The Home Of The Reliables
r LANCASTER FORD TRACTOR, INC.
1655 Rohrerstown Rd. w g 5
Lancaster. PA 17601 <SBP
Harrisburg Rt 283 \
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Ybu’vo got a friend right down the road
LANCASTER FORD TRACTOR, INC.
1655 Rohrerstown Rd.
Flory Mill Exit off Rt. 283
(717) 569-7063
Lancaster, PA
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Dairy
Business
t \ Newton Bair
Old Barns, New Cows
Remember the old wooden stalls
in Dad’s bam? The ones built on
locust posts, with solid oak
dividers, and the feed trough that
was worn through by hundreds of
thousands of lickings by a cow’s
tongue? There are still some of
those stalls around, although we
seldom keep milking animals in
them anymore.
They served their purpose very
well, but like most good things,
they became obsolete and were
replaced with concrete and steel.
And those first replacements often
need renewal or revision.
Stalls were designed to fit the
cow. Or they should be, anyway.
But Grandpa’s cows were probably
smaller than ours, and when Pop
remodeled the old bam, he made
the stalls a little longer and wider.
Now, when the second stable
remodeling is due, we find that the
cows are still longer, and seem to
require more room to lie down
comfortably.
So we design the stall differently,
put in rubber mats, bed' with ex
pensive shavings (if we bed at all),
and still end up with swollen hocks,
sore feet, and worst of all, injured
teats. The result is that many cows
do not serve their full term in the
herd. And it is often the better cows
that are lost to injuries that are
really not their fault, and have
nothing to do with genetics or
natural longevity.
In remodeling the old bam, we
usually end up with too little space.
The herd is bigger now, so it’s
either build an addition to the bam,
or crowd more stalls into the
available space. Sometimes it is a
combination of both, with the
result that some stalls are just not
suited to the size of our big modern
cows.
Many bam remodeling jobs are
a hodge-podge of additions and re
arrangements that were designed
to fit the available layout and the
National Jersey Sale
Averages $2,109
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The
National Jersey Heifer Sale, held
in conjunction with the National
Jersey Convention, averaged
$2,109 on 43 consignments. This
average increased $366 over last
year’s average of $1,743.-
Leaving her mark on this year’s
sale was a bred heifer from the
Pride cow family. Consigned by
the Mayfield Farm of Tennessee,
she sold for the high bid of the day,
$5,100, to Larry Shirley from
Kentucky.
Sired by Top Brass, she is due in
August to Highland Magic Duncan.
Her dam, sired by Samson and
classified EX-92, owns two
production records over 17,000
pounds of milk.
A maternal brother of the high
selling heifer is in AI service.
A daughter of Quicksilver Magic
of Ogden captured the second high
Lancaster Faming, Saturday, My 5,1986-A37
available cash. They end up being
less than efficient, and detrimental
to the cow. We can leam to work
around inefficiency of layout, but
the real hazard is to the most
valuable part of the dairy
operation the cow herself.
Most remodeling jobs include a
few box stalls that end up being
used for maternity, hospital, or
surplus heifers. Seldom do we
afford this kind of stall for our
valuable milking cows. They get
the old steel and concrete tie stalls,
with all the hazards built in.
What’s the solution to the
problem?
One solution that I have seen,
and often suggested to farmers, is
to make use of those free stalls that
often go unused when heifers and
dry cows are in pasture. Or if some
remodeling is contemplated,
INCLUDE A SET OF WIDE AND
COMFORTABLE FREE STALLS
FOR THOSE BIG COWS.
Whether you milk in the stable or
in a parlor, those cows can easily
be moved, but never have to lie
down in a tight place. That 20,000
pound milker is too valuable to
lose. Give her all the room she
needs.
If space in the old bam is at a
premium, THE STALLS SHOULD
BE MADE TO FIT THE COW,
AND NOT THE BARN. It is futile
and highly dangerous to expose our
valuable assets to the extreme
hazard of terminal injury, just so
we can increase numbers. Cow
numbers must be balanced against
cow turnover.
Remember that it takes a cow
nearly two years of production just
to return the cost of owning her,
before she makes a profit. After
that she may start to make money
for you, so you want to keep her as
long as possible. You can keep her
longer by making life a little easier
for her, and removing the hazards
that shorten her life.
bid of the day, |4,500. Clarence
Clay IV, South Carolina, pur
chased this open consignment by
Dr. D.L. Strandburg, Wisconsin.
Her dam, sired by Top Brass,
produced over 14,000 pounds of
milk in her first lactation and
classified EX-91.
The top three prices of the sale
were rounded out with a bid of
$4,000. A open heifer by Yankee
F.W. Chief garnered this pricetag
from the buyer, Jerseyland Farm
of Michigan. W.S./L.M. Jerseys
consigned this granddaughter of
Quicksilver Magic of Ogden. Her
dam, EX-91, produced two records
over 20,000 pounds of milk.
The top volume buyer, an ab
sentee Holstein breeder in
Wisconsin, purchased four head.
Jersey Marketing Service
managed the sale while Merlin
Woodruff handled the auc
tioneering.