GEORGE F.W. HAENLEIN
Extension Dairy Specialist
University of Delaware
NEWARK. Del.— No one
would argue that, in our region this
year, temperatures became hotter
sooner and to a higher degree than
in previous years.
this situation immediately sug
gests possible trouble in getting
our dairy cows bred, which is a
source of continual concern for the
dairy farmer.
As soon as temperatures go
above 80 degrees Fahrenheit, our
cows, especially Holsteins, are out
of their physiological comfort
zone.
To counteract this, cows try to
adjust metabolically, usually by
reducing the activities of estrus,
eating and milk production. One
result is that conception rate is
lower .than it should be.
Studies in Florida, as well as
here in Delaware, have shown that
directly hosing down cows' bodies
with water and then blowing air
generated by fans over their backs
to evaporate the water is an effec
tive way to cool them down.
Under these conditions, normal
conception rates, body tempera
tures, eating and milk production
are soon restored.
Automatic sprinkler systems,
the kind usually used on lawns and
fields, turned upside down and
fastened to the rafters of the cow
bam keep cows wet and cool. This
innovation works very well.
Casualties in Delmarva broiler
houses are not uncommon on very
hot days, but dairy cow managers
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Cow Reproduction: Bulls
seem to know how to control the
overheating problem for their
animals.
Another approach to better con
ception rates has been to bring in a
natural service bull as a supple
ment to or substitute for A.I.
The thinking on this is that a bull
is a much better spotter of estrus in
cows than even the best and most
conscientious herdsperson.
This practice is not uncommon
in the South, where temperatures
are often much higher than they are
here. What then are the results?
Research work in Georgia reve
als some interesting data.
Two groups of dairy herds from
the Georgia DHIA were com
pared. The first group bred 90 per
cent or more of their cows to a
natural service bull. The second
group used A.I. on 90 percent or
more of their cows.
If the assumption is correct that
bulls are better settlers of cows
than A.I. because they are better
estrus spotters, then one would
expect superior reproductive data
in herds using natural service
bulls.
The 62 Georgia DHIA herds
using mostly bulls averaged 154
"days open," 70 "days dry" and
14.3 "months calving interval."
In comparison, the 122 Georgia
DHIA herds using mostly A.I.
averaged 146 "days open," 70
"days dry” and 14.0 "months calv
ing interval."
Few differences were in evi
dence, but if any differences did
exist, they favored A.I.
The real differences in this study
surfaced in milk production. The
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herds on which A.I. was predomin
antly used averaged 16,832 pound
s milk and 587 pounds fat versus
14,139 pounds milk and 501
pounds fat for the natural service
herds.
At $l2 per hundredweight of
milk, this 2,693 pounds milk
advantage translates into a plus of
$323.16 per cow per year for the
A.I. herds.
Many factors may be at work
here.
To explain more fully these var
iations, however, the bottom line is
that dairy farmers who used bulls
instead of A.I. to breed their cows
did not achieve better reproductive
performance in their herds to jus-
(Continued from Page A 23)
gers’ herd are often recognized by
the National Brown Swiss organi
zation for production records.
Taking reserve grand/senior
champion was also a 4-year-old
cow. Wind Mill Blen Calypso,
bred by William Daubert of Pine
Grove, and owned by Thomas
Zartman Jr., of Ephrata.
In the Jersey breed, there were
11 entries from six competitors.
The top Jersey was a junior
2-year-old entry from Tiffany
Yeager, of Chester County, Agape
Royal Tootsie. Yeager bred and
owned the entry, a daughter of J.S.
Quicksilver Royal.
Taking reserve grand champion
Jersey was also bred and owned by
Yeager, a 5-year-old, Agape
Observer Shmad. Shmad is the
daughter of Gramhil Observer
Poet.
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tify this seemingly physiological
advantage for the price of a genetic
disadvantage.
They may even have had an
inferior reproductive performance,
not to mention the headache of
keeping a bull around. And they
certainly had inferior herd milk
production at a money differential
that could even have paid for some
very expensive A.I. semen.
This brings us back to the
strategy of keeping our cows
watered down and fan cooled to
lower body temperature, which
ensures their eating well and pro
ducing milk better.
In the end, it is a question of how
we manage the energy metabolism
S.E. REGION FFA
Dairy Show
Results
HOLSTEIN
JUNIOR CALF 1 .Dann Nolt B 2 Scott Nolt B
INTERMEDIATE CALF 1 Lavonne Lehman
B 2 Rebecca Pyles B 3 Robert Aukamp R
SENIOR CALF 1 Dann Nolt B 2 John Risser
B 3 Matthew Kolb R
SUMMER YEARLING 1 Peter Semen B
2 David Lentz B 3 Brent Shuey R
JR YEARLING 1 Kraig Sellers B 2 Jennifer
Bashore R 3 Jacy Clugston R
INTERMEDIATE YEARLING 1 David Lentz
B 2 Thomas Zartman B 3 Jarred Johns R
SR YEARLING 1 Melanie Balmer B 2 Jason
Hostetler R 3 Sandra Gross R
JR CHAMPION David Lentz
RESERVE JR CHAMPION Peter Sonnen
DRY COWS. 1 Thomas Herr B 2 Andrew
Bicksler 3 Thomas Shuey R
JR 2-YR-OLD. 1 Matthew Kolb B
SR 2-YR-OLD 1 Andrew Bicksler B
2Ammon Peifter Jr. R
4- I. Corwin Bomgardner B
2.Andrew Bicksler B
5- David Lentz B 2 Matthew Hoov
er B
SR CHAMPION. Corwin Bomgardner
RESERVE SR CHAMPION Thomas Herr
GRAND CHAMPION: Corwin Bomgardner
RESERVE GRAND. Thomas Herr
BROWN SWISS
SR CALF: I.Scott Wagner B
SUMMER YEARLING; 1 Tom Zartman Jr B
PAUL B.
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Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 27, 1991429
of our cows. If cows need energy to
keep themselves cool, then they
will breed and produce less.
Following this same line of
thinking, we are beginning to feed
our cows better during the first part
of the lactation, a period dairy
managers used to take for granted
that a cow would be in negative
energy balance.
With today's high-producing
cows, we cannot afford to let them
be in negative energy balance.
Using what we know and putting
these new ideas into action can
make our dairy operations signific
antly more profitable, even with
out going back to using bulls.
SR YEARLING 1 I.Thomas Zartman B
JR CHAMPION: Scott Wagner
RESERVE JR CHAMPION- Tom Zartman
3- 1 Scott Wagner B
4- I.Karen Heilmger B Z.Thomas
Zartman B
SR CHAMPION Karen Heilmger
RESERVE SR CHAMPION- Thomas
Zartman
GRAND CHAMPION- Karen Heilmger
RESERVE GRAND Thomas Zartman
GUERNSEY
SUMMER YEARLING 1 Karen Heilmger R
JR YEARLING- 1 Steven Wagner B
JR CHAMPION- Steven Wagner
RESERVE JR CHAMPION Karen Heilmger
JR 2-YR-OLD' I.Steven Wagner B
SR CHAMPION' Steven Wagner
GRAND CHAMPION Steven Wagner
RESERVE GRAND Karen Heilmger
JERSEY
SR CHALF 1 Thomas Herr B 2 Brian Zug R
SUMMER YEARUNG 1 Jennifer Ulrich B
JR YEARLING 1 Tiffany Yearger R 2 Brian
Zug R
INTERMEDIATE YEARLING 1 Emily Zug
JR CHAMPION- Jennifer Ulrich
RESERVE JR CHAMPION Thomas Herr
JR 2-YR-OLD I.Tiffany Yeager B
SR 2-YR-OLD: 1 Scon Wagner R 2 Thomas
Herr R
4- 1 Tiffany Yeager B
5- 1 Tiffany Yeager B
SR CHAMPION- Tiffany Yeager
RESERVE SR CHAMP Tiffany Yeager
GRAND Tiffany Yeager
RESERVE GRAND Tiffany Yeager
TO BE SURE
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Mon., Thun., Fn - 7-1 30
Tuet.. Wed 7-S 30
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