02-Lancastar Farming Saturday, Fabruary 22,1986
Avian Flu Monitor
A
Maryland Extension issues poultry
movement guidelines
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Avian
influenza nearly wiped out the
poultry industry in Pennsylvania
two years ago, and threatened
poultry producers in the Delmarva
region of Maryland and Delaware.
Although researchers,
veterinarians, and state officials
were able to curb the spread of the
disease, experts say the local
poultry industry is not yet out of
danger.
“The problem is still out there,
and the potential exists for the
disease to remain undetected and
spread to commercial, specialty or
backyard flocks,” says Dr. Ed
ward T. Mallinson of the
University of Maryland’s
Cooperative Extension Service.
For at least the next 30 days,
says Mallinson, producers are
being asked to stop any business
transaction with live birds that
would involve their transport from
one farm or region to another.
Juniata-Perry swine seminar scheduled
NEW BLOOMFIELD - The
Second Annual Swine Management
Seminar sponsored by the
Tuscarora Pork Producers and the
Juniata-Perry Cpoperative Ex
tension Services will be held on
Tuesday, Mar. 4, according to John
P. Harris.
The all-day meeting will be held
at the Blain Fire Company
Building, Blain Picnic Grounds,
Blain, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Subjects to be discussed will be
“Making a Profit in the Hog
Business Today” by Virgil
Crowley, PSU Farm Management
Extension; “What Kind of Hog
Meets Today’s Market Demand”
by Doug Clemens, Hatfield
Packing Co.; “Using the Services
of the Diagnostic Laboratory” by
Dr. Tom Drake, Veterinarian,
Penn State; “A Practical Vac
Pennsylvania champ
Judge Larry Cotton slapped Primrose Charm for grand and intermediate champion
female honors at .the 1986 Dixie National Livestock Show, Jackson, Miss. Her owners
are Genetics Unlimited, West Grove, Pa.; Riverside Farms, Hamilton, TX; and l&N
Angus, Greenfield, Ind. (American Angus Assoc, photo)
“We’re asking producers to sit
tight for a little while. This
situation may resolve itself in
fewer than 30 days, but we don’t
want to take any chances,”
Mallinson says.
Apparently, the movement of
live birds which may be recovered
earners of the disease is the most
common way avian influenza
spreads, he says. The disease also
may be spread by unsanitary
poultry trucks and crates that
contain virus-contaminated
droppings or other debris.
In the meantime, he says,
producers large and small should
follow these guidelines to weather
the storm:
'Restrict traffic to your farm.
That applies especially to other
growers and shippers of live birds,
and it includes family and friends
who handle live birds.
'Don’t visit other farms.
cination Program for Swine” by
Dr. Larry Hutchinson, Extension
Vet, Penn State.
In addition numerous com
mercial exhibits will be on display.
This educational event will
require advance registration. A
Livestock dealer ordered
to pay civil penalty
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S.
Department of Agriculture has
ordered Richard D. Baumert, of
Rt. 1, Herndon, Pa., to pay a $1,500
civil penalty and placed him under
a cease and desist order.
a way
'Don’t borrow or lend equipment
or machinery.
'Shower and shampoo im
mediately after coming in contact
with others who are involved in the
poultry industry and before you
enter your poultry house
'Don’t allow anyone to enter
your poultry house or egg room
unless they are wehnng sanitized
coveralls and boots. Change your
clothing when you leave your
poultry house. And keep a pair of
boots to be used only for your
poultry house or egg room.
'Only bring on the farm, or take
from the farm, those articles that
can be cleaned or disinfected.
•Avoid contact with all wild
birds and waterfowl.
•Notify state agriculture of-,
ficials if you have a noticeable rise
in disease or deaths in your flock.
Excellent and free diagnostic
services are available.
registration fee of $6.50 covers me
noon meal and use of the building.
Checks should be made payable to
the “Tuscarora Pork Producers
and mailed to the Perry County
Extension Service, Courthouse,
New Bloomfield, no later than
February 24,1986.
A USDA official said the
penalties were ordered in default
when Baumert failed to answer
federal administrative charges of
doing business as a livestock
dealer without a bond.
Baumert buys cattle at auction
markets in central Pennsylvania,
Maryland, the Shenandoah Valley
of Virginia, and in West Virginia.
B. H. (Bill) Jones, head of
USDA’s Packers and Stockyards
Administration, said Baumert has
since filed a $30,000 letter of credit
which satisfies the bonding
requirement.
The cease and desist order,
similar to an injunction, was
issued to insure future compliance
with the Packers and Stock>aids
(P&S) Act
down South'
Formulating a swine ration is
more than just meeting nutrient
requirements. Your real goal is to
produce hogs as cheap as you
practically can. That doesn’t mean
you’ll always be feeding for
maximum performance. Instead
you should be feeding for
economical performance.
So how do you - decide what
ingredients to use? You might
compare costs per bushel. But that
gets you into trouble since grains
have different bushel weights. You
could, instead, compare costs per
pound. That’s a better method. But
it’s still not perfect since your feed
will include many other
ingredients besides the 2 or 3
you’re comparing in cost.
Probably the simplest and most
foolproof method is one that in
volves a few simple steps. First,
formulate the new ration and
calculate its cost. Compare that
cost to your standard ration. Then
decide whether the difference in
cost will outweigh any changes in
performance. This method works
for energy ingredients. It works for
protein ingredients. You can even
use it for deciding on a feed ad
ditive.
Let’s say your standard ration is
the corn-soy mixture shown below.
Ingredient
Corn
Amount Cost
1660 lbs $ 74.41
290 lbs $ 29 00
Soybean Meal
Vrt Mm
50 lbs $ 1500
2000 lbs $llB 11
This ration contains 14% crude
protein and 63% lysine and is baked
on corn at $2.50/bu., soybean meal
at $2OO/ton and vitamin-mineral
premix at $l5/50 lbs.
Now suppose you’d like to make
a switch to barley. Barley has
more protein and lysine than corn.
Unfortunately, the lysine in barley
is not as digestible as it is in com.
So to be safe, substitute on a pound
for-pound basis. If barley is selling
for $2.00/bu, the same ration
i using barley instead of corn) will
cost $ll3 16/ton.
Now you have to make a
decision The barley ration is
cheaper But the feed conversion
won’t be as good on barley So
which is the better buy? Divide the
cost of the corn ration into the cost
of the barley ration. You get about
96% ($106.86/$118.11=96). The two
feeds are within 4% in cost. Hog
performance won’t be that close,
so you’re better off with corn at
these prices. To be competitive,
Penn State offers swine Al course
UNIVERSITY PARK Pork producers interested in learning
how artificial insemination can fit into their program should
register for an artificial insemination short course being offered by
Penn State University.
Scheduled for Mar. 4 and 5, the course will feature presentations
by Extension Swine Specialist Ken Kephart, Dairy and Animal
Science professor Daniel Hagen and assistant swine herdsman
David Hesterman. Also on the program will be semen handling
expert Mary Pavelko of Eldora, lowa
Participants looking for some hands-on training will be able to
try their hand at insemination during Wednesday morning's
practice session
Though artificial insemination has been slow to catch on the
swine industry, Ken Kephart notes that the technique can be
justified on a limited basis in virtually any size herd. “The biggest
advantage is being able to shut the doors completely to any live
animal coming in,’’ says the Extension specialist. Farmers using
fresh semen will find that startup costs for equipment are minimal,
he says.
With registration for the course due no later than Monday,
Kephart urges interested producers to call 814-865-8301 for details
a
V
ii
the barley ration should be 90% of
the cost of the corn ration or less.
What about wheat? Per
formance is very similar to that of
corn. But the extra lysine in wheat
will save you about 35 pounds of
soybean meal per ton So the wheat
ration will look like this (wheat at
$2.80/bu):
Ingredient Amount Cost
1695
Wheat
255 $ 25 50
Soybean Meal
Vit Min
2000
So even though wheat saves
some soybean meal, the final
ration is still more expensive than
your standard. So at these prices
you’re still better off with corn.
What about sorghum? The final
ration cost should be no more than
90 to 95% of the cost of a com ration
to be competitive.
You can do the same thing with
protein ingredients. For example
corn distillers solubles may seem
like a good buy at $l4O/ton. But
they’re very low in lysine f;9% vs
3 18% for soybean meal). Because
of the low lysine, you might
suggest putting in only 100 lbs per
ton. Look what happens.
Ingredient Amount Cost
1590 $ 70 98
260 $ 26 00
100 $ 700
Corn
Soybean Meal
Soluble:.
Vit Mm
50 S 15 00
2000 $llB 98
This ration will have a .65% lysine,
but it took a lot of soybean meal.
So the overall cost is still higher
than your corn ration even though
you’re using a protein source that
doesn’t cost much per ton.
What about feed additives? For
example Lincomycin might add
$2B/ton to your feed cost. If your
standard ration costs $llB.ll/ton,
the new ration will be $146.11/ton.
The new ration is about 24% more
expensive ($146.11/$118.11=124%)
Will this antibiotic increase per
formance by 24%’ If you’ve got a
problem with dysentery, it
probably will But if your pigs are
reasonably healthy and you’re
feeding the antibiotics for growth
and feed efficiency, it’s ven
unlikely that you’d get your mone\
back.
So the bottom line in making an)
change from your normal ration is
to figure the total cost of your new
ration. Compare that cost to your
standard cost. Then decide
whether the expected change in
performance will outweigh the
cost.
$ 79 10
$l5 00
$11960