D2-Lancasttr Farming Saturday, September 20,1986
Pork Checkoff To Begin Nov. 1
DES MOINES, lowa. - A
federal order formally initiating
the new National Pork Producers
checkoff was published in the
Federal Register on Friday,
September 5. The publication
officially sets in motion the events
that will lead up to implementation
of the new pork checkoff
November 1,1986.
Effective on that date, all United
States pork producers will. be
required to check off all classes of
swine at the first point of sale, at a
rate of no more than one fourth of
one percent of value. Importers of
hogs and pork producers will also
participate in the uniform national
checkoff.
ASPC Reports Sheep Referendum Results
DENVER, Colo. - Tim Indart,
president of the American Sheep
Producers Council, Inc., said he is
“delighted” with the support given
to ASPC by producers in the Aug.
18-29 National Sheep Referendum.
“This great support from the vast
majority of voting producers again
proves that we have a forward
looking industry that is willing to
stand behind its products. ’ ’
A preliminary tally released
Sept. 10 by USDA shows that 62.2
percent of the voting producers
owning 68.7 percent of the sheep
supported continuing ASPC’s
promotion, advertising and other
Pa. Angus
ST. JOSEPH, MO - A top
quality set of Angus breeding
cattle were on hand for the Roll of
Victory Angus Show held at the
Junior champion female at the Indiana Fair Angus Show
was Kruegers Blackbird Madonna owned by William Warren,
LaVern Krueger and family and Greg Krueger and family.
Berks Extension Schedules Sheep Tour
LEESPORT - The Berks
County Sleep and Wool Growers
are invited to participate in a four
farm sheep tour in the Oley Valley.
The tour is being conducted by the
Berks County Cooperative Ex
tension Service and will be held
Saturday, Oct. 11.
The tour participants will see the
Mac-High Sheep Farm, Oley Acres
Sheep Farm, Hollowbush-
Corriedale Farm, and Ewesful
Spinning. In addition to seeing the
sheep, farms, and talking about
management, participants will see
demonstrations on wool
processing, determining the age of
The nation’s pork producers
have had a checkoff program for a
number of years, but in most
states, it has been voluntary. The
new checkoff is expected to
initially generate approximately
816 to $lB million annually, com
pared to the present $lO million. A
referendum of all pork producers
will be held 24 to 30 months after
the new checkoff goes into effect.
Until that referendum, pork
producers will be entitled to a
' refund upon request. If the
referendum is approved, no refund
would* be offered from that point
on.
Publication of the Pork Order in
the Federal Register paves the
market development programs for
lamb and wool. -Referendum
passage required a two-thirds
positive vote from either the voting
producers or of the total sheep
represented by those voting.
“It speaks well for American
sheep producers to throw such
support behind promotion at a time
when general agriculture is so
troubled, perhaps more than even
before the great depression,”
Indart said. “The income for many
sheep producers also depends on
other commodities which haven’t
been doing very well. But the shpep
industry is a good example of how
Breeders Win
recent Indiana State Fair in In
dianapolis. The 25 bulls and 56
heifers were placed by judge Jake
White, Laurel, Mississippi.
sheep, worming techniques, in
jections and paint brandings.
Cost is $5 per person which in
cludes handouts and lunch. The
Beef Checkoff Meeting Scheduled
LANCASTER - A meeting to
outline the provisions of the new
Beef Checkoff Program will be
held at the Lancaster Farm and
Home Center on Tuesday and
Wednesday, Sept. 23 and 24, at 7
p.m.
Authorized by the Beef
Promotion and Research Act of
1985, the checkoff will collect $1 per
head for every beef animal sold.
way for Secretary of Agriculture
Richard Lyng to officially notify
producers of their appointment to
the 160-member Pork Prdducers
Delegate Body, elected in July at
producer elections in each state.
Pennsylvania’s two delegates to
the Delegate Body are Phil
Frieling, Hegins, and David
Reinecker of York Springs.
The delegates will hold their first
meeting September 17-18 at the
Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas
City, Mo. The delegates will have
three main items on their agenda
at that meeting; 1) Establish the
new national checkoff rate, which
by law may not initially exceed
one-fourth of one percent of value;
2) Establish a level of state funding
(by law, the return to states can be
no less than 16.5 percent of the
funds collected in a state); and, 3)
Nominate a minimum of 23 in
dividuals for consideration to the
National Pork Board. That 15-
member board, to be appointed by
the Secretary of Agriculture later
this year, will have the respon
sibility of collecting the new
producer checkoff and disbursing
the funds.
money spent on promotion can pay
excellent dividends. In fact, if
more of agriculture fared as well
as the sheep industry, we wouldn’t
be having nearly as much trouble.
The referendum vote shows that
the great majority of sheep
producers see this bigger picture. ”
The vote authorizes USDA to
deduct from producer incentive
payments up to 6 cents a pound on
shorn wool and 30 cents a hun
dredweight for unshorn lamb. The
current referendum will be in
effect for the five-year life of the
1985 Farm Bill.
in Indiana
The purple rosette in the bull
show went to Premier Valedic
torian, the junior champion. This
February 1985, Ken Caryl Over
drive 304 H son is owned by
Premier Angus Inc., Cloverdale,
Indiana; Northcote Farm, Forest,
Virginia; New Horizon Farm,
Stuyvesant, New York; and Shady
Brook Angus Farm, Leoma,
Tennessee.
The championship spotlight in
the female line-up was on Premier
Blackcap 6276 A, a May 1985
daughter of Brusco. Also named
the intermediate winner, she is
owned by Premier Angus Inc. and
Twin Valley Farms, Prattville,
Alabama.
Reserve junior champion bull
honors went to Genetics Madison
Avenue. He was exhibited by
Genetics Unlimited Inc., West
Grove, Pennsylvania, and William
Warren, Furlong, Pennsylvania.
The junior champion female
ribbon was presented to Kruegers
Blackbird Madonna. She is owned
by Greg Krueger and Family,
Coatesville, Pennsylvania;
LaVem Krueger and Family,
LaCrosse, Indiana; and William
Warren.
deadline for registration is Oct. 1.
For more information, contact the
Berks County Cooperative Ex
tension Service, (215) 378-1327.
Since the buyer is responsible for
collecting the assessment,
packers, processors, auctions,
dealers and all others engaged in
the buying of cattle are en
couraged to attend the meeting.
The producer-funded checkoff
program will finance major
nationwide beef promotion and
education efforts.
That Forgotten Hero
Most sheep producers will admit
the ram is an important part of
their operation. In spite of this,
however, the ram can often be the
most neglected animal in the flock.
How many of you, right now have
your ram out back somewhere and
have not given him any particular
attention for the last several
months? Yet, you have him
scheduled to be with the ewes next
week. When was the last time you
really looked at his general health
and body condition? What do his
feet look like? When did you last
treat him for internal parasites?
Have you contained him over the
months where he was able to get
daily exercise? Are his ribs
showing or have you gotten him
overly fat? Do you have him in
short fleece for breeding?
It is often said that the value of
your ram is equal to half the worth
of your flock. Certainly your ram
contributes half of the genetics
plus 80 per cent of the genetic
change that is accomplished in a
planned selection program. If this
is true, then isn’t he deserving of
some tender loving care sometime
during his tenure as your stud
ram?
Unfortunately, we too QftQf) get
concerned about the old boy’s fcrnl
being just before, or, in some in
stances, after he is placed with the
ewes. “Oh, my gosh,” you say.
“Look at that ram’s feet! Guess I’d
better trim them,” or “I didn’t
know he was lame. That looks like
foot rot! A good shot of antibiotics
and some iodine will fix that,” or
“Well, I’ll be darned, I just noticed
he has an extra good doze of sheath
rot. I wonder if that will interfere
with his breeding performance?
Well, for the cause, I will clean off
the area and apply some undiluted
iodine before I let him up.”
Did you get a semen check this
year? “You’ve got to be kidding,”
you say. “He was perfectly good
last year! Why, tfe had a 280
percent lamb crop.”
Of course, nobody ever gets
caught short of ram power just
before the beginning of the
breeding season from any of the
mentioned misfortunes.
Is an annual semen evaluation
worth the cost and effort? Check
the table below to find .out what it
really costs to carry a ram over a
season which he wUI be unable to
pay back if you find him to be in
fertile or even sub-fertile.
Furthermore, if your ram
problems interfered with the
defined breeding season and the
Estimated Annual Ram Costs:
Initial cost
Annual depreciation
(3.5 yrs. longevity)
Interest on investment
(13% annum)
Maintenance
Feed pasture & mineral
Labor
Overhead
October 2-6
Keystone International Livestock Show,
Farm Show Complex, Harrisburg, Pa.
December 19-20 Ist Annual Pennsylvania Shepherd’s
Symposium, Ramada Inn, Somerset, Pa.
Ask for a brochure at KILE.
Flock
Forum
by
Clair Engle
Penn State Extension Sheep Specialist
subsequent lambing interval was
extended, your market lambs
targeted for that prime market
could be too light and end up
costing you as much as $lO a lamb.
Now that we have established
some economic reasons for taking
care of your ram throughout his
reproductive career, lets talk
about a specific ram maintenance
and service program. This is to
preclude however, any chances of
your purchasing a ram from the
local weekly sheep auction or just
deciding to swap rams with some
friendly livestock trader.
Regardless of which occasion,
beware! You just might be in
vesting in somebody elses past
headache.
Next time you are tempted to
negotiate such a transaction, just
ask the seller to guarantee the
ram’s breeding soundness. No
quarantee, no deal.
An annual breeding soundness
examination, done by a qualified
veterinarian, should include
examination of the mouth (jaw
set), teeth, feet and legs, testicles,
penis, absence of external
parasites, and a semen evaluation.
Recent studies have verified
testicular size has a positive
correlation to fertility. As a guide,
lambs used for breeding should
measure 28 to 30 centimeter, ana
yearlings 30 to 35 centimeters
taking measurement at the
greatest circumference.
The semen should be checked for
viable sperm and also the presence
of white blood cells which is in
dicative of a reproductive tract
infection. Often it is a precursor to
epididymitis and almost always
affects the viability of the sperm.
Rams infected with epididymitis
generally require 30 to 45 days of
antiobiotic treatment and rest
before using them for breeding.
Think of an annual semen check
as insurance. It needs to be done 30
to 45 days prior to breeding so any
problem can be adequately cared
for before the big day occurs. That
includes making arrangements for
replacing the ram if necessary.
Thus, a special effort should be
made to take that extra minute to
look at the “old boy” when you
give him that extra grain or
quality hay daily, or just checking
on his minerals or source of fresh
water. Appreciate what he did for
you that past year, especially if it
was something short of being
spectacular. Don’t forget your ram
and take care of him like the im
portant guy that he is.
Estimated Costs
$200.00
50.00
10 00
500
Total annual cost minus
purchase price
$l4B 00
Coming Events:
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57 00
26.00