A26-lancwtw Farming, Saturday, Octobar 23, 1993
White Park? Indeed, This Breed May Work Well As Cross
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff
BERKELEY SPRINGS. Wyo.
Jon Reed was recently driving
his truck down the interstates of
Illinois and lowa and spotted sev
eral herds of White Park cattle.
White Park ? Few beef produc
ers used the breed, let alone heard
of it. But from what he saw and
read about the cattle. Reed was
convinced that he could use them
on his own cow/calf farm, so he
purchased two purebred cows and
a bull and used them to crossbreed
with some of his own herd (30
head, including calves) of Limou
sin cattle.
The White Park cattle, with the
telltale white coat, black snout, and
small, polled head have been
known for years to have some of
the highest fertility, ease of calv
ing, mothering ability, milk pro
duction, feed conversion, and vig
or of any of the beef breeds. Reed
bought the cattle to cross with his
own Limousin herd to provide a
bigger weaning weight and faster
gain.
Reed told Lancaster Farming
that the cows show excellent
maternal traits, including lots of
milk production and gentleness
with their calves. “They’re real
self-sufficient cattle,’’ he said.
The breed itself doesn’t carry a
lot of weight, said Reed, and does
excellent on a strictly hay diet
“They’re supposed to do well on
grass and hay,’’ he said. Reed
keeps his own livestock off grain
as much as possible.
Along the interstates in many
parts of the mid-West, Reed has
noticed some White Park herds,
purebred and scattered crossbred
farms in Illinois and lowa. From
what he can tell, interest is catch
ing on, mainly through the efforts
of producers, and some from the
White Park Cattle Association of
America, based in Madrid, lowa.
One breeder, Marilyn Moeckly
in Polk City, lowa, operates her
own purebred and crossbred herds
of White Park cattle. She manages
about 100 head of Angus/White
Park in a commercial herd and
about 140 heud of purebred cattle.
She sells the cattle at 600-800
pounds as feeder stock.
Maryland Women Take
COLLEGE PARK, Md. Og
den Nash, the former tongue-in
cheek American poet of “Golden
Oldie” days, once summed up his
entire knowledge about cows with
the line. “One end is moo, the
other milk.”
Nash could have learned a lot
more about the bovine species
from two young Maryland women
who both won national champion
ships in dairy cattle judging com
petition on Sept 28 during the
World Dairy Expo in Madison,
Wis.
April Hall, 16, of Chinch Hill
(Queen Anne’s County) was the
top individual among 132 contest
ants from 34 states and one Can
adian province in the National 4-H
Dairy Cattle Judging Contest.
Jenell R. Rinehart, 20, of Tan
cytown (Carroll County) placed
first among 114 contestants from
30 colleges and universities in the
National Intercollegiate Dairy
Cattle Judging Contest.
Miss Rinehart is an animal sci
ences junior at the University of
Maryland at College Park. She is a
former state dairy princess and
state 4-H Fashion Revue winner.
And she was a member of the
Maryland 4-H dairy cattle judging
team that captured a national
Moeckly also serves as presi
dent of the White Park Associa
tion, which now has more than 400
members.
In an article in the July 1992
Rocky Mountain Feed and Lives
tock Journal. White Park produc
ers Don and Wanda Allen of WD
Farm in Walton, Ky., spoke about
purchasing White Park cattle for
the Erst time.
“I was comparing them to some
of the cows I had previously work
ed,” wrote Don. “I was afraid they
would lift their tails and take off to
parts unknown. Soon I was to
leant, however, about only one of
the many good characteristics of
the White Park breed.”
They are docile and easy to
handle, indicated the Allens. They
also have the penchant for enjoy
ing grass in their diet.
The Allens wrote, “Some of the
many reasons for owning White
Park Cattle are high fertility, ease
in calving, superior mother ability,
excellent milk producer, feed con
version, outstanding vigor and
hardiness. . . .’’
The White Park’s conversion
rate, according to the article, is
about 4.8 to 5.2 pounds per gain.
In the feedlots, according to
Rocky Mountain Feed and Lives
tock, “White Park cattle show
very good feed conversion and dai
ly rate of gain, whether the feedlot
is muddy, in continuous subzero
weather or in the 100-degrees plus
heat, they adapt and perform. Effi
cient feed use and gain rate put the
Park feeder in die most desired
slaughter category quickly—Low
Choice to Choice; yield grade of 2
to 3; (and) I,oooto 1,100 pounds at
14 to 16 months."
A few comparisons of carcass
merits of White Park X Hereford
stem from a Rays, Kan., test,
according to the newspaper, show
the White Park’s progress:
• Average daily gain 93 days
feedlot —White Park X Hereford,
4.15 pounds.
• Average total gain White
Park X Hereford, 615.8 pounds.
• Dressing percent White
Park X Hereford, 64.60.
• Percent Choice —White Park
X Hereford, 67.6.
The cattle, according to Moeck-
championship in 1989.
Rinehart won the national col
legiate crown by a comfortable
six-point margin in total score
over her nearest opponent, Kim
Brown from the University of
Wisconsin-Platteville. She also
placed first in both oral reasons
and Jersey breed judging.
The Wisconsin delegation,
however, won the team champion
ship by a wide margin, with three
of its team members finishing in
the top 10. The University of
Maryland team finished seventh.
behind Cornell University and just
ahead of the University of Wis
consin-River Falls.
Her national championship
earned Rinehart a gold watch, a
$2OO cash award and the chance to
compete for the $2,000 Kildee
graduate study scholarship, grant
ed each year to one of the top 25
contestants in the intercollegiate
dairy cattle judging event
Joining Rinehart on the Univer
sity of Maryland team were Jenni
fer Woodward-Greene of Denton
(Caroline County), an animal sci
ences junior, and two Frederick
County residents—James M. Al
len of Jefferson, an animal sci
ences senior, mid Laurie Zimmer
man of Frederick, a junior in agri-
The Whit* Park cattla, with tha talltala whHa coat, black snout, and small, pollsd
head hava baan known tor yaara to hava soma of tha highest fertility, aas* of calving,
mothering ability, milk production, faad conversion, and vigor of any of the beef
breads.
ly, are medium frame and have
never been bred for draft animals
and adapt very well to climate and
available feed conditions, “with
light red meat preferred by the lov
ers of fine textured beef,” she
wrote.
Tests are under way to collect
data on performance and breed
characteristics to form a database
of expected progeny differences
(EPDs) on the breed, according to
Reed. Moeckly wrote that, in
1991, the association purchased a
computerized
ram to “give a comprehdsive
reading across White Park herds in
America for EPDs and ulimately
sire evaluation,* ’ she wrote.
In the meantime) producers such
as Reed.are ‘‘real pleased,” he
said, with the cattle so far. Moeck
ly urges that producers who want
more information on the breed to
contact the White Park Cattle
Association of American, 419
Water St, Madrid, IA mother ability, excellent milk producer, feed conversion,
50156, (515) 795-2013. outstanding vigor and hardiness. . .
Top Title In National Dairy Judging
cultural and resource economics.
Maryland’s 4-H team placed
second in its division losing to
Florida, but edging out the big
dairy states of New York, Wiscon
sin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and
Minnesota.
Just a month earlier, April Hall,
Maryland’s national 4-H dairy
cattle judging winner, had proved
her all-around knowledge of dairy
cattle by placing first among sen
ior contestants in the 4-H and FFA
junior dairyman contest at the
Maryland State Fair.
She placed tenth in overall indi
vidual standings among senior
contestants in the Maryland 4-H
dairy cattle judging contest; so she
had to work hard during tryouts to
qualify for the stale team that rep
resented Maryland in regional and
national competition.
Her national championship
earned April the Lawrence O.
Colebank $5OO scholarship award
from the American Guernsey As
sociation.
Other memben of the Maryland
4-H team competing in the nation
al coated at Madison included
Brian R. Schnebly, 16, ofDry Run
(Washington County). Brian was
the top individual among senior
contestants in the 4-H dairy cattle
judging contest on Sept 4 at the
Maryland Slate Fair in Timonium.
He placed second in the overall
standings among 58 contestants
from IS slates in the 4-H division'
of the Pennsylvania All-American
dairy cattle judging contest on
Sept 20 at Harrisburg, Pa. In addi
tion, he was third in oral reasons
and first in both Ayrshire and Jer
sey breed judging.
Two 18-ycar-old Frederick
County residents also competed.
They were Annette Summers of
Frederick and Shannon Harrison
of Burldttsville. Annette was a
member of Frederick County’s
team that placed first in senior
competition at the Maryland State
Fair. Shannon was a member of
Howard County’s second-place
team.
MOIXIATIAWTCMU(>M>MgT>«A>»OCBTIOHOIC.
Coaching both the Maryland
collegiate and 4-H teams was J.
Lee Majeskie, animal sciences
specialist for the Cooperative Ex
tension Service, University of
Maryland at College Park.
Dr. Majeskie has coached the
Maryland 4-H teams for 12 years.
This was the first appearance for a
Maryland collegiate team in na
tional dairy cattle judging compe
tition since 1987.
Majeskie was assisted by
Katharine Knowlton, a graduate
research assistant Helping with
the 4-H team at Madison was Judy
lager of Fulton (Howard County).
Mrs. lager’s son, Mark, and her
husband, Charles E. lager, Jr., ate
both past national champions in
4-H dairy cattle judging competi
tion.
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