ClO-Umcaster Farming, Saturday, July 11, 1992 Select EPDs For Optimum Birth, Weaning, Yearling Weights KANSAS CITY, Mo. Expected Progeny Differences (EPDs) can be used to help select number of important traits in cattle, but can be especially bene ficial to select optimum birth, weaning, and yearling weights for your herd. Information used to calculate an animal’s EPDs includes perfor mance data from individual and relatives such as parents, siblings, other close relatives and most importantly, progeny. Perfor mance information of the animal’s contemporaries is also used to help calculate EPDs. Dr. John Hough, education and reaserch director for the American Polled Hereford Association, said that while birth and weaning weights are important for cattle men, EPD selection should be based on many traits. Some breeds furnish accuracy ratings of EPDs to help in your selection for opti mum, economical traits. “Before you begin using any EPDs, remember you cannot com pare open breed’s EPDs with those of another,” Hough said. “EPDs can only be compared within a single breed.” Birth weight is important because of its relationship to calv ing case. It is measured by the dif ferences in birth weights of calves Intensive Pasture CHAMBERSBURG (Franklin Co.) Inter est in intensive pasture grazing systems by dairymen has increased o’, o - the past several soars. Franklin County v i/operative Extension is sponsoring an educa- Uonal meeting at 7:30 p.m. on July 30 to look at this topic in more detail. Penn Stale prog ram participants include Extension agronomist Dr. Marvin Hall and Dr. Larry Muller, Dairy Cattle nutritionist. If you have an interest in intensive grazing or just utilizing more efficient ly the pastures you have, this educational meeting is for you. The meeting will be held in the conference room of the Franklin County Human Service Building which is located just north of the Extension Office along Franklin Farms Lane between the county ■ ing home and pris on For more details call 1' -9226. \NY FURTHER! i YOU'LL FIND IT IN LANCAST' «* r ARMING'S 1 CIA 'DS born within a contemporary group. “For example, a sire with a birth weight EPD of +3.0 pounds will generally produce heavier calves at birth, as compared to a bull with an EPD of -2.0 pounds,” Hough said. Extra weight at weaning can be achieved by selecting sires with higher weaning weight EPDs. If Beef Council Reports PHILADELPHIA Harry Stambaugh of Green Park repre sented the Pennsylvania Beef Council at the U.S. Meat Export Federation’s (USMEF) board of directors meeting and foreign buy ers conference in Philadelphia recently. The event attracted near ly 400 board members, foreign buyers, guests, and news media representatives. “USMEF forecasts that U.S. beef, veal, pork, lamb and variety meat exports will reach $5.8-7.1 billion ($4.1-5.36 billion for beef and $1.7 billion for pork) by the year 2000. This poses tremendous opportunity for growth,” said Stambaugh. In 1991, exports contributed an additional $1.78 per hundred (85.23 per head) to the price of fed Improve your tobacco yield with Royal MH-30 P. I. ROHRER & PRO., INC. Smoketown, PA you compare a sire with a weaning weight EPD of +12.0 pounds to a sire with an EPD of -10.0 pounds, you should expect calves on the average to be 22.0 pounds heavier at weaning from the first bull when out of comparable cows. This same calculation can also be used for yearling weight or any other EPDs. There will be howev er, variations between individuals within a calf crop. cattle and an additional $1.78 per hundred weight to the price of market hogs. These calculations are based on current levels of pro duction and consumption in the U.S. According to Stambaugh, the purpose of the USMEF mid-year board of directors meeting was to review current events in interna tional trade and make foreign market development policy decisions. The results of a study projecting the impact of U.S. beef and pork exports on the U.S. industry through the year 2000, given var ying growth scenarios, were released. The study showed that if U.S. beef exports triple between 1991 and the year 2000, the amount of beef exported will be Royal MH-30 is the industry stan dard for providing dependable, economical control of tobacco suckers. Just one application of Royal MH-30 at mid-to-full bloom can control suckers through to harvest, with no carryover concerns. So use Royal MH-30 on your tobacco crop for dependable sucker control you can rely on. KmmSl PH. 717-299-2571 “Before selecting a trait cov ered by EPDs, keep your long term goals in mind and consider the environmental and manage ment conditions on your place,” Hough said. “Selecting for the whole animal to fit your needs is more important than selecting for one trait, or even depending solely upon EPDs. Vis ual appraisal of all traits such as soundness of feet, legs, or mus- On Mid-Year Meeting equal to 13.3 percent of total domestic production by value, excluding variety meat exports. Meat buyers tram Japan, Mex ico, South Korea, Taiwan. Hong Kong, other Asia Pacific coun tries, the Caribbean, the European Community and Russia, partici pated in the Foreign Buyers Con ference. The conference featured USMEF’s third annual product showcase, an event which brings foreign buyers and U.S. suppliers together to sample U.S. meat pro ducts and discuss foreign market needs. Total U.S. beef, veal, prok, lamb, and variety meat exports Rica’s & ALTH K, o Kubota’s new L-Series tractors have so many advanced func tions for farming and agricultural needs, you ma\ not appreciate all of them at once. But they’ll grow on you. To start, you’ll notice the “Ever Clutch”, an innovative Kubota first - a wet-type clutch designed to work long and hard without mechanical failure or even much maintenance, and, it’s guaranteed for 3 years/1500 hour clutch warranty. Then, you’ll discover other strong features in the L-Series power ranging from 28-49 PTO HP, direct-injection, liquid-cooled diesel engines, shuttle transmission, power steering and comfort er area, lly, you’ll be im -1 with the L-Series ange of func farm performance tched implements. Try a new L-Series from Kubota and get growing fast. 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U.S. pork and variety meat exports have increased 252 percent since 1985, reaching a record $405 mil lion in 1991.) With each $1 billion in U.S. value-added exports providing an estimated 22,000 jobs, some 57,200 Americans earn their livelihoods supplying foreign markets with U.S. meat products. Kubota aKUBOTP TRACTORS 0 EQUIPMENT Serving Central PA Since I*2l STORE HOURS HONDAY-FRIOAY 7:30-5:00 SATURDAY 7:30-12:00 2 Locations FINANCING OR CASH DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE CALL FOR DETAILS ON LEASING LANCASTER 1960 FruiWillt Fitw. UncivMf, FA 17901 At RftuM 30 A Frmtwlfc Fik* 717-569-2500
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