D2-Lancaster Farming Saturday, March 22,1986
Six states
LEBANON Swine buyers and
sellers from Pennsylvania, New
Jersey, New York, Maryland,
Connecticut and Ohio converged on
the Lebanon Fairgrounds on Mar.
1, for the Pennsylvania Yorkshire-
Duroc Invitational Show and Sale.
_ Topping the blue-ribbon porkers
at sale time was the champion
Yorkshire bred gilt shown by Leon
Arnold of Lebanon. This gUt was
purchased by Dan Heilman of Ford
City, Pa., for $550. The sale’s 15
York bred gilts averaged $337.
Of the nine open York gilts sold,
John Archer’s champion was the
top seller. Archer, of Darlington,
Md., sold his top entry to Leon
Arnold for $460. The open gilts
averaged $223.
Other top selling boars and gilts
Copper for
We’ve known for at least 40 years
that pigs need a small amount of
added copper in their diets. But it’s
only been the last decade or so that
we’ve routinely added copper at
much higher levels. What’s the
logic behind adding copper at 125
or 250 ppm rather than the normal
level of 10 ppm? Improved growth
rate and feed efficiency. That
saves money, but there are some
precautions as well. Let’s take a
look at the pros and cons.
What form of copper is used?
The hydrated form of copper
sulfate seems to be the universal
compound. It contains about 25
percent copper. One pound per ton
provides 125 ppm of copper, and
two pounds provide 250 ppm.
How much copper sulfate is
normally added? Regardless of the
<age of the pig, 250 ppm (2 lbs/ton)
seems to be the optimum level.
What kind of response can you
expect with added copper? For
weanling pigs, 12 experiments at
the University of Kentucky show
increases in growth rate of 26
percent and improvements in feed
efficiency of 9 percent. Like any
growth promotant, the response is
less as the pigs get older. For
growing pigs, gains and feed
conversion are improved about 7
percent and 3.5 percent, respec
tively. For finishing pigs, the
improvements are about 3 percent
and 2.5 percent, respectively. Most
of these experiments were based
on 250 ppm added copper.
How does it work? There are
lot’s of theories floating around,
and a lot of people are working on
this question. But as yet, we just
don’t know how copper sulfate does
what it does.
Will two pounds of added copper
sulfate improve performance
enough to pay for itself? A typical
cost for copper sulfate is about $1
per pound. With the levels of
performance listed above, copper
sulfate will easily pay for itself.
Can antibiotics be used with
copper sulfate? Yes. The response
seems to be additive. In other
words, copper alone will improve
performance, and copper and
antiobiotics together will improve
performance even more. Some of
the antibiotics that have been used
successfully* with- copper sulfate
represented at Yorkshire-Duroc Invitational
were as follows
Champion Yorkshire boar
Exhibited by Leon Arnold and sold
to Calvin Lazarus and Sons,
Whitehall, Pa., for $350.
Champion Duroc boar Shown
by Don R. Smith, Mt. Gilead, Ohio,
and purchased by Larry Arnold,
Womelsdorf, Pa., for $5OO.
Champion Duroc open gilt
Shown by Shipley Durocs, Newark,
Ohio, and sold for $320 to Wilson
Bros., New Freedom, Pa.
Champion Duroc bred gilt
Shown by Holloway Durocs, Glen
Rock, Pa., and purchased by Rick
Pfautz, Stevens, Pa., for $425.
Judging the show was Lebanon
Extension agent Ken Winebark,
and Harry Bachman of Annville
handled auctioneering duties.
Sale receipts totaled $14,805.
Swine Feed
include chlortectracylcine,
virginiamycin, carbadox, tylan,
tylan and sulfa and ASP-250.
Is copper sulfate approved for
feeding at high levels? In the eyes
of FDA, copper sulfate is not ap
proved as a growth promotant.
However it’s not necessarily illegal
to add high levels to the diet as a
“nutritional additive.”
What are the drawbacks to
feeding copper sulfate?
• High levels of copper in the
liver. The liver serves as a “filter”
and storage center for excess
copper in the body. A normal level
of copper in pork liver is about 20
ppm. At a feeding rate of 2 pounds
per ton, the level of copper in the
liver shoots up to 350 ppm. That’s a
lot of copper. And some people are
sensitive to high levels of copper.
• Increased corrosion of
“electrolysis” of metal in the hog
facility. This is evident from a few
research studies. Some hog
producers have recognized it as
well.
• Change in the bacterial
population in the manure pit or
lagoon. There’s evidence to show
that the type of bacteria or at least
the metabolism of bacteria may
change under high levels of cop
per. The biggest concern would be
over the long term in a lagoon
that’s not pumped out frequently.
• Elevated levels of coppper in
the soil. Heavy metal build-up is a
minor problem with row crops. But
it can present problems for
vegetable crops. And it may be a
problem with forages for sheep
since they’re very sensitive to
copper.
If you decide to feed copper
sulfate, how can you find a happy
medium between the pros and
cons? The wise decision would be
to not feed it during the finishing
period. The response for these
older and heavier pigs is less, so
the payback will be minimal.
Second, avoiding the finishing'
period will give copper levels in the 1
liver a chance return to normal if
copper sulfate had been fed
previously. I’m certain that would
mean a lot to the consumer. And
finally the volume of copper
containing manure would be much
less; so the chances of damaging
the environment are reduced.
Some of the champions named at the Yorkshire-Duroc Invitational show were (clockwise,
upper left) Leon Arnold’s champion York bred gilt; John Archer's champion York open gilt; Don
Smith's top Duroc boar; and Holloway Durocs’ champion Duroc bred gilt. At left is show judge
Ken Winebark. (Keystone Livestock Photography)
Hereford associations
to sponsor show and sale
ITHACA, NY - An enthusiastic
response from consignors was
received as a result of the call for
entries into the New York “Spring
Select Show & Sale” for registered
Polled Herefords sponsored jointly
by the NYPHA, EPHA, and
NYHA. Fifty lots have been
catalogued, and will go on the
auction block April 19, at the
Cornell Livestock Pavillion in
Ithaca.
The bulk of the offering consists
of open and bred heifers carrying
some of the nation’s most popular
bloodlines, featuring both per
formance and pedigree. There also
Roccb sheep program to be discussed in Lancaster
LANCASTER - The sheep in
dustry in Pennsylvania is
currently riding a wave of en
thusiasm created by the start-up of
Rocco Further Processing, Inc., of
Timberville, Va. The plant’s goal
of processing 10,000 lambs a week
has resulted in many inquiries
Wye Angus sale slated for Monday
COLLEGE PARK, MD - The
auctioneer’s gavel will come down
at noon, Monday, March 24 for the
Bth annual sale of Wye Angus beef
cattle, at the University of
Maryland’s Wye Research and
Education Center. The center is
located just off US 50 East between
Queenstown and Chesapeake
LIVESTOCK
LATEST
will be an excellent selection oi
bred cows and cows with calves at
side, plus a group of selected bulls.
An added highlight will be an
auction of breeding certificates to
some of the nation’s leading sires
that have been offered by some of
the entrants.
The animals will be on display
and showing in group classes
beginning at 9 a.m. Judge for the
show will be Gerry Btdlai'd of
Ballard’s Stock Farm, in
Columbus, Ohio. The auction will
begin at 12:30 p.m. with Polled
Hereford auctioneer Dale Smith of
Guston, Kentucky calling the bids.
from rural residents regarding the Speakers will include Extension
profitability of a sheep enterprise, sheep specialist Dr. Clair Engle
To help answer these questions, addressing the subject of sheep
Penn State’s Cooperative Ex- profitability, and Bill Reed,
tension will sponsor a meeting at representing Wolgemuth Bros, of
the Lancaster Farm and Home Mount Joy and Rocco Further
Center on Mar. 25, at7:3op.m. Processing. Reed will discuss the
goals of the Rocco program.
College. certified free of brucellosis.
This year, the Center will auc- All animals up for auction are
tion 10 females - all with excellent available for inspection. Truckers
records and all with calves at their and insurance representatives will
side - plus 25 performance-tested be available the day of the sale,
yearling bulls. Prospective buyers are invited
All of the bulls have passed a to a pre-sale hospitality hour at the
semen test within 30 days of the nearby Wye Woods on Sunday,
sale date. The entire herd is ac- March 23,6 p.m.
credited free of tuberculosis and
MS
Assisting him will be the American
Polled Hereford Association area
representative, Ernie Smith, from
Ohio, and the three association
presidents and joint sales com
mittee.
Final catalogs are expected to be
ready in mid-March and will be
mailed to association members
ahd other breeders throughout the
Northeast. They also can be ob
.tained by writing Winifred Clark,
RD 1, Box 269 A, Clinton, NY 13323
or calling her at (315) 853-5011.
Sale headquarters will be the
Holiday Inn of Ithaca. Buyers and
sellers needing rooms should
contact Winifred Clark.