Perfection’s Style ET, the national senior champion
female, was selected as the grand champion female of the
20th National Charolals Show. The 1986 daughter of Roxy’s
Jack Dempsey 63R and BR-MF Lady Tyger, Perfection’s
Style is owned by Grassy Forks Farm of Catawba, N.C.
SSdM$ 7
-
Stop Broadleafs Before They Start,
Or You Could Get Burned Later.
By the time you see broadleaf weeds in your corn, it’s too late. They’ve
already begun to use water and nutrients needed by your crop.
Post-emergent herbicides may burn tender seedlings. And post
emergent application is both costly and time-consuming. Therefore, it’s
best to control broadleaf weeds and grasses before they start-with
Bicep® herbicide.
Bicep can be applied up to thirty days prior to planting. Early appli
cation is especially important under dry weather conditions, because it
allows plenty of time for spring rains to naturally incorporate Bicep into
the weed-germinating zone. Best of all, Bicep
saves you money. One application lasts all
season long. So there’s less chance of needing
a costly post-emergent application.
So this year, don’t get burned by the “wait
and-see” approach to weed control. Stop broad
leafs before they start. With Bicep
ft *
I ■v
The Bicep
Early Advantage.
bull was Diamond “M” Juice
790 W, a March 10, 1987, son of
ABC Iceman 811 and Diamond M
Miss 901 owned by Granada
Charolais: Silver Creek Farms of
Blue Mounds, Wis.; and Diamond
“M” Farms of Estevan, Saskatche
wan, Can. WC Jobber 7046 was
named national reserve junior
champion. He is a March 2, 1987,
son of Lochmoor Sterling IS and
WC Mrs Palmer 4041 owned by
Wesson Charolais Inc. and Tho
mas Charolais Inc. of Raymond
ville, Texas. The national reserve
senior champion was Mr.
Dempseys Rocket 116, a 1986 son
of Roxy’s Jack Dempsey 63R and
Cardinals Talia R 773 owned by
Willard Walker and Grassy Forks
Farm.
In national group competition,
Airhart Cattle Co. won every divi
sion.
m
Lancaster Farming Saturday, December 10,1988-D2l
Computer Aids In Poultry
Management Instruction
BY CLAIRE MC CABE
University of Delaware
NEWARK, De. The Univer
sity of Delaware Agricultural
Experiment Station’s broiler
house has been computerized,
thanks to the generosity of the
agricultural industry and the fore
sight of Dan Palmer, Extension
poultry specialist, and Bob
Alphin, Agricultural Experiment
Station poultry farm manager.
The two men teach a depart
ment of animal science poultry
production course to undergradu
ates. Palmer presents theory in a
lecture format, while Alphin
directs the laboratory section. In
the lab, Alphin says the students
actually grow a flock of 2,000
broilers for processing. And this is
where the updated broiler house
comes in the computer will
help the class keep a close monitor
on environmental factors that can
affect the chicken’s health.
The College of Agricultural
Sciences department of animal
science maintains a broiler house
on the experiment station farm in
Newark for teaching and research
purposes. A history of generosity
surrounds the facility. The house
was constructed in the early 1980 s
with partial funding provided by
the Merck Company. This past
year the facility has been updated
through numerous pieces of
equipment donated or offered at
reduced prices by several
companies.
“Dan and I wanted to update
and modernize the chicken
house,” said Alphin. “It’s impor
tant to have students use up-to
date equipment. We were working
with eight-year-old equipment
and our goal was to modernize and
use what’s being used in the
industry.
“In the course, the class
becomes, in effect, a contract
grower for local industry,” Alphin
continued. “We send the flock out
to be processed and use a diffeiau
company every two years. We
provide housing, labor and equip
ment to raise the chickens. The
company provides the chicks and
feed. It generally takes six to
seven weeks to grow out the flock,
so it fits well within a semester’s
work.
“No money exchanges hands,”
he explained. “We do it for educa
tional purposes. The class leams
how to set up a house and care for
the broilers. The students get
hands-on, practical expen nee.”
The leaching team got lucky,
and the modernization they
planned for went one step further.
They are using a computer that is
not yet widespread in the industry,
but may very well be adopted if it
proves practical. Alphin says that
computer-monitored broiler
houses have stirred a lot of interest
among poultry farmers, but few
growers have them.
“Pal-Tech, a division of the
Willmar Poultry Co., designed a
computerized monitor and control
system for turkeys,” said Palmer,
“but it can be adapted for other
poultry.”
Pal-Tech donated the use of
their computers, including both a
zone unit and a bam system, to the
College of Agricultural Sciences.
In turn, the college will provide
feedback on how the equipment
works in broiler house conditions.
“The zone computer can be
thought of as a fancy thermostat,”
explained Alphin. “It regulates
heat, humidity and ventilation. It
also monitors the average weight
of the broilers on a sliding scale
and can be connected to an alarm
system to signal critical changes
in temperature. With the use of an
ammonia sensor, it can monitor
the ammonia level, too. Ipcc, Inc.,
has donated the use of an
ammonia-monitoring device to
the college.”
But, Alphin stressed, “It doesn’t
eliminate the need for a person to
go into the bi oiler house.”
The barn computer has the
capacity to be connected to 40
zone computers. “This can allow a
poultry farmer to identify a prob
lem without having to physically
walk through every house to find
if ”