A42-Lanca«t*r Fanning, Saturday, Septambar 20,1986
Tbe
Business
x a Newton Bair
Dry Matter And Other Matters
Every nutritionist worth his salt
will calculate your rations on a dry
matter basis. Why? Because so
much of the ordinary feeds like
silage, haylage, pasture, and even
the so-called “dry” feeds contain
more water and therefore less
actual feed nutrients than we can
visualize. The only way to figure
feed value is to first convert these
feeds to their dry matter content.
Most of us rely on a very in
frequent forage tests to get a fix on
the moisture content of silage and
haylage. Unfortunately, while the
reading may be accurate when
taken, it is not taken often enough
during the feeding season to be
accurate at all times. We often
have to guess at the magnitude of
the change that occurs as silage is
fed, or risk mistakes in the ration.
There are ways of removing the
risk, by taking a moisture check at
more frequent intervals.
There are all kinds of moisture
testers on the market. The newer
electronic testers are easy to use,
but still rather expensive. They
can be used right in the field, to
test silage, hay, and grain for
moisture. One of the more ac
curate testers, the Koster Tester,
is rather cumbersome and takes at
least a half-hour to run a sample.
At harvest time that may be too
long to be practical, because while
the test is running, the crop
moisture may be changing rapidly.
We may have to rely on good
judgment at harvest time, and get
more accurate readings when it
comes out of the silo, after the
moisture in a given sample is
stabilized.
Use The Microwave To
Check Moisture
The microwave oven in the
kitchen is an ideal, quick and easy
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content of almost anything. Here
are the steps:
1. With an accurate scale
weighing in grams, a dietetic scale
will do, weigh an empty paper bag
to the nearest gram. Record as
value A.
2. Put about a cupful of material
in the bag, pack it and weigh.
Record the total weight as value B.
3. With an 8-ounce glass about
three-fourths full of water in the
oven, dry the sample, using a
medium heat setting. Start with
about two or three minutes of
drying time. Remove and stir or
shake the sample three or four
times at one minute intervals, until
the sample is crisp, but not
charred. When sample is uniform
ly stable in weight, weigh the bag
and sample and record as value C.
4. Calculate the moisture content
as follows: (B - C)/(B - A) x 100 =
percent moisture. Here is an
example:
Paper bag weighs 10 grams,
value A = 10. Bag an’d sample
weighs 90 grams, value B = 90.
Dried sample plus bag weighs 40
grams, value C = 40.
(90 - 40)/(90 - 10) x 100 = 62.5
percent moisture. This is the
moisture percentage to be used in
ration balancing.
Be careful not to lose any
material when shaking or stirring.
If microwave does not have a
table, turn the sample each time it
is heated. Avoid burning the
sample. A little experimentation
with samples will increase your
accuracy, and decrease the time
needed to run a given sample.
More details on this method can
be found in the August issue of Hay
and Forage Grower, 199 Shepard
Road, St. Paul, MN 55116, one of
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DEALER INQUIRIES INVITED
Haupt Is ‘Conservationist Of The Month 9
SUNBURY - James Haupt, a
Shamokin Township farmer, has
been selected as Conservationist of
the Month for September by the
board of directors of the Nor
thumberland County Conservation
District. The announcement was
made by Robert Pardoe, Jr.,
district chairman.
Haupt, 48, is being honored for
his efforts in developing and im
plementing a soil conservation
plan on his Irish Valley farm. He
recently installed two cropland
terraces and one storage terrace,
totaling nearly one-half mile in
length. Haupt also plants all of his
crops on the contour to prevent soil
erosion.
“I constructed the cropland
terraces with my own moldboard
plow,” said Haupt, adding that
terraces are usually constructed
with bulldozers or graders. “I can
save a lot of money that way. It’s
good, cost-effective conservation,”
said Haupt.
Cropland terraces are small
earthen embankments that are
constructed across the slope of the
land. Terraces prevent soil erosion
by catching runoff water and
channeling it across the slope to a
the better free magazines that fill
my mailbox. Most extension of
fices also have instruction sheets
on how to use the microwave oven
to determine moisture.
What do you do with the new
moisture reading? Why, give it to
your dairy nutritionist im
mediately, so he can incorporate it
into your up-to-date rations.
Meanwhile, use it to sharpen your
judgment on the value of feeding
your animals on the basis of dry
matter content, not just wet
weight.
Oh yes get permission from
the cook before using the kitchen
for a feed laboratory!
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way.
Haupt plans to construct eight
more terraces during the next five
years. “We’re a long way from
being done,” he said. “But we plan
to continue working until the whole
farm meets all the soil con
servation standards.”
The biggest incentive to continue
installing conservation practices is
the increase in yields, according to
Haupt. “Conservation definitely
pays for itself,” said Haupt.
“Contour farming and terraces not
only keep soil from washing away,
they also improve soil moisture by
reducing runoff. The yields have
really increased on some of my
fields because there’s more water
available to the plants.”
Haupt also plants winter cover
crops to protect his soil. “Last
year, I planted about 65 acres of
rye and 30 acres of hairy vetch for
cover crops,” said Haupt. “The
cover crops keep the ground from
washing away in winter and also
add organic matter to the soil. The
organic matter improves the
structure of the soil and increases
yields, so you really can’t lose.”
The hairy vetch also adds up to 100
pounds of nitrogen per acre to the
soil. “It helps me save on my
fertilizer bill,” said Haupt.
Haupt is a third-generation truck
crop farmer. He grows a variety of
vegetables including tomatoes,
Hostetler Elected President
SOUTHAMPTON - Paul
Hostetler, Westover, Md., was
elected president of the Princess
Anne Local of Inter-State Milk
Producers’ Cooperative District 4.
Hostetler, former vice president
of the Princess Anne Local, is in
partnership with his father,
Harold. The pair farm 200 acres
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potatoes, peppers, sweet corn,
pumpkins, squash, watermelon,
cantaloupe, strawberries, broc
coli, and cabbage. Haupt also has
about 1,500 hens for egg produc
tion. Most of the produce is sold at
farmers markets in Lewlsburg,
Sunbury, Shamokin, and Schuylkill
Haven.
“It’s a family operation and we
all work hard,” said Haupt. Haupt
is assisted on the farm by his wife,
Janie, and his son, Willie. “During
the growing season we work up to
14 hours a day, seven days a
week,” said Haupt. Despite the
rigors of farm life, Haupt enjoys
his work. “I really enjoy meeting
all the people at market,” said
Haupt.
and milk 45 Holsteins. The
Hostetlers have been Inter-State
members since 1948.
Other officers elected at the
Sept. 5 meeting were Kenneth
Holland, Pocomoke City, Md., vice
president, and Edward Johnson,
Westover, Md., secretary/
treasurer.
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• Vitamin A and D
James Haupt
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