VERNON ACHENBACH JR.
Lancaster Faming Staff
STATE COLLEGE (Centre
Co.) The discovery erf the tech
nology of artificial insemination is
said to be as important to modem
agriculture as die discovery of
hybrid com.
And as of Tuesday, August 18, it
will have been exaedy SO yean
since that is has been in organized
use in Pennsylvania.
Given the avenge age of the
Pennsylvania dairyman, most
woe about 10 years old when the
first cow was bred by organized
artificial insemination in
Pennsylvania.
That event was performed by
Lewisburg veterinarian Dr. James
Mufflcy and took place on a farm
near Lewisburg on August 18,
1942, according to Dr. Larry
Specht, a dairy specialist with the
Penn Statfe University College of
Agricultural Sciences Department
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13340-120
50th Anniversary Of A.I.
Animal Science. and future of the state’s AXindiU'
«*«*“ ° f AJ. ui fry,- Spccht said this week,
other domestic animal species has The exhibit is to be located in
not been close to that m dairy the PSU Dairy and Animal Science
cattle, without a doubt, experts tent The tent is to be located near
say. organized artificial insemina- the horse showring, uphill from the
bon is one of the main reasons main Ag Progress tent city
dairy cattle breeds have improved Thedisplay is to consist of three
ui overall structure, health and per- display panels with illustrations,
formance in that time. pictures, maps, and old A.I. indus-
Recogmtion rtf the importance try artifacts,
of the technology and the coopcra- More importantly, those who
bon of people it took to make it visit the display can expect to meet
successful is the reason behind the and talk withy Dr. John Almquist.
PSU department s call to temem- a pioneer of many of the the pre
ber just how quickly the industry sent day semen handling tcch
niques and was instrumental in the
Thai is progressive agriculture success of artificial insemination
and it is to be highlighted during Also, Harvey Shaffer, as an
Ag Progress Days August 18, 19 extension specialist worked for
and 20 at Rockspring, in Centre more than 30 years in the areas of
County. insemination technique and repro
‘To commemorate the date, the ducbve efficiency.
Dairy and Animal Science Depart- The display is put together as a
ment... is developing an exhibit result of the work of a committee
that will feature the past, present which includes these Shaffer and
■ Get rid of weeds around your
farmhouse, driveway and patio
this summer.
■ Eliminate grasses along fences,
ditches and roads during the
Summer.
■ Clean up perennials after
harvest.
■ Renovate pastures in spring
or fall.
See Your Ag-Chemical
Supplier About Our
Fall Program.
■ Reduce mowing trips on set
aside all summer long.
■ Control weeds pre-plant in early
spring.
■ Stop in-crop weeds with a spot
spray or pipewick in July.
■ Control brush anytime you’ve
got time.
Uncatter Fuming, Saturday, August t 5, tft2-A4l
In Pa.
ifSl ® pmhi
REPORT
Almquist and three members of the
Department of Dairy Science
Specht, Dr. Mike O’Conner and
Dr. Gary Killian. Killian chaired
the committee.
“AH veterans of the industry,
present day employees and dairy
man are urged to stop at the exhibit
booth and visit with Almquist and
Shaffer,” Specht said.
There they will learn about the
Pennsylvania history of the
industry.
Even with the current successes
in A. 1., there is much to learn and
much to come. Specht said. A
review of the history of the deve
lopment of the tool helps in trying
to understand the industry as it
exists and where it most likely will
go.
For example, Specht said, four
additional cooperative units organ
ized to offer insemination service
following the success of the first
one in 1942. They were Lehigh
Valley Cooperative Farmers in
Allentown in 1943; Southeastern
ABC in Lancaster in 1944; North
eastern ABC, in Tunkhannock in
1945; and Western ABC in Clarion
in 1945.
In 1964, the Western ABC
joined with Southeastern ABC to
form Atlantic Breeders Coopera
tive at Lancaster, where it is still
headquartered. Atlantic now
works with Eastern A.I. of Ithaca,
N.Y., and Louisiana ABC of Baton
Rouge in a federated cooperative.
Also in 1964, there was another
merging of cooperatives with First
Pa. ABC. Northeastern ABC and
Lehigh Valley Cooperative Far
mers going over the slate line to
join with New Jersey ABC. The
consolidated cooperative was
named Northeastern Breeders
Association (NEBA).
In 1971, NEBA federated with
the Maryland-West Virginia
Cooperative to form Sire Power.
Sire Power recently consolidated
all operations at Tunkhannock,
from where they work with North
ern Ohio Breeders Association
(NOBA) and the Kansas ABC
(KABSU) under the name of
Allied Genes.
There were more than 100 A.I.
associations in business in the
1950 s in Pennsylvania. Now there
are fewer than 10 major
organizations.
But there are other aspects of
history which can’t go unnoticed.
Less than 25 years ago, it was
not uncommon to hear of a herds
man injured or killed by his bull.
And though some small family
farms continue to use bulls, either
alone or in conjunction with A. 1., it
is now more of a rarity to hear of a
disastrous event involving a bull.
Specht said that the average
milk production of a 1942 Pen
nsylvania milking cow was 5,000
pounds. Today it is 15,100.
“That’s almost tripled,” Specht
Isaid. “It’s not all genetics, but a
'good bit is.
“Prior to A. 1., we were using
bulls that were insufficiently
sampled. When A.I. was sampled,
we made exceptional progress
since 1970,” he said.
It was in the 1960 s and 70s that
techniques for storing and main
taining frozen semen was success
fully discovered, along with tech
niques for preserving viability.
It is now common to see semen
storage tanks on a dairy farm. With
the success of handling tech
niques, freezing and thawing, the
cost of breeding top quality dairy
cattle has diminished significantly.
Also, the advent of artificial