How Does Your Herd Compare? STATE COLLEGE (Centre Co.) —These data are calculated using information pulled from Pennsylvania DHIA’s mainframe computer each week. It is a one-week summary representing approximately one fourth of the herds on test, as they are tested monthly. These data are valuable from a business management standpoint and can be used for comparing your operations to the averages from about one-fourth of the herds across the state. DHIA Averages for all herds processed between 10/01/94 and 10/08/94 Number of Herds Processed Number of Cows Processed Number of Cows Per Herd Milk Per Cow (Lbs) %-Fal Fat Per Cow (Lbs) %-Protein Protein Per Cow (Lbs) Average Days in Milk Per Cow •Value for CWT Milk(s) •Value for CWT Grain(s) •Value for CWT Hay(s) •Value for CWT Silage(s) •Value for Pasture Per Day(s) •Value for Milk Per Cow Per Year(s) •Feed Consumed Per Cow Per Year(Lbs) A: Grain B: Hay C: Silage D: Day Pasture •Feed Cost Per Cow Per Year(s) A: Grain B: Hay Tune-up for winter with these cool weather specials! Dopond on tho products that deliver! ffWk HIRED-HAND Ufi Convenient access New side swinging door design makes internal cabinet t*A * m hilly accessible - ,L* • Modular control panel and quick-dlsconnect wiring haraesa make fleld service a snap! 225,000 BTU electronic ignition WBED-HANO* S Shenandoah lHeatin g Products gSbenpdwft • Brooders • Incinerators • Space Heaters m • Parts , • Accessories SPECIAL 10% OFF Advice For Editor’s note: Because of the weather conditions favorable to the growth of a potato blight fun gus this past growing season, and because of the widespread effect the disease has had, special man agement practices should be con sidered by those handling potatoes Average Farm Feed Costs For Handy Reference To help fanners across the state to have handy reference of com modity input costs in their feeding operations for DHIA record sheets or to develop livestock feed cost data, here’s last week’s average costs of various ingredients as compiled from regional reports across the state of Pennsylvania. Remember these are averages so you will need to adjust your figures up or down according to your loca tion and the quality of your crop. Com, No, 2y - 2.54 bu. 4.55 cwt Wheat, No. 2 - 3.34 bu. 5.58 cwL 1,018 60,216 59.1 18,450 3.71 685 3.20 590 318 Barley. No. 3 - 1.70 bu. 3.64 cwt Oats, No. 2-1.43 bu. 4.46 cwt Soybeans, No. 1 - 5.47 bu. 9.13 cwt 13.23 8.36 4.26 1.54 .29 Ear Com 68.13 ton 3.41 cwt Alfalfa Hay - 97.75 ton 4.89 cwt Mixed Hay - 92.50 ton 4.63 cwt Timothy Hay - 99.50 ton 4.98 cwt 2,441 6,849 2,209 14,980 63 572 94 SPACE HEATERS XL has all the great features of the origi nal Super Saver and comes in 225,000 BTU Inside or Out side Mount, LP or Natural Gas with Galvanized or Stain less Steel Cabinet New duct features user-adjustable heat deflector to suit individual needs. s3ss°° C: Silage D: Pasture ♦Total Feed Cost Per Cow Per Ycar(s) ♦lncome Over Feed Costs Per Ycar(s) ♦Grain to Milk Ratio ♦Feed Cost Per CWT Milk(s) Avg Level For 942 SCC Herds *Membcr-g«ncraU4 fl|um Upgrade to (SHMSS Radiant CAS BROODERS One 40,000 BTU radiant brooder does the work of two 30,000 BTU brooders Hired Hand .Repair Parts Morjheaatl 77T||TJ Northeast Agri Systems, Inc. QQ FEOEHALtSURQ, MD. Flyway Business Park store hours Moa-Fri 730 to 430 an (F ,^ V SS7 U^ 139 A West Airport Road 7 . Hr 7 SMB 1-800-73M361 Lltltz, PA 17543 Day Repair Service gjrj| wwgm, Ph: (717) 569-2702 Mond.y-Frw.y 1-800-673-2580 fßsW\ « T - Potato Blight in order to eliminate as much as possible the return of the blight. Following a meeting late last month of producers, support agen cies and governmental officials, the state government requested the US. secretary of agricultural to providefederal assistancefor pro ducers who experienced heavy los ses this past year. The author of the following advice is the Penn State Extension professional who deals with such disease problems. BARBARA CHRIST Associate Professor PSD Dept Plant Pathology STATE COLLEGE (Centre Co.) There are several prac tices that should be considered and followed when late blight is present* • Make sure the vines are thor oughly killed before harvest • When killing vines, apply an appropriate protectant fungicide until the vines are dead. • Harvest tubers when soils are not wet and the soil is not adhering to the tubers. • If more than 1 percent of tubers have blight grade into storage; tubers that are lightly infected are difficult to detect and grade out • Storage of potatoes with severe late blight is difficult The storage temperature should be lowered mote rapidly than normal. Temperatures above SO degrees will allow the fungus and asso ciated soft rot bacteria to continue rotting the potatoes. 1,524 1:2.6 4.97 376,005 NEMA 4X sealed plastic housing - L WEATHER SPECIALS Curtains Inlets fit And Static Pressure Accessories Controls Call for Information on our special retrofit Inlot package. Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 22, 1994-A29 Management The ideal temperature to store blighted tubers is in the range of 38 to 40 degrees. Also, good air circu lation is a must And furthur, keep the relative humidity below 85 per cent Blighted tubers should not be held any longer than necessary. Consider the source of seed potatoes to avoid introducing the disease into fields. Contact your seed grower to talk over the blight situation in their area and. if possible, visit their farm operation. There will be seed that is reaso nably clean and free of blight. Maine has not been as hard hit with blight this year and has a reason able seed crop depending on the individual. Do not plant seed from Maine adjacent to seed from North Dakota. New York seed growers may also have a reasonable crop of seed potatoes. Not all of Pennsylvania seed is lost or full of blight. There may be a good seed source within our state, but the answers are not com pletely in yet There are several management practices that should be followed to minimize the risk of heavy blight losses. • Plant only certified seed. • Remove all cull piles. Indivi dual producers have buried or composted the cull tubers. • Reduce volunteer plants. Expose tubers in order to freeze. 231 18 • Scout fields or scout areas where there may be volunteer plants. 916 • Use protectant fungicides. • Ridomil is only effective tow ards sensitive strains of blight and only effective when applied early, before late blight is established. $23500 THERMOSTAT $1095 1995 Seed Potatoes Management For 1995 t ’■ Model SGB-Z