A34-unctstr Fanning, Saturday', -Oaeawbar- K, 1994
GEORGE F.W. HAENLEIN
Extension Dairy Specialist
University of Delaware
NEWARK, Del. —Looking
back is often a nostalgic business.
When I look back, I think fond
ly of the days when I worked in the
field with a horse team. Even now,
as winter approaches, 1 remember
hauling loads of fodder beets for
the cows from the trench silo sev
eral miles outside my village near
Heidelberg, Germany.
The work was rugged and the
cold almost unbearable at times
for me and the horses but I still
manage to cast the memory in a
romantic light.
It’s that time of the year now.
We may sit around the fireplace to
warm up, reflect on those years
and consider how far we have
come.
Where I grew up, we milked by
hand, so 20 cows was the maxi
mum one person could be asked to
do twice a day as fulltime milker.
Today, we don’t have to stoop;
we can stand up in a “parlor” and
milk a lot more than 20 cows with
out great discomfort, either to us
or the cows. We even have parlors
in which one person can milk
more than 100 cows per hour for
several hours. That’s progress!
What efficiency of labor!
Why. then, are we sentimental
about the old days?
You’ll have your own thoughts,
but I think the slower efficiency,
the unhurried pace of life, the not
being driven by machines and
computers made things easier. We
had time to sit back at the fire
place, to contemplate, to remi
nisce.
Still, we can Be thankful for the
progress and better efficiency on
our dairy farms. We feed more
people more cheaply, helping to
reduce hunger around the world.
When I was given the responsi
bility of the University of
Delaware dairy herd 37 years ago,
our Holstein herd milked barely
8.000 pounds per year; the nation
al cow numbers were around IS
million. Today, the national herd
is under 10 million and our univer
sity herd averages more than
21.000 pounds of milk per year
(and this without stimulants).
At the same times many of our
dairy farms have disappeared
because of the increased efficien-
Looking
cy and higher output per cow. We
have 178,000 dairy farms in this
country, down from almost
800,000 farms 37 years ago, a
shrinkage of 78 percent. Is this
why we’re nostalgic about the old
days?
Four decades ago, New Castle
County here in Delaware was
wall-to-wall cow country, a coun
ty green with farms surrounding
Wilmington and the little town of
Newark.
Today, two dairy herds remain
one at the university and the
county is covered with houses.
At best, one in 10 of my stu
dents come from farms; 37 years
ago most of them did.
Now I take my portable milk
ing machine and model rubber
udder to elementary schools, high
schools and youth camps to
demonstrate to youngsters where
their milk comes from.
You should see the happy sur
prise on those kids’ faces when
they put a finger into one of the
teat cups and feel the vacuum and
pulsation that milks the udder.
Then they see the milk come
through the teat cup and the clear
plastic hoses into the bucket!
Because of our progress in effi
ciency, are we losing part of farm
life and nature and green space? Is
this way of life irretrievably lost to
a major part of our population? Is
that why we are sentimental about
the good old days despite the hard
ship? Perhaps we can be thankful
for our Amish dairy farmers who
still hold on to the farm life that we
can only reminisce about.
I found an interesting and rele
vant statistic: people in this coun
try spent 22 percent of their
income on food 25 years ago.
Today it is only IS percent, a mea
sure of our progress for the com-
mon good.
At the same time, income spent
on medical costs 25 years ago was
10 percent; today it averages 14
percent!
What can we look forward to?
I
I
I
I
i - |gar
mm |pp ipp
Back, Looking Ahead
Just as the last election made
the statement “enough is enough,”
there will come a time in this
sprawling urbanization when
we’ll have to make a statement
about the loss of our dairy and
family farms and green spaces.
Studies show that for human
health, people require a certain
amount of green space. And what
better system can you find but
dairy and livestock farms, where
grazing is the major part of the
feeding system, to preserve our
precious green space in an attrac
tive and satisfying way?
How will we cope financially?
Among our five leading U.S.
dairy states, cow numbers in Cali
fornia are up by 3 percent. In Wis
consin, cow numbers declined last
year by 1.8 percent, in Minnesota
by 3.9 percent and in New York by
2 percent. Pennsylvania showed
no change. Total milk production
was 1 percent higher in Minneso
ta, 3.3 percent in Wisconsin, 1.2
percent in Pennsylvania and 7.7
percent in California! New York
had no change.
At the same time, milk prices at
the farm gate averaged $1.50 less
in California than in Wisconsin,
and Wisconsin dairy farmers ask
how Californians can profit while
getting paid less for their milk.
So, looking forward for the
farmers in Wisconsin (and proba
bly for us as well) will include
considering how to invest less
money in overhead and produce
the same quality of milk cheaper.
I have tried over the last years
to stay away from rewarding
record production, as attractive as
it might be, and have concentrated
on the “bottom line” in our dairy
business, offering ideas from
research and practice to improve
dairy farm ledgers. Among better
nutrition, better health and better
reproduction in our dairy herds,
ourtest opportunities are in trying
to improve the many inefficiencies
in reproduction. ‘
A recent survey of Pennsylva-
55- The “Modal 55” bate rack la the loundatlon on
which Staffan Systems Incorporated haa built Ita
reputation of quality Thla modal la available In
many Irame-alza options, aa wall aa with attach
ments to fit bucket loaders, forklifts and akidsteer
loaders, to accomodate nearly any bale size or
mounting application
*'* i
950- The Bale "Accumulator*" are designed to
conveniently and easily arrange up to ten 2-tie or
eight 3-tl* bales Into a uniform package The fully
automatic electric over hydraulic controls operala
the accumulator without tha need of an operator
With It* quick and amooth function* th* bale accu
mulator can accept up to five bale* per minute
nia dairy herds indicates that only
IS percent of the herd managers
use synchronized prostaglandin
induced controlled breeding of
cows after calving to overcome
the costly problem of silent estrus
and missed estrus observation.
Controlled breeding has been
proven to lessen the variation in
calving intervals among cows and
reduce long average calving inter
vals in the herd. It also decreases
culling of certain cows when they
have failed to come into heat or
become pregnant again in a rea
sonable time after calving. Con
trolled breeding will reduce the
time and cost spent for heat detec
tion, and improve net return, the
Rutherford Appointed
Representative
SYRACUSE, N.Y. Dairylea
President Clyde Rutherford of
Otego, N.Y., was recently appoint
ed to the Agricultural Transporta
tion Review Panel as representa
tive of agribusiness by New York
State Governor Mario Cuomo.
Under chapter 654 of the laws
of 1994, the nine-member panel
will review the impact of the feder
al motor carrier safety regulations
upon farm vehicles in New York
State, and examine the statutes and
regulations regarding the move
ment of agricultural equipment
upon the state’s highways.
As representative of agribusi
ness, Rutherford will be signifi
cantly involved in the transporta
tion of agricultural inputs, sup
plies, or commodities.
200- The “Model 200” eell-propelled ycrd loader
It a unique machine deelgntd to move many bale
sizes and package configuratlona at high epaad lit
stacking height of 20 teat and short wheelbase
allow tha 'Modal 200' to maneuver in and out of
tight areas while making optimum use of the exist
ing storage space
Call For Field Demonstration!
FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL OR WRITE;
DAVID O. FINK
6958 Phillips Road
Germansville, PA 18053
■ 215-767-1408
Fax 215-767-1312
Tech Equip. . Twine
• Drying Agents . Plastic Me Wrap
• Preservatives
Steffen Systems, Inc.
•045 State Straat, Salam, OR 97301
(803) 380-9041
Fas (803) 371-4770
MILK.
IT DOES A
body good:
Wy&v::.-- ■-
Wh
65- Tha "Modal M” bala rack la specifically de
•lgnad to match tha naada ol Naw Holland bala
wagon uaara, auch aa modala 1003,1037 »1069
With six hook bara, thla unit aaally handles any
thraa-bala-wida package Thla model Is also avail
able with several Irama-alza options and mounts to
suit your special naada.
c ' 4
51*32' The “Modal 51-32" bala rick la a perfect
match for most comprsstad bale loading or un
loading operations With a frame size of 86' x 86'
and powered vertical tilt Tha unit adapts nicely to
6000 to 7000 lb lift trucka Comas standard with 32
tasth,2hookcylindsra Tha “Modal 61-32' lasxcsl
lanl lor hall cut bales
mm a m
bottom line, because more cows
are in their natural peak produc
tion.
I’ve seen forecasts of farm gate
milk prices for the coming year
that should average $O.lO per hun
dredweight more than last year,
despite higher potential produc
tion.
Because of a good hay and com
crop this year, feed prices should
stay low.
And, finally, because of better
commercial milk sales over last
year’s, the outlook for our dairy
farms is good as we begin another
year.
Happy New Year!
Rutherford, who has served as
president of Dairylea for the past
16 years, was recently reelected
for his 17th term.
Rutherford is a member of the
executive committee and chairman
of the Dairy Stabilization Commit
tee Task Force of the National
Milk Producers Federation.
Regionally, he is chairman of
the Northeastern Farm Policy
Council, vice chairman of the
board of directors of Atlantic Pro
cessing, Inc., and a director and
member of the executive commit
tee of Empire Livestock Market
ing Cooperative, Inc.
Rutherford and his wife, Jean
nette, operate a 500-acre dairy
which produces 1.8 million
pounds of milk annually.