...
Production Leader
(Continued tram Page A 1)
cent of the herds processed for the
year-end were official (for a varie
ty of reasons, enough tests may not
be completed to qualify as an offi
cial year-end record.).
Quite a large number of member
herds use AM-PM testing, which
is a system that allows a technician
to lest in the morning one test day
and the evening the next. The trad
itional two-times per day testing
procedure is still used, but many
are switching to using less intru
sive testing procedures.
Top Cow
Protein, Milk
The 1993-94 top production
record for milk and protein made
by an individual cow went to a
registered Holstein owned by Cur
vm and Dawn Good, of
Myers town.
Good’s now 7-year-old cow,
Cur-Daw Sonya, made a record of
43,323 pounds of milk and 1,443
pounds of protein on a 305-day
lactation her fifth to top all
other individual cows on test with
Pa.DHIA.
Sonya is a Sundancer daughter
out of a Superb daughter. That
Superb daughter was one that Cur
vin bought years back from
Donald Bollinger, of
Kleinfeltersville.
As a 2-year-old, Sonya made
19,945 pounds of 4.2 percent fat
milk on a 305-day lactation; as a
3-year-old, she produced 25,363
pounds of 3.6 percent fat milk in
291 days; as a 4-year-old, she
made 31,476 pounds of 3.6 percent
milk in 299 days; as a 5-year-old
she made 35,822 pounds of 3.4
percent milk in 305 days.
“I didn’t really expect her to do
this,” Curvin said Wednesday at
his 80-acre dairy farm, located just
south of Myerstown. He said that
while she had been a
steadily strong milker
and bred back easily,
giving him all heifers to
date (she’s due to
freshen November to
Jed), he didn’t expect
the milk flow that came
on this last lactation.
When she freshened
in September 1993, she
delivered twin heifer
calves. “She cleaned
right up and just starting
making milk,” he said.
According to Good
she peaked at 170
pounds per day and nev
er dropped below 100
pounds until her last
test, when she made 75
pounds. Then he dried
her off as she finished at
377 days, bred and
ready to prepare for
another lactation.
Curvin and Dawn,
whom Curvin said does
most of the milking,
have other high produc
ing cows in their
70-milking cow string,
which includes a breed
ing philosophy of stress
ing production, but not
ignoring type. In fact,
the herd contains three
Excellents and some
more classifying close
to that mark. CThe farm
BAA was more than
107.)
No. 34 was scored a
Very Good 85, though
not classified this past
round because of being
dry. She “walks uphill,”
carrying a long, large,
deep, strong frame with
good width.
The second highest producer in
the Good herd is one of their
Excellent cows, a Cleitus daughter
that produced 36,000 pounds at
305-days and is expected to make
more than 40,000 at 365 days.
For those who have been fol
lowing Pa.DHIA end-of-year
records closely, especially those
published in the Pennsylvania
Dairymen’s Association annual
yearbooks, the herd of Curvin and
Dawn Good has been near the top
of Lebanon County’s high
averaging list for several years.
That is an accomplishment in a
county which has had the highest
herd average in the state for several
years.
However, the yearbook records
for the past three years seem a little
confusing.
The Goods’ herd last year was
11th statewide among the Holstein
herds with a rolling herd average
on more than 80 cows of 26,399
pounds of milk.
The previous year, the Good’s
herd averaged more than 90 cows
and produced an average 24,259
pounds of milk.
This year their herd average, on
71 cows was 26,379 pounds of
milk.
Curvin said that to someone
reviewing only the Pa.DHIA
records, it may appear as though he
has been culling and dropping 10
cows per year from the milking
string, while concentrating on
increasing production per cow.
That is actually a strategy
offered in some cases by Penn
State Extension experts for those
seeking to maximize the piofit-to
investment ratios.
However, Curvin said what
actually happened was that he and
his brother Jay. who had formed a
partnership years ago and taken
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over the family farm from their
father Willis, dissolved their part
nership three years ago when they
had about 100 milking cows.
The switch-over really came in
the spring of 1993, and at that time
Curvin and Jay each took away
about 48 cows. Curvin bought
some additional to fill out his milk
ing string and was milking 65 dur
ing 1993, but the records (con
tained in the 1994 yearbook)
showed a herd average of 81
animals.
That happened because
Pa.DHIA records took into
account all the cows milked that
year before the brothers split
the partnership, and afterward.
From now on, Curvin said, he
expects that he will keep the milk
ing herd at about 70 animals.
He said he feeds a totally mixed
ration made with haylage, silage,
high moisture com, soymeal and
some bean flake, along with min
erals. He milks out of a 50-tie stall
bam and feeds with a Weaverline
cart, that he said allows him to feed
quickly.
Top Fat Producer
The top cow for milk fat produc
tion for the year was also a
Holstein a 6-year-old regis
tered cow owned by James Har
leis, of Ebensburg, in Cambria
County.
Harteis milks three times per
day according to the Pa.DHIA
records. His cow, listed as No. 1,
made 1,890 pounds of fat Her
milk output was 32,100 pounds of
milk and she gave 977 pounds of
protein during the lactation that
started July 30, 1993.
The percentage of fat in the milk
from No. 1 was not the highest
listed of the top fat producers, but
DAIRY CATTLE
HOOF TRIMMING
Hydraulic Tilt
Table
M. A c V * » Hr *
il was very dose with 3.9 percent
fat The protein component was 3
percent.
Top Herds
The top averaging herd for milk
is owned by Rob and Donna Van
Blarcom of Columbia Cross
Roads, with 29,136 pounds of milk
from 78 grade and registered cows.
That herd’s fat production average
was 934 pounds, while protein was
934 pounds.
The lop averaging protein pro
ducing herd was a 71-cow held of
registered and grade Holsteins
owned by Frederick Farms, in
Martinsburg. The herd averaged
909 pounds protein, 1,116 pounds
fat and 29,059 pounds milk.
The herd with the top fat pro
duction was owned by R.V. and
S.V. Hollenshead, of Mercers burg.
Sire Power
New Classifications
TUNKHANNOCK (Wyoming
Co.) Sire Power Inc., an artifi
cial insemination business based in
Tunkhannock, has announced sev
eral classification increases it has
received oq Holstein bulls.
According to a recent news
release, 9H1289 Art-Acre Ned
Boy Oascar-Et TL, bred by Arthur
Rhoderick, of Hagerstown, Md.,
received a classification increase
to Excellent-92.
Also receiving an increase was
9H147S Juniper Cleitus lag-ET
BL. Bred by Juniper Farm Cattle
Partnership in Gray, Maine. Jag is
13th on the top 100 TPI list
According to the news release. Jag
is also the top sire on the Holstein
Association’s ranking of regis
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The 140-cow herd of registered
and grade Holsteins averaged
1,183 pounds of fat, 906 pounds of
protein and 28,470 pounds of milk.
Herd Management
Award Winners
The annual top herd manage
ment award was shared this year
between the farm of Mark and
David Campbell of Armstrong
County and Fantasyland Farm in
Berks County.
The two farms tied in the num
ber of points earned to win the
award. The points are tallied
according to a variety of dairying
aspects, that all indicate an
improvement in management.
The lists of top milk, fat, and
protein cows and rolling herd aver
ages can be found starting on page
D 2 of this issue.
Announces
teied and commercial sires.
Another sire to receive an
upgrade in type classification was
9H1488 Rockalli Vanquish-ET
TL. According to Sire Power, Van
quish is a Cleitus son bred at the
Ml Vernon, Washington farm of
Hubert and Mitchell Johnson, and
Vanquish was recently scored
Excellent-91.
The company also reported that
a number of sires were increased in
score with four raised to Very
Good-87; one to Very Good-86;
three to Good Plus 84; one to Good
Plus 83; and one to Plus-59.
For more information, call Sire
Power Inc., at (717) 836-1490.
* j* •