812-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 19,1985
0n bein S fS'
a farm
-And othe^J^||
Joyce Bupp Uktt
Spots are dancing before our
eyes a lot lately.
No, the problem isn’t that we’ve
been, shall we say, over-indulging.
These spots all dance around on
four legs, tails flying behind them.
Since July, cows freshening in
the dairy herd have delivered
more than forty heifer calves.
While the male-female ratio of
babies evens out to about fifty-fifty
over long periods of time, it isn’t
uncommon to have runs of either
high percentages of bull or heifer
calves at a certain time
There was a time when I
suspected it had something to do
with barometric pressure, or
topographical layout, or some
strange condition of the water Not
so Ever> dairj farmer we ve evei
discussed this phenomenon with
seems to experience the same
lopsided percentages of bulls or
heifers at some time
As it turns out, manj of the lively
\ oung ladies born in this long
stretch of female deliveries are the
offspring of a young bull that we
are helping to “prove.” Proving a
bull takes many years, because the
chances of merchandising him
commercially are based on the
performance of his grown-up
daughters.
The> must compare favorably to
daughters of other bulls, by being
exceptional milkers, while
possessing oodles of desirable
dairy characteristics
Or, at least the computer
printout projections say that they
should do that, even though the
computer projections may be all
wet a couple of years down the line.
Thus far, young bull
in question--has a number of pluses
going foi him his calves show
plenty of size and growth, are
reasonably endowed with all the
right -stuff, and seem blessed
with extremely pleasing per
sonalities
But, about all those spots
Lasso's ancestn tends toward
spotted coats, backgrounds of
white with black dottings liberally
splashed hither and yon.
All those little baby girl calves
Christmas Tree
Growers to meet
SCHUYLKILL HAVEN -
Christmas tree growers and in
dividuals interested in growing
Christmas trees are invited to a
program sponsored by the
Cooperative Extension Services of
Berks and Schuylkill Counties.
Dr. Paul Heller, a Penn State
University entomologist, will give
an update on insect control. John
French, biotech, will discuss
Christmas tree diseases and up
date Bravo.
Terry Stehr, Schuylkill County
executive director of ASCS, will
explain cost sharing of cover crops
in Christmas tree plantings.
This meeting will qualify you for
pesticide recertification.
The meeting will be held Mon
day, Nov 4 at 7 p.m. at the Penn
State Campus in Schuylkill Haven
For additional information, con
tact George P Perry Jr., county
agent - horticulture, 717-385-3431,
or Herbert A. Wetzel, county
agent, Berks County, 215-378-1327.
must be registered with the
Holstein breed association. In
order to do so, a sketch of the color
patterns on both sides and the head
of each calf must be submitted on
an official registry application
paper.
Show me any calf that will stand
still for several minutes while a
farm wife or daughter (who
usually inherits this job)
reproduces her markings and I’ll
show you a calf that probably
needs medical attention. Im
mediately
Need I say it 9 lasso's calves are
often spotted. Soon, the oldest ones
will have their own first calves
i spotted. I'll betcha), and we’ll see
how all these dancing spots are
going to turn out in comparison to
their herdmate sisters
I've hinted to the farmer that he
might consider an almost-all-black
bull to prove in the future Still, I
know full well that genetic
potential-not simplicity of
drawing for sketchers-will con
tinue to determine such future
decisions.
Maybe we could make some kind
of arrangements to charge for
sketching, by the spot 9
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Delaware 4-H'er wins Bob B/ans
BY CLAIRE McCABE
NEWARK, Del. - Jean Staats, a
13-year-old from Wyoming, Del., is
this year’s winner of a Bob Evans
quarter horse weanling. Jean is
calling her four-month-old colt Bar
while waiting to hear from the
American Quarter Horse
Association on the official ac
ceptance of her first choice name,
Bekays Gold Bar.
Each year the famous sausage
maker and restaurateur Bob
Evans holds a Western-style
roundup, complete with campfires
and trail rides, on his 1,100-acre
farm in Ohio. He invites to this
event one lucky 4-H teenage from
each of the 11 states where his
products are sold. These teens,
chosen on the basis of citizenship
and exemplary performance in the
4-H horse project, return with their
own quarter horse weanlings.
Bar, a buckskin, was just the
horse Jean wanted. “I had picked
the number four,” she said, “and
he was the fourth horse to come
down the chute.”
Jean is the youngest of Jimmy
and Barbara Ann Staats’ three
children. She is in her fifth year of
the 4-H horse project, but has been
showing horses since she was five
years old. Jean credits the Niblett
family of D & B Farms, a quarter
horse and boarding stable in Bear,
for much of her knowledge of
horses.
Dick and Betty Niblett are
strong supporters of the 4-H horse
project. They first supplied Jean
with one of their ponies to use in
shows, and later matched her with
a pony that needed a good home.
The Niblett’s two daughters,
Jane and Kay, helped Jean with
riding and showmanship. Their
son, Richie, drove his truck and
trailer to Ohio to carry Bar home
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i
Delaware 4-H'er Jean Staats recently won a quarter horse
colt from Bob Evans Farm.
to Delaware.
Jean showed her pony, Brownie,
in showmanship and walk-trot
classes, and later showed its foal,
J.B. (bom on Jean’s birthday) on
halter. But she soon needed a
larger horse to ride, so her parents
bought her an aged gelding, Sandy.
Jean showed Sandy at 4-H shows,
the Delaware State Fair and on the
Eastern Shore Western Horse
Show Association circuit. In 1983
she won first place in showman
ship at the state fair, and in 1984
she was honored as the first
recipient of ESWHSA’s good
sportsmanship award
Due to his age, Sandy was
sometimes not up to par for show
use. “But he’s a great horse," says
Jean. "I’ve learned so much from
him. He taught me what colic was
all about and how heartbreaking it
can be for your horse to go lame or
become sick on a show day. Now
I’m ready to accept the respon
sibility for a young horse to tram,
work with and love.”
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wrier horse
Bar will be trained as a Western
horse. Although he can’t be ridden
until he is two years old, Jean has
already begun training him on a
halter and plans to show him this
spring. She has use of her aunt’s
horse, Al, until Bar can be ridden.
Jean won first place with Al in a
showmanship class at this year’s
state fair.
Besides being her 4-H club
secretary. Jean has helped the
club with shows and contests. Her
winning manner is also evident
outside the ring. In keeping with
the generosity shown her, Jean has
lent her ponies to younger 4-H
members. During her free periods
at Caesar Rodney Junior High
School she helps out in the library
of nearby Nellie H. Stokes
Elementary School.
Jean likes working with younger
children and has considered youth
counseling as a possible career.
“I’ve had so many older friends
who have helped and advised me.
I’d like to do the same for others,”
she says.
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