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“P”eak milk yields, forage are meeting topics
BY WENDY WEHR
LANCASTER “Dairying is not
just a way of life now, it’s a
business,” said Pennfield vice
president Ray Lehr in his opening
remarks at the Pennfield dairy
management meeting. And at
tendance at the Tuesday meeting
in Lancaster showed that many
area farmers are well aware of the
need to run an efficient dairy
business.
A crowd of local dairymen
nearly filled the Farm and Home
Center auditorium to take in the
latest findings on forages and
dairy nutrition. Dr. John Baylor,
former Penn State professor of'
agronomy extension, spoke about
alfalfa quality, yields and har
vesting, while Dr. Brian Perkins,
manager of dairy and livestock
nutrition at Pennfield, addressed
the topics of managing for peak
milk production and energy
utilization in the dairy cow.
Alfalfa, “Queen of Forages”
Dr. Baylor began his morning
presentation with a discussion of
alfalfa economics. He reminded
the dairymen not to scrimp when it
comes to purchasing seed. While
cost of seed may be about one third
of the cost of establishing the stand
of alfalfa, over the life of the stand
seed costs are much less
significant.
When annual production costs
are prorated over the life of the
stand, said Baylor, seed costs are
only 3.5 percent of the total.
“You must choose varieties that
have the potential to perform for
you,” continued Baylor. He par
ticularly stressed the need to select
varieties with multi-pest
resistance.
Don’t let anyone tell you that
their variety is completely, 100
percent, resistant to disease, he
cautioned as he described how
varieties are labeled. A seed that is
31 percent or more resistant to a
disease can be labeled “high
resistance.
“High yields start with good
stands,” emphasized Baylor
throughout his talk. Soil tests are a
must, and proper seeding
techniques are equally valuable.
“I like to see a little grass in the
mixture, if it’s feasible for you,”
said Baylor. And as questions
arose about the ustT of perennial
rye grass, he added that the
quality of rye grass, which is most
nutritious and palatable, is un
surpassed among the grasses.
Achieving good stands of alfalfa
also depends on weed control at or
before establishment and insect
control during the establishment
year. More than once during his
morning slide presentation Baylor
encouraged the dairy farmers to
refer to the valuable information in
the Penn State Agronomy guide.
Quality Forage, Not Roughage
In the afternoon, Dr. Baylor
focused on managing established
stands and harvesting alfalfa.
Fertilizing is a must for top yields,
but Baylor cautioned that Lan
caster County farmers in par
ticular must be careful with their
fertility program because of the
high levels of phosphate and
potash in the soil.
Harvesting on time is also
crucial. “As yield goes up, quality
goes down, so you have to find the
compromise,” outlined Baylor.
The compromise is to obtain a high
yield of high quality forage that the
cows will consume.
Harvest alfalfa in the bud stage,
reminded Baylor. “The stage of
maturity is still the most im
portant single factor in quality.”
A good stand of alfalfa requires
total seasonal management, he
remarked as he outlined proper
weed control in the summer, fall.
Do you know your dairy P’s and Q’s?
spring, and corn phase of the
rotation.
In terms of alfalfa harvest,
Baylor clearly favored the use of
hay crop silage. “Hay crop silage
should be an integral part of every
dairy farm,” he stated, continuing
with statistics from the Pa. Alfalfa
Growers’ Program. All of the top
ten finalists in this year’s contest
put at least their first and second
cuttings in the silo, and a majority
made hay crop silage from all four
cuttings.
He also revealed some
suggestions for proper harvest and
storage, such as wilting down to 65
percent moisture, using a covered
wagon, filling silo rapidly, and
eliminating air in the silo.
And with regard to silage ad
ditives, Baylor commented that “if
you do everything else right, there
is some question that the additive
is needed.” If you do something
wrong, maybe the silage additives
have some value.
Peak Milk Yields
While Dr. Baylor delved into
growing and harvesting a quality
forage, Dr. Brian Perkins shared
information about using that
forage and other feeds for the
cows’ benefit. His morning slide
presentation described managing
for peak milk yields.
It’s well-known, Perkins stated,
that for every additional pound of
milk at her peak, you can count on
205 pounds extra on the cow’s total
lactation.
Managing for peak milk yields
begins with the dry cow program.
Length of the dry period should be
determined by the age of the cow,
her calving interval, and her milk
production late in the lactation.
Drying her off, said Perkins,
requires a change in her feeding
program. The dry cow’s diet must
include lots of fiber, to keep her
rumen full and working, but should
be low energy and maintain a
mineral balance. Less than 100
grams of calcium is required for
the dry cow.
Perkins described what he
considers to be a dangerous
feeding program 15 lbs. of
alfalfa hay and 20 lbs. of com
silage which gives the dry cow
far too much calcium, and leaves
her more susceptible to milk fever.
“Substitute grass hay for
alfalfa,” he emphasized, and that
will bring the calcium level more
in line with her needs. A cow that
freshens with milk fever is more
likely to have calving problems,
retain her placenta, and come
down with metritis and mastitis.
Other steps in managing for
peak milk yields are establishing a
pre-freshening group and
providing proper calving con
ditions. You can introduce new
feeds to the cow’s rumen prior to
her freshening, but calcium intake
should still be kept low, he said.
Once she freshens, appetite is
the key. “If you can get her to eat,
you can get her to milk.”
remarked Perkins. A decreased
appetite leads to a negative energy
balance, a delayed first heat, and
the possibility of fatty liver.
To bring her up gradually on
feed, Perkins recommended six to
eight pounds of dairy feed as a
springer, increased to 10 to 12
pounds at freshening. Then in
crease by % to IM> pounds per day.
These last figures are very
general, he added, because it’s
most important to use common
sense.
“Become a better “cow person”
so you can identify potential
problems,” Perkins concluded.
This along with a good dry cow
program and proper care around
calving are keys to improving peak
milk yields. ■
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From left are . John lylor, professor emeritus of agronomy extension, Penn State;
Dr. Brian Perkins, manager of dairy and livestock nutrition, Pennfield; and Don
Mahlandt, manager of dairy and hog feed sales, Pennfield. All spoke at the Pennfield
dairy management meeting in Lancaster on Tuesday.
Energy Utilization
“More rations are out of balance
for energy than for anything else,”
began Perkins in his afternoon
session on energy utilization. The
cow needs energy for main
tenance, growth, reproduction,
and lactation.
Part of the confusion about
energy centers around measuring
and reporting it. If you or someone
you’re working with simply
measures energy as TDN, said
Perkins, that’s behind the times.
What you really need to know is
Net Energy for Lactation.
Twenty-five percent of the total
energy she eats is available to
make milk, he stated. That energy
for lactation is used for synthesis
of milk, as sugar in the milk, and
as fat in the milk.
When a cow suffers from ketosis.
HARRISBURG - The Penn
sylvania Poultry Federation made
its annual presentation of a holiday
turkey to Governor and Mrs.
Thornburgh on Tuesday in front of
the Capitol Building. The event
was the last of nine scheduled
events for the Governor that day.
Richard Kendig, President of the
Pennsylvania Turkey Council,
made the presentation to the
Governor. He was joined by Duane
Koch, of Koch’s Turkey Farm,
Tamaqua, which is supplying the
Governor’s turkey and the live
show turkey that will be present, a
35-pound mature bronze tom
(male). Also on hand for the
ceremony was John Hoffman,
Executive Director of the Penn
sylvania Poultry Federation and
Penrose Hallowell, Pennsylvania’s
Secretary of Agriculture.
As in previous years, the
Federation donated 50 Penn
sylvania-grown turkeys to a
charity chosen by the Thorn
burghs. This year’s recipient is the
Salvation Army of Harrisburg.
Major Clyde McEwen, local ad
ministrator of the Salvation Army
was also in attendance at the
presentation ceremony. These
turkeys were placed in holiday
food baskets for distribution to the
needy. Delivery of the turkeys to
Perkins explained, she has a high
demand for milk sugar, which is
remedied by a drop in her blood
glucose, which then causes her
body fat to be mobilized, in
creasing the ketones in the blood.
Preventing ketosis, he reminded
the farmers, can be accomplished
by maximizing feed intake
which means having a sound dry
cow program and practicing the
“art of feeding” and by in
creasing the energy content of the
ration. To do this he recommended
feeding high-quality forages and
using fat-added feeds.
At the conclusion of Dr. Perkins’
and Dr. Baylor’s sessions, the
dairy farmers took advantage of
opportunities to ask numerous
questions. In addition, Don
Mahlandt, manager of dairy and
PPF donates turkeys
to Gov. and charity
the Salvation Army took place on
Thursday.
Although the production of
Pennsylvania turkeys has dropped
to 6.5 million annually, a three
percent decrease from 1983 levels,
the turkey industry remains one of
the largest growing industries in
Pennsylvania. The state currently
ranks 11th in turkey production
but, as recently as 1979, was not
even on the list of the top thirty
turkey producing states.
Two Pennsylvania-based turkey
processing companies are among
the top thirty in the country, based
hog feed sales for Pennfield, took
some time to review some dairy
profit analysis figures with the
dairymen.
In comparing income over feed
costs for a 14,000 lb. herd to those of
a 20,000 lb. herd, he showed a
substantial economic advantage
for the dairyman who manages an
18,000 or 20,000 lb. herd.
In addition, he reminded the
farmers that they need to pay
increased attention to heifers. No
longer, he said, can a dairyman
only expect 12,000 lbs. from a
heifer and still maintain a 18,000 lb.
herd average.
The Pennfield dairy
management meeting held in
Lancaster on Tuesday was one of
three offered this week to
dairymen in different regions of
the state.
on estimated amount of liveweight
processed annually. Round Hill
Foods, New Oxford, places 19th on
the list with an estimated 60-65
million pounds of live product
processed in 1983, while Empire
Kosher Foods, Mifflintown, places
29th with estimated processing of
20-25 million pounds of live turkey
per year.
The top three turkey producing
states are North Carolina, Min
nesota, and California respec
tively. Together, these three states
account for some 46% of the
nation’s annual turkey output.