Swine Management News The freedom to feed your cows the way they should be fed. The SURGE . Stanchion Feed Manager Automatically feeds each cow an Individual The Surge Stanchion Feed Manager gives you better feeding control. Being able to dispense smaller amounts of feed, more times per day, based on individ ual cow requirements, accurately, and with less labor can save you time and increase profits. Call us today, to find out how easy it is to start feeding your cows more often, more accurately, and more profitably. Check With One Of These Dealers Now... BRANDTS FARM SUPPLY 601 E. High St. Elizabethtown, Pa. Ph; (717) 367-1221 LONGACRE ELECTRICAL SVC. INC. Bally, Pa. Ph: (215) 845-2261 Mixed Ration (I.M.R.)™ PEN W. HOSTETTER RD 2, Annvllle, Pa. Ph: (717) 867-2896 WITH AUCTION CLOSED, WHAT CAN PORK PRODUCERS DO? Dr. Richard Barczewski Extension County Ag Agent University of Delaware The only livestock auction in this area has closed its doors. I don’t know the reasons. I only Now you can: Feed up to 12 times a day. Combine up to 6 different feed components. Lead feed. Challenge feed. Increase or decrease amount fed over a specific period. Measure weights accu rately to within 5 grams (0.176 oz.). SURGE JIM’S SURGE SALES & SERVICE 215 Oak Bottom Rd. Quarryvllle, Pa. Ph: (717) 786-1533 SHARTLESVILLE FARM SERVICE Dale Wenger RD 1, Hamburg, Pa. Ph: (215) 488-1025 know that one week, without warning, no auction was held. What does this mean to the local agricultural community? livestock auctions serve the agricultural community in a spe cial way. livestock farmers, like grain and vegetable producers, need to be able to market their products. For many small opera tions, the only regularly available market they have to sell their ani mals is the local stockyard. For this reason, it is important that producers support these markets and help to keep them viable. As people involved in livestock production, we’ve often discussed the pros and cons of selling live stock through an auction market. It’s true that premium prices can be realized by selling products directly to consumers, but what do we do with the animals we can’t sell directly? That’s why a local auction is important to the live stock industry. Local auctions offer producers an easy local way to dispose of cull or surplus animals that they can’t market any other way. In addition, local auctions help to set prices for many private sales. Now we have only one livestock auc tion left in the area. Auctions for the livestock industry still exist, but these appear to be getting fewer and fariher away. This is a disadvan tage for producers with only a few head of livestock to market The impact of fewer markets on the swine industry will be felt at all levels. We are fortunate to have two major market hog buyers in the area, but the third alternative, the stockyard, where smaller buy ers purchase their animals, is no Campground Association Offers Directory EMLENTON (Venango Co.) The Pennsylvania Camp ground Owners Association (PCOA) has made its “1991 Pen nsylvania Campground Direc tory” available. The directory divides the state into six regions with maps, color coding, and a detailed facility list ing for each region. Officers and directors of PCOA are listed with their campground name. Each of the 170 members of the association are listed, with the name, mailing address and phone STORAGE BARNS & GAZEBOS Custom Made To Order If You’re Looking For Quality At A Good Price, Contact B & B DELIVERY AVAILABLE Lancaster Fanning Saturday, February 23,1991-D7 longer available here. The impact on other classes of animals appears to be even harder. Think about the fact that produc ers of cull sows and boars have an even smaller marketing avenue. Some hog buyers won’t consider buying animals outside of specific weight ranges or confirmation types. In these cases, producers may be limited to only one dispos al source and that is never the best way to market Feeder pigs are another market class that must be considered. One advantage of the Delaware auction was that it held a graded fccdcr pig sale; now not one is left in operation on the peninsula. The graded sale offered buyers a chance to purchase animal that had been sorted by size and grade to help buyers gel uniform lots of pigs. Also pigs with physical defects were excluded. This sale offered a good source of both light- and heavicrwcighl feeder pigs to many buyers. The options available to these feeder-pig pro ducers here is now greatly reduced. Where docs this leave us in the swine industry? The productivity and profitability of any industry is direedy related to the availability of a market. Remove the market, or make it less competitive, and the result is negative. Who knows if this turn of events is permanent? I hope nol,bccause we need a viable live stock auction. The swine industry needs it. So do the cattle and sheep industries. It’s hard not to be pes simistic when reviewing the situa tion, but hog producers arc going to have to work together to deter mine how to fill the void left by the auction’s closing. number. Access directions, num ber of sites, and a listing of all facilities available are also listed. PCOA is an association of pri vate campground owners dedi cated to the advancement of fami ly camping. The association is an affiliate of the National Camp ground Owners Association, a 3,000-mcmber association in 40 states in the U.S. For a copy of the Directory, send $2 for shipping and handling to PCOA, c/o Beverly Snyder, Box 147, Emlenton, PA 16373. STRUCTURES Henry K. Blank RD 1, Bird-In-Hand. PA 17505 (717) 656-0783 ' Dealer Inquiries Invited
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