A2O-lmcaster Farming, Saturday, July 13,1985 Sow’s “body language 99 tells when she will farrow COLLEGE PARK, MD - Forget the pig latin. When a sow is about to give birth, she uses body language to tell her farmer. It’s all a matter of in terpretation, says a researcher for The University of Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station (UMAES). A sow may start “body talking’’ up to 24 hours before it is time for delivery. Knowing what the sow is “trying to say’’ gives farmers a hint about how soon piglets will arrive. “The behaviors are relatively consistent and pretty predictive of when the farmer can expect the pigs to arrive,” says Dr. Thomas G. Hartsock, associate professor of animal science at the University of Maryland. If producers can find an easy way to monitor a sow’s activity, it is possible to predict when the sow will farrow, or give birth, Hartsock says. For years producers have used breeding dates and length of pregnancy to determine farrowing dates. If farmers know how a sow acts at different stages of labor, they are better able to predict what time the piglets will be born and they can be available to deal with complications brought on by the birth. Hartsock’s research showed that USDA reviews standards on greenhouse cucumbers WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Agriculture is seeking comments on its proposal to revise the voluntary U.S. standards for grades of greenhouse cucumbers. John J. Gardner, a marketing official with USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, said the proposed revisions were developed by USDA at the request of the American Greenhouse Vegetable Growers Association. The requested changes include a longer sows become more active during the 24 hours before they farrow. Approximately 60% of the test sows had their pigs within six hours of a period of “intense ac tivity,” he says. Intense activity meant the animal stood up and laid down more than once a minute. An active sow is as restless as a nervous child, Hartsock says. She gets up and lies down, nests, urinates and defecates. Some of this activity is part of what he calls the nesting instinct, when sows prepare for the new litter. Sows left outdoors in large pens collect sticks and weeds to make a bed for newborn pigs, he says. In a confined farrowing pen, they use whatever bedding material they can find to do the same. Hartsock says he observed test sows scratching and trying to nest all during the 24-hour period prior to farrowing. But when test sows started rooting and pawing the floor of their pens, it indicated they were about to farrow. Even the position of a sow’s legs when she is lying down gives some clue to when she will farrow, he says. Hartsock now plans to find an efficient way to momtor this ac tivity. Someday, he says, farmers will be able to walk into their barns and know how soon each sow will farrow based on a record of their movements. minimum length and changes in definitions of certain defects. Gardner said the proposed changes would bring the standards for grades in line with current cultivation and marketing prac tices for greenhouse cucumbers. USDA establishes grade stan dards and official grading for many agricultural products. Use of the standards and the grading service is voluntary and is paid for by users. BBS BREEDERS SERVICE FOR WELL PROVEN BULLS A VALIANT DAUGHTER JONGSMA GRADE #649 29H2851 Valiant 29H4000 Columbus 29H3195 Vic 29H3064 Jason 29H3815 Milkmaster 29H3085 Elmer 29H2811 Chris 29H3287 Luck-E 29H3183 Ken Royal 29H3268 Logic 29H2779 Frosty 29H2786 Mars 12 bulls all over 80% repeatability, all over 80 PD dollars. 10 of the bulls are over 100 PD dollars. 7 are plus for test and 7 are plus over 30 lbs. of fat. 9 are plus for type and seven are plus 500 TPI or more. (inn i& Hba BEGINNING AMERICAN BREEDERS SERVICE Utt/iSion of WRurjn m 1 1 IN PENNSYLVANIA Allenwood, PA , George Showers Bangor. PA , Eric Hemsohn Carlisle, PA . Wayne Piper Clifford, PA , William Horton Coburn. PA., Wendel Musser Columbia, PA , James Charles Dornsife, PA , Steve Kieffer East Earl, PA , Damn Yoder Holtwood, PA , Paul Herr Lebanon, PA . Paul Martin Leola, PA , Lynn Gardner Linden. PA , Larry Bower Mansfield, PA , Harold Robson, Jr Mifflihburg, PA , John M Beachy Mifflmtown, PA , Mervm Zendt Millville, PA.. Wilmer Hendricks Prospectville, PA , William Tyner Reading, PA , Andrew Cooper Reedsville, PA , Chester G. Selfridge Rothsville. PA., Keith Campbell Stewartstown, PA , Tom Engle Thomasville, PA . Ira Boyer .. Ulysses, PA , Bonnie Barker West Grove, PA , Brian Geesaman IN NEW YORK Johnson. NY, Peter Vender Schaaf Pen Yan, NY. Calvin Crosby IN DELAWARE Kirkwood, PA , Dan Rush IN NEW JERSEY Baptistown, NJ, Cindy Gordeuk Elmer, NJ, Cyndy Hetzdll. Lambertville, NJ, Robert Fulper Port Murray. NJ, Robert Kayhart IN MARYLAND Detour, MD, Jim Carmack Mt Airy, MD, Allan Pickett AMERICAN + $164 +1228M +.04% + $125 +1099M -.04% + $122 + 765 M +.09% + $l2O +1169M -.08% + $ll4 + 846 M +.03% + $ll3 + 646 M +.10% +sllo +1764M -.33% + $lO9 + 950 M -.03% + $lO4 + 590 M +.10% + $lOl + 743 M +.03% + $94 + 738 M +.01% + $B2 + 936 M -.11% + 51F 99% RPT +33F 84% RPT +43F 87% RPT +2BF 96% RPT + 36F 98% RPT +42F 99% RPT + IF 99% RPT +29F 82% RPT +39F 98% RPT »32F 81% RPT + 28F 99% RPT +I4F 99% RPT + 1.91 PDT + 1.16 PDT + .35 PDT + 91PDT - .08 PDT - .75 PDT ,56 PDT + .23 PDT + .05 PDT + .71 PDT + .88 PDT + 1.52 PDT CONTACT YOUR LOCAL ABS REPRESENTATIVE FOR WELL PROVEN BULLS DBS 99% R 75% R 78% R 91% R 97% R 98% R 99% R 82% R 91% R 79% R 97% R 99% R +722TPI + 589TP1 + 514TP1 + 568 TPI +472 TPI +409 TPI + 483 TPI +4BB TPI + 451 TPI + 500 TPI + 500 TPI + 532 TPI 717-538-1812 215-588-4704 717-532-4401 717-222-3224 814-349-5310 717 898-8694 717-758-1714 717-733-0966 717-284-4592 717-949-2381 717-656-6700 717 323-9710 717-662-7731 717-966-1344 717-436-6386 717-458-5949 215-542-8479 215-378-1212 717-667-3181 717-733-1226 717-993-6836 717-225 3758 814-848-7674 215-869-9187 914-355-1692 315-526-6144 717-529-6548 201-996-2088 609-455-8187 717-658-7316 201-689-2605 301-775-7221 301-663-4191
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers