MEXICO (Juniata Co.) Speerctte Farm of Blairs Mill, owned by Naomi and Richard Speer, was honored recen tly for having the top producing rolling- herd in Juniata County among members of the county’s Dairy Herd Improvement Associa tion (DHIA). The award went to the Speers during the annual meeting of the Juniata County DHIA, held late December at die Walker Grange Hall in Mexico. The Speers’ 61-head Holstein herd averaged 23,287 pounds of milk, 732 pounds of protein, and 847 pounds of butterfat Recording to year-end data con tained in the annual Pennsylvania Dairymen’s Association year books, Speerette Farm moved to first this year from sixth in the county last year with 20,661 pounds of milk, 758 pounds of but terfat, 650 pounds of protein for 1991 production. In fact, Speerette Farm has advanced production significantly since 1990 production when they ranked sixteenth with production at 18,190 pounds of milk, 676 pounds fat, and 587 pounds of protein. Four hundred and sixty four cows completed records of 305 days or less. Eleven produced more than 850 pounds of protein; 23 produced over 750 pounds of protein; 65 produced over 650 pounds of protein. Milk Protein Pounds Pounds Owner/Name Glen 4 Tracey Henry Joelyn Judine Speerette Farm Beth June Myron 4 Mary Gehman 399 412 Melvin M. Martin 158 153 109 228 Rick 4 Jeanette Saner Jody Flo Becky Timothy E. Lauver Penny Helen Diane John Z. Beiler Emma Larry R. Naylor Trol Eric L Stine Cara Harshbarger Brothers Blacky Mark L. Zook Cornee Grand Hope Farm 356 573 Herbert Keiser Jr. Q-bert Raymond E Kauffman Alda Donald Q. Adams Muffin Harold B Shearer Vivian Barbara E. Brubaker Jo Harold & Jeff Kauffman QOAlish 55Marci David Weaver Angela Steve & Barbara Wilson Tink Russell Dressier Kate Albert & June Gray Nll County herds on the PA DHIA somatic cell testing program had an average count of 352,000. Herds with somatic fell counts under 150,000 are; Steve & Barbara Wilson, 66,000; R.E. Shearer and fami ly, 68,000; Shawn-Delaney, 76,000; Jeffrey and Donna Pontius, 86,000; Marlene E Peoples, 100,000; Donald Q. Adams, 122,000; John Z. Beiler, 127,000, John Zimmerman, 130,000; Harold and Jeff Kauffman, 141,000; and Fred Shoop, 149,000 However, the rest of the coun ty’s DHIA members have been improving also. Of the 83 herds on test in the county for 1992, four posted pro tein averages of 700 or more pounds, and 25 herds had averages of more than 600 pounds. There were 64 herds enrolled in the Pa.DHIA somatic cell testing program. The average count for Juniata County herds was 398,000. Nine herds completed the testing year with somatic cell counts (SCCs) of less than 200.000. Recognition for the county’s lowest SCC herd was tied between two Port Royal farms one run by RJE. Shearer and family, the other by Fred Shoop. The two dairy operations shared a year average of 117,000. The county herd management award went to Timothy Lauver of Mifflintown whose 38 Holsteins increased production 4,507 pound s of milk, 99 pounds of fat, and 171 pounds of protein. The herd management award, in its second year, recognizes the major management factors that contribute to the profitability of a dairy enterprise. Criteria for the Lactation Report 30,754 27,102 29,999 26,836 30,318 30,618 25,302 28,649 27,447 25,500 20,450 30,106 26,671 27,105 28,622 23,067 27,073 27,786 25,840 21,447 25,235 28,464 26,533 28,141 26,482 24,092 24,267 27,290 24,815 24,877 24,679 24,727 25,802 23,900 Somatic Cell Tests Juniata 974 830 908 825 896 873 890 848 826 769 889 875 769 880 858 766 800 798 778 768 County DHIA Meets award include production improvement, sustained produc tion, mastitis management, and reproductive management A number of individuals received recognition for having cows achieve production of more than 750 pounds of protein, or 850 pounds of fat or 23,000 pounds of milk. A total of 211 cows, of the 4,568 on test qualified. Five cows recorded production in excess of9oo pounds of protein. The best among those five were Ag Retailers Association MANCHESTER, Mo. Dr. Paul Kindinger has been selected to be the president and chief ex ecutive officer of the Agricultural Retailers Association, according to Tom Hunton, ARA chairman of the board. In making the announcement, Hunton said, “Dr. Kindinger brings to ARA a broad back ground of service in agriculture and government. His background includes positions in academia and associations, service as Michigan director of agriculture, and director of public affairs and special assistant to the secretary at Pioneer: Supplies Of Seed Corn ‘Very Good * DES MOINES, lowa A lead ing U.S. seed com marketer has excellent hybrid seed supplies in most maturities for 1993, accord ing to the company’s corn product manager. Bob Heimbaugh said Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., is pre pared to meet com growers’ seed needs for 1993 planting. Demand for Pioneer® brand hybrids during the past two years had reduced carryover inventories going into last season, so the com pany significantly increased seed production acreage in 1992, Heimbaugh said. The increased acreage, along with good seed yields, produced very good to ex cellent inventories in most matur ities. “We expect especially great de mand for hybrids in the 90 CRM and 105 CRM ranges because of their excellent yield and drydown this year," Heimbaugh said. "We encourage com growers to make early contact with their sales rep resentatives so they can discuss supply and plan their orders. That will help ensure seed is available when and where it is needed.” Hcimbaugh expects demand to remain strong because Pioneer hy brids performed well for farmers during the 1992 season. “Through mid-December, 4J.S. com growers had completed just ovCr 159,000 comparisons be tween Pioneer and Competitive hybrids,” he said. “Our hybrids had a 7.5 bushel per acre yield ad vantage and were 1.4 percent drier at harvest than competitive prod ucts. The maturity of many hybrids was slowed by 1992’s cool, wet summer, so some growers may be re-evaluating their use of full-sca- Petunia, owned by Steve and Bar bara Wilson, with a record of 974 pounds of protein; Jigger and Kar-. ma, owned by Glen and Tracey Henry, with respective produc tions of 971 pounds protein and 901 pounds; cow N 0.74, owned by Rodney and Brenda Conrad, with 931 pounds protein; and cow N 0.472, owned by Richard and Frank Crawford, with 929 pounds protein. Also during the meeting, elected to the organization’s board of Names President USDA. Currently he is a lobbyist and governmental relations ad visor with Kahn, Soares, & Con way in Washington, D.C., spe cializing in agricultural and en vironmental issues.” Tom Hunton also said that “the directors of ARA are delighted and enthused to have a person the caliber of Dr. Kindinger lead our association toward its full de velopment.” Kindinger will be based at the association head quarters in St. Louis, Missouri. The Agricultural Retailers Association was officially formed in early December during the first son hybrids. Heimbaugh cautions com growers not to overreact to the past season’s weather condi tions, but said the ample seed sup plies should enable farmers to make some maturity adjustments. Heimbaugh said continued low interest rates offer farmers an op portunity to get extra mileage from preseason discounts offered by many input suppliers. The prime interest rate is 6 per cent, down a half-point from this time a year ago, and rates for short-term loans many farmers use io finance operations were in the 8.5-10 percent range this week. Suppliers of seeds, crop protec tion chemicals, and other inputs typically offer discounts for cash purchases made in advance of planting season. With the relative- Board Reorganizes YORK (York Co.) York Farm Credit, ACA, board of direc tors reorganized due to the vacant position left by the resignation of Ralph H. McGregor, chairman, at their recent meeting. Lester E. Martin was elected chairman and Kenneth C. Ketterer was elected vice chairman. Paul W. McPherson was elected to serve on the executive committee with Martin and Ketterer. Martin operates a 270-acre dairy farm, “Pleasant Valley Jerseys,” consisting of 248 cows and 180 heifers, in Franklin Coun ty. Prior to Martin’s election as chairman, he served as vice chair man of the board since 1991. Ket- Local Co-Op directors were Sheldon Harshbcr ger, Ronald Mummah and Mcrvin Zendt. Speaker during the event was Patricia Toretti, Pa.DHIA compu ter program analyst She talked about the use of laptop computers in the bam by Pa.DHIA techni cians, etc. She said that the coun ty’s technicians would be receiv ing lap-top computers for on-farm use and she demonstrated the use of computer generated records and information which would be avail able on test day. annual meeting held in Cincinnati, Ohio. The new association result ed from a merger of the former National Fertilizer Solutions Association and the former Na tional Agrichemical Retailers Association. Kindingcr will be the first presidenl/CEO of the newly formed group. ARA is committed to the professional development and Business viabilily of the plant nutrient and crop protection retail industry, and serves the needs and interests of retail dealers and other facets of the agricultural retail in dustry. ly low interest rates, it may make sense to borrow operating funds to take advamage of the discounts. “For example, we have a three tier discount for cash purchases of seed: 7 percent through January 4, 5 percent through February 13, ind 2 percent through April 30,” Heimbaugh said. “If you borrow 9.5 percent op erating money now for seed you olant in late April or May, the ac .ual cost for the four months you use the money is 3.17 percent,” he said. “With a 7 percent discount for paying cash, the return is better han 2-1.” Heimbaugh advised farmers to work with their lenders to assess .he option of borrowing to lake ad vantage of the discounts. terer owns and operates a beef, hog, and vegetable operation in Cumberland County. McPherson owns and operates “Maple Lawn Farms, Inc.,” a fruit and grain pro duction operation in York County. McGregor resigned from the board, after serving since 1981, to devote more time to his farming operations. His position on the board will remain vacant until the next stockholders annual meeting in the spring. The other members of the board are Clifford L. Haw baker, Franklin County; Lawrence R, Cauffman, Perry County: David F. Kuhn, Adams County; Dale R. King, Adams County; and Paul B. Whipple, outside director.
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