A34-L«nc«3ter Farming, Saturday, February 26, 1994 Holstein Outlined At EVERETT NEWSWANGER Managing Editor PARADISE (Lancaster Co.) —At a bam meeting on the farm of Robert and Gary Bowman, an outline of the new linear classi fication program from the National Holstein Association and other herd book and registration infor mation were topics of discussion. Don Cook, classifier, and Clarence Stauffer, field services, conducted the meeting sponsored by the Lan caster County Holstein Association. In the linear Classification prog ram, a classifier from the national association evaluates each cow for 17 functional traits. Each trait is given a value, and you can review a cow’s ratings and identify her strengths and weaknesses. Because bulls are now evaluated by similar means, through classification of their daughters, a service sire can be selected to mate for improve ment of offspring. Cook explained the various important traits for which dairy men should watch. For example, a cow with too much set to her hock Joints, a sickle-hocked cow, would have trouble moving around. Or a cow with an udder that didn’t have good fore and rear attachments may not be suitable for extended production. The linear classification results are used as a benchmark to track progress from generation to gener ation. You have more control of the direction of your breeding program by using this unbiased means to measure progress. In addition to the new scoring breakdowns, the association has Owner Address Dean Hood Named Chairman Of Ag Satellite Consortium UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre “My role will be to provide lead- clients or those in commercial can be used for multiple purposes, ning or construction phases. Co.) Dr. Lamartine F. Hood, ership to ensure that AG*SAT sectors.” maximizing our efforts.” Funding for much of the dean of Penn State’s College of attains its full potential as a provid- Penn State has been heavily Since 1989, the College of Agri- AG*SAT network, which is head- Agricultural Sciences, has been er of distance education prog- involved in the production and dis- cultural Sciences also has origi- quartered at the' University of elected chairman of the Agricul- rams,” Hood said. tribution of AG*SAT program- nated nearly 50 cooperative exten- Nebraska-Lincoln, has been pro tural Satellite Corporation Hood belives the biggest chal- mmg. One of the first two courses sion videoconferences that have vided by telecommunication facil (AG*S AT), a consortium of nearly lenge facing AG*SAT is develop- offered via AG*SAT, Introductory been distributed by AG*SAT and |(j es g ranls fj o(n U.S. Depart -50 land-grant universities and gov- ing quality programming on a reg- Food Science, originated from offered at dozens of locations ment 0 f Commerce. Matching emment agencies. ular basis. “We have to take a Penn State in the spring of 1991. around Pennsylvania and beyond. f un( j s or in-kind services have AG*SAT was formed in 1989 market approach in creating prog- The course was downlinked and These programs typically include prov ided by member institu for the production and distribution rams that meet the needs of our offered for credit at six college videotaped portions and interac- and county governments of distance education program- partners and diverse audiences,” campuses nationwide, and also live sgements when audience mmg, including undergraduate he said. was used for professional training members can talk directly with credit courses and cooperative “We need to form alliances with by extension and food industry specialists in the studio via extension programs. Penn State is other organizations, such as user personnel in two states. telephone, a charter member, and Hood has groups and private industry. And “AG*SAT allows member uni- In conjunction with AG*SAT, been a member of the consortium’s we need to utilize a whole range of versities to use each other’s Penn State is installing'satellite board of directors since its incep- emerging technolgoies to reach courses to fill voids in their curri- dishes at cooperative extension tion. He previously served as sec- those who can use the information, cula," Hood said. “But as our offices across the state. So far, 15 retary and vice-chairman of the whether they are location-bound Introductory Food Science course downlink sites have been corn board. students, cooperative extension demonstrated, course materials pleted and 16 more are in the plan- Programs Barn Meeting several participation programs that allow dairy farmers to classify only the cows they want to use in their breeding program. For example, you may want to use the “classic” program that clas sifies all the cows in the herd that have ever freshened with 36 months. Or you can select the option to classify “breeder’s choice” with only special cows to be classified. Between these possi bilities are four other programs that give dairymen a break on classifi cation costs but meet the needs of the breeding programs in many dif ferent herds. Stauffer told the group that you can permanently identify your ani mals over the phone by calling the toll-free number and giving the genetic information to the home office. They will take the informa tion and print it on the application that is sent to you for sketches or photos. If you don’t want to bother with sketches or photos, the associ ation allows you to use permanent type ear tags. The Qualified Holstein Herd book also offers those with cows that have not been registered to become part of an identified prog ram. Grade cows with proper iden tification of genetic background can now become pan of this sepa rate herd registry book. In an attempt to get many of the good grade cows into a registry program, a low application fee is in place until the end of this year. Anyone interested in any of these programs can call the National Holstein Association at 1-800-952-5200 or contact a local county association officer or board member. lalrvman Holstein ANIMAL NO OATS OP SMITH Regina 10-03 Veronica 10-04 !23U 6-10 Bon Bon 6-08 11717850 Rebecca 5-10 11990933 Lilac 5-10 Suzanne 5-09 Vera 5-00 Margaret 5-00 12313698 Regal 4-07 12495037 Bonnlta 4-06 12615110 Canaen 4-04 Vanessa 12798: M*r«o This sample of the barn worksheet given to you for your files at the time of type clas sification shows the new linearized descriptive traits now used in the registered Hols* ♦eln ewam. WI 53535 DATE OF CAL VINO 12,30 B' 1,15 J 24 2,26 Don Cook, classifier for the National Holstein Association, talks with dairymen at the bam meeting. BRIDGE The functional parts of a cow used to describe linear traits are shown on a model of the true-type Holstein. Foma WUMF CtOt/FCtT - JDDER j FORE UDDER ATTACHMENT KNEE I ' I i HEEL SOLE UDDER TEATS |s si its oC Si f! At SEARCH T WAITS 5 w I o | -)* lIUMf * f SWITCH —PASTERN \hoop FORE Ul TEATS “The growth of AG*SAT is a relfeciion of the commitment col leges of agriculture have to all citi zens,” said Hood. ‘The creative use of these distance education technologies will help us fulfill our land-grant mission into the 21st century.” I TAIL HEAD riN lONES REAR UDDER ATTACHMENT .THIGH -STIFLE FLANK HEAR UOOEK HOCK |DEW CLAW
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