Chester Dairy Day (Continued from Pago A 32) proper development of the heifer, especially reproductively. He also suggested that breeding heifers to calve at 23 to 24 months of age should be a goal of every producer, because it results in higher lifetime milk production. Heinrichs also said that there is no correlation between age of first calving and age of culling which means that those who con tinue to have heifers calve at ages of 25 months on are merely losing money in feed costs. If the heifer is going to have problems and be culled before a m f2 FISHER & THOMPSON, INC. I ® DAIRY ft MILKING EQUIPMENT SALES ft SERVICE (wKTMJM) MAIN OFFICE MIFFLINBURG SALES CENTER NORTHERN SERVICE 15 NEWPORT RD. RD280X265 f E £l^ R in7 LEOLA PA 17540 WABASH RD. RD 1 boxa-107 717-656 ; 3307 MIFFLINBURG, PA 17844 BELLEVILLE, PA 17004 717.966-3900 717-667-6291 third lactation, it is going to hap pen regardless of when she calved the first time. What will happen with a heifer that calves at 23 to 24 months of age is that over her lifetime she will actually produce more milk, and she will be more profitable, because she won’t require as much feed until she starts to generate income in milk sales. Acccording to an analysis of data taken from Dairy Herd Improvement Records, those cows which had an age of first calving at 22.9 months averaged 25,525 pounds of milk per 305-day lacta- tion, while those calving first at 26.3 months had an average pro duction of 20,280 pounds of milk. Heinrichs recommended using a weight tape to start breeding cows when they weigh about7sopound s. He said most people are breed ing when the heifers weigh about 900 pounds, which is unecessary. The goal is to have a post calving weight on a first-calf heifer of about 1,200 to 1,250 pounds. (For every increase in body weight at calving their is a corresponding increase in milk production). Heinrichs warned that most weight tapes available need to be reworked, since the calculations upon which they are based are about 20 years old. He said weight tapes generally result in overesti- mating by 20 pounds on young ani mals, and 40 pounds on older ani mals. Those difference have to be taken into consideration. (Some other speakers at diffe rent forums have suggested using height indicators for heifers to determine when the size of the heifer is appropriate for first breeding.) Heinrichs showed a diagram relating feed costs to average daily gain to calving age and also the simple relationship between those factors and calving weight and ultimately milk production. According to die diagram feed costs are directly related to average daily gain, which is related to calv ing age, calving weight and milk production. In fact, all are interconnected. Heinrichs also said that for those serious about developing the best heifers and the best milking string, AgßeStOre Presents ANNUAL WINTER SOIL AND LIVESTOCK NUTRITION SEMINAR I\iesdar,Jan. 17, 1995 Wed., Jan. 18,1995 Thnre., Jan. 19,1995 Yoder’s Restaurant Clear Spring, MD Oakland, MD New Holland, PA David Stnte Farm Pleasant Valley 9 am - 3 pm Community Center 1-412-836-2404 For Reservations Topics will include: • Environmental Concerns Affecting Dairy Cows • Certifying Organic Production • Weed Purposes & Management • Pasture, Forage and Manure Management plus Testimonials /®v Agßestore, Inc. “C*c*lUmc* itt Biological A