Dl2-Lancaster Farming Saturday, October 18,1986 NEW HOLLAND - Farm computers are great, but the scales are more important and should come first. It’s not hard to understand when you think about it for a minute. It’s hard to have a good handle on hog or cattle performance if you can’t weigh regularly. You can probably only estimate hog weights to within 10 pounds if you’re moving hogs out regularly. If you haven’t shipped a load in half a year, the estimate is usually off. Scales on a grinder-mixer are even more important than for livestock on the hoof, notes Keith Weinlader of New Holland. He says surveys show most livestock rations are badly off target for protein unless both the grain and the supplement are weighed into the mill. The analysis goes off either way, even if you carefully measure the protein by the bucket or by the bag because of grain weight variations. The real cash advantage of the scale on the mill comes from the dollar saving of buying supplement in bulk instead of bags, adds Weinlader, who is product manager for grinder-mixers at New Holland. This, and the ration accuracy you can get with a scale is the reason the scale is usually a more profitable investment than a computer in most operations. The computer is a big step ahead when you’re ready for it. Computers are the farm revolution of the 1980’s. It was rubber tires for tractors in the 30’s, 3-point hookups and self-propelled equipment in the 40’s and 50’s, and herbicides and reduced tillage in the 60’s, Now it’s computers. Corn belt farmers are leading in on-farm computers, says Weinlader. Dairy producers already have most of the ad vantages without owning their own WATER WATER WATER Bad water will lower your Income By removing nitrates, bacteria & sulfates from your water you will have a healthier herd. Acid in water increases herd health problems. Reduce Reproduction FnUnm Reduce Hod Health Problems Produce More Milk We can remove these nitrates, bacteria & sulfates and put your PH to near neutral. Call Us Before You Buy And See Our Many Happy Users OREGON WATER SALES Leola, PA 717-656-8380 If no answer, call early in the morning or evenings. Scales More Important Than Farm Computers hardware, he adds. Dairy management from sire selection, to production testing and records, to ration formulation is handled for dairymen by co-ops and the ex tension service, as well as by private companies. Grain and livestock producers don’t have the same services available as readily, so more of them are adding their own farm computers. The potential is definitely there, especially for swine producers. Computers can help you manage more efficiently. But you need very good input in formation to get good results. You might feed garbage to a hog and produce pork, but you’ll only get “garbage,” from your computer if the input information is “gar bage,” Weinlader emphasizes. You just have to have good records. Computer swine ration analysis can manage the total cost, weight, energy level, fat, fiber and protein balance, protein quality and mineral balance to give you ac curate rations. But then you need precise control of the amounts of the ingredients called for when you put it into practice. Guessing means you usually miss your targets by a mile. Fortunately, it’s easy to maintain the controls you need for computer management now that grinder-mixers come equipped with a digital read-out electronic scale. Very accurate recording is simplified by the scale. Other swine computer management items include business analysis for feeder pigs, so you can calculate your own break-even prices, operation costs, profit return and gross in come, based on projected market prices. Selling decisions and sow productivity recording are ad- We have competitive prices. ditional management tasks the yoirdevelop the programs you’ll scale should come before the computer can help you handle. But use. Fortunately, we have an easy computer. Otherwise you’d be in each case, it’s essential to have route to the information now that hitching the cart before the horse, the best input information when we need it. But the grinder-mixer says Weinlader. STEEL CULVERT PIPE An Additional 1 % DISCOUNT is offered if paid by Cash Money or Certified Check Over Forty Years of Reliable Service HOURS: Fuel Oil, Gasoline, and Coal Mon.-Fri.: 8 AM - 4 PM 111 E. State Street, Quarryville, PA 17566 Sat.: 9AM -12 PM Phone: 717-786-2166 Used carbon steel storage tanks which we have removed the end (heads). Lifting lugs attached. No coating. These tank shells make an inexpensive, quick and strong bridge. Tank shells buried with 3 feet of ground cover can support 80,000 lbs. 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For machinery (flammable material) HOWARD E. GROFF CO. Thickness Inches (Approx.) * 1.50 • 2.00 ’ 3.00 * 5.00 * 6.00 * 8.00 * 9.00 • 9.50 LACQUER PAINT Price, F. 0.8 Quarryville Lengths In Stock 2’ thru 11’ ‘lB/Ft. Price Per Ft. FOB Q-Ville Pipe Size Inches *lO.OO *ll.OO *12.00 *13.00 *15.00 *16.00 *lB.OO *19.00
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