herd, near Spring Grove. Purchasing their present farm, just east of Abbottstown and along Route 30, the Wolf's moved in with a total of 15 cows, some of them Gerry’s former 4-H animals. That first milking put in the 500 gallon tank didn’t even reach the agitator. “We stirred it with a wooden spoon to get it cool,” Wolf relates. "And we milked Guernseys, Holsteins, crosses - anything that gave milk.” Final herd average for that first year on their own, on 22 head, was 13,392 milk with 530 fat. Six years later tha tank was overflowing with production from the 40 cows, and an 800-gallon bulk unit went in. Recently that became obsolete, and the 70-head output now gently cools in a new 1500- gallon stainless unit. Original stalls in the barn were designed for Guernseys, so those first winters, while the herd size was building, Wolf tore out the smaller stalls and put in larger Calves are kept in hutches and one heifer greets Brad, Born and raised on the family's dairy farm, Gerry Wolf is extremely experienced with and knowledgeable about the herd and works with chores ranging from milking to recor dkeeping. ones for his bigger animals. An addition three years ago added 20 more roomy comfort stalls to hold the herd as it expanded to the present size. Wolf likes to tease his wife about another equipment update put in 1980. Tired of lugging heavy cans of milk to the dumping station, Wolf ordered a pipeline. Although Gerry was concerned that the pipeline would make it impossible to know what each cow was producing each day, after about two milkings, says Wolf, she was convinced the move was a wise one. While the farm has seen numerous improvements and additions, Wolf adhers as much as possible to his philosophy of operating without heavy borrowing. In the early years, they purchased some of Boyer’s culls, but relatively few cows have been added from outside herds. In fact, only three milking animals carry anything but the Gerrilynn prefix. One was purchased from York dairyman Phil Laughman, and the other two were bought as calves at the Adams-York Calfarama sale. Wolf has only ever purchased one milking cow at public sale, prefering to acquire any additions privately as calves or heifers. Rather, feeding and breeding are his management channels of upgrading this top herd. Basics of the feeding program are silage, haylage and baled hay, and then Wolf adapts for use “what we have” in the most econmomical and efficient ration balancing. That first year the herd topped 20,000, he went on a program of feeding ground ear corn. And when corn silage runs out in the spring, barlage goes in on top to add a change to the ration. That also enables Wolf to get his barley off early, putting it to the best use possible, while following up with a no-till corn crop. Bulk of the herd’s forage is of fered at an outside bunk feeder, where cows spend much of their time for exercise and heat detection as well. Before milkings, (Turn to Page A 39)
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