A24-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 13, 1988
s
limnel out if you have to,
Guernsey Bulls Look
Better Than Ever
Guernsey bulls are looking better than
ever with January Production Type Index
(PTI) figures at an all-time high. In just one
year, active-AI Guernsey sires have prog
ressed from no bulls over +250 PTI to five
sires ranging from +255 to +309 PTI.
Since the January 1987 sire summary.
Guernseys have also made remarkable
strides in other areas. Where only one bull
was listed as having a 1/87 Predicted Dif
ference for Milk (PDM) over+l,ooo, now
eight bulls are over +l,OOO PDM. Eleven
Guernsey sires have Predicted Difference
for Cheese Yield Dollars over $lOO, in
contrast to only two from one year ago.
Finally, 15 proven sires have PD’s for Dol
lar Value (PD$) over $lOO as compared to
just six last January.
As recorded by the United States
Department of Agriculture (USDA), the
current active-AI predicted difference
average for 39 bulls is +7B9M +3IF +s97
+2OP +S9ICY, PDT +0.7, PTI +lB4.
New Report Offers Information
In today’s tight farm economy, dairy
fanners must strive to produce the most
milk per cow at the least cost to their farm
operation. Dairy Herd Improvement (DHI)
services are tools farmers can use to track
the results of their management tactics to
see if their efforts are economical.
DHI and the Dairy Records Processing
Laboratory at Cornell University have
introduced a completely revised report,
called the Dairy Herd Profile, which
summarizes and analyzes herd manage
ment performance. The analysis can be
done either on a monthly basis or twice a
year, according to the member’s
preference.
The report was also developed in con
junction with the NYS Extension Service,
specifically through the work of Dr. Terry
R. Smith, NYS Extension Dairyman.
Although increases from January 1987 fig
ures were noted in all categories, most
impressive were the 90-unit increase in
PDM, 34-unit rise in PTI and the 16-unit
gain in PD$.
Commenting on the notable genetic
gains of the breed, Erick Metzger, execu
tive secretary-treasurer of the American
Guernsey Association (AGA), said, “The
tremendous improvement is due to
increased organized young-sire sampling
efforts. This line up of bulls offers Guern
sey breeders diverse pedigrees along with
high predicted differences. The top five
bulls have five different sires and four dif
ferent maternal grandsires. Also, the top
three sires have repeatabilities over 70
percent.”
The American Guernsey Association is
the national organization for the registra
tion and promotion of Guernsey cattle and
is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.
This report allows DHI members to
analyze their success in areas such as
reproductive performance, somatic cell
count (a measure of milk quality), and
genetic progress, as well as milk, milkfat,
and milk protein production.
Problem areas show up clearly on the
Dairy Herd Profile, and farmers can then
work with consultants, such as feed rep
resentatives and veterinarians, to improve
their herd preformance. Subsequent Dairy
Herd Profile reports will chart the progress
in this particular area to tell the farmer if
his or her herd management changes
worked.
The new Dairy Herd Profile not only
offers DHI members expanded services,
but sets a new level of standards for dairy
herd management record in the United
States.
January Dairy Digest
DRUG RESIDUES
The Tissue Residue Branch at the Cen
ter for Veterinary Medicine recently per
formed a study on tissue residues. The pur
pose was to compile data by slaughter
class, residues found, method of admi
nistration and primary reasons. From the
134 tissue residue follow-up reports sub
mitted, 151 tissue residues were deter
mined. Some of the tissues studied con
tained more than one residue. Due to lack
of information on some of the reports, only
57% of the samples submitted were used
for data analysis.
The common means of administering
drugs were IM injection (36%), intramam
mary infusion (18%), or orally fed (45%)
via water, bolus or tablet. When this infor
mation was separated by slaughter class,
all of the reports for intramammary infu
sions and 78% of those studied for IM
injection resulted in residues found in cull
dairy cows. Drugs administered orally
resulted in 62% of the residues found in
bob veal calves and 24% of the market
hogs studied. Sulfamethazine was the drug
most commonly found in hog and calf
tissues. Other dnigs found to be a problem
with the calves were neomycin, streptomy
cin and tetracyclines.
Three reasons were most frequently
listed as causes for residues. Failure to
observe the withdrawal time attributed to
51% of the residues in tissues. The use of
an unapproved drug (17%) and poor or no
records (12%) were the other major rea
sons. Other causes for residues ranged
from exceeding the recommended dosage,
mistaken use of dry cow treatment during
lactation, or accidentally selling known
medicated animals for food.
COWS MUST EAT
If cows don’t eat they don’t give milk!
Wintertime problems often affect feed
consumption. Typical problems include
poor or nonexistent ventilation, slippery
floor surfaces, and the lack of high quality
drinking water.
make a change if you must,
%
Water systems must be protected during
the winter. Tubs and troughs exposed to
freezing temperatures must be heated or
well insulated. Small openings and/or cov
ers, that animals can move, will reduce
heat loss from the surface of the waterer.
Ice covered troughs or tubs contaminated
with manure do not encourage water con
sumption. Water lines and pumps that
supply cow drinkers must also be protected
from freezing. This may include burying,
insulating pipes or using heat tapes or heat
lamps on pipes or pumps. Use thermostats
to automatically operate electric heat
devices to save electricity.
High humidity air in poorly ventilated
bams will increase chances of pneumonia.
Wet foul smelling bams also result in
reduced feed palatability. All bams with
livestock require air exchange even on the
coldest day of the year this includes
your bam! Ammonia released from man
ure packs on a mild winter day can result in
respiratory problems in poorly ventilated
bams.
Slips and falls result in injuries and dis
courage animals from moving to feed and
water. Areas of poor footing, such as
smooth concrete and sloping yards, are
worse during freezing, snowy weather.
Use of sand, gravel, or other grit can allevi
ate these problems for the short term. Parti
cular areas to watch include areas around
waterers where spilled water forms ice,
north sides of feed bunks, doorways under
eaves that drip and entrance and exit areas
to parlors. Long range solutions include
grooving existing concrete and installing
new concrete with grooves. Heating mats
embedded in concrete around waterers and
parlor doors may also be considered for
new construction. Lowering water levels
in waterers can reduce spillage.
Details, such as providing good ventila
tion year round, plenty of water and good
footing may be the difference between a
profit and a loss on milk production this
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