A26-Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, February 17,1990
/ FOCUS
Pennsylvania /
Dairy Herd ~~
Improvement Associdtion\ Ca " for service or information.
How Productive Is Productivity?
DAVE FILSON
Mifflin County Extension Agent
Recognition for the sake of rec
ognition is probably not good. But,
recognition for excellent achieve
ments is just and deserving. The
Pennsylvania Dairy Industry
deserves recognition because it has
made some outstanding achieve
ments. The annual reports are in
for the Pennsylvania Dairy Herd
Improvement Association.
This is no minor accomplish
ment. There are just over 5,000
herds on test in the state. The
accomplishments of the dairymen
in the state are the result of their
production management skills. I
think a tip-of-the-hat and a round
of applause, in recognition of their
accomplishments, is in order.
All recognition for the state
dairymen is deserved, but, have we
missed something? Do we produce
How Does Your Herd Compare?
STATE COLLEGE (Centre Co.) —Thisdatais Walue for CWT Silage(s) 1.50'
pulled from Pennsylvania DHIA’s mainframe Walue for Pasture Per Day(s) .31
computer each week. It is a one-week summary Walue for Milk Per Cow Per
representing approximately one-fourth of the Year(s) 2 324
herds on test, as they are tested monthly. .Feed Consumed Per Cow Per
These data are valuable from a business man- Year(Lbs)
agement standpoint and can be used for compar- A: Grain 6 726
ing your operations to the averages from almost jj: Hay 2 867
1,400 herds across the state. C: Silage 14*349
DHIA Averages for all herds processed between Day Pasture 65
1/30/90 and 2/06/90 *Feed Cost Per Cow Per Year(s)
Number of Herds Processed A: Grain 555
Number of Cows Processed B: Hay 120
Number of Cows Per Herd C: Silage 216
Milk Per Cow (Lbs) D: Pasture 20
%-Fat 3.71 .Total Feed Cost Per Cow Per
Fat Per Cow (Lbs) Year(s) 912
%-Protein 3-2 U mlncorne Over Feed Costs Per
Protein Per Cow (Lbs) Year(s) 1,412
Average Days in Milk Per Cow Jli * Grain l P Milk Ratio 1:2.5
Walue for CWT Milk(s) 13 *Feed Cost Per CWT Milk(s) 5.40
Walue for CWT Grain(s) ° Avg Level For 836 SCC Herds 352,820
Walue for CWT Hay(s)' *M«mber generated figure.
BST Question:
BY SHARON B. SCHUSTER
Maryland. Correspondent
WESTMINSTER. Md.
Bovine Somatotrophin. “We’re
going on the assumption that it is
going to be approved,” said Dr.
Robert A. Patton as a preface to
his Dairy Day presentation to
more than one hundred partici
pants. Product development Spe
cialist for the Monsanto Agricul
tural Company, Patton explained
how the hormone cloned by the
company works to benefit
producers.
Bovine Somatotrophin (BST) is
a naturally occurring hormone in
cows. The BST clone produced by
Monsanto binds to receptors such
as are found in the liver. When
BST is introduced, there is
increased blood flow to the udder.
Increased blood flow means more
nutrients, “thus more milk,”
explained Patton.
A common misunderstanding
or fear of the use of BST is that the
milk contains BST. Patton
explained that there are no recep
tors for the hormone in the udder,
milk to make records, or to make
money? That might sound like a
foolish question, but I think it
deserves expanding.
Of course, the dairy producers
goal is to be profitable. But at what
effect to production? Is the highest
possible level of production the
most profitable? Sometimes it is,
but most often, I think, it isn’t. I
would be willing to speculate that
some of the herds that were not
even close to the top of the list may
have had profit figures envious of
more than three-fourths of the total
number of herds.
My point is that, if the reason
you produce milk is to make
money, the records you keep
(whether it’s DHIA or any other
record keeping system) should be
used to adjust inputs (expenses) to
maximize profitable output. With
this attitude of profitability, we
should be looking at figures other
To Use Or
Dr. Robert Patton
therefore it can not infiltrate the
product “About one to two per
cent of consumers will not drink
milk from BST treated cows,”
added Patton. “People are afraid
of new technology.” Patton
reported that BST was not
than total milk, fat and protein. The
most important figure becomes
income over feed cost. That is the
best measure of profitable milk
production.
I have considered creating my
own brag sheet based on this
income over feed cost figure.
Would there be a changing of rank
ing using this method rather than
total production? I don’t know. I
would be interesting!
I hope I haven’t taken away
from the recognition that is cer
tainly deserved for our state dairy
men. But I hope I have reminded
them that records are to be used to
assist in decision making to make
your dairy enterprise as profitable
as possible. That might mean low
er production. But, the only way
you can determine what is most
profitable is to keep, and use, pro
duction records to make sound
decisions based on profitability.
Not To Use
excreted in milk in trial doses.
“BST is not bioactive in humans,
even when injected, and it is not
absorbed from the digestive tract,”
he explained.
Patton outlined characteristics
and considerations associated
with BST and its use;
* Approximately 95 percent
will respond to BST. “If cows’
receptors are already full (with the
naturally occurring hormone),
then it won’t work. They are
already producing at maximum
levels.”
* Three-time herds respond the
same as herds milked twice per
day.
* There is no genetic compo
nent There will be an increase in
production of “from eight to
twelve pounds of milk per cow, no
matter what.” Patton reported an
average of ten pounds increased
production per cow whether she is
a grade milker or a top of the line
producing showgirl.
• Time of treatment with BST
should be when the cow is preg
nant or in milk 100 days. “Cows
Average Farm Feed
Costs For Handy
Reference
To help farmers across the state to have
handy reference of commodity input costs in
their feeding operations for DHIA record
sheets or to develop livestock feed cost data,
here’s this week’s average costs of various
ingredients as compiled from regional reports
across the state of Pennsylvania. Remember
these are averages so you will need to adjust
your figures up or down according to your
location and the quality of your crop.
Corn, No. 2y - 2.77
Wheat, No. 2 - 3.84
Barley, No. 3 - 2.13
Oats, No. 2 - 1.71
Soybeans, No. 1 - 5.40
New Ear Com, - 75.93
Alfalfa Hay - 129.00
Mixed Hay - 105.00
Timothy Hay - 101.00
New Dairy Cattle
Selection System Coming
COLUMBUS, Ohio Nation
al DHIA officials recently said
that considerable progress has
been made towards the adoption
of unified type evaluation proce
dures across the U.S. dairy
industry.
The Council on Dairy Cattle
Breeding issued a positive report
to date with the industry’s cooper
ation in moving to a 50-point scale
and adoption of the 15 primary
traits.
At its December meeting, the
council agreed on the desirability
of a uniform animal identification
system applicable for all dairy
cattle in the U.S., including the
need for electronic identification
capabilities. A uniform numbering
system has been proposed by the
Holstein Association. The DHIA
System uses six different number
ing systems. Concerns were
expressed about changing identifi
cation when a registration certifi
cate is cancelled.
The council’s task force on
implementation of uniform identi
fication met in September and the
results of that meeting were dis
cussed. It was agreed that the
dairy industry needs to support
some identification system so that
further progress can be made.
Officials anticipated that a deci
sion will be made on a uniform
animal identification system
sometime in 1990.
The status of the NCDHIP
Standards Task Force and of the
Labor Efficient Records program
are open about one heat cycle
longer if you start to treat them
before they are pregnant.”
* High somatic cell herds
respond only half as well. “You
must clean up the mastitis
problem.”
* Cows with a body condition
score (BCS) of at least 2 have a
good response to BST. “With a
BCS of less than 2, the response is
variable.”
• Cows on BST are generally in
good-body condition because they
eat more. “Initially they mobilize
body fat and thin out for the first
few weeks, then they regulate
themselves.”
* Dry matter intake (DMI) is
most critical to BST response.
“The higher the energy density in
a ration, the better output - to a
point Ration must be balanced to
was also discussed. These projects
have shown how NCDHIP can be
innovative in dealing with mem
bers’ needs. The average cost sav
ings to herds joining the Labor
Efficient Records program is esti
mated to be about SO percent.
Opportunities for closer coop
eration and mutual support among
the Council’s groups was another
major topic.
Related issues included: a
shrinking dairy cattle population;
a need to be able to access new
technology; new income is hard to
come by for industry organiza
tions; members are insistent to
even small dues and fee increases;
the Council has made progress in
improving industry communica
tions; it’s time to consider some
entirely new approaches, such as
exploring ways to provide better
service, and methods to reduce
redundancy in its efforts.
A study group was designated
to meet in early 1990 to develop a
plan for closer mutual support and
make more efficient use of each
group’s resources.
The council is comprised of
representatives from National
DHIA, Purebred Dairy Cattle
Association, National Association
of Animal Breeders, and the Hol
stein Association. The group
meets semi-annually to maintain
communication among these four
industry groups associated with
the National Cooperative Dairy
Herd Improvement Program.
the optimum not the maximum.
It’s a good idea to feed one pound
of fat per head per day. Cow con
dition will be excellent as long as
the DMI is there.”
Patton further explained that “it
takes about one minute per cow
per month” to administer BST.
The product is injected twice per
month and will probably be avail
able through veterinarians to
account for needle usage. “The
FDA will never let us go to market
unless we can account for needles
because of the medical waste
concerns.”
Sometribove, Monsanto’s trade
name for BST, will probably be
priced at fifty cents per cow per
day. Patton projects a 50 to 75
cents per day profit with its use.
“BST will be dirt cheap by the
time it’s all over,” he added.