C4-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 1, 1991 sy ’ -■sa *' i V *1 * / 9 HOW MUCH DOES YOUR “HERD BULL SAVINGS” COST YOU? Duane Duncan Cumberland Co. Agent Many dairymen are using the natural service of a dairy herd bull and believe they are saving time and money lime maybe, dollars very seldom. Consider these fac tors before putting that young bull with the heifers, using a clean up bull or a herd bull instead of AI. Bulls are dangerous even “gentle” bulls have been known to put family members, hired hands, and even dairymen in the hospital for weeks. Time savings? To say nothing of the cost of hospital and doctor care expenses. Just stop and think how many times you have read in the paper or heard of a bull causing bodily injury or worst yet have it happen to someone in your family. Natural services have the poten tial to spread reproductive disease among cows vibriosis and tri chomoniasis are the two veneral diseases most often associated with natural service. Also the herd bull can readily spread non specific infections from cow to FARMING FOR THE FUTURE with ★ NEW FOR 1991 - BOLT-ON TEETH ★ * A new AERWAY can be your ticket to INCREASED PROFITS* and help you comply to your conservation plan. “In the last two years we put in alfalfa with a nurse crop of spring tnticale and field peas. The Aer-Way and flexible chain harrow were the only tillage used The alfalfa seedlings are the best we’ve ever had ” 'I have better pastures since I started using the Aer- Way to aerate and renovate my pastures. Using the Aer-Way has helped me get the nutrients where they arc needed. I would not recommend fertilizing or liming without running the Acr-Way first. DAIRY ISSUE SPECIAL RT cow. Once vaginal and uterine infections are prevalent they seem to be persistant and difficult to control. Such infections signific antly contribute to repeat breeding problems. Many herd bulls provide little genetic gain—most studies do not reveal any genetic advantage to use natural service over AI sires. Dr. Dennis Fink of the University of Wisconsin suggests that dairy farmers using AI bulls can safe guard themselves from the finan cial pitfalls of breeding too many cows to a bull of low genetic merit, or breeding too many cows to a bull whose proof may decline as more information becomes available. Using a group of AI bulls reduces the risk that any one bull will have much of a negative impact on the herd as compared to when you use one natural service bull for an entire group of heifers. Only rarely are such herd bulls as high in genetic merit as an active AI bull. Heifers many times make up 1/3 of the herd and by mating a poor genetic merit bull with the heifers can cause severe financial problems for the herd. Although natural service Hols tein sires in the July 1990 informa tion averaged plus $lO PTA + MFP, any one bull could be sub /) RICK & KATHIE ARNOLD Twin Oaks Farm Truxton, New York SANDY FISHER Brook view Farm, Manakin-Sabot, Virginia <'-L / f:^\ A GOOD THING JUST GOT BETTER! Helping Ranchers and Dairymen Make Better Hay and Pastures Throughout the Nation. UNIVERSITY TESTS SHOW - AerWny-iag Pays • Increases yield and quality m. Important part of intensive hay and pasture management Helps conserve valuable soil, fertilizer and water. Reduces compaction Improves manure management Reduces run-off Promotes extended stand life. I “My dairy farm is located on rolling terrain in Reedsburg, Wisconsin. After the first cutting, I used the Aer-Way on my thinning alfalfa stand to get the fertilizer and water into the ground. The second cutting was noticeably better with thicker and leafier alfalfa. I would recommend the Aer-Way to other dairy DAVID RABOINE Dairy Farmer Reedsburg, Wisconsin farmers.” stantially below this. The informa tion also indicated active AI sires were projected to generate $l5O more per lactation than a heifer sired by a natural service sire. With these odds one cannot afford not to use AI. Using a group of AI sires, even a group of AI young sires, avoids the problem of putting “too many eggs in one basket” by breeding a large portion of the herd to any one bull. Accurate recordkeeping almost impossible. Figuring conception dates and estimating dates when cows should be dried off many times becomes quite difficult when using a herd bull. Proper dry cow treatment becomes complicated if freshening dates are inaccurate. But it doesn’t cost much to keep a bull, you say! Maybe not, but you could easily keep another yearling heifer instead. If it cost $l,OOO-$1,200 to raise a replace ment heifer, you can assume it will cost nearly the same to raise a bull. Thus the way I calculate, it would equal 83 $12.00 AI services. Most studies indicate raising or purchasing, and maintaining herd bulls will substantially increase your breeding and semen expenses possibly doubling them. I must admit one advantage of having a herd bull with the herd is that it will or should keep feed salesmen, visi tors and extension agents out of the housing facilities. With today’s financial crunch, inconvenience is not a legitimate excuse for failing to adopt a proven management tool such as artificial insemination. It will take an extra management effort for accurate heat detection, timely insemina tion and reproduction health care, but good conception rates can be achieved. Dairy Science Extension leaflet 86-16, entitled ‘The Economics of Using Artificial Insemination,” indicates that research studies con firm that high production can be maintained without sacrificing reproduction. Aer i Wav The Aer-Way it playing an important role in my toil-building program and saving me fuel and labour at the same time.' JOHN VAN DORP Woodstock, Ontario Daily and hog operation Aerotech Improves Aero-Buffle Inlet LANSING, Mich. To help producers improve the ventilation in their poultry and swine build ings Aerotech, Inc., has introduc ed a redesign of its popular Aero- Baffle air inlet that can reduce condensation, and prevent drafts and air stagnation while improv ing building appearances. The new Aero-Baffle also of fers producers easier installation and improved building ventilation efficiency. Two versions of the Aero-Baf fle are now available for both side wall and center inlet applications, the “88,” white aluminum baffle and the “90” plastic baffle. The “88” available in 8-, 12-, and 16-inch widths, is fabricated with an aluminum hinge section and an all-aluminum sleeve around a one-inch thick styrofoam sheet. The “90,” available in 8- and 12-inch widths, is fabricated with a one-piece PVC hinge and sheath surrounding a one-inch thick sheet of styrofoam. In addition to controlling and directing airflow, the insulating effect of the styrofoam helps in the prevention of cold-weather con densation. To ease installation and adjust ment, the new design eliminates the need for a lifter. A blue mono- filament line, that is longer-lasting and stretches less, replaces the old lifter cable and rod adjustment package. An Azuma nut on each UUJL ■oucds mam Kt<x Flexible Chain Harrow ArA One of the heaviest in the industry I / “We really noticed the improvement in the fields where we used the Aer-Way implement. The grasses came back greener and thicker. We even got regrowth in some of the thinned-out areas.” This Toll Free Call May Be One Of The Best Investments You Will Make! 1-800-457-8310 □Yes, please send me free information about your. □Flexible Chain Harrow □Aer-Way Implement Nairn Fan Addresi Towi Stati Telephone monofilament line provides the ability to easily adjust the position of each baffle section. “We have worked hard to im prove on a proven product,” said Robert Mitchell, president of Aerotech. “Producers will be pleased with what we have done to make the Aero-Baffle even easier to install and adjust This, in turn, will make it easier for producers to eliminate condensation problems and ensure even ventilation.” Aerotech’s Aero-Baffle has al ways been specifically-designed to meet the need of maintaining good air distribution as the rate of airflow varies in confinement buildings. The Aero-Baffle effec tively directs the flow of incoming air and diverts the air along the ceiling to prevent condensation. This also breaks up stagnation lay ering, eliminates cold drafts to the floor and allows for even dispersal of the air in the center of the build ing. The Aerotech Aero-Baffle can be used with a variety of manual and automatic control systems, in cluding the Aerotech control pan el. Aerotech markets a full-line of environmental control products including fans, evaporative cool ing systems, heaters and controls. For more information, contact Aerotech, Inc., 929 Terminal Road, Lansing, MI 48906, (800) 227-AERO or (517) 323-2930. LARRY STRITE Rich Baron Farm, Greencastle, Pennsylvania Aer i Wav INTENSIVE GRAZING MAINTENANCE PASTURE RENOVATION SEED BED PREPARATION
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