mi & Livestock Notes Controlling Urinary Calculi (Water Belly) In Lambs Some minerals in sheep' rations can result in reduced production and even death if provided in incorrect amounts. This is particu larly true when we get careless with the correct levels and balance of calcium and phosphorous in the feed. Calcium is one of those major minerals that can cause real prob lems in lamb finishing rations if given at insufficient levels or if not balanced with its counterpart, phosphorous. These mistakes can lead to urinary calculi problems (water belly) especially with castrated male lambs. Ideally, any lamb finishing rauon needs to contain twice as much calcium as phosphorous. Another approach to safeguard against water belly is to add two percent feed-grade limestone to all high grain rations. Free-choicing some high quality alfalfa hay; pro viding a good source of fresh, frost-free water; and giving addi uonal salt-free choice also have been found beneficial in prevent ing this nutritional disease. Ammonium sulfate can also be added to the complete ration at 10 10 20 pounds per ton, or you may choose to add ammonium chloride at 5 to 10 pounds per ton as a pre ventive measure. It is suggested that you resort to these two addi tives only when it seems difficult to evaluate the calcium and pho sphorus levels in the rations. Easy on her. Easy on you. Introducing the new RestEZn* Cow Mattress by Agway *2 70 per linear foot* It’s the newest thing in cow comfort put it in place. Can reduce bedding and convenience. Less expensive than costs up to 50%. See for yourself how mats, and cows love it! One-piece con- easy and economical it is. Call your struction makes it easy to clean. Cut to Agway Farm Systems Salesperson order to fit your bam, just fill your new today. Or call 315-449-7736. ReStEZ COW mattress with sawdust and ‘Freight charges are extra ©1991 Agwa> Inc Arnold Decker William Kmsely Victor McMillin Blair Thomas Kenneth Whipp St Thomas, PA Warriors Mark, PA Conneaut Lake, PA Holsapple, PA Thurmont, MD 717-369-3607 814-692-4110 814-382-3216 814-479-7577 301-271-3204 814-880-0437 (mobile) AGWAY FARM SYSTEMS Lamb Marketing Major Industry Concern A panel of experts attending the recent American Sheep Industry (ASI) Convention in Long Beach, Calif., consisted of a packer, lamb feeder, marketing specialist, cat tleman, and an economist. Their assignment was to discuss and suggest ways the industry could end the current depressed lamb market. Roy Meek, lamb feeder and market specialist, warned produc ers that lack of product consisten cy continues to haunt the market ing arena. We’ve simply got to change our marketing system so we can sell and get paid on grade and yield rather than dressing per cent, he said, adding that overfed lambs are the result of marketing lambs on an antiquated system. The consumer is demanding a lean product and we insist on selling a fatter one. Colorado lamb feeder Richard Drake told the wall-to-wall crowd that producers need to learn more about the industry in order to make marketing more efficient. You have to know your industry, know your product, and define your markets if you are going to sell it properly, he said. Drake also said that all lambs reach the feed lot between mid-August and mid- November. This means that approximately 2.3 to 2.4 million lambs arrive to the feeders, during that three-month time period. Some way we’ve got to stretch it out, he said. Available only at participating Agway locations. The lamb industry is continual ly going up against its more organ ized, better informed red meat competition, said packer Phil Cohn of Ellensburg, Wash. He pointed out that the current mark eting system is not working for lamb and warned producers that it’s time for decision making. Cohn said lamb supply and demand do not balance out, so producers need to figure out a way to have lamb distributed to groc ery stores more evenly throughout the year. He believes the farm flock state sheep producers are in a better position to make these adjustments than the larger range sheep operations, but he said lack of organization and commitment seems to curtail this effort. Cohn suggested the lamb mark eting industry, like the other red meat industries, needs to continu ally re-examine what the consum er wants and start doing things to produce a product that meets those needs. We must remember the show ring enthusiasts do not have the answers, and if what they have contributed to productivity over the last 20 years is an indication, we might just as well write off the sheep industry right now. He added, we have to be able to stand up to the industry and say this is right and this is wrong. Indiana cattleman Sam Wash bum said niche marketing may be the key. He advised sheep produc ers to concentrate on the special benefits of lamb. Capitalize on your strengths, he said. Lamb is a specialty product. Don’t apologize for it. Capitalize on it. Swine TB Field Study Confirms Meat Inspector Accuracy A recent study of swine tuber culosis in Pennsylvania shows that about three-fourths of the hog car- 11l casses identified by inspectors as having swine TB were, in fact, positively infected. The Penn State study also showed that most TB infections are associated with birds or sawdust Swine tuberculosis does not exhibit clinical signs in pigs (and appears to have no effect on humans), but the disease often causes considerable economic loss to producers. Carcasses with multiple TB lesions in the lymph nodes must be either “Passed for Cooking” (PFC) or condemned. Producers lose money on these pigs. The organism that causes most swine TB is Mycobacterium avium. Several serotypes exist for this organism, but the four most often implicated are serotypes 1, 2,4, and 8. Serotypes 1 and 2 are typically associated with wild birds and poultry, while serotypes 4 and 8 are associated with bed ding, especially sawdust and wood shavings. The best way to diagnose the disease is to culture the organism SWINE TB FIELD STUDY RESULTS Lymph nodes tested: Number of positive lymph nodes; Microscopic exam: Bacterial culture: Stain: Number of serotypes: 1 & 2 (birds) 4 & 8 (sawdust) All others and undetermined It appears that most of the lymph nodes inspectors identify as positive are infected with myco bacteria. (Previous studies have shown that only about half of the suspicious lymph nodes are actu ally positive.) Microscopic exami nation can help to confirm the pre- #MORTON BUILDINGS, INC. 3368 York Rd. Gettysburg, PA 17325 717/624-3331 Call or writ* today lor mora Information Lancaster Fanning Saturday, October 26,1991-07 scnce of infection, but in our study staining was not a reliable method. Based on the data shown above and the surveys taken during farm visits, we also conclude that most swine TB infections can be asso ciated with either birds or sawdust. Excellence Since 1903 CONTACT: 1-800-447-7436 from infected lymph nodes. Unfortunately, growing the organ ism under laboratory conditions takes weeks. Inspectors at packing plants look for lesions in the lymph nodes of the carcass to identify TB. If the inspector finds one infected node in two regions, or several in one region, he labels the carcass PFC. That means the packer must cook the carcass at 170 degrees F for 30 minutes before he can sell the meat. If the inspector discovers numerous infected nodes in two or more reg ions, the carcass must be “tanked,” and cannot be used for human consumption. Producers usually receive $2.00 for a tanked carcass. The study hoped to get a better understanding of the disease by identifying the source of the organism. This was done by mak ing selected farm visits to herds in which infection had been con firmed by bacterial culture or microscopic examination of suspi cious lymph nodes taken at slaughter. The results of the study are shown below. P.O. Box 126, Philllpsburg, NJ 08865 908/454-7900 Illinois only call 1 .800-426-6606 125 lO5 92 (74%) l5 33 35 57
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