A34-Uncaster'fanningi Saturday, <Ma»clM6 1 ' 1991
WHITE HORSE (Lancaster
Co.) —“Stray voltage is funny,”
said Consultant Bill Roberts from
Utica, NY. “You can’t see it, smell
it or feel it yourself, but the dairy
cow can feel it.”
Speaking at Lapp’s Bam Equip
ment open house Thursday,
Roberts said that you can do every
thing possible with balanced
rations, but if the cow is not com
fortable because of a stray voltage
problem, the cow is limited in what
she can do for you.
Signs that you may have the
problem in your bam could be
nervous cows, cows switching
their tails for no reason, or lapping
water instead of normal drinking.
Ninety percent of the farms that
Roberts checks with his special
computer equipment have a vol
tage problem. The computer is
hooked up to five points on the
farmstead and each motor is turned
on one at a time and the computer
can sense what is happening at
One of the top cows in the herd, according to her name
card, appears to have no problem with the rubber-matted tie
stall, nor the chainlink snap tie.
Several of the estimate 600 or more people whp toured the Bp jrm v
through the new 65-tie stall bam noting the wide center alley, the grated manure gutter.
and the rubber-matted stalls. The 2% -inch pipeline can also be seen.
Speaker Says Stray Voltage Reduces Milk
each point. If voltage is present for
only one-thousandth of a second,
the computer records it. One tenth
of a volt will affect some cows. It
puts animals under stress, elevates
SCC counts and restricts milk pro
duction potential.
If the voltage problem is on the
pipeline, the cow doesn’t feel it
until the milk starts to flow. The
rubber liners protect, but the milk
flow acts as a conductor. Roberts
said SCC counts can be reduced by
fifty percent in 30 days if the prob
lem of stray voltage is solved.
Roberts said most of the prob
lems come from 110 equipment
and not the 220 equipment Imba
lanced loads on the service panel,
improper AMPS on both sides of
the service panel, or improper
grounds can cause problems. Elec
trical boxes are to be kept clean and
dry and often they are not in the
best places in a bam for this to
happen.
“With the low milk prices, all
Berks County Dairy Farm Expands
rmssC: -^
I-
T
At Lapp’s Barn Equipment open house are, left to right, Chuck Aungst, Jamesway
representative; Jake Lapp, owner; Bill Roberts, consultant, speaker; and Leon Lapp,
sales representative.
the premiums available must be
taken,” Roberts said. “When you
STOUCHBURG (Berks
Co.) —An open house of a
65-cow capacity dairy facility in
southwestern Berks County last
week attracted about 600 people to
inspect the offerings of the compa
nies and businesses involved in the
design and construction.
Mervin Brubaker, owner,
declined to talk about the new
facility. The farm is being operated
by son Glenn and his wife Janet
Brubaker.t
The large crowd examined the
new tie-stall bam with a wide cen
ter alley and grated, gravity-flow
gutters; the wide feed alleys; the
ventilation system; 2'A -inch pipe
line, cooling equipment and milk
house; a 103-foot by 103-foot by
8-foot earth bank manure lagoon
with a concrete bottom capable of
holding 6 months of manure; and
three large silos.
In addition, there were trailers,
tankers, bunkers, bunks, precast
manure panels, bale choppers,
shredder and crimpers, mixers and
other commercial displays.
Companies from Myerstown,
Richland, Hamburg, Reading and
Lebanon areas helped sponsor the
open house. Those companies
included Star Silo, Elco Concrete
Products, Rufus Brubaker Refrig
eration Sales, Rigidply Rafters,
Cedar Crest Equipment, Shartles
ville Farm Service, Clover Farms
or*'
correct a stray voltage problem and
get better quality milk, you make
Dairy Products, F.M. Brown’s
Sons Inc., and Lebanon Valley
National Bank.
The operation’s two 20-foot by
80 foot silos and one 16 by 80 foot
silo lead to a feed room with an
opening to the bam, near the milk
house and office.
The two larger silos are used for
com silage and haylage. The
smaller silo is used for high mois
ture ear com.
According to information sup
plied on fliers, the farm consists of
84 acres in rye, alfalfa, or com.
Currently 60 cows are milked, but
plans are to expand to the new
Three large poured-concrete silos loom high above the
new 65-stall bam. A calf facility is in the foreground.
g MIX. FT DOES A BOOT GOOD.
MIDDLE ATLANTIC MILK MARKETING ASSOCIATION. INC
Check
your cows more comfortable and
increase your milk check as well.”
barn’s capacity. The herd has been
running an average of 60 pounds of
milk per cow per day at 4 percent
fat and 3.4 percent protein. The
somatic cell count was most recen
tly 81,000.
The Brubakers feed one group
twice-a-day with Total Mixed
Ration and top feed three times a
day. All cows get 23 pounds of
com silage, 34.5 pounds of hayl
age, 20. S pounds of high moisture
ground ear com and 6.1 pounds of
concentrate.
The stalls are concrete with a
rubber matting and a chainlink
snap-fastner tie. The feeding area
is level with the floor.