Ing, Saturday, OPINION Lower SCC Counts Prove Wholesomeness Of Dairy Products Dairymen know that the Somatic Cell Counts (SCC) in Grade A milk determines the quality of the product they produce. In addition, the level of SCC has a direct reflection on cheese yields. Higher SCC counts mean lower cheese yields. High SCC can also lead to off-flavors in cream cheese and butter. And lower protein, solids not fat. and butterfat may also be part of the results. Increased awareness of the impact that SCC has on milk qual ity and the yield of dairy products has caused the National Con ference on Interstate Milk Shipments to lower the acceptable levels of SCC. Effective July 1,1993, the legal limit of SCC will be lowered to 750,000. Most dairy farmers are aware that high SCC is a reflection on udder health. Healthy udders produce more milk and fatten the milk check. While compliance with the new limits will not be difficult or a problem for most producers, it should be recognized that some industry officials will continue to seek a lower standard. The standard can only be changed with proposals that are made and adopted at the National Conference on Interstate Milk Ship ments. The last conference was held in 1991 and is scheduled every two years. So in the 1993 conference, another change may be forthcoming. Historical data from the U.S. and other countries may be help ful in visualizing the big picture. In the U. S., the legal limit for SCC was set at 3.5 million in 1965; 1,5 million in 1970; 1.0 mil lion in 1986 and 750,000 in 1993. In Canada a six year program was implemented to lower the regulatory limits from 800,000 to 500,000. In the European Community the regulatory limit has been 500,000 for many years but was set at 400,000 starting in January of 1992. Some individual states also have lower standards. At the next NCIMS Conference we expect the National Mas titis Council will propose to lower the bulk tank SCC to 500,000. The 500,000 standard was originally proposed at the 1991 Conference by the Mastitis Council and endorsed by the American Association of Bovine Practitioners. Whether a change in the SCC standard will be adopted and further reduced is not known, but certainly some countries and individual states are moving their standaids down to or below the 500,000 maik. And it is quite likely the trend will keep mov ing downward. Because this emphasizes a continued improvement in milk quality, we believe this is a progressive step for the dairy indus try. This also shows consumers that dairy products are and con tinue to be very wholesome foods on their dinner tables. Farm Calendar 18th annual Freestate Invitational Spring Sale, Frederick Fair grounds, Frederick, Md., 1:30 p.m. Easter ham and chicken dinner, Berks County 4-H Community Center, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Franklin County apple queen con- Lancaster Fanning Established 1955 Published Every Saturday Ephrata Review Building 1 E. Main St. Ephrata, PA 17522 by Lancaster Farming, Inc. A Stmrmn Enhrprmm Robert G. Campbell General Manager Everett R. Newswanger Managing Editor Farm Accident and Rescue Semi- nar, Memorial Hall, Emporium, Delmarva Poultry Booster Ban quet, Wicomico Youth and Civ ic Center, Salisbury, Md. Lehigh County Small-Scale Farm ing Workshop, Lehigh County Ag Center, 7:30 p.m. Berks County 4-H Spring Kickoff, Berks County 4-H Center, 8 a.m.-12:15 p.m. “Understanding the Forest Ste- ( UNCLE OTI9, DO VOU TCINK \ I THE EASTER BUNIs/V WILL I V STOP HERE P J - 'K /v-u fcl To Control Mastitis In Heifers Research studies show that 20 to 70 per cent of heifers have masti tis, even before calving. Hie staph species represents a huge number of these cases. The staph bacteria may colonize on or inside the calf's udder, starting at a very young age. They could infect the heifer by being sucked by another calf, which had consumed some staph containing milk, or the bacteria may be spread by flies as the flies travel from cows to calves. To minimize the risk of heifers acquiring mastitis, house calves in individual pens and hutches so they will not suck one another. Also, do not feed staph containing milk to calves that may suck one another. Segregate heifers from cows and control flies. By properly managing calves and heifers, you should be able to reduce the level of mastitis in wardship Program,” Game Commission Office, Jersey Pennsylvania Poultry Federation Annual Fund-Raising Banquet, Hershey Convention Center. Bradford Co. Sheep and Wool Growers Cooperative annual meeting, extension office, 7:30 Safe Drinking Water Clinics, UGI Auditorium, Bethlehem. Farm Pond Management, Penn State Fruit Research Lab, Pennsylvania Arbor Day. Lancaster Conservation District Legislative Breakfast, Kreid er’s Restaurant, Manheim, 7:30 Safe Drinking Water Clinics, Bi- State Water Quality Program, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Wellsville Water Treatment Plant, Wellsville, N.Y., 9 a.m. Friends of Ag breakfast, Sheraton Beef Field Day, western Berks County. Lehigh County Small-Scale Farm ing Trip. York County Dairy Princess and Dairy Miss Pageant, 4-H Cen (Turn to Pag* A3l) yn^ heifers. To Look For Black Cutworms Robert Anderson, extension agronomy agent, reminds us that black cutworms are one of the first spring insects to be on the outlook for. The black cutworm is a migrat ory insect in Pennsylvania. They begin to move into the state in late March and early April. When it arrives in the state, there ate very few crops for the adults to lay their eggs on. There fore. the adult females seek winter annual weeds such as duckweed, mustards, and shepherds purse to lay their eggs. Fields which have these weeds and are planted to com have a high potential for cutworm feeding after eggs hatch. However, if weeds are diminated at least 10 days prior to com planting, the problem may be greatly reduced. By eliminating the weeds, when the eggs hatch, the larvae will die for lack of food Fields which had winter annual weeds growing should be scouted for cutworm ROLLING AWAY THE STONES? April 19, 1992 Background Scripture: Romans 6:1-11. Devotional Scripture: Mark 15:42 through 16:8. No matter how often I read this account, each time I am struck by the freshness and urgency of its message. No one tells of thp death and resurrection of Jesus as simp ly and pointedly as Mark does. He wastes no words: yet nothing essential is left out Here is the enigmatic Joseph of Arimathea, whom Mark describes as "a respected member of the council, who was also looking for the kingdom of God." Some peo ple have observed unfairly, I think that Joseph didn't commit himself until after the nastmess of Calvary was over. Yet, here is a man, often portrayed as the timid disciple, who, Mark says, "took courage and went to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus” (15:43). Facing Pilate and his own peers of the council and asking for the body of Jesus took consider able courage. Not even his closest disciples had manifested that kind of brave resolve. Maybe Nicode mus was late in declaring himself for Jesus, but not too late. He stepped forward when everyone else was still in hiding. Perhaps the cross gave him the courage he formerly lacked. GRAVESTONES There is a starkness in Mark's account' Joseph of Arimathea "laid him in a tomb which had been hewn out of rock; and he rolled a stone against the door of / IM SURE ME WILL. / EVERY OTMER ( RABBIT IK/ Tt-IE COUNTR 1 TO FIND WAY y MV place: feeding activity. When 3 per cent of the com plants are cut off and there are 5 or more cutworms per 100 plants, the field should be sprayed. Tobacco Plant Population The effects of plant spacing on yield is an often-asked question. If you are using 40 inch rows and change your plant spacing from 26 inches to 24 inches, you will increase your plant papulation from 6,031 plants per acre to 6,534 plants per acre, this would be an increase of 503 plants per acre or about 100 sticks per acre. Research has shown that, in most growing seasons, as plant population increases, yield per plant decreases. Thus, you will see very little increase in yield per acre while you increase your work load. Based on our experience, we recommend a plant population of 6,000 to 6,100 plants per acre. Feather Profs Footnote: "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters, com pared to what lies within us." Oliver Wendell Holmes. the tomb" (15:46). That’s the way it is with death: the terrible finality of it all. Joseph rolled a huge stone across the entrance to the tomb and that was that! We put up a gravestone and we know that is The end of a once-vibrant life. We write "finis" to a once-promising career, marriage, or business ven ture. There are so many failures and death in life and each one is marked with some kind of stone, literally or figuratively. But what seems to be the end of things is not necessarily the end. What we regard as death, defeat and disappointment may be only the beginning of something else. For, as one commentator has remarked, "history shows that God never notices stones. Earth's finalities are never his. ” So using our God-given minds and seeing no further than our own eyes can see. we roll our stones of death and defeat, never dreaming that Something or Someone has the power to roll them away. THE STONE ROLLED BACK We can understand why the three women, Mary Magdalene. Mary the mother of James and Salome should wonder: "Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?" (16:3). But, when they got there, "they saw that the stone was rolled back; for it was very large." The huge stone of Joseph of Arimathea was heavy, but not heavy enough to keep Jesus in his tomb. So it is with us: the stones we place to mark our defeats and fai lures, our disappointed hopes and unfulfilled faith, are heavy and often seem immovable. But the Easter message tells us that God can roll away these great stones, just as he rolled away the stone before the tomb of Jesus. The key to our faith is found in the mes sage of the angel inside the tomb: "Do not be amazed: you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucit ied He has risen, he is not there" (I 6:7).
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