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Dairy
Business
i Newton Bair
Can longevity be bred for?
Since we only pass this way once,
a long lifetime spent on this earth
always seems to be desirable for
humans. Likewise, dairy breeders
take pride and pleasure in an
animal that lives a long and
productive life.
What limits the life span of a cow
in the milking herd? It surely is not
what we associate with the human
life span. We humans are usually
allowed to live out our years until
we die of “natural causes,” in
cluding old age. Not many cows
are allowed the privilege of living
their full potential life span.
If you think about it, even our
best breeding animals must prove
themselves worthy of continuation
m the herd almost daily, or out
they go. A perfectly healthy cow,
with no life-threatening malady,
might become worthless in the
dairy bam for some other reason.
As a breeder, she must get bred.
No matter how good her genetic
backing, or the popularity of her
sire and dam, she must ultimately
make acceptable production
records. And even if she has a calf,
and is milking her heart out, she
must survive all of the hazards of
the bam and feedlot and stanchion.
After all this, a cow must either
escape the inevitable bout with
mastitis or survive the treatment.
To say nothing of the dozens of
other maladys that can do her in or
reduce her usefulness as a
breeder. This might even include a
nice, even temperament and
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lovable personality. Cows have
been known to get the axe for some
trait that has nothing to do with
production or long life!
So what actually constitutes
longevity in a cow?
I doubt that it is the same thing
that we associate with a long life in
humans.
Your grandpa and father might
live to be ninety years old, and that
usually portends a long life for you,
regardless of how productive you
are, or how much money you
make. You do inherit your years
from ancestors, aside from the
hazards of modern living. So, in a
way, humans might be bred for
longevity as predicted by our
ancestral life spans.
Surely there are inheritable
traits that contribute to the life
span of a cow. Just as in humans,
there is some degree of resistance
or susceptibility to diseases that
could shorten the usefulness of a
breeder.
They are extremely hard to
define, and much research and
observation must be done before
the knowledge can be used in
breeding.
Meanwhile, breeding for
longevity alone might be mostly a
myth. When you realize how many
cows leave the herd for other
reasons, it makes more sense to
consider those reasons that have
kept her useful, than to the number
of years she spends in the herd.
Functional type, as defined in
uAs
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USDA Begins Dairy Indemnity Payments
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The first
of a series of periodic dairy in
demnity payments to dairy
producers whose milk was
removed from the market because
their herds were contaminated by
the pesticide heptachlor began in
July said Secretary of Agriculture
Richard E. Lyng.
“The supplemental appropria
tions legislation signed into law by
President Reagan July 2 included
$8 million earmarked for these
indemnity payments,” Lyng said.
Heptachlor-contaminated feed
sold to some dairy producers in
Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri l
resulted in the contamination of
milk. This milk was removed from
the market by public regulatory
agencies. “The maximum per
mitted level of heptachlor in milk
is 0.1 parts per million. Some of the
milk from the three States had
over 10 parts per million,” Lyng
said.
In mid-March Lyng dispatched
an emergency dairy con
tamination task force to conduct
an on-the-spot assessment of the
situation in the affected area.
Based on the task force’s findings
on milk production losses and the
number of dairy cows under
the Type scores of the Breed
Associations, can be one of the best
criteria of judgment when
selecting cows for longevity.
Showring type may not be con
sistent with function, although we
hope that the gap between them
keeps on narrowing. If we can
combine functional type with high
production, as well as resistance to
disease and injury, we may well
have conquered the problem of
longevity in our dairy cattle.
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quarantine, a request was made to
Congress for funds to cover in
demnification payments for milk
and dairy products that had to be
dumped.
“Dairy herds fell into three
categories,” Lyng said. “Some
producers were quarantined and
not allowed to market their milk
for a brief period until it was
determined that the milk from the
herd was not contaminated. Some
with low levels of contamination
were quarantined for a longer
period and then were allowed to
resume marketing of milk after
the level of contamination was
PSU Receives
Tobacco Grant
LANDISVILLE - R. J.
Reynolds Tobacco Co. presented
Pennsylvania State University
with grants totaling |9,500.
A research grant was provided
to support studies by Dr. John
Yocum on partial outside curing,
tobacco breeding, and the effects
of plant maturity on tobacco
quality. An Extension grant was
provided which will fund tobacco
grower training and support for
the Lancaster tobacco show. A
grant was made to the dean of the
College of Agriculture for use in
the enhancement of agricultural
programs within the college. When
a 1986 recipient is selected,
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reduced to an acceptable level.
Others, more seriously con
taminated, are still not permitted
to market their milk.
It can take anywhere from a few
weeks to as long as a year or more
before a dairy herd is removed
from quarantine, depending on the
initial level of contamination.”
Payments to dairy producers
cover losses for the amount of milk
that is required to be dumped.
Indemnity payments to dairy
processors are for the market
value of milk and milk products
destroyed, minus any salvage
value.
Reynolds will find a . $l,OOO
scholarship for Excellence in
Agriculture at the university.
Dr. Charles D. Sopher, senior
R&D agronomist at Reynolds
Tobacco, presented the checks tor
the grants to Dr. John Yocum at
the Southeastern Field Research
Laboratory.
Since 1979, R. J. Reynolds
Tobacco Company has contributed
$92,350 to tobacco research, ex
tension, and education programs
at Pennsylvania State University.
Since 1962, Reynolds’ contributions
for similar programs at land-grant
universities in tobacco producing
states have totaled more than $8.4
million.
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