Buckeye Beef Tops Somerset Jackpot Steer Show BY MARGIE FUSCO Cambria Co. Correspondent MEYERSDALE - Two Ohio steers strolled off with top honors at the Somerset County Open Jackpot Steer Show. The show, sponsored by the Somerset County Beef Producers, was held at the county fairgrounds in Meyersdale on July 20. Bill Ayars of Mechanicsburg, Ohio, took grand champion honors with his 1260-pound Chi-Angus cross steer, sired by II Deno. The reserve grand champion steer, a 1240-pound Chi-Angus cross, is ci»s4 owned by Brandon Horn of ( , _ „ _ < sl „ s '* 5 * ni. i- /ki_‘ T »- i. , I RaquelleFava 2 GregWifson McClellan PA Catawba, Ohio, riis StCGr was Sireu 3 Dennis Hillegas Schellsburg PA by Power Play. cuss s The Jackpot Show attracted 93 r Dottie pa 2 Don. entries from as far away as Ohio ciark 3 Heath uiey Donegal pa and West Virginia. With $5OO going (M „ t to the grand champion and $l5O for I Jay Kirscher Monongehela PA 2 Ronnie the reserve grand champion, the Kelly Bruceton M|||s wv 3 T odd Liitey Donegal Somerset County show is the highest stakes jackpot in Penn sylvania. Prize money was awarded in each category down to the fourth place, and a special cash award was made for steers pur chased at the Somerset County Club Calf Sale held this past Oc tober. The steers were classified by hip height. Judge Scott Mclntyre, a beef and calf producer from West Virginia and a member of the Virginia Polytechnical Institute . idgr ' team, idged thr ils Dennis Hillegas sets his steer up for evaluation by judge Scott Mclntyre at the Somerset Jackpot Show. Townsend Excels At Summer Classic Nancy Townsend of Brodbecks was among the top in dividual performers at the American Simmental Association's Annual Summer Classic, held recently in Louisville, Kentucky. In competition with 215 contestants from 23 states, Miss Townsend placed first in Public Speaking. She also ranked fourth in the Sire Selector Quiz, (she is pictured above with other winners) 15th in Herdsman Quiz and seventh overall. She was also a member of the fourth-place Maryland team. for conformation Mary Stuck, Lawrence County’s 1986 Cattlemen’s Princess and first runnerup in the state competition, was on hand to present the awards. Class 1 (hip height 46-V/’ 49-V ? ') 1 Natalie Welch Berlin PA 2 Joe Humphrey Patton PA 3 Missy Stemman Sidman PA Class 2 (50-1/8’ 50-V. ) 1 Wade Mayfield Ktngwood WV 2 Allen Teter Jr Kmgwood WV 3 Joe Humphrey Class 3 <sl"-51 V»") 1 Raquelle Fava Scenery Hill PA 2 Chris Donaldson Millcroft PA 3 Joey Sypolt Albright WV Class 7 (53 l A 53 7/8 ) 1 Jimmy Shaffer New Salem PA 2 Lloyd Stuchoff Rockwood PA 3 Steve Christopher Albright WV Class 8 (54" 55-1/8 ) I Kenny Bell Terra Alta WV 2 Lance Arm strong Somerset PA 3 Matt Welch Berlin PA Class 9 (55-%" 58*) 1 Bill Ayar Mechamcsburg OH 2 Brandon Horn Catawba OH 3 Kelly Rohrer Manheim PA CubCaH I Lloyd Stuchotf 2 Natalie Welch 3 Jason Ickes Rockwood PA Grand Champion Bill Ayar Reserve Grand Champion Brandon Horn Cattlemen's Princess Mary Shick congratulates Bill Ayers (left) on his grand champion victory, and Brandon Hunt on his reserve win. What's a Boar Worth? What can you afford to pay for a home, the new boar could cost you boar. With the Pennsylvania money every time he sires a pig. Performance Tested Boar Sale gQ how do you put dollars and coming up August 20, that’s a C ents to all of this? It depends on question you ought to be asking. f our things: 1) what trait you’re But before you put a price tag on selecting for; 2) how easily the any boar, decide what you want trait is passed to the offspring; 3) from a herd sire. For most the economic value of the trait; 4) producers there are probably three how much better the new boar is, of 1 * 6 !?-?'’ . s^ruc * ura soundness; compared to the ones already in 2) ability to service and settle yo ur herd sows; 3) ability to improve herd 3 performance. Structural Soundness. Although it’s far from an exact science, soundness evaluation is critical. Before you do anything else, decide whether the new boar will hold up under your conditions. If your herd’s on dirt, maybe you can live with some soundness problems. But if you’re on concrete you don’t need a structurally unsound boar at any price. Ability to Settle Sows. That means having enough talent to mount and service a sow. And it means having enough fertility to produce large litters. Un fortunately settling sows falls under the wait-and-see category since you never know how a boar will do until you get him home and try him. Use common sense with a new boar. Seven services per week should be a maximum. And avoid putting a young boar into a group of old sows Improving Herd Performance Every new boar should improve herd performance. For example if the feed efficiency on your finishing floor is 3.7:1, find a boar that will make it better. Or if the 21-day weights of your baby pigs average 9 pounds, get a boar that will improve the sow herd’s milk production. And remember- if the genetic potential of the new boar is poorer than what you’ve gui at ** * • • Pork Prose by Kenneth B. Kephart Penn State Extension Swine Specialist • Feet and legs: • Lbs feed/lb gain (60-220 lbs) • Average daily gain: • Days to 230; • Backfat: • Litter size: • Underline; New boars are one of the most * un \ * n *° a liability. If you important investments you make, need more calculation details, you so give them the attention they can fmd them in the PoA Industry deserve. Don’t let a $250 bargain Handbook, fact sheet PIH-9. Penn State Offers Swine Feed Evaluation Program UNIVERSITY PARK - With the support of the Penn sylvania Pork Producers Council, Penn State swine specialist Ken Kephart and county livestock agents are in the process of taking feed samples from swine producers around the state. Survey forms are completed during sampling to record feed formulas and the feed is submitted to Penn State for analysis. Results are compared to nutrient levels calculated from the feed formulas. Ken Kephart also reviews the formulas and writes a follow-up letter to each participating producer. Cost of the program to the producer is $ll per sample, which is one half the normal cost. Interested producers should contact their local extension offices. Most test stations measure and calculate indexes for average daily gain, feed efficiency and backfat. Let’s say your boars at home averaged 1.8 Ibs/day for growth rate, 2.80 for feed efficiency, and .7 for backfat. You want to buy a boar that averaged 2.2 lbs. per day for growth rate, 2.40 for feed ef ficiency, and .6 for backfat. What’s the new boar worth? For every pig the new boar sires, you will save about sl/head on feed alone compared to the rest of the market hogs. If you’re finishing pigs out in average facilities (still not depreciated), each pig out of the new boar will save you about $.25/head because of his faster growth rate. And if you’re selling grade and yield, you could save up to $.lB for each pig out the new boar, because of his reduced backfat. That’s a potential $1.43/head for each pig sired by the new boar. A boar can easily sire 1,000 pigs a year. But even if he only sires 500, you could save up to $715 per year with the new boar. And remember, if the new boar is worse than those already in your herd, the dollars add up just as fast in the negative direction. So it’s important - vitally im portant—that you know the genetic background of every new boar. Use the following guidelines. Sound enough for your conditions. 2.75 or less. 2.00 Ib/day or more. 155 or less. 0.8 inches or less. 10 or more farrowed, 8 or more weaned. 12 or more functional teats.
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