tar farming Satorday Fabraary 9,1985 M-Uneasti (Continued from Page D 2) Association’s Animal Health Advisory Committee, before submitting it to the Department of Agriculture. Also featured during the mor ning program was Penn State swine reproduction specialist Dr. Dan Hagen, who discussed the role of genetics in swine selection. Dr. Hagen emphasized the importance of continually in troducing better boars into the herd. He then divided heritable traits into two categories: those that are moderately heritable, and those that have low heritability. The first category includes such traits as meat production, carcass quality, feed efficiency and growth rate. Those traits possessing very low heritability were litter size, conception rate, and pre-natal and post-natal survival. Commenting cm the push for larger litters, Dr. Hagen said that producers should strive for greater uniformity among baby pigs rather than increasing litter size. “I think you’d all be happy if you could have litters of 12 uniform pigs, with 10 surviving,” he said. On the subject of embryo transfer, he noted that the technique is not easily adapted to the swine industry. “It’s difficult because the economic unit is the litter,” he said. Unlike beef embryo tran sfers, where a single embryo is transplanted at a time, at least four embryos must be tran splanted into a sow to allow the pregnancy to continue. Turning to artificial in semination, Dr. Hagen pointed out that the technique is easily mastered and very useful for pork producers. One obvious advantage to Al, he said, is that fewer boars are needed to service the same number of sows. But so far, researchers have had little success with freezing boar semen, Hagen pointed out. Both litter size and the rate of con- 1984 TAX BREAK LR.A. INDIVIDUAL RETIREMENT ACCOUNT Now is the time to get your 1984 Tax Break. Contributions for 1984 may be de posited until April 15,1985. If you are employed and under the age of 70%, you may contribute the lesser of $2,000 or 100% of your income to an 1.R.A., all tax deductible. For More Information Call Our I.R.A. Administrator Today. BBBN3 BLUE ball national bank MEMBER OF F.D.I.C. Pork Day ception suffer when frozen semen is used, he said. Rounding out the morning’s presentations was Penn State red meat specialist, Dr. Bill Henning, with a look at the 1985 pork market. Dr. Henning pointed out that agriculture has been the one ex ception to the overall upward swing of the economy last year. Turning to last year’s weak pork prices, he said that retailers did not feature pork products as much as they could have. He also noted that the health scares precipitated by what he referred to as the vegetarian element of society have also helped to keep the lid on all red meat prices. Though pork industry expansion in the Midwest is about over, he said, some eastern expansion is likely to occur this year in light of the low cost of feed. With pork production expected to decline by four to eight percent this year, prices should be higher, he said, adding that profit margins at the packer level should improve as well. Dr. Henning predicts that prices will average in the low-$5O range throughout most of the first and second quarters, with a strong beef market boosting pork prices to the mid-$5O range during the third quarter. . “If we see $7O cattle, we’ll have hogs pushing $60,” he said. Prices averaging about $47.50 during the fourth quarter will be due to the normal price erosion experienced at that time of the year, he pointed out. Though some producers ex pressed fears that the current trend toward larger operations would squeeze the smaller producer out of the industry, Dr. Henning did not agree. “There will still be a place for the family farmer,” he concluded, adding that the mid-size farm with 100 sows will still be able to produce hogs more efficiently than the large operations. HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania commercial red meat production, dressed weight basis, during December 1984 totaled 78.1 million pounds, down 26 percent from December 1983, according to the Pennsylvania Crop and Livestock Reporting Service. Beef slaughter, at 91.7 million pounds liveweight, was down nine percent from December 1983. Total head slaughtered was down seven percent at 79,500, and liveweight averaged 1,153 pounds, a decrease of 33 pounds. Veal slaughter was 3.8 million pounds liveweight, down 16 percent. Calf slaughter at 22,900 head was down 14 percent, and the average liveweight decreased four pounds to 166 pounds. During afternoon sessions. Dr. Henning addressed the problem of drug residues, with Dr. Hagen speaking on the subject of en vironmental effects on reproduction. Also featured was swine veterinarian Dr. Timothy Trayer speaking on bio-security and herd health management. Blue Ball 354-4541 Morgantown 286-5101 Terre Hill 445-6 MI New Holland 354-3040 Red meat production down for Dec. Hog slaughter, at 38.7 million aaaaaaa R.D. 3 Manheim, Pa mOMBARDINI The Powerhouse ♦ 140 yVlfr * 4 to 68 HP For years Lombardini has been Europe's largest supplier of small, air-coolecf diesel engines. Now. after several years in this country Lombardini is the fastest growing line of air-cooled diesels in North America. 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LMI gets new nan, 16 percent and the average KANSAS CITY, Mo. - After liveweight increased one pound to being known for 15 years a 104 pounds. Livestock Merchandising |q. U.S. commercial red meat stitute, this educational foundation production in December totaled has a new name: Livestock la 3.12 billion pounds, down eight dustry Institute. And, percent from 1983. Beef produc- correspondingly, the name of the tion, at 1.83 billion pounds, was institute’s annual conference hit down seven percent. Total head been changed to Livestock h> killed was down seven percent at dustry Congress, from Livestock 2.94 million, wmie average Marketing Congress, liveweight increased three pounds “The change to Livestock to 1,073. Veal production increased five percent from a year ago to 39 million pounds. Calf slaughter was down six percent at 268 thousand head, however, average liveweight increased 16 pounds to 243. U.S. pork production totaled 1.22 billion pounds, down 10 percent from a year ago. 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Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers