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A46-Lancwttr Farming, Saturday, February 3,1990
Beef Economist Predicts
(Continued from Pago A 25)
“You think the packer is your
enemy, that the packer never loses
while you lose mohey. But the
packer doesn’t always make
money. The packer has had some
troubles also.”
Consistency is problem
Henning says that consistency is
a big problem with the industry.
Quality standards including
quality feed, care, uniform cattle,
and breeds, in addition to packer
specifications must be strived
for.
"Our beef in the East is every
bit as good as western cattle,” he
said. “The cattle here go to the
market sooner than out West. But
more beef here comes here from
western packers.”
Henning also moderated a
panel, which included Vernon
Truclh from J. W. Trueth & Sons;
Mike Silverburg from Moyer
Packing Company; Tom Taylor
from Taylor Packing Co., Inc.; and
Taylor Packing consultant Jerry
Simmons.
The panel spoke about the
industry and the problems the pro
ducer often has in working with
meat packers.
“Energy-dense’ diet
The key to bringing up cattle
and getting the best price is a more
“energy-dense” diet, said Dr.
John Comcrford, Penn State exten
sion beef specialist at the meeting.
Com silage provides the best
weight gains for cattle up to 800
pounds, much better than alfalfa or
haylage. Studies by Penn State
indicate that fish meal or alfalfa
can change protein absorption
rates and provide more energy
meal for the growing calf.
The Penn State studies com
pared Holstein and crossbred beef
steers for feedlot performance and
carcass traits. The researchers
compared com silage and alfalfa
haylage as forage sources in the
diet of feedlot steers. Soybeans
and fishmeal were compared as
protein sources in the diet of feed
lot steers. The differences between
Holstein and crossbred beef were
compared with the different diets.
Forty percent forage was pro
vided until the calves reached 800
pounds. During the first two years,
30 head were monitored for feed
intake, including what they ate and
how much was eaten.
Aiming for choice grade
The researchers were aiming for
75 percent choice grade. The
endpoint was 0.4 inches of backfat
using ultrasound. About 0.25
inches of fat yields the choice
grade.
“Protein sources work up to 800
pounds,” he said, with silage aver
aging 11 to 12 percent protein con
tent. Fishmeal or soybean have
been laboratory tested to show
high protein content. But after 300
days on fishmeal, calves did not
eat enough to gain enough to reach
endpoint quickly.
However, soybean meal also
proved high in protein. Roasted
soybeans could also be fed to
calves as a good source of weight
increasing protein.
“Feed your calves with a simi
lar amount of feed after 800
pounds to get them to choice
grade,” Comerford said.
‘Partying’ detrimental
Karl Hess, a Lancaster veal
cattle producer, believes it is the
holiday “partying” that proves
detrimental to newborn calves.
“Mortality has to deal with how
much colostrum is fed to the calf
within the first 12 hours of birth.
The first4to 12 hours are crucial,”
Hess said. “And the buyer has no
control over that The mortality of
veal calves is higher during the
holiday season because calf pro
ducers are out partying.”
Hess has dealt with the “real
life” experience in his goals of
providing the best mortality rate.
His last newly purchased herd
experienced about a 3 to 6 percent
mortality rate.
For most farmers, he said, in
November the rate can reach 20
percent
420 head
Hess operates a farm with his
family south of Lancaster. He
raises about 420 head of cattle and
23 varieties of veal calves. His
methods employ a calf bam (from
birth to 8 weeks), a background
bam (6 to 20 weeks), and a feedlot
(16 to 20 weeks and to finish).
Calves are fed a liquid diet.
“The feed is mixed in hot water
with the best replacer I could get”
he said. “The more nutrition you
can give the calf, the better. You
should provide the maximum
nutrition with each swallow the
animal takes.”
Hess uses whole cereal jAq
shelled com with a supplement
pellet added to the backgrounding
feed. The feedlot is outside of the
bam and he uses a “mix or match"
for the cattle, with about 30 per
cent feed forage and alfalfa hayl
age. Hie kernel com is consumed
readily by the cattle.
‘ ‘This high-concentration diet is
better than regular diet," he said.
Consider newspaper
“Farmers should consider
newspaper as a bedding option,"
said Tim Breneisen, from the Lan
caster County Solid Waste Man
agement Authority.
“The cost of using bedding
should be based on convenience
and how well it works," Breneisen
said.
Using newspaper for bedding in
a bam or feedlot is not new. Diary
farmers in Lancaster and York
counties have been using news
paper as part of their bedding for
many years, and the demand for
material is strong.
“There is an awful lot of paper
around," he said. Breneisen indi
cated that municipal Act 101 pro
vides a basis for either recycling
the paper or shredding it for
bedding.
Used successfully
* 'Newspaper for bedding can be
used successfully if used proper-
SHELLED GRAIN CLASS WINNERS
Regular Harvest Size
Ist Scott Shoop, Milton r
Pioneer 3352, 189.9 bu/acre
2nd Lloyd r
Pioneer 3475, 1 .4 bu/acre
3rd Floyd Kurtz, Fleetwood
Pioneer 3241, 175.2 bu/acre
SHELLED GRAIN CLASS WINNERS
3+ Acre Harvest Size
Ist John A. McDowell, Mercer
Pioneer 3475, 196.2 bu/acre
3rd Lee R. Hitz, Annville
Pioneer 3343, 177.1 bu/acre
EAR CORN CLASS WINNERS
Regular Harvest Size
2nd Arthur Novak, Meshoppen
Pioneer 3343,199.9 bu/acre
3rd Dennis L. Eby, Gap
Pioneer 3241,193.1 bu/acre
THREE YEAR AVERAGE WINNERS
SHELLED GRAIN CLASS .
Regular Harvest Size
Ist Wagner Farms, Easton
Pioneer 3352,3352,3295,
167.1 avg.
Pioneer® brand products are sold subject to the terms and conditions of sale which arc part of the labeling and sale documents. **
® Registered trademark of Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., Des Moines, lowa, U.S.A. © 1990 Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.
ly," said Dan McFarland, Penn
State agricultural engineer. “A
York County farmer told me be
was using newspaper for 40
years."
Newspaper is 10 times more
absorbent than straw and 4 times as
absorbant as dry sawdust beds. If
farmers use it, however, only paper
with black ink should be used. Col
or ink on newspaper should be
used sparingly, and farmers should
not use magazine paper because of
its lack of absorbency. About 1 to 4
pounds should be used per head
per day.
‘ ‘Cardboard and telephone
books have also worked well,”
said McFarland. “And the ques
tionsof health problems prove that
there is more lead in vitamin pills
than in newsprint There is do dan
ger of contamination to milk or
meat”
McFarland said the only prob
lem is the “litter" question. If the
paper is shredded in too large a
size, it will blow around. Farmers
should shred the paper to about
1-inch squares. Straw should be
applied first and newspaper should
be mixed in, working from the
back of the shed during the ‘ ‘still"
times of day.
“In the field, newspaper mixed
with manure decomposes quick
Not when top growers
choose Pioneer® brand
hybrids. When outstanding
corn growers plant consis
tent, high-performing Pio
neer hybrids, the inevitable
result is lots of winners. And
Pioneer salutes them all!
3rd Paul Lechner, Oley
Pioneer 3295,3295,3295,
158.7 avg.
THREE YEAR AVERAGE WINNERS
SHELLED GRAIN CLASS
3+ Acre Harvest Size
Ist Larry Breach
Bloomsburg *, *
’Pioneer 3640 was planted in 1989 Competitive
hybrids were planted in 1987 and 1988
Pioneer 3540,153.9 avg.
/3g\ PIONEER.
.VJZLZIJ BRAND-PRODUCTS
* ' t 1 » . *
ly," he said. “And the heavy metal
content is lower than straw. The
paper does not harm the soil’s
nutrient level.”
A fanner should use a motorized
bedding chopper, a big bale chop
per, a forage harvester, or a ham
mermill to shred the paper, McFar
land said.
What’s happening in industry
The purpose of the meetings is
to “keep local cattle feeders in
tune with what’s happening in the
industry on a national level,” said
Chester D. Hughes, livestock
extension agent. “This is the oily
gathering of beef cattle feeders in
the area.”
Hughes said that farmers can
attend the presentations to obtain
useful information for beef feeding
operations. “We provide a look
into the future of the packing
industry. A lot of packing informa
tion gives fanners an idea of their
future should they remodel,
expand, or pull back the reigns and
wait”
As fast as the industry changes,
many cattle feeders need the help
and information the program pro
vides. “If a small packing plant
closes, it can affect the local mark
et A farmer should be provided
with that kind of information.”
2nd Richard C. Kreidar, Lebanon
Pioneer 3352,3343,3343,
146.5 avg.
Pioneer 3737,3704,3475,
146.3 avg.
THREE YEAR AVERAGE WINNERS
EAR CORN CLASS
Regular Harvest Size
2nd David Schantz. Aiburtis
Pioneer 3358,3352,3358,
170.0 avg.
3rd Don Bixler, Williamsport
Pioneer 3352,3352,3352,
163.7 avg.
Congratulations to these other Pio
neer growers. They were not able to
place because they won last year:
Richard Fattarmann
Catawissa 163.4 avg.
Sandy Ridge Farm
Shippenville 172.7 avg
Lloyd George
Catawissa 169.5 avg.