Davis Family Honored (Continued from Pago A 1) cent to the main farm. They rent an additional 150 acres. Currently, their Holstein herd includes approximately 45 milk- ers, 15 dry cows and 72 head of young stock. “We try to keep 50 cows milking at all times,” said Rick, “but right now that number is down.” Several will be fresh ening in the very near future. Rick and Emery feed their herd a total mured ration from an auto matic feed cart, along with hay which is distributed by hand. Cows producing over 70 pounds of milk receive an additional one pound of top dressing for every three pounds of milk up to a total of nine pounds of grain. The feed cart has made a tre mendous difference, according to Rick. “We bought the cart in 1988. Our total milk production in creased by nearly 2,000 that first year.” Their top three cows are Gallic, with a projected production of 32,800 pounds of milk; Laureen. Rick prepares for milking and feeds a mix of cotton seed, roai corn and corn distillers. PULL PLUG DRAINS LEAKING? TRI-COUNTY HAS THE SOLUTION! Ph; 717-274-3488 j CONFINEMENT SYSTEMS. INC. we Ship ups *■ 608 E. Evergreen Rd., Lebanon, PA 17042 QUALITY projected at 3*,800 pounds; and Roberta who just finished at 31,800. “Laureen was the lop cow last year at 3200 pounds,” said Ja nelle. The top dressing that these gals receive as additional feed consists of cotton seed, roasted soybeans, shell com, and com distillers, ac cording to Rick. The special feed is mixed right on the farm. The Davises buy their soybean and protein supplement. “And shell com when we have to,” said Rick. They raise between 70 and 80 acres of com, 20 to 30 of oats, 20 of tripper, 60 to 80 of alfalfa, and 150 of mixed hay. About 100 acres are used as pasture. High moisture com is stored in a 14’ x 40’ silo. Com silage goes into an 18’ x 60’ silo. Their 16' x 60’ silo contains haylage. They make approximately 1400 square bales and a few round bales of hay to complete their feed program. Last year Rick and Emery had to buy all their com because of the drought This year the ground has APOLLO BALL This convenient plug for hog manure drains makes a non-leaking seal on the clean-out drain in pull-plug manure systems. It is a major improvement over leaky, concrete plugs. Sold as a plug and pipe adapter set, the Apollo Ball is a thick, industrial-grade rubber ball that fits into a specially made PVC socket. The ball is filled with sand, which gives it weight but leaves it pliable for a veiy reliable seal. Molded into its top is a sturdy ring, and attached to this ring is a stainless steel rod with a loop on the end. To open the drain for pen cleaning, you can easily use a simple long-handled hook to catch this loop and lift die ball from its socket. The socket into whjch the Apollo Ball Plug seals can be installed on any 8* PVC drain pipe. And in new construction of hog bams, it can be easily included in poured concrete flooring. Also can be adapted to 6" PVC drains. -4 been too wet. While they still com out in the field, Rick T T MOUND OMM □ □—i Davis farm is located between Marsh and Keeneyville on Route 249, have said Lancaster Farmlni about 10 acres is not harvestable and they expect to have to buy enough for three or four months. According to Rick, other man agement practices the Davises in corporate include the use of AI and Sire Power for breeding by a technician. “We use a lot of the young sires. We are on the Sire Power Linear Mating Program where they come and evaluate the cows once a year and run it through the computer. That tells you what sire to use based on the data they put from the cow into the computer to strengthen your weaknesses.” Another practice favored by the Davises is to pre-dip and post-dip the cows at milking time. They have been doing this, in addition Keynote Speaker VHt I, Saturday to washing the cows, for the past five years. Rick said he feels a new tile system installed in the mangers this past fall has also made a big difference in his herd. “They eat better, and clean-up is easier.” As much as he enjoys being a farmer, Rick confessed it wasn’t something that he had always planned on. After he graduated from high school, he pursued other vocations. A stint in the Ar my from 1979 to 1982 took him first to Turkey for a year, then to Indiantown Gap. There he met Larry and Lorraine Shuey of Ono, in Lebanon County. The Shueys proved to be in spirational to Rick. “They have a (Turn to Page A4O) Strange To Be MILLHEIM (Centre Co.) —Noted author, speaker, and rural farm activist Marty Strange will give the keynote address at the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture’s (PASA) second annual Farm ing For The Future Conference to be held Feb. 5 and 6 at the Nittany Lion Inn in State College. Strange is program director and co founder of the Center for Rural Affairs (CRA) located in Walthill, Neb. Along with Don Ralston, Strange founded the Center in 1973 to advocate policy and practices to improve the economic, social, and environmental well-being of rural America. The center, a nonprofit unaffiliated organi zation, has addressed issues including, but not limited to federal farm programs, tax pol icy, rural economic development, sustainable farming practices, water policy, the environ mental impacts of modem farming practices, and empowerment of rural people. Marty is the author of “Family Farming: A New Economic Vision” (Univ. of Nebraska Press and the Institute for Food and Develop ment Policy, 1988), a leading critique of industrial agribusiness but a book that offers a vision for sustainable farming and healthy rural communities. A native of Western Massachusetts, Strange received a bachelor’s in sociology and political science from Defiance College in Defiance, Ohio in 1969. Following his gra duation, he worked with antipoverty prog rams (VISTA) in Nebraska for several years as a community organizer and paralegal caseworker. These experiences, and his con nections with rural people who were being hurt by existing policies, led to the formation of the CRA. Marty completed a master’s in agricultural economics at the University of Missouri in 1982. Strange has served on a number of boards and task forces at the local, state and national level. Janui 23, 1993-A25
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers