A24-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 12, 1992 GEORGE F. W. HAENLEIN Extension Dairy Specialist University of Delaware NEWARK, Del. Hurricane Andrew rolls over part of Florida and Louisiana, devastating homes, food resources and agriculture. People have nothing to eat or drink, farm workers have no crops to tend, people are angry at the government for not sending relief quickly enough and weather fore casters are reluctant to say whether or not a natural disaster like this could happen to us in the mid-Adantic states. What does the Good Book say? Those who help themselves, God helps. A standard saying on dairy farms in the Old Country where I grew up was; Always have a year’s supply of feed on hand. Is this overly pessimistic? Not if you consider all the many catastrophes in recent months—earthquakes, wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, floods, hailstorms and drought . . , . Are there more disasters than ever before and more than we deserve? For survival, this question is immaterial. Those of us who endured one of the wars during the last 55 years know that survival does not depend on what caused the disaster nor on why help doesn t arrive fast enough. Simply, survival depends on our forethought, weeks and months ahead. We must anticipate the worst disaster and prepare for it with food, water, cash, feed for the animals, electric generators for standby electricity, blankets, plywood, tent sheeting and more—supplies that will last over the worst days or weeks when everything else is gone. I know bom experience. I lived through six horri ble years in World War 11. In 1943 I lost my home and all my belongings during a bombing raid on my hometown, which then resembled the devastation in Homestead, Fla., after Andrew blew through. But we had cellars filled with coal, sauerkraut, eggs preserved in crocks, canned foods and clothes. We had at least some supplies for the first few days after the bombing. Dairy fanners had hay bams out in fields in vari ous locations and bunker silos filled with silage. In fall they stockpiled fodder beets away from the farm, so the cattle had something to eat regardless of what catastrophe occurred at the home farm. We tried to be prepared for the worst, so that we did not have to wait for the government to help us. We always could help ourselves, at least in the be ginning In recent years in this country, we seem to have taken normalcy and the orderly life for granted. There was a lime, however, when a nuclear threat caused many of us to think in terms of shelters and supply reserves. A nuclear disaster emergency-preparedness program in the event of nuclear power plant melt down still exists. But other than Three-Mile Island or Chernobyl, it couldn’t happen here. At least, that seems to be the prevailing attitude. Or is it? Members of the Mormon Church believe in hav ing a one-year supply of food in their cellars. And some people go so far as to build their homes partly underground, not just for safety from nature, but for temperature conservation as well. Of course, dairy farmers have long practiced hay making in preparation for the winter when there is no pasture to graze When I started at the University of Delaware in the 19505, I changed the dairy herd from a 6-month to a 12-month silage feeding program. I wanted to avoid problems and uncertainties caused by storms, droughts or poor harvests that soon result in milk production losses, lower income and less profit Of course, even this plan was open to the unfore seen hardship. One year a silo fell over because we didn’t fill it evenly. In general, most dairy farmers tend to be prepared for a year with sufficient feed supplies in the loft, in large bales, in silos and grain bins. What does it take to be prepared? The average Holstein cow in Delaware is now expected to produce 4-14 percent of their body weight in milk, more than 60 pounds per day. To do this, they must eat 3 percent of their bodyweitght in feeds on dry-matter basis per day. Plan For Worst To Keep The Best much it takes for a year of milk production really pays. nrenaredness In addition, the cost of DHIA Back to my initial question. Are Just in tons alone (tenorine record system participation may wc 06x1 for a disaster to strike? just in tons atone ignoring * ’ You can bet there is another one SSL » -«««»«. raras in profils. DHIA dao of Nalional muslics have shown, “f 4,106 Holstein herds in the North- however, that DHIA-participating DHIA. reowft^rtamty«Jo* east under the Cornell computing herds outproduce non- that careful planning for that extra system in 1991 revealed what til participating herds by several I^^e^ividends' average cow consumed last year thousand pounds of milk per cow A d {*£ , j how abo ' 8.4 tons of silage, mostly com; per year, but it would take only . ° 1.5 tons of hay, mostly alfalfa; and 200 pounds of milk to pay for the 3.6 tons of concentrate supple- _ _ ments October Milk $15.57 ALEXANDRIA, Va. Mid- milk price of $12.66 per hundred dle Atlantic Order Market Ad- weight for August 1992. The ministrator Rex F. Lothrop recent- Gass HI price was up 2 cents from ly announced a Class I milk price the previous month. The October of $15.57 per hundredweight for 1992 Class I price and the August October 1992. 1992 Class 111 price are based on This price is down 5 cents from the August 1992 Minnesota-Wis- September and is $1.04 above last consin manufacturing milk price October's Class I price. of $12.54 per hundredweight at a Lothrop announced a Class HI 3.5 percent butterfat content. The totals in a year’s time are 9 tons of milk per cow, for which dairy farmers have to make stored feed reserves of about 7 tons of dry feeds per cow. This figure does not include the feeds for the necessary replace ment stock of calves and heifers, nor does it allow for feeds wasted during storage, hauling to the cows and in the feed trough. So a 100-cow Holstein farm needs at least 700 tons of dry feeds, which translates in a practi cal ration into about ISO tons hay, BSO tons silage and the necessary concentrate supplements. What large sotrage strcutures this requires! But foresight demands this to keep cows pro ducing and our income ahead of bills. We have very good data from DHIA about these requirements, what our good cows eat and how NORTHEAST POULTRY SHOW ■ ’92 EXHIBIT HALL HOURS: Wednesday, September 30 Thursday, October 1 REGISTRATION FEE: ACCOMMODATIONS: EXHIBITORS: (Retain upper portion for reference) (Return lower portion to Federation) NAME(S; FARM or COMPANY NAME. ADDREI TELEPHOI High-producing cows ate 1.8 more tons of silage, half a ton less hay, but 1.3 tons more concen trates than low producers. The dif ferences in feeds consumption between high-producing and low producing cows cost $2OO. It was more for the high cow, but they in turn produced $BOO more income. This shows that safety planning to avoid drops in September 30 ■ October 1,1992 LANCASTER HOST RESORT (Three miles east of Lancaster on U.S. 30) ONLY ONE REGISTRATION PER FAMILY REQUIRED Return lower registration form to: Pennsylvania Poultry Federation 500 North Progress Avenue • Harrisburg, PA 17109 EXHIBIT HALL PASS Lancaster, Pennsylvania Free Free parking is available and food and beverages can be purchased in the exhibit hall (indoor tennis court) Over a hundred exhibit spaces will be filled with the latest equipment, products and services. or Call (717) 652-7530 to register PM PM 12:00-7:00 12:00-5:00