A26-Lanoaster Farming, Saturday, May 28, 1988
DENVER, CO “Our appe
tites are large and our resources are
few. The sheep industry needs to
pick its fights carefully and target
resources in these areas,” says
Rodger Wasson, ASPC executive
director, in his recent report to the
ASPC Board of Directors. To keep
up with constantly changing
needs, the sheep industry is cur
rently shifting into a stage of
“Strategic Engagement,” accord
ing to Wasson.
“It is rare to see an association
keep up with changing needs,”
said Wasson. Growth curves of
industries back to the mid 1800’s
show recurring stages of crisis and
growth. Responsible change
requires leadership commitment to
critically analyze the current situa
tion, anticipate the emerging crisis,
openly consider totally new
approaches, agree to new direc-
Pigs “Pig
WASHINGTON, D.C. Get
ting more lean pork to the market
place faster might mean getting
pigs to “pig out” more at the feed
trough, said a U.S. Department of
Agriculture scientist.
“Ordinarily, pigs know when
they’re full and don’t really ‘pig
out,”’ said Jerome C. Pekas, an
animal physiologist with USDA’s
Agricultural Research Service.
Pigs produce a natural hormone,
called Cholecystokinin or CCK,
that tells them when to lay off the
feed. But in an initial study, he
said, pigs ate more and put on more
lean tissue when injected with a
compound that immunized them
against this hormone.
‘The pigs ‘thought’ they were
hungry, so they ate more,” Pekas
said today in Los Vegas at the 72nd
annual meeting of the Federation
of American Societies for Experi
mental Biology.
On average, carcasses of the 12
pigs injected with the new com
pound contained six pounds more
lean meat than 12 control pigs, said
Pekas, who did the study with fel
low animal physiologists Bruce D.
Schanbacher and William E. Trout
at the U.S. Meat Animal Research
Center in Clay Center, Neb. And,
Pekas added, the leaner pigs con
sumed an average of 22.5 pounds
more feed and gained 11 pounds
•-3L
a
Er
•*'?r
• -/ r
Sheep Industry Addresses Change
tion, then sell the vision. Timing is
critical.
When ASPC was created, a
promotional strategy dominated.
Consumers were influenced with
excellent lamb and wood advertis
ing. The results of rising prices put
pressure on producers to raise
more sheep. “Blueprint for Expan
sion,” a second stage, responded to
this need. This stage not only
called for expansion but also deve
lopment of industry strategic plans
at the state level. “Higher prices
made the U.S. a target for
increased imports,” says Wasson.
As prices broke, the third stage
of stronger marketing efforts went
into action. Innovative marketing
efforts ip both lamb and wool
increased demand and provided
consumers with uniform quality
products. Right on schedule with
Out” To Get Leaner
more weight than the control pigs
over the 82-day treatment period.
He stressed that the results are
preliminary, but is winding up a
second study and plans others
using larger numbers of pigs.
The new compound, he said, is a
harmless decoy that a pig’s
immune system treats as a foreign
invader by developing antibodies
to it. And in the study, the antibo
dies also inactivated the natural
CCK hormone, Pekas said.
The scientists injected pigs first
at 11 weeks of age, and later gave
three booster shots. Pekas said he
believes only one booster may
eventaully be used.
“Pigs that got the special injec
tions continue to use feed efficient
ly, digest extra feed, and go to the
feed trough more often than ani
mals in the control group,” he said.
The new compound consists of a
Stocked & Distributed By;
vas^ovirfv
CONFINEMENT
SYSTEMS INC.
608 E
EVERGREEN RD
LEBANON,
PA 17042
PH 717-274-S4BI
higher prices came an increased
attack from imports and the need to
increase production. As a result
ASPC expanded its producer ser
vices department working with all
regions of the country.
Today ASPC has only one
director of producer services.
Increasing efforts arc channeled
through state organizations and the
National Wool Growers
Association.
This brings us to the current
stage, strategic engagement,” says
Wasson. Whether or not industry
organizations ultimately become
one, our industry will be pulled
into new levels of cooperation,
collaboration and consolidation of
services. ASPC programs such as
contests, cooperative programs
and sales incentives get others
involved, increasing our industry
fragment of CCK chemically
bonded to a harmless foreign pro
tein, serum globulin, found in
human blood. While CCK has 37
amino acids, the fragment has only
eight and is called CCK-8. CCK-8
immunization of pigs would
require federal approval, he said.
USDA scientists are pursuing a
patent onusing it to control appe-.
tite in animals.
Physiologists first recognized
CCK as a hormone that causes the
gall bladder in animals and
humans to contract. Its effect on
appetite regulation became known
within the last 10 years, he said.
He envisions the hormone being
further studied in human medicine
to treat problems caused by low
appetite, such as anorexia nervosa,
or insatiable appetite, such as
obesity.
GIGANTIC
SELECTION
Lancaster
Farming's
CLASSIFIEDS
• Eliminates bridging, won’t rust or corrode
• Cuts heat buildup and condensation
• Feed stays fresh in any weather
• Precision engineered for long, long life
• Unique 5-year warranty
• Adaptable to any auger or feeding system
Write for a lull color brochure end a free sample
of fiberglass ■ the modern materiel used for
high-performing bins.
...modttbPo&t
voice.
Each department at ASPC is
knowledgeable of what has work
ed in the past and what will be most
effective in the future.
The vision we develop for our
future will drive our strategies. If
we are successful at our next
change stage of strategic engage
ment, the industry will prosper and
grow. History speaks for itself.
The complete text of Wasson’s
report is available on request by
National Ml
(Continued from Page A 1)
resulted in the January 1 cut and its
depressing effect on farm milk
prices nationwide.
To head off this possibility.
National Milk officials would like
to see Lyng implement either
another whole herd buyout or
diversion program on a temporary
basis, something he could do with
out new legislation from Congress.
In the case of a buyout, federation
economists figure a program about
half the size of the 1986-87 one,
which contracted for the removal
of 12 billion pounds of productive
capacity, would work.
Steve Kerr, the executive direc
tor of the Council of Northeast Far
mer Cooperatives, agrees with the
buyout or diversion approach, but
he would like to see such a prog
ram implemented with regional
concerns in mind. Despite a sur
plus nationally, milk supplies in
ithe Northeast are tight, he said.
“It is vital,” Kerr added, “that
any supply control be targeted to
the regions which overproduce.”
The federation is taking a diffe
rent tack this year, according to
Barr, than it did in 1987, when it
unsuccessfully sought congres
sional action to avert the price cut.
“We just don’t think in a short
election year, given the, quote,
‘controversial’ thing we’ve pro
posed, that we have a lot of oppor
tunity in the Congress to get legis
lation in 1988,” he said.
Trying to convince Lyng to do
something he has consistently said
he wouldn’t may seem like a long
sljpt, but, publicly at least, NMPF
officials are optimistic the Secre
tary will eventually implement a
(jib dom^
contacting ASPC Communica
tions Department, 200 Clayton St.,
Denver, CO 80206, (303)
399-8130.
The American Sheep Producers
Council is a producer funded
market development organization
headquartered in Denver, Colo.
The Council conducts advertising,
promotional, educational and
marketing programs on behalf of
the nation’s 114,000 sheep
producers.
Ik Federation
buyout or diversion.
“Officials in this town have said
no before but, through one means
or another, have changed their
minds,” Barr said. “We’re hoping
that happens now.”
The fact that 1988 is shaping up
as a presidential election year with
a potentially close race does not
hurt the federation’s chances. Ban
added.
In terms of milk production, the
trend is already evident. The cur
rent USDA forecast for govern
ment purchases of surplus butter,
powder and cheese in calendar
1988 is 8.6 billion pounds, up sub
stantially from its estimate in
December. USDA has not released
a long-range forecast, but both the
Congressional Budget Office and
National Milk are predicting the
government will buy 8.0 billion
pounds in 1989.
That’s 3 billion pounds above
the 5-billion-pound trigger level.
Without new policy, “there’s no
doubt ... that the Secretary’s
going to make a price cut in 1989,”
said National Milk economist
Mike Brown.
Should it take effect, the reduc
tion would put the government’s
milk support price atslo.lo a hun
dredweight, its lowest level since
1979. That’s too low, particularly
with costs rising, say federation
officials, for many producers to
continue in business.
“Policy makers can choose to
drive dairy farmers out of business
through another 50-cent price cut
in 1989 or they can choose a posi
tive approach to reducing milk
production through a buyout pro
gram,” Camerlo said.
(bberdom^
liberdome
Incorporated
P 0 Box 11 • Lake Mills Wl 53551
(414) 648 8376