E26*Lancaater Fanning, Saturday, January 5,1991 ’• ’.f m ( Jfk National Dairy- Beef Symposium A national symposium will be held in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in February that will focus on the feeding and management of the Holstein steer. The symposium is scheduled for February 13-15, 1991 at the Penn Harris Inn and Convention Center. This seminar is conducted by commercial producers and univer sity personnel in five states in the Northeast. The production and merchandising of Holstein steers for beef has been a growing indus try in this region in the past couple of years. One estimate is there will be almost 30,000 dairy-beef steers produced in Pennsylvania alone this year. This production system has some distinct differences with veal production, and in fact tends to complement veal production on some farms. Specific program top ics will address all facets of pro duction, including everything from implant strategies to evaluat ing feeding contracts. To some, it may appear this program may be recycling infor mation that appeared about 10-12 years ago in the name of “Tender Lean” and others. While some of the details of that type of dairy-beef production are still valid, we have attempted to make this program an updated approach to this type of cattle feed ing. There has been a substantial amount of work done with dairy beef production in this region and elsewhere recently. We have just concluded a two year study at Penn State where we Beef Briefs by John Comerford Penn State Beef Specialist were attempting to find a forage/ protein source combination that would result in efficient gains and increased carcass value over some conventional Holstein feeding sys tems. Our results contained some surprises with, for example, the increased carcass value we got with those steers on fishmeal and alfalfa haylage. A more complete discussion of our results, as well as from trials at Cornell and Minne sota, will be presented. For further information about the program, contact me at 313 Henning Building, University Park, 16802. A recent educational program conducted by Dr. Gabriella Varga, assistant professor of Dairy and Animal Science at Penn State, described the efficacy of probiotic products in feedlot cattle. The bottom line is that these products have not been very thor oughly tested in an objective study, and their response is highly variable. A small study we conducted at Penn State with a probiotic gel for the first 28 days in the feedlot in crossbred and Holstein steers indi cated there was a consistent increase in dry matter intake for the first 28 days on feed, and this increase was seen regardless of breed type or the diet provided for the steers. Average daily gains also tended to be higher for the treated cattle (.24 pounds per day), but this should be expected because of the increased feed intake soon after entry into the feedlot Feed effi ciency was reduced for treated calves, but again, this would be expected with cattle adjusting to Sure shock - POINTS give more effective control and better results, BESTWAY COW TRAINER WITH MAGI KLIP Saves p Bedding P Farmers, Protect Your Equipment & Help Protect The Environment With The Most Advanced Lubricants Available! AMSOIL is committed to producing the most technologically advanced lubricants available. AMSOIL Premium Quality Synthetic lubricants protect your expensive equipment far better than petroleum lubes, by keeping engines, gearboxes and other parts clean, they operate more efficiently and last longer, which allows you to significantly extend time between overhauls and that’s savings for you! 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Our results were similar to those in a Nebraska study, but we have little additional information available. The economic value of probiotic products will depend on their abili ty to relieve stress-related prob lems. In our study, the treated calves did not have any advantage over the untreated ones when the steers were evaluated for feedlot performance over the entire feed ing period. Secondly, the products them selves will vary widely. As pointed out by Dr. Varga, there are thou sands of strains of lactobacilli, for example, and only a few have been identified as effective as a feed m HUBER’S 717.866-2246 lIIIUII UCAI HI Mon.. Thurs. A Fri. ANDHM. ntALIn 7.30 AM to 8 PM SUPPLIES TU * S *toSPM; 3 °* M 810 Tulpehocken Rd. Sat. 7:30 to Noon Myerstown, Pa. DEALER Electric O*. Tt ' OLLER YEAH - I SURE \ GET THE ShOCK GUESS MY HUMPIN DAYS ARE OVER l-(800) 675-7826 MSWI» * / additive. Some general conclusions about the use of probiotics in feedlot cattle are as follows: • They may be economically effective for use in highly stressed cattle. • Some producers have found them useful for treating individual steers that are off feed. • Use a product that has some information to support advertised results. • Select a product that will be supported by the seller. • Producers starting dairy-beef steers have found them to be effective. • The effects may only be subtle and short-lived in nonstressed cattle, so the econom ics may be prohibitive. * —" ipi'to % AUTOMATIC COW WATER v , BOWLS The“DRY” waterer from Uebler... • Fully approved anti siphoningdrinking bowl. • Cast iron bowl, stain less steel liner, brass valve. • Valve supplied with filter and stainless steel spring. • Water bowl casting can’t freeze! Valve is separate from the more expensive bowl casting, eliminating expensive repair problems. 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