January Milk $15.78 ALEXANDRIA, Va. Middle Atlantic Order Market Adminiitrator Rex F. Lothrop today announced a Class I milk price of $15.78 per hundredweight for January 1994. This price is up 29 cents from December and is 91 cents above last January’s Class I price. Mr. Lothrop announced a Class 10 milk price of $12.83 per hun dredweight for November 1993 and a Class 111-A price of $10.97 per hundredweight for the month. The Class in price was up 29 cents from the previous month, while the Class 111-A price increased nine cents. The January 1994 Class I price and the Novem ber 1993 Class 111 price are based on the November 1993 Minnesota-Wisconsin manufac turing milk price of $12.75 per hundredweight at a 3.5 percent butterfat content. The November 1993 butterfat price was 74.59 cents per pound, down 1.64 cents from October. The November skim milk price per hundredweight was $10.59. 1 Insist on Chore-Time because you need the best equipment GSSB& C-2 feeder for broilers •<* •*>« - / f nipples Attention all Chore-Time customers, We want to assure you that Chore-Time systems, Chore-Time repair parts and service are available to you from Northeast Agri Systems, Inc., Pennsylvania's authorized Chore-Time master distributor. DHIA rolling herd averages and cows’ lactation records are nice to look at. They show what you and your cows have accomplished. However, as a herd manager, you also need to be looking to the future to see where your herd is heading and you need to hunt for things you can change that will help you keep your herd moving in the right direction. Yqur DHIA records can help you do this. r- in. iii aw m QS9BB H-2 feeder for broilers FLEX-AUGER* Northeast Agri Systems, Inc. Flyway Basinets Park 139 A West Airport Road Utitz, PA 17543 Where Is Your Herd Heading? mw wt^mmm B»i H-2 feeder for turkeys Swine feeding STORE HOURS Mon -M. 7 30 to 430 Sat SOO to Noon 24 Hr 7 Da/ Ropak Some* GLENN’S UDDERINGS By Glenn A. Shirk Lancaster Extension Dairy Agent Peak Milk and Persistency of Production Peak milk per cow per day is one thing to focus on. It affects cows’ lactation records and herd profits. Cows make about half of their profit per lactation during the first 100 days or so in milk. There fore, how fast cows peak, how high they peak and how well they hold their peaks has a great impact on profit Also of importance is how you can answer these ques tions: Can they stay healthy? Will adult turkey feeder with plastic pan T 1 cage systems 1-800-673-2580 "BE Ph (717) 569-2702 tows breed back and sustain high production levels without deve loping problems that will cause them to be culled prematurely and sold at .depressed market prices? If you haven’t been doing this very successfully, can changes be made that will enable you to do this? Peak milk times 223-250 gives you a rough estimate of what first lactation heifers will produce in 303 days. For older cows, multi ply peak milk by 200-223. First calf heifers generally peak 80-83% as high as third lactation and older cattle. A lot of this will depend on how well heifers were grown out and managed prior to ULTRAFLO* for layers, pullets & breeders Saihmpi, *6ls. NO&mW&fe snd after calving. Compared to alder cows, heifers hold their peaks better. In other words, they have a flatter lactation curve and they should not drop much more than 5% in milk from the previous month's average daily production. Older cows have a steeper curve and can be expected to drop 8% or so per month. These persistencies appear on your Penna. DHIA Herd Summary Report 11. On the Raleigh DHIA Herd Summary report, a test period persistency index of 100 indicates that cows are maintaining average lactation curves. If cows peak slowly, if they do not peak as high as they should and if they do not hold their peaks as well as you would like, you may want to focus on some of the following areas of management’ 1} heifer and dry cow prog rams, 2) the 2-3 week transition period for heifers and dry cows prior to calving, 3) early lactation feed program, 4) feed quality, 5) bunk space and other feeding practices, 6) herd health program, 7) cows’ comfort, etc. Also observe cows’ body condition. Milk Components and Cow Health Fat tests can indicate the status of a cow’s metabolism and how well her nimen is func tioning. It can also be a predictor of problems that cows may face in the hear future. Fat tests and protein tests can also reflect the cow’s emergency balance. High fat tests soon after calving can indi cate that cows are losing flesh too rapidly and are developing fatty livers. This could lead to ketosis, depressed appetites, loss of produc tion, twisted stomachs, etc. If this is a prob lem, be sure to review your dry cow and heifer management program, the management of heifers and dry cows during the transition per iod prior to and shortly after calving, feed quality, ration formulation, feeding practices, cow comfort and anything else that may affect cows’ appetites. Low fat tests may indicate that cows have an acid rumen, which depresses appetites and milk production, and reduces efficiency of digestion; more of the feed ends up in the gut ter rather than in the milk tank. Acidosis can also cause laminitis which can predispose cows to other foot problems. Fat tests may not add much to the market value of your milk, but it is still important to feed cows for normal rumen function. If you accomplish this, fat tests for Holsteihs shouldn’tdrop much below 3.5; otherwise; there is a chance that cows’ rumens will not function properly and efficiently. When cows are undcrconditioned and body scores drop into the low 2's, protein tests can start dropping and fat tests may be at or below protein tests. These cows are in a very severe negative energy balance. Chances are they won't display heats, and if bred, they probab ly will not conceive. Look for calving inter vals to stretch out and for cows to possibly start calving at the wrong time of the year in the heat of the summer, or slipping out of the base-building period and into the excess milk season which means their milk will be worth less. If tests are low be sure to check rations for adequate forage dry matter intake and for for age fiber intake. Also important are length of chop, forage quality, fat levels in the ration, how and when grain is fed, proper use of buf fers, etc. Stay attuned to some of these warning signs and make necessary adjustments in your man agement program in timely fashion so the herd keeps moving in the direction you want it to move. Keep the steering wheel in your hands. Penn State is an affirmative action equal opportunity university. ROPE IN SOME EXTRA ft CASH! Advertise With A I | Lancaster Farming v/• CLASSIFIED AD... Phone; 717-394-3047 or 717-626-1164
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