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PERiODICALS DIVISION
VOL. 35 No. 15
VAL VANTASSEL
Berks Co. Correspondent
KUTZTOWN, (Berks Co.)
Nancy Unger isn’t a farmer, but
she said she knows a good thing
when she sees one.
“Agriculture is the best kept sec
ret in the entire (Kutztown)
school,” Unger said. “I have been
subbing in the ag department and I
can’t believe all the things they
teach there; things like science and
computer training. We have got to
let the kids know what vocational
agriculture is all about.”
Unger, a substitute teacher in
the Kutztown School District, was
EVERETT NEWSWANGER
Managing Editor
COLLEGE PARK. MD—ln an
effort to recognize dairy fanners
who have good management prac
tices, as well as good production
records, the Maryland Dairy Herd
Improvement Association
(DHIA) has initiated a new prog
ram called Herd Management
Awards (HMA).
In addition, except fpr lifetime
milk and fat records, all the pro
duction records that are honored in
the state this year will have a com
bination of milk, fat and protein
formulated into the recognition.
This formulation is called the
Energy Corrected Milk (ECM).
Both these programs are
designed to de-emphasize the mad
scramble to produce high milk or
fat records at any cost, and to give
die producers more incentive to
use DHIA the way it was intended
-as a management tool to increase
bottom line profits.
“We are focusing on additional
reasons why dairymen must have
DHIA," said Dr. Lee Majcskie,
associate professor. University of
Maryland. With DHIA, we need to
offer complete records for all man
agement purposes, or the produc
ers don’t need DHIA.”
That’s why the HMA program
includes the major factors that go
into a good bottom line. In fact, the
program uses 18 parameters to
Rabies: It’s Here Again!
VERNON ACHENBACH JR.
Lancaster Farming Staff
PRESCOTT (Lebanon Co.)
A new strain of rabies has been
detected and Pennsylvania farmers
and outdoor enthusiasts are
advised to take precautions, a
Berks County-based veterinarian
said this week.
According to officials, 700 ani
mals were confirmed positive
state-wide last year, the highest
number since 1945.
; But now there’s a new twist to
vthe rabies scare: officials are pre
50c Per Copy
Kutztown’s Vo-Ag Benefits Aired At Public Forum
just one of 14 speakers who
expressed their support for the dis
trict’s agricultural program, during
a special Kutztown School Board
meeting held Monday in the high
school auditorium.
About 175 people attended the
IVi -hour meeting, held to discuss
the future of the district vocational
agriculture program. In addition to
school board members, district
administrative officials were also
present
Problems within the district’s
vo-ag program have been growing
for some time, according to reports
from people close to the issue.
Maryland’s New DHIA Programs Emphasize
Management And Market Values
decide which cow and herd should
be honored. They are:
Herd size-related to labor force.
Maybe you can care for 50 cows
with your present help, but to have
ISO cows would change your labor
needumd therefore the bottom line
in your operation.
Production components
points are awarded for herds with
averages above breed average in
milk, fat and protein.
Genetic information-cow
PTAS, sire PTAS and service sire
EVERETT NEWSWANGER
Managing Editor
LANCASTER (Lancaster
Co.) —With the support of an
impressive list of blue chip
businesses and organizations, both
farm and non-farm, the Lancaster
Chamber of Commerce Agricul
ture Committee is ready to take
applications for a county ag coor
dinator. This announcement was
made Thursday morning at the
monthly Agricultural Issues For
um held at Kreider’s Restaurant,
Manheim.
Ken Rutt, Edgefield Farms,
Quarryville, and past chairman of
the committee outlined the back
ground and the hopes for die new
county effort to improve agricul-
dieting that the disease will be a
health concern for at least 10 more
years.
Dr. M. Lynn Sammons, veter
inarian at Willow Creek Animal
Hospital, said Thursday that rabies
in Pennsylvania is now expected to
continue for at least a decade. He
said he recommends that all people
who regularly handle animals
should have themselves vacci
nated against the disease.
~He also said that farmers and
others who own bats should be
advised that the cats need annual
Lancaster Gears Up For County Ag Coordinator
(Turn to Pago A 23)
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 17,1990
However, the seriousness of the
situation didn’t become public
until recently.
Members of the Kutztown
Advisory Council said that during
a Feb. 6 meeting, Monte Schroed
er, school board president,
reported that the I 'A teaching pos
itions allocated to the vo-ag
department had been reduced to
just one position.
This happened when the full
time teacher, Donald Reinert, took
sabbatical leave, before the start of
school year. In Reinert’s stead,
part time teacher Dr. Jerry Cal now
teaches some of those subjects.
PTAS are automatically included.
Since the future herd depends on
the service sires, greater weight is
placed on this factor.
Peak prodnetion-the new herd
summary report shows the amount
and the time when the cow reaches
peak production within the first 90
days of lactation. In the past it was
generally thought the peak produc
tion would come around nj to SO
days. But in Maryland herds over
20,000 pounds of milk, they are
not reaching peak production until
Ken Rutt outlines the new ag coordinator job diScription at the Agricultural Issues Forum
booster shots. Dogs can go three
years between booster shots after
intial vaccinations.
Two years ago, Sammons had
predicted that the rabies outbreak
would probably fade out in three to
four years.
Sammons said he has updated
that prediction because a new
strain of rabies is starting up in
south central counties and will be
heading back through counties
already infected.
According to the veterinarian,
(Turn to Pago A 43)
Apparently Cal will be eliminated
when Reinert returns.
“Monte Schroeder, school
board president, informed us that
the half-time position held by Dr.
Cal was eliminated when he took
over the full time position,”
Reinert said. “We also learned that
the administration and school
board were considering other
options including closing the
department,” Reinert explained.
During Monday’s meeting. Dr.
Richard Karr, superintendent of
the district, enumerated the prob
lems with the department, as he
sees them. He also gave possible
about 60 days.
Average days in milk at first
service-greater than 85 days and
less than 50 days get no points. The
former indicator of a calf each year
now seems to not be feasible. In
Maryland, the average calving
interval is about 13.5 months
which, according to Majeski, if a
little long. “We would like to see
herds average less than 70 days to
get cows bred back,” he said.
Days open, services per con
ception and percent of first ser
Keystone Pork Congress Set
This Wednesday
CAMP HILL (Cumberland
Co.) Educational seminars at
the 12th annual Keystone Pork
Congress (KPC) in the coming
week will focus on the animal wel
fare movement.
The KPC will be held Feb. 21 at
the Penn Harris Inn in Camp Hill.
Featured speakers will be Dr. Stan
ley Curtis, a world authority on
animal behavior, swine facilities,
and equipment. Christine Stevens,
president of the Animal Welfare
Institute, will provide the audience
Six Sections
options for future agricultural
instruction in the district.
Among the problems mentioned
was low enrollment
Karr had stated that there were
only 22 vocational agriculture stu
dents, according to published
reports prior to the meeting.
In his presentation Monday, the
superintendent corrected the num
ber to 23 fulltime students who
take 10 periods of ag each week
thus qualifying for vocational
status.
A completed breakdown of
program enrollment given to the
(Turn to Pago A 32)
vice conceptions-all these vari
ables are very important to the bot
tom line profit but may be ignored
in the quest for super high produc
tion records.
Somatic cell count-very impor
tant if-you want to produce a qual
ity product
Uftfime production-looks at
pounds of milk produced per day
over 24 months of age. If your heif
ers are calving at, say, 30 months,
those first lactation heifers will be
(Turn to Pag* A 36)
with a first-hand view of what the
animal welfare movement wants to
accomplish.
The KPC will feature approxi
mately 40 commercial exhibits.
Topics included will be a hog
market outlook, an overview of
National Pork Producers Council
(NPPC) programs, and a junior
speaking contest. The Pork Coun
cil Women’s Program will also
feature a speaking contest. The
Keystone Pork Bowl is also
scheduled.
$12.50 Per Year