Serious Beef Breeders (Continued from Pago A2O) Anderson can program a seven parameter sort to end up with a composite index on each one of his animals. Work in environment “It helps me,” he said. “I want Today, There is an Alternative - FOR.* Envtronmentaly Sound Control of Insects on Potatoes Ecogen Inc. developed Foil® Bioinsecticide from a novel genetic combination of three strains of Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis ). As insects eat Foil, they immediately stop feeding and crop destruction is halted. Foil is the only biological insecticide that is effective against both Colorado potato beetles and European com borers. Foil makes a power ful alternative to chemical pesticides and other Bt products. With environmental issues a concern for all growers. Foil is indeed today's alternative. an animal with the lowest birth weight, the highest weaning weight, the most milk from the mother, and the highest yearline weight” 6 Comerford said that what Anderson is doing is “taking the yearling bull, “T-Bone,” right, prances through the feedlot at the farm. Make a Difference with FOT Foil is a registered trademark of Ecogen Inc ©1992 Ecogen Inc EPD, which is the variation of the cattle from the average of the breed across the country, and then look ing at how his animals work within the environment that he has for them. “Now, whether that will breed Derived from Bt, a natural pesticide. Foil has no pre-harvest interval and does not contaminate ground water. If you would like to find out how Foil can make a difference in your potato crop this year, call or write us at: Ecogen Inc / 2005 Cabot Boulevard West Langhome, PA 19047-1810 (215) 757-1590 Lancaster Farming, Saturday. Hay 16, 1992-A2l in someone else’s environment is a question but the EPDs will breed across the board in the envi ronment,” said Comcrford. The “environment” is the states in the Mid-Atlantic region. Some of the cattle would not perform to their genetic potential, for instance, in an arid environment such as the Southwest Anderson said that Penn State, through the work of Comerford, is trying to create an awareness in the state of Pennsylvania on the part of breeders and commercial cattle breeders on how to purchase a bull that has been created using this as a basis. Understand environment According to Comerford. breed ers must completely understand their beef cattle environment and use that as a basis in which to work. "It’s pretty refined in other areas of the country where people make a living breeding beef cattle,” said Anderson. Anderson began his herd in 1959. He bought 11 heifers and another 14 heifers the next year from M.V. Hitt in Landenburg, Pa. At the time Anderson started, he said there was no open AI you had to own the bull in order to register the calf. “That was absolutely stupid,” he said. But after open AI was accepted, he immediately went to Wye Plan tation in Queenstown, Md. and bought semen. During the years since, Anderson has increased the size of the herd, absorbing infor mation from various universities about performance data and EPDs. Other parameters Anderson said the work of beef breeders such as Martin Jorgenson in Ideal, S.D. with performance testing, and “folks like John” Comerford, helped Anderson understand “that there were other parameters to select beef cattle by other than a purple ribbon,” he said. Anderson’s herd is completely closed. He purchases semen from various agencies throughout the nation. “The most important considera tion is the expected progeny differ ences birth, weaning, milk, and yearling, and then the degree of accuracy of those EPDs,” he said. “The younger the bull, the lower the accuracy. The older the bull, the higher the accuracy. The num ber of progeny determine the accu racy of the expected progency differences.” When Anderson selects stock based on EPDs, he’s not looking at the “maximum parameters” any more. The optimum performance includes a balance of traits. Balance vital “We don’t want the extremes,” he said. The “balance” is vital to the herd and the industry, according to Comerford. The beef specialist said that if the entire industry continued to select for higher and higher year ling weights, “it increases mature size. Well, a problem with larger mature size is the increased main tenance cost of breeding animals bigger cattle eat more feed, ’ ’ he said. “There’s an end point.” “We want the smallest birth weight possible commensurate with acceptable growth,” said Anderson. ‘ ‘But if you keep select ing for the smallest birthweight, you keep selecting for the smallest animal. So no matter what you do, there has to be a moderation some where down the line. It’s an anta gonistic situation.” Conduct sale ‘ ‘And probably to the most elite breeders of purebred cattle, the next thing to do is select for these various things: udder size, teat size, udder shape, and confirma tion of back legs,” said Anderson. Anderson sells semen for about $l5 a straw $3O for an AI certificate. Sometime next year, Anderson will conduct a sale of about 75-80 of his cows, perhaps with the help of the Virginia Angus Association, in Culpepper, Va. Bulls sold on the farm go for $lOO to $2OO less than at test sta tions, which furnish complete per formance records of animals. In all of the western states, bull buyers take performance data and EPDs seriously and prices are commen surate with what they intend to purchase.
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