Firming, Saturday, October 16.1993 PQA LEVEL m RECERTIFICATION Check your calendar. It may be time for you to recertify your Level 111 position within the National Pork Producers Coun cil’s Pork (NPPC’s) Pork Quality Assurance (PQA) program. If you’re one of many producers who reached Level 111 more than a year ago, you need to recertify. The process (ten be simple, if you’ve established or maintained a relationship with the verifier. Most verifiers are veterinarians, extension personnel, or agricul ture instructors. If the verifier is familiar with the detailed operations of your hog business, a short discussion of any changes made since certifica tion may be all you need. Specific areas to review include drug usage, product availability, herd health practices, and the type of medication records you're keeping. Residue testing is not mandat- LAND PRIDED SOLID STAND PENNSYLVANIA Stralay Farm Supply, Inc, 1760 East Canal Road Dover, PA 17315 717-292-2631 Keller Brother* R 7 Box 405 Lebanon. PA 17042 717-949-6501 MS. Yearsley & Son* West Chester, PA 215-696-2990 Norman D. Clark t Son, Inc. Honey Grove, PA 717-734-3682 Loysville, PA 717-789-3117 Plkevilla Equipment Inc. Nlearry Equipment Co. RD 2, Oysterdale Road RD 2, Rt. 61. 3 Miles S. ol Oley, PA 19547 Leesport, Reading, PA 215-987-6277 215-926-2441 1960 Fruitvilte Pike Lancaster, PA 17601 717-569-2500 Marshall Machinery, Inc. Route 642 Honesdale, PA 16431 717-729-7117 Livestock Ledger By Chester D. Hughes Extension Livestock Specialist cry for PQA recertification. This is left to your discretion and that of the verifier. Following the review, your ver ifier should complete the verifica tion postcard enclosed in NPPC’s mailing sent last April. If you can’t find yours, contact NPPC for another. As a Level 111 certified producer, you will continue to receive updates on changes in federal reg ulations. NPPC symposiums, and regional seminars as well as the Update newsletter. If you have questions or need additional PQA information, con tact NPPC at (800) 456-7675. Keep Heifers From First-Calf Heifers Beef herds on heifer AI prog rams are rinding that the replace ment heifers retained from first-calf heifers provide the best genetics, combined with low birth weight EPDs and high maternal value. Since these heifers are sired by calving ease sires, a majority of 48" and 72" widths Tractor Parts Co. 335 Central Road Bloomsburg, PA 17815 717-784-0250 Stouffar Bros. Inc. 1066 Lincoln Way West Chambersburg, PA 17201 717-263-8424 Stoltzfue Farm Service Cochranville, PA 215-593-2407 them will reduce frame size and be earlier maturing than heiftrs from mature cows.' If your management is on target, these heifers will often be the older ones, ready to breed before the main cowherd. In fact, one common mistake producers can make is selecting heifers on adjusted weaning weights, often ending up with many younger heifers in their replacement group. These heifers could be 45 days younger than the majority of your calf crop and may not reach puber ty in time to breed them ahead of the cow herd. By choosing older heifers, you can avoid these problems and keep your replacements from the cows who calved first. Good replacement heifers are certainly worth the expense of raising them. Knowing the genetic potential of the heifers and cows in your herd can help make impor tant selection and culling decisions. In the humid Mid-Atlantic reg ion, sheep need to be dewormed mo/e often than in other parts of the country. Deworm the ewe flock every other month beginning in May (May, July, September, Novem ber) and the last deworming after a Deerfield Ag 6 Turf Center, Inc. RR 2 Box 212 Watsontown, PA 17777 717-538-3557 NEW JERSEY I Caldwell Tractor ft Equipment, Inc. 480 U.S. Route 46 Fairfield, N.J. 07006 201-227-6772 Rodlo Tractor Sales North White Horse Pike Hammonton, N.J. 08037 609-561-0141 Frank Rymon ft Sons, Inc. RD 3, Box 355 Washington, NJ. 07882 201-689-1464 Read Brothers Petticoat Bridge Rd. Columbus. NJ. 08022 609-267-3363 Deworm ing Sheep hard killing frost. Lambs on pasturtnndiwrtnas. ment ewe and nun tainbi includ ing show stock, should be dewormed every four weeks. A variety of dewormers are available for sheep and should be rotated to decrease the chance of resistance. Consult your veterinarian or extension agent for advice on deworming products labeled for sheep. Tunnel Ventilation If you’re planning a new build ing or considering remodeling, look at all the Options. If tunnel ventilation sounds interesting, consider these guidelines to help you make die right decision. • Are you building new or able to do sufficient remodeling to fit the engineering requirements of a relatively long, narrow building? A low, flat ceiling is preferred, but air deflectors in open-ceiling buildings will work. Also facili ties that are square or too wide are generally not cost-efficient to tun nel ventilate. • Can you implement all-in/all out production for a grower/ finisher or use tunnel ventilation in a breeding/gestation building? If not, then tunnel ventilation probably isn’t right for you. Ask your veterinarian what the maxi mum age spread can be in a single health, - , •Arb fdU Milingfe improve your management skills'to make sure die building 4s working prop erly? Tunnel ventilation requires more manual control and equip, ment must work all the time for it to be most effective. • Do your pens lend themselves to tunnel ventilation? Open-gating type pens maximize tunnel venti lation** effect Solid concrete in your building may lock you into another ventilation system. • Can you effectively combine fans and other equipment of tun nel ventilation with your winter time ventilation design? Implement Tractor Safety During this harvest season, you and your employees become more vulnerable to accidents. That’s because fatigue sets in as work days stretch to 16 hours or mote. In 1992. the National Safety Council reported 120,000 disab ling injuries because of agriculture-related accidents. Most on-farm accidents involve tractors. Rollovers are the primary cause of accidentia} death on U.S. farms. And if you’re like most producers, you use a tractor almost daily, exposing yourself to inherent risks. (Turn to Page C 3) lei
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