D2-Lancaster Farming Saturday, August 2,1986
Beef
Briefs
by
Chester D. Hughes
Lancaster Co.
Extension Livestock Specialist
Editor’s Note: Regular readers of our livestock page may have
noticed a lapse in our Beef Briefs column last month. The hiccup in
proceedings was caused by Dr. Lester Burdette’s retirement, and
more information on that event is included in this section.
Since we instituted our beef column last year, Dr. Burdette has been
a valued contributor of sound management advice and we’re going to
miss him.
Coming on stream with this issue is Lancaster County livestock
agent, Chet Hughes, who notes that, while he may not be able to
physically fill Dr. Burdette’s shoes, be will try to do his best in the
figurative sense. Chet, of course, is no stranger to our readers, having
written a general livestock column for us during the past three years.
A cattleman himself, Chet is well-known in Angus circles, and
currently serves as secretary of the Pennsylvania Angus Association.
As with our other livestock columnists, Chet will appear on this page
once a month. The rotation will continue to be beef, poultry, sheep and
swine.
Welcome aboard, Chester!
August: Stress Time For Beef Cattle
For the cow/calf operator guide
by a satisfactory management
schedule, the month of August is
generally regarded as a time of
less labor. The bulk of the hay crop
is in, most AI breeding is com
pleted, and the cows continue to
tend to their growing calves. The
clean-up bulls are turned into the
herd and the cattleman can relax
on his porch, sip a lemonade and
admire his favorite cows.
Unfortunately, good
management cannot stop and
sometimes the stresses associated
with late summer and the cow
herd, require the alert attention of
the herd manager. Before you sit
back and totally relax, consider
Embryo Transplants Beef Up Profits For Va. Cattleman
BY JULIE GOCHENOUR
Virginia Correspondent
WOODSTOCK, Va. -
simple, Wilson Eastep says.
The purpose of any beef cattle
operation, purebred or com
mercial, is to sell their animals at
the best possible prices. And
embryo transplants are helping
the cattlemen do just that.
A little over 10 years ago, the
Simmental breeder and his family
went into the cattle business for
themselves. They spent those first
years acquiring animals, building
herd numbers, and breeding up
from a percentage to a purebred
polled herd of Simmentals. Even
though demand was still strong for
the relatively new breed and
producers were eagerly buying
“half-blood” and “three-quarter”
Or. Joe Lineweaver flushes Miss Super Charger with owner
Wilson Eastep assisting. Average flush yields eight to 10
viable embryos.
frr
the following factors that make
August a challenge.
The weather seems to be
responsible for much of what can
happen in late summer and
generally our native grass and
clover pastures begin to fail at this
time of year. During a dry period,
like, this year, the stress becomes
even greater. When the available
forage falters, so does mik
production; perhaps when the
calves need the most nutrition.
Supplemental feeding of the
cows and/or the calves may be
appropriate, and sometimes
necessary. But this additional
feeding may cause additional
problems, like bloat and scours,
animals, Wilson figured it couldn’t
last.
And it didn’t. The number of
Simmental herds increased,
Virginia and Maryland began
restricting sales to full-bloods and
purebreds (7/Bth Simmental) and
buyers, faced with expanding
availability, Eastep recalls, could
begin to be selective. In short,
supply caught up with demand and
it soon took more than the word
‘ ‘Simmental’ ’ to make a sale.
It’s
Today, with this the current
situation, the Lakeview herd in
cludes 35 full-blood, 60 purebred
and 30 “percentage” cows such as
half-bloods, which Eastep
describes as the “bottom layer” of
his herd. Until he started using
embryo transplants, they were
also the least profitable.
especially calves are introduced to
a new feed source. High protein
grain rations and new legume hay
(alfalfa) are often culprits of bloat
and/or scours. Bloat, especially,
should be treated as an
emergency. Your veterinarian is
equipped to easily treat this
condition, but time is a factor with
a bloated animal.
Additionally, failing cool season
grasses that are poorly managed,
often leave poisonous weeds and
plants as the only source of grazing
material, which can be fatal to a
hungry ruminant. Some that come
to mind are; nightshade, May
apple, pokeweed, and morning
glory. And if your farm borders a
residential area, be alert for
neighbors who may, unknowingly,
toss clippings of poisonous or
namentals to your hungry cows.
Summer storms can also cause
broken tree limbs, and wilted wild
cherry leaves are readily eaten by
hungry cattle, often producing
fatal results.
The hot, humid weather of
August provided a favorable at
mosphere for flies and worms.
This is a very good time to treat
suckling calves for worms and the
entire herd should have access to a
backrubber, dust bag or any other
fly control method. Cattle comfort
is vey important for appetite,
cycling activity, and general
health. Your herd should have
access to a cool shaded area,
whether it be a woods, pine grove,
a simple shed, or a bam with fans.
Finally, my thoughts turn to the
all important water source. In
August, mature beef cows can
easily consumer 15 to 20 gallons of
water daily. They prefer a clean,
cool fresh source, low in nitrates
and bacteria, much like you or I
would. Remember that August can
be a time when streams are dried
up, and ponds stagnant, so daily
filling of the stock tank may be
mandatory.
Just when you were about to
relax in your rocking chair with an
iced tea, I had to bring up all of
these late summer stresses. Keep
these thoughts in mind, practice
sound beef cattle management,
and stay alert for August’s
challenges!
Wilson Eastep and daughter Teresa look over a crop of five one-month-old ET calves
sired by Lightning. Dam, also named Teresa, is a Signal daughter.
Lakeview Simmentals is a
medium sized operation marketing
purebred and full-blood heifers to
other breeders and bulls to com
mercial cattlemen who want to add
Simmental size and growth to their
herd’s offspring. “We were getting
pretty nice bull calves and pretty
nice heifers from our half and
three-quarter cows, but they
weren’t the percentage we
needed” Eastep explains. “We
couldn’t sell them, merchandise
them, like we could a purebred
they just wouldn’t bring the
money.”
Penn State Beef Specialist
Dr. Lester Burdette Retires
UNIVERSITY PARK - Lester
A. Burdette, professor of animal
science, retired from the
University on June 30 with
emeritus status.
Dr. Burdette, who joined the
College of Agriculture faculty in
1957, has been responsible for beef
cattle education programs with
the Cooperative Extension Service
and has been extension coor
dinator for livestock programs in
Penn State’s Department of Dairy
and Animal Science. He
specialized in nutrition and
management programs for cattle
breeders and feeders, as well as
housing and equipment for all
phases of beef production.
Dr. Burdette started his ex
tension career as an assistant
county agent in York County.
“When I started out, I was working
with nearly every species of meat
animal livestock. We were more
like generalists than specialists,”
he says. “But as livestock
production became more
specialized it became more dif
ficult to keep up with all the
changes that were taking place.
We had to concentrate on one or
two species.”
One of the biggest changes he
has seen is the number of beef
cows on Pennsylvania farms.
“When I started at Penn State
there were roughly 55,000 beef
cows in the state. Totay there are
nearly 200,000.”
Much of this growth has been
because of changes in rural
communities. “Many farms have
The answer for his operation, he
decided, was embryo transplants.
“We figured we could use these
half and three-quarter cows that
we already have, who have proven
to be good milkers and good
mothers, to carry the top quality
embryos we wanted. Then we
would have more full-blood bulls
and heifers from the same herd
but everything would be high
percentage.
“If you have a half-blood cow
and you breed her to a purebred
bull, you get a three-quarters
calf,” he continues. “That’s worth
Dr. Lester Burdette
switched from dairy or poultry
operations to beef when the
operators took off-farm jobs,” says
Dr. Burdette. “Other small beef
farms have been started by those
who were escaping city life. It’s a
challenge to coordinate production
and marketing options so that the
small beef farm, which is typical in
Pennsylania, can remain com
petitive in today’s economy.”
A native of Mercer County, Dr.
Burdette received his Ph.D, M.S.
and B.S. degrees in animal
husbandry and production, all
from Penn State. Dr. Burdette
lives with his wife, Johanne, in
Pennsylvania Furnace. He is the
father of four children - Nancy,
'David, Shirley and James.
just a little over market price if
you sell it to an individual
privately. But if you’ve got an
embryo in that half-blood cow and
you’re lucky enough to sell the calf
at an average price for a purebred
ET heifer or bull, it should be
worth twice as much.”
Embryo transplants allow
Eastep to make maximum use of
both the top and bottom layers of
his herd, and the process at
Lakeview is a completely self
contained operation. Instead of
buying fertilized eggs, the cat-
(Turn to Page DIO)