D4-Lancaster Fannins Saturday, August 3,1985
York, Lancaster fop Yorkshire/Duroc livestock ju
BY DONNA MCCONAUGHEY
Staff Correspondent
LEBANON - The Pennsylvania
Yorkshire and Duroc Associations
sponsored a statewide livestock
judging contest as part of their
three-day Summer Show and Sale.
The contest included nearly 100
4-H and FFA members from 19
counties. Junior members traveled
from as far away as Westmoreland
and Lawrence counties to par
ticipate.
In the senior division York
countian Melissa Trostle took
home the highest honors. Melissa
has been active in livestock and
meats judging for several years.
;She owns a Southdown flock and
;has served as the National
(Southdown Queen. Melissa has
.also been active in the swine
ishowring during her 4-H career.
Following Melissa in second
place was fellow team member,
Tim Ferrence. The York County
Senior Team was completed by
fourth place Krista Rankin, and
eighth place John Myers. These
top placings combined to bring
York County to the top in Senior
Team competition.
In the Junior Division Lancaster
county’s John Hess topped the
competition with a score of 277.
The remainder of the top placing
juniors were distributed among
Columbia, York, Lawrence,
Lebanon, and Chester counties.
In the Junior Team competition
Lancaster county came out on top.
The team consisted of Doug
Musser, John Hess, Dwayne
Livengood, and Anna Marie Frey.
Columbia county had the second
place junior team, while York
county followed in third, Lebanon
Recordkeeping for the
seedstock producer
The purebred industry is not in
the process of expansion. In fact,
numbers are shrinking for most
breeds. Why? For one thing,
economic times in the hog
business are miserable. We can’t
do much about that.
But it goes a little deeper than
hog prices. I’ve talked to many
folks on the commercial end of
production that aren’t finding what
they want from the purebred man.
Pnrebred Problems
One problem is volume. For
example a purebred producer with
25 or even 50 sows can’t supply a
commercial operation with 100
gilts in one crack. Should this
producer expand so he can ac
commodate large orders? No. If 25
sows is the right herd size for an
individual then he has no business
expanding.
Health can be an obstacle. Some
purebred operations are plagued
with rhinitis or mange-problems
that commercial herds do not
need. Other seedstock producers,
through no fault of their own, are in
a bad location. For example, the
concentration of pseudorabies in
ie southeast counties of Penn-
Ivania hasn’t helped purebred
des in that area.
And there’s another important
factor. Quality. Here the com-
jty - jior team included (left) John
Hess, Doug Musser, Anna Marie Frey and Dwayne Livengood.
BEEF
1 Melissa Trestle Tim Ferrence Krista Rankin
York 2 Betsy Colket Rob Rohrer Ken Walker
Chester 3 Emily Weaver Tncia Musser Jeff
Craig Lancaster
in fourth, and Berks finished fifth.
More than $5OO in prizes was
awarded to winners in both overall
and species competition.
Judging Results
SENIOR DIVISION Individual
SWINE
1 Robert Rohrer Chester 2 John Myers York
3 Kemanne Ranck Berks
BEEF
1 Melissa Trostle York 2 Tim Ferrence York
3 Emily Weaver Lancaster
SHEEP
1 Melissa Trostle York 2 Kemanne Ranck
Berks 3 Regan Bitter Lycoming
OVERALL
1 Melissa Trostle York 2 Tim Ferrence York
3 Kemanne Ranck Berks
SENIOR DIVISION Teams
SWINE
1 Betsy Colket Rob Rohrer Ken Walker
Chester 2 Melissa Trostle Krista Rankin Tim
Ferrence York 3 Kemanne Ranck Mike Price
Marianne Yanos Berks
mercial man is asking for three
things-soundness, performance
and carcass merit, probably in
that order. No one would question
that we need all three. But I’ve met
too many purebred producers that
rank carcass merit on the top and
soundness on the bottom. The
Kleen Leen’s and Dekalb’s may
owe their existence to this conflict
in priorities.
We’ve talked about soundness
for years. And we’ve made
progress, but not enough.
And we-ve talked about pefor
mance for years. But as an in
dustry, I’m not sure we’ve made
any progress. Why not? Because
we’ve relied on looks and fads and
not on records.
The genetic potential is out
there. But to find it, you have to
blow the dust off your scales and
you have to write things down.
In my book, the essential records
for the purebred producer include;
• Identification.
• Number born live.
• 21-day litter weight.
• Days to 230.
• Backfat probe.
With these five pieces of in
formation you can construct in
dexes. The indexes help you make
progress by making the right
decisions.
m m
t *
‘f
t”
w 'p r
SHEEP
1 Kenianne Ranch Mark Price Marianne
Yanos Berks 2 Melissa Trestle Tim Ferrence
Krista Rankin York 3 Annette Lovell Scott
Gretchen Regan Bitter Lycoming
OVERALL TEAMS
1 Melissa Trestle Tim Ferrence Krista Rankin
John Myers York 2 Betsy Colkel Rob Rohrer
Ken Walker Greg Davis Chester 3 Kemanne
Ranch Mark Price Marianne Yanos Berks
JUNIOR DIVISION Individual
SWINE
1 John Hess Lancaster 2 John George
Columbia 3 Jett Bomgardner Lebanon
BEEF
1 Roxanne Kirst Lebanon 2 Scott Best
Juniata 3 John Hess Lancaster
SHEEP
1 Jessica Mott Westmoreland 2 Lydia Best
Juniata 3 Roxanne Kirst Lebanon
OVERALL
1 John Hess Lancaster 2 John George
Columbia 3 Sonya Shearer York
JUNIOR DIVISION Teams
SWINE
1 Doug Musser John Hess Dwayne Livengood
Lancaster 2 John George Bret Keller Aaron
Davidson Columbia 3 Shelby Heagy Jason Krall
Jett Baumgardner Lebanon
BEEF
1 Shelby Heagy Jason Krall JeH Baumgardner
Lebanon 2 Kathy Shwe Robin Shive Soma
Shearer York 3 Matthew Hancock Scott Best
Lydia Best Juniata
SHEEP
1 Matthew Hancock Scott Best Lydia Best
Juniata 2 John George Bret Keller Aaron
Davison Columbia 3 Paula Hunter Valerie
Hunter Jennifer Schnabel Becks
OVERALL TEAMS
1 Doug Musser John Hess Dwayne Livengood
Anamary Frey Lancaster 2 John George Bret
Keller Aaron Davison Eddy Chapman Columbia
3 Cathy Shive Robin Shive Sonia Shearer David
Myers York
Selection Indexes
General Index - Includes number
bom live, 21-day litter weight, days
to 230 and backfat.
' Maternal Index - Uses the same
traits as the general index but puts
more emphasis on number bom
live and 21-day weights. This index
could be used for replacement
gilts.
Paternal Index - Uses the same
traits as the general index but puts
more emphasis on days to 230 and
backfat. This index could be ap
plied to boars used in a terminal
cross program.
Sow Productivity Index - This
one’s the most popular. It includes
number bom live and 21-day litter
weight. Used to rank sows against
others within the same breed and
farrowing group.
SPI = 100 + 6.5 (L-L) + (W-W)
L = No. bonf live
L = Avg. no. born live for group
W = 21-day litter weight
W = 21-day litter weight for
group
Most Probable Sow Productivity
(MPSP) - Estimates future
production of sow. Takes into
account the sow’s average SPI and
the number of litters. Use this to
decide whether to keep or cull a
sow.
Breeding Value for Sow
Productivity (BVSF) - Estimates
ability to transmit productivity to
offspring. Based on average SPI
and tbe number of litters. Use this
to 1 tiie best sows to produce
your replacements.
Contact me or your county agent
for the particulars on these in
dexes.
Alternative Programs
As a purebred producer, are
■/1
Top scorers in the Pennsylvania York and Duroc
Associations' livestock judging contest were Melissa Trostle
of York County in the senior division, and Lancaster County's
John Hess in junior division.
are (left) Melissa Trestle, Tim Ferrence, John Myers and
Krista Rankin.
Maryland Shorthorn
breeder gets national
OMAHA, Nebr. Howell F.
“Buddy” Eyler of Myersville, Md.,
was recently named one of seven
recipients of the American
Shorthorn Association’s “Builders
of the Breed” award, according to
ASA executive secretary-treasurer
Dr. Roger E. Hunsley.
Eyler, his wife, Isabel!, and
daughters, Susie and Margie, are
involved with the promotion of
Shorthorn cattle and they were the
focus of an article in the Maryland
Farmer discussing the Shorthorn
there other programs you can use?
Yes. The American Yorkshire Club
will index your purebred sows for a
minimal fee no matter what breed
they are. They use these same
principles but include only the
maternal traits.
Will indexes provide fast
progress? No. It takes time and a
lot of effort. You have to collect
records on every animal or the
indexes won’t be accurate or
honest. But in a few years you’ll
have a better handle on your herd
performance. You can use the
indexes to price breeding stock.
And the commercial producer
that’s buying from you will know
what he’s getting.
A select few purebred breeders
already collect and use records. If
you don’t ask yourself why. Your
answers will probably sound like
excuses.
ASA award
resurgence and their role in that
development in Maryland. The
Eyler daughters were heavily
involved in the junior programs on
the county, state, and national
levels.
Eyler is a member of the
American Shorthorn Association;
the Maryland Shorthorn
Association (he has served several
terms on the board of directors);
and the Shenandoah Valley
Shorthorn Association. His family
has hosted the Maryland-Virginia
Shorthorn Field Day and the
Maryland Shorthorn Family
Picnic. He has served as sale
manager of the Maryland Shor
thorn Association Fall Calf Sale
and the Shenandoah Valley
Shorthorn Association Spring Sale.
The firm sponsors several Shor
thorn trophies at fairs in Maryland
and Virginia.
Eyler is a recipient of the
Maryland 4-H Alumni Award,
serves as a 4-H leader in Mon
tgomery County and is past
superintendent of the Montgomery
County Fair 4-H beef department.
He is a member of the Mon
tgomery County Cooperative
Agricultural Center and the
Maryland Farm Bureau.
Recipients of the prestigious
national award are nominated by
their state associations. The final
selection is determined by a vote
involving all past recipients.