VOL. 33 NO. 20 BY LARRY HUTCHINSON PSU Extension Veterinarian UNIVERSITY PARK Sulfa drugs have been used by pork pro ducers for decades to help control diseases and increase feed effi ciency. Recent developments may cause swine producers to rethink use of these drugs. Item: Japanese importers of U.S. pork recently complained that some of the meat had traces of sul Delaware Herds Increase Milk BY SUE CROW Maryland Correspondent FELTON, De.—Over 200 peo ple attended the annual Delaware Dairy Herd Improvement Associa tion Dinner Meeting. President Wayne Collison assisted Exten sion Dairy Specialist Dr. George Haenlein in presenting the awards for outstanding herds and indivi dual cow records. In New Castle County the top herd for milk and fat went to W.L. & S. Phipps with a record of 20,352 m 3.6% 734 f on 64 cows. For Sussex County J. & A. Heat wole took the honors for fat and milk production with 21,761 m 3.7% 797 f. They were also top in the state for fat on 56 cows. In Kent County the top herd for fai at 796 pounds went to C. Wyatt with the top herd for milk going to N.W. Voss with 22,772 pounds (Turn to Pag* A 32) BY KARL BERGER Special Correspondent INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. Directors and delegates of the National Dairy Herd Improvement Association, custodians of a nationwide system of affiliated state and local DHI associations, Psuedo Rabies Study May Reveal Link To Spread BY PAT PURCELL CARLISLE The spread of pseudo rabies by animals other than hogs, may be a distinct possi bility, if the preliminary findings of a recent study prove conclusive. Ala luncheon, held Friday in Car lisle, hosted by the Pennsylvania Grange, Dr. Daniel Cohen, Uni versity of Pennsylvania, New Bol ton Center, discussed the study. Cohen began investigating the spread of PRV m April of 1987, through a request made by the Pen nsylvania Grange to Dr. Robert Marschak, Dean at New Bolton Center. According to Cohen, any virus needs a host. The host becomes a t*servoir of infection. If there is Evidence that wildlife has become the reservoir of infection, Cohen Sulfa Drugs: A Problem For Pork Producers fa drug. USDA personnel are checking this out. Item: The Food and Drug Administration has just released a report showing that sulfametha zine causes thyroid tumors in mice. Item: Sulfamethazine is the sul fa drug most commonly found at slaughter in swine tissues. Other sulfa drugs are much less com monly found. Leslie Moore (left) was crowned the Delaware Dairy Prin cess recently. Yolanda Grant (right) will serve as the Alter nate Delaware Dairy Princess. National DHIA Convention Report tackled several major issues at the organization’s annual convention March 14-17 in Indianapolis, Ind., producing policy that may affect individual members in a number of ways. The four-day affair brought together several hundred state DHI stated, it would be almost impossi ble to eradicate the disease. Efforts to eradicate the disease through physical clean-up, depo pulation, and strict bio-security practices, have not prevented the spread of the disease throughout the Lancaster County area. Cohen said there has been a real lack of attention paid to the other animals on the farm and around the farm and especially to wildlife. There are 52 known cases of pseudo rabies within the state with most incidences of the disease occurring in one narrow geogra phical area, the Lancaster County area. He also noted that cases out side that area could easily be traced back to Lancaster County. Wild animals have been trapped (Turn to Pag* A2O) Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 26, 1988 Item: Over the past ten years, violative levels of sulfamethazine have been found in 4 to 13% of tested swine tissues. After an all out educational campaign on sulfa residues in 1979 and 1980, sulfa residues declined for several years; lately, (hough, they are creeping upward. Item: Sulfa drugs are environ mentally stable; they stay around a long time on feed, water, urine. delegates and officials from across the country. In addition to setting policy, the delegates toured local farms and approved several bylaw changes. Action was taken on two major issues: stale lines and quality certi fication. The delegates tabled a You could stand on almost any rise this week, look across the farmlands and see several neighbors working the soil. Here, Managing Editor, Everett Newswanger, found Aaron Zeiset, Leola, Ina farm scene looking north across Groffdale Church Rd. The ground is working up nicely, maybe a little dry for this time of year, but rain in the weather forecast gave hope for the alfalfa fields that have been seeded. Five Sections manure and in liquid manure pits and lagoons. Swine can pick up sulfas if they have access to man ure, urine or bedding from treated animals. Item: The Food Safety Inspec tion Service of the USDA has been testing about 1,400 pork carcasses per year for sulfas. With new in plant tests, they’re expecting to test up to 10% of all consignments at major swine slaughter houses Farmland Preservation Eckel Urges State Legislators To Get Cracking BY LISA RISSER HERSHEY Pennsylvania Fanners Association President Keith Eckel strongly urged mem bers of the state Senate and House to get the $lOO million farmland preservation program underway. “It is important that action should not be delayed. The time to act is now,” he declared. "Passage of the $lOO million bond issue was a great beginning. Let’s keep the ball rolling.” Eckel addressed the state law makers and more than 400 farmers that took part in PFA’s annual State Legislative Tour. During the Monday night banquet, Eckel expressed the organization’s con cern about farmland preservation, meaningful tax reform, and an increase in plant and animal resolution dealing with a third, pri vate testing services. To J. Robert Kindig, a Conesto ga, Pa., farmer and one of National DHIA’s 12 directors, the board’s decision to endorse a policy on the state line issue holds the most sig nificance for individual dairymen. $8.50 Pw Year throughout the U.S. Item: The tolerance, or allow able limit, for sulfa residues in pork tissue is 0.1 parts per million. If a pork carcass shows violative residues, the producer may not be paid for that animal and will be required to send the next five hogs under special permit so that they may be tested. (Turn to Pag* A 32) research. Reminding legislators that vot ers approved a bond issue by two to-one to help preserve farmland, Eckel added, “The electorate has in essence written a $ 100-million check to the Commonwealth to be used to purchase conservation easements for the benefit of future generations of farmers and con sumers. We need to cash the check and get on with the future.” Animal health and plant health research arc high on the farm orga nization’s list of priority issues. Eckel stated that one-third of the state’s agricultural production is lost due to disease. “That is a big loss that must be shouldered by the consumer in the form of increased food prices,” he remarked. “Many (Turn to Pag* A 32) The board’s action, which fol lowed a favorable reception to the policy from delegates meeting in regional caucuses, establishes a framework for states to resolve situations in which a farmer who lives in one state wants to obtain (Turn to Pag* A2l)
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