Team Effort Increases Herd Aver
COATESVILLE Be it foot
ball, baseball, hockey or basket
ball, a team’s performance traces
directly to the manager who helps
a team achieve its potential.
One team which recently regis
tered a dramatic turnaround is cap
able of kicking long distance,
chasing flies, and scoring foul
points. In the past year, this team
has been skating towards its goal
thanks in large part to a new mana
ger and a host of specialty coaches.
The team walks on four legs and
produces milk. In a period of
18-months, the dairy herd of Sam
and Marian Stoltzfus, has
increased its rolling herd average
by nearly 5,000 pounds of milk as
well as increasing income over
feed costs.
Sam and Marian took the oppor
tunity to manage a herd of then
own last year. In January 1986
when they took over, the herd
maintained an average of 14,132
pounds of milk, 506 pounds of fat,
and 440 pounds of protein on 44
cows. At this time the income over
feed costs stood at $2.87 per cow
per day.
The herd average on 38 cows
increased to 19,004 pounds of
milk, 677 pounds of fat, and 626
pounds of protein at the end of
June 1987. For this DHIA testing
period the herd registered an
income of $4.55 over feed costs
per cow per day. During the
18-month period the DHIA reports
show an increase in total feed
costs.
Sam credits the vet, breeder and
nutritionist with helping to set his
Chester-Plane herd on course to a
20,000 pound herd average. But,
he added, it does not make sense to
employ these individuals if you are
not going to follow their advice.
Prior to taking over the herd, the
Stoltzfus family worked as herds-
\ %
The Stoltzfus herd is'brought In from pasture In late
morning. Four fans.run throughout the day to keep the
herd cool.
men for Henry Lapp where they
used the same team of support per
sonnel. Sam notes he has the vet in
at least every two weeks to check
on cows which have just
freshened, were recently bred or
any other problem. He watches the
herd closely and tries to catch
small problems before they
become major problems.
For the herd’s breeding prog
ram, he follows a total AI linear
mate program and selects sires
which are 1,000 pounds plus on
milk and 1.5 points higher on type.
This fall he will be milking heifers
from his matings.
By paying close attention to the
breeding and health of his herd,
Sam has achieved a 12.9 month
calving interval.
The third cog in the manage
ment team is the feeding program.
Last summer’s drought forced
Sam to look at feeding alternatives
to stretch his feed supply. Sam,
who grows all of the forages and
com needed by the herd, started
using mixing Purina’s Topdress 37
in with his ear com. His cows
found the product to be palatable
and it has helped him see clear to
the fall harvest.
Sam tests every crop to be able
to balance the rations to meet the
cow’s needs. Last year hay was
also in short supply for Stoltzfus.
This spring he started using Maxi-
Tech 32 FF to get the most energy
from his feed.
His nutritionist-consultant
Doug High explained that Maxi-
Tech increases the energy a cow
can pull from its feed. This in turn
enables the dairymen to meet the
nutritional needs of higher produc
ing cows. In the first half of a
cow’s lactation, she is short on
energy. With Maxi-Tech she is
able to gain the additional energy
to carry her through her lactation at
Sam feeds his herd frequently throughout the day and pays close attention
to keeping the cows as comfortable as possible.
a higher production level. The
dairyman will make more milk at a
profitable level.
Sam and Marian gear their rou
tines to making their cows com
fortable. They commented that if
the cows are comfortable and the
cows’ needs are met, the cows will
produce more milk.
The Coatesville dairy couple
bring their cows in from the pas
ture about 11 a.m. during the sum
mer months. ‘They’re not going to
make as much milk when they’re
standing in that hot sun,” Sam said.
By bringing the herd into the bam
in the late morning, Sam feels he
can get more roughages into the
herd. “I know it’s in front of them
and they’re not standing in a creek
somewhere.”
In the bam, the Stoltzfus family
has four large fans positioned over
the front of the cows to keep them
cool. “That’s where the air intake
is and that’s where you need to
keep them cool,” Sam said. The
fans run the entire time when the
cows are in the bam.
He feeds grain at four-hour
intervals and keeps hay in the feed
bunk at all times. He harvests all of
his alfalfa in the form of baled hay.
Sam notes he can make more milk
by feeding alfalfa hay because of
its higher protein content.
Sam finds it important to keep
hay in front of the cows at all times.
“You don’t make milk on con
crete. The more they eat, the more
milk they’ll make,” Sam said.
“A lot of people when they go to
feed worry about the feed bill so
they cut back some,” the Coates
ville dairyman said. “When it com
es to feeding milking cows you’ve
got to feed them enough so they
can fill the lank.” He feeds accord
ing to production and feeds recen
tly fresh cows more feed to get a
higher peak in their lactation. Sam
also cuts back on the cows at the
end of their lactation. By using
Maxi-Tech he has been able to
keep more body weight on his
fresh cows to help the cow through
her lactation.
Dry cows are fed a raton lower
in protein and according to their
body condition. The feeding regi
men includes more hay which low
ers the total energy of the ration.
Heifers receive all the silage and
roughages they can eat as well as
having access free choice protein
and mineral block.
e 5,000 Pounds
Sam and Marian Stoltzfus relax with their children,
Jay Richard (next to Sam) and Beverly. The Coatesvll
le dairy couple recently increased their herd average
by nearly 5,000 pounds.
In addition to proper manage
ment, Sam culled hard in the
beginning. One criteria which he
uses for culling is Somatic Cell
Count. “Usually those aren’t the
better cows anyway,” Sam noted.
His herd SCC runs between
120,000 to 275,000 on a yearly
basis.
One of his goals in the future, in
addition to a 20,000 pound herd
average, is to be able to sell his cull
for milk purposes rather than beef
purposes.
When Sam and Marian started
in tile dairy business full time, they
were admittedly hesitant. Now,
however, they admit they are
enjoying the challenge. When they
started renting the farm, the only
thing they owned was a tractor and
manure spreader. Sam gears his
cropping and feeding program
towards what he has. He does not
want to over extend his capital.
Both Sam, 24, and Marian, 23,
have a dairy farm background.
Marian notes that she was the old
est and helped her family with the
herd.
Marian’s father, Leroy Stoltzfus
from nearby Gap, is supportive of
his daughter and her husband’s
efforts. He feels there is a living to
be made in the dairy industry, it is
just not as easy as some.
The Gap dairyman maintains a
rolling herd average of 20,500
pounds of milk on 38 cows. He
feeds the Maxi-Tech concentrate
and com silage in his feed bunk.
The herd receives haylage in the
tie-stall bam. High producers have
access to a magnetic feeder to meet
their nutritional requirements.
On 95 acres, Leroy is able to
raise all of the feed for the herd and
only buys concentrates.
Leroy noted that borrowers need
to encourage prospective loaners
to make more milk on fewer cows
rather than the same milk on more
cows. J
Sam and Marian are attempting
to prove that with the right man
agement team, bigger is not neces
sarily belter.
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