AIS-Lancastcr Farming, Saturday, March 29,1986
Desire to merchandise leads Ruth family to Jerseys
BY ROBIN PHILLIPS
Staff Correspondent
Follow the Jersey breeders to the west
next week for a preview of the Jeff
Peters farm. Tins is one of the places the
Jersey breeders will visit daring their
annual meeting on April 11 and 12 in
Meadville.
SPRING CITY - When Loren
Ruth of R 1 Spring City decided
enter the dairy business, it was
with the intention of mer
chandising cattle. “The only
reason I wanted to milk cows was
to merchandise them,” he says.
“You’ve got to breed what is going
to sell.”
Loren is the 22-year-old son of
Vernon Ruth, who formed a part
nership with his sons, Doug and
Loren, and plunged into the dairy
business for a second time in 1983.
Selecting heifers with high stan
dards, the Ruths assembled one of
the highest indexing Jersey herds
in the state.
A successful Holstein breeder
until 1978, when he dispersed his
herd of 85 cows and heifers, Vemon
Ruth explains the decision to begin
again with the Jersey breed.
“They (his sons) weren’t in
terested in milking cows wheh we
had Holsteins,” Ruth begins.
In 1983 the sons became in
terested in merchandising a high
quality dairy animal. “We might
as well go for quality instead of
quantity,” Ruth says as he reflects
on the changing attitude of the
milk market. He adds: “The main
reason (for Jersey cows) was the
bam was built for Guernseys and
was always really too small for
Holsteins. I’m glad they went this
months or later according to size. Service sires currently in
use are Top Brass, Legend and Duncan.
las a night off.
.oren
way. The Jersey cow is nicer to
handle, a smaller animal.”
Ruth’s wife, Janet, adds, “I was
glad to see them go to a smaller
cow. I could never get used to the
Holsteins.” Janet explains that her
grandfather began the farm with
Guernseys many years ago in what
was then a predominantly Guern
sey area. Her father followed this
tradition until Ruth’s Holsteins
eventually replaced the Guern
seys.
Stonyrun Farm is now home to 35
registered Jerseys. The selection
criteria the Ruths set for this
young herd was tough. The Ruths
credit David Parkinson, American
Jersey Cattle Club area
representative, with working with
them to find the heifers that would
meet their standards.
The heifers had to descend from
high testing cow families, dams
had to be plus for type, and milk
records were to meet 13,000 pounds
or above. The Ruths also sought
high indexes and Pi’s.
In the fall of 1983 the Ruths
purchased 34 open heifers. They
began using the top sires in the
breed to start their breeding
program on the 15 heifers from
Massachusetts and the 15 heifers
from Vermont, plus several heifers
purchased from top dispersals.
Top Brass, Volunteer, Bruce,
Stardust Gemini, and Bossman
were heavily used.
After freshening in the fall of
1984, the young herd recorded an
initial average of 9400 M and 424 F.
The pedigreed herd of three year
olds this year is averaging over
10,000 pounds milk with a 4.8
percent test and features several
individuals who pump out over 70
pounds a day.
The Ruths anticipate a better
average every year and are op
timistic about A.I. and national
sale interest on several of their
animals.
Of these leaders in the breed, a
favorite is Bryant Hill Magic
Hopscotch, a VG-86 daughter of
Quicksilvers Magic of Ogston.
Hopscotch is currently on the
breed’s Elite list and is projected
to 15,470 M and 761 F on her three
year-old record.
Her dam, an Excellent daughter
of Mayfield Volunteer, sold in the
1982 All-American Sale. Her
granddam is also an Excellent-90
and has a Hall of Fame record to
her credit. This past year Hop
scotch gave the Ruths a Top Brass
heifer who they hope will continue
to carry this cow family’s
production and type.
Another favorite in the Stonyrun
barn is Mar-Bil Top Salome, a Top
Brass daughter with a two-year
old projection of 14,380 milk and
656 fat. Her dam is an Excellent
Samson daughter owned by
William Yoder, Meyersdale, and
contracted by Carnation Genetics.
Smokey Hill Saint Polly, a VG-85
three year old, occupies a high
ranking to the Ruths. Polly is
projected to 12,100 milk with a 5.3
percent test and comes from a high
testing family. Her Top Brass
heifer was sought by the national
committee for the 1985 National
Heifer Sale, but the Ruths decided
to keep these genetics in the herd
for a while.
Appraisal day pleased the Ruth
family. The young herd consists of
13 “very good” out of 35 animals.
“I want to stay plus on type if I
can,” Loren Ruth says.
All the forages and grains for the
herd are grown on the farm, with
everyone sharing the respon
sibility. Cows are fed high
moisture shelled corn, com silage,
and alfalfa hay. Grain is fed four
times a day and high producers get
a top dress including some pur
chased cottonseed. Hay is always
fed with or before grain feedings
and the Ruths plan to change to
include haylage in their feeding
program this year.
Cows are milked in an im
maculate stanchion barn with four
bucket units. The Ruths enjoy
sharing duties and their system
enables everyone to have time off.
A planned calving interval is
also a labor saver and causes less
stress on the animals. Cows and
heifers are bred with fall
freshening in mind. When the hot
summer comes with its additional
field work, most animals are dry
and due to freshen in late August
and September.
Although the Ruths say their
milk check suffers at this time,
they plan to keep their calving
interval at 12.1 because of the
saved labor in the barn and the
reduced heat stress on the cows at
calving.
Heifer management on the farm
includes individual calf pens for
newborns on the open southern
side of the bam and group pens in
an open barn when weaned. All
calves are also ringed to prevent
sucking after they are weaned.
Everything is bred artificially.
In the stanchion barn, cows are
bedded with chopped straw and
thoroughly washed before milking.
A strip cup is used and the somatic
cell average has stayed at ap
proximately 140,000.
The Ruths remain optimistic
about the future. They plan to
breed the best and plan to begin
marketing after their herd is built
up to its capacity of 45 to 50 cows.
After an initial year of milking 35
first-calf heifers, first-year
problems with a new herd, and an
adjustment of storage facilities for
a smaller herd, the fjuths remain
enthusiastic for the dairy business
and look forward to becoming
known among Jersey breeders.
' aMMI K?
\m?" ~~~~ ”
* 1
• * *1
Doug and Loren Ruth show their Top Brass heifer out of the
Hopscotch cow. They are hopeful of A.I. interest in this richly
pedigreed November heifer.
The cows in the Ruth barn enjoy the fine quality hay, well
ventilated barn and clean stalls.
The calf pens in the barn are located on the southern side
where the sun can reach them daily.
PA Grange backs
HARRISBURG - The Penn
sylvania State Grange is actively
supporting SB6OI, a bill ensuring
more rural representation in the
election of appellate court judges.
By creating districts similar to
congressional or legislative
districts, voters will have the
opportunity to vote for local
candidates they are more familiar
with thah someone from another
part of the state. One judge will be
voted on from every district for the
Superior, Supreme, and Com
monwealth Courts.
~wT
N tk
frL.
r*~%
rural judge bill
During the annual State Grange
Convention, the Grange became
involved in this issue after a
resolution was passed advocating
the need for mandatory rural
representation on the bench.
“Traditionally rural people ®
Pennsylvania are not represented
fairly in the appellate court
system,” said Brenda Shambauglt
PA State Grange Legislative
Director. “This legislation
allow all Pennsylvanians to H*
equally represented,”
Shambaugh.