Breeding, Feeding Pays Off
VERNON ACHENBACH JR.
Lancaster Farming Staff
VINCENTOWN,
NJ. There are many things
which can create excitement in
farming, but nothing quite like see
ing unexpectedly outstanding per
formance by a farm-raised animal.
Recently, a New Jersey dairy
fanner and his herdsman have
been getting exched about some
high milk production coming from
one of their farm’s registered
Holsteins.
Clint Shontz, of Vincentown,
NJ., lives and works on a 120-acre
dairy farm owned by his father, C.
Wayne Shontz. Clint owns 57
milking cows out of the 220-head
milking herd he manages and
milks with the help of hired man
Chris Kleingunther.
What has been causing excite
ment at the farm is the promisingly
high production by one of Clint's
registered Hoslteins a red and
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white genetic carrier which
haven't been renowned for high
production compared to the rest of
the breed.
According to Shontz, his just
turned 6-year-old Sliayne Sham
rock, an 86-point Cleitus daughter,
tested for 179 pounds milk produc
tion on the 30th day after freshen
ing. At 65 days, she made 176
pounds of milk.
"1 think she’s milking more
now,” said Clint, a 1993 dairy sci
ence graduate from Virginia
Polytechnic Institute and State
University.
Clint said she made more than
100,000 pounds of milk in two,
extended lactations. As a 2-year
old, she made 29,000 pounds milk,
and 35,000 pounds as a 3-year-old.
According to Clint, while inject
able, recombinant bovine somatot
ropin (rBST) is used on some ani
mals in the 220-head milking
string, he hasn’t used it on
Is Here!!!
Shamrock.
He said that, first of all, “She’s
just fresh and she’s milking a lot.”
He also said that she slipped too
much body score naturally to push
her production any more than it is.
Shontz said that, unfortunately,
Shamrock suffered a recent brief
bout of mastitis in a quarter and her
production dropped slightly.
Shontz said he treated her for mas
titis and has been feeding most of
the calves with milk from
Shamrock.
While the mastitis is apparently
under control, Shamrock is a big
cow. Shontz said, and he worries
sometimes about her moving
around in the fteestalls. He esti
mated her weight at around 1,800
pounds, though he said he hasn’t
measured her.
She has two daughters, one
milking, Beattyview Mailt Ryan,
that he said has had a couple of
tests of more than 95 pounds per
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That fact that her daughter is young sire program,
doing well, and she is testing at 3.5 He said he had flushed Sham
percent protein, he said her index rock to a ted bull, but did not get
ought to improve. He said he any red calves,
intends to have her res cored and The farm’s herd has about a
some photographs taken. 20,000 pound rolling herd average,
“I really excited ... the next and though it consists mostly of
highest testing cow (to Shamrock) Holsteins, it is colorful, with some
is 120 (pounds), and the herd aver- Brown Swiss and Jerseys. Abo,
age was 6S pounds that day (her about 75 percent of the Hobteins
second test of the current beta- carry the red genetic factor, and of
ticn), so she is actually three times those, about a third exhibit the
the average of herd,” he said. coloration.
Shamrock’s dam was an Abo, about 60 percent of the
Enhancer daughter that Shontz herd b registered, Shontz said,
said was a 100,000 pound cow, Clint said he feeds a totally mix
“though she never made any super ed ration made mostly with grains
records, but a lot of milk.” and forages raised on the farm and
Thegrandamwasaredcarrier.a the additional rented bnd. They
Lilly Pond Distinctive Red daught- raise and store high moisture com,
er. Clint said he bought Sham- com sibge, alfalfa, and oatbge
rock’s dam in 1986 for about taken off in the spring as a winter
$1,500 during the New Jersey cover crop on com. The fields are
State Calf sale. planted to alfalfa and com basical-
Shontz does all sire selections ly on a three-year rotation, and
and does all the artificial insemina- Clint does a lot of field work in
tion work on the farm. He also par- addition to managing the herd.
The TMR also uses purchased concentrates
and commodities, such as soybean meal, or
protein meal.
Clint does the ration formubtions, using a
computer program he got at college, plus a
record system he described as “homespun.”
The herd b on a regular monthly pregnancy
checks by a veterinarian and basically has the
herd on a regular herd health program, with
the vet doing general herd health checks.
Shontz said that while he doesn'tdo formal
body scores, he does mental body scores,
especially on those at freshening, and at other
points in a dairy cow’s life’s subcycles.
Shontz milks out of a double-six herring
bone parlor and, a member of Atlantic Dairy
Cooperative, ships about 24,000 pounds of
milk every two days.
The herd is on test and he said he uses the
records.
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Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 29, 1995-A25
Shamrock has the potential to become a
very important contributor to the future gen
erations of aiiimals at the Shontz farm.
While an earlier flush to a red bull unfortu
nately resulted in no heifer calves, Clint said
he is planning on doing some flush work on
her, possibly to “Elton, maybe L,indy," he
said, “and then whichever newer sires are out
there now that look good.”
While in college, Clint was a member of the
dairy club, and a member of the collegiate
dairy judging team, that in 1991 won the
Jersey competition in Madison, and ranked
10th overall.
Clint said he had showed Shamrock as a
heifer, “But I don’t bother dragging her
around now. She’s too busy making milk.’’
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