A2o*UiAcMi*r Farming, Saturday, Juna 24, 1995
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(Continued from Pag* A 1)
“We bought some 5- and 6-year
olds from Dad that are now 12-,
13- and 14-years-old. I think that’s
why we have heifers to sell. The
cows just stay in the herd.”
Will and brother Joe make the
breeding selections now. For their
heifers, they breed artificially
once. Those that don’t settle are
run with a cleanup bull. The selec
tions are based on durability and
longevity.
“I like good quality cows. We
breed for feet and legs, a cow that
will last,” Will said, adding with a
laugh that, “Of course we breed for
the Excellent ctjw.”
Will said that while good quality
cows are important to the success
of creating and sustaining a profi
tably milking herd, and other
aspects of good dairying such
as herd health and reproduction
are important, the most important
to him is good feed.
“Everything starts with that,” he
said. “I’m real picky about making
good quality forage. I might as
well be. You spend a lot of money
putting it out, and it’s in the field
and can be made.”
Additionally, he said he thinks
there’s a difference between the
quality of the nutrients provided
through well-grown forages and
those provided through
supplements.
“I always felt you can’t get as
much milk out of bought proteins
and minerals as you can out of
good quality forage,” he said.
Altogether, they raise 240 acres
of com, 40 acres of small grain,
and 180 acres of alfalfa.
On the alfalfa. Will said he
makes the first cutting during the
bud stage, and after that, every 30
days.
About three-fourths of the hayl
age goes into two of the farm’s
four silos, and the rest is baled
Last year, they round-baled a lot of
hay, but Will said it wasn’t a typi
cal year.
Betsy Yoder feeds calves housed in some of the farm's
new “calf condos.”
Heron Run family dairy farm sits nestled among the hills of Huntingdon County.
Generation Continues
“It’s the easiest way to feec
calves. The children help and car
play out there,” she said.
The condos are three long
hutches with seven individual cal
pens per hutch. Bets keeps th(
calves there for three months feed
ing starter, and weans them to con
silage with soybeans and mineral:
after four months.
Their first condo was con
structed and used in September lasi
year, with the other two added ir
Will Yoder checks the qual- December.
Ity of his TMR. The extra calf-raising space has
At the time, the herd’s diet con- a ! so t* l ® a f t f m P t t 0
sistedof 25 pounds of haylage, 22 diversify its production. After rais
pounds of com silage, cottonseed, Holstein steers last year,
high moisture corn and a S?" 10 ”k®
all their bull calves this year by
He currently feeds 80 pounds f uttir f tk< r m throu B h the Tend-R
-per day in the bunk feeder, and feeding program and seUing
because he is not set up to group a " d h «B h
cows, in February 1989 he meat,
installed five computerized feed- L > ke most other farms, the Yod
ing stations. In 1991, a silo was had * work dirough up
taken down to make room for a and downs to fmd a balance on the
feed mixer to make a totally mixed ta ™‘
ration (TMR). w , * e vc been blessed.”
“I just like the idea of top dress- Wd said. We enjoy faming. I
ing the higher producers,” he said, s a ® ood . . way lfp
“l’m glad I put the computer in We ve been blessed wtih. a
first, otherwise I wouldn’t have good herd of cows, and for the hills
(purchased it.) we have ' we have good sods and
“Before, with just the computer, cr °P?- , . . .
it didn’t balance (the ration in) the g° al ™ tews a
bunk. The (TMR and computer- 22,000 ‘ to 23,000-pound herd
ized feeder) work well together.” avera f with a few home-bred
While Will emphasized the Excellent cows. Of course we’d all
importance of a strong feeding kk ® to see higher milk pnces.
program. Bets priority is with rais- . 1 J ust want to keep the family
ing calves. She said she believes interested in farming, not bog them
that some new “calf condos” that with work. I want them to
were tried on the farm have been en Joy lt ~ . . „
having a good effect. We ** to kce P u sim P le * Bets
“1 ?ike 8 healthy calves.” added. “I like it I like the idea of
Bets said. “Fresh air and sunshine, \ 1
teaches responsibility and canng
for animals.”
They both said they were very
thankful for their entire family.
“We wouldn’t be here if it
weren’t for both families,” Bets
said, referring to Joe and Lisa, “for
the cows and moral support”
Talking in the farmhouse kitch
en about the future, Will said,
“Who knows what that holds!
“Some question whether the
family farm will last or not. I don’t
see why it won’t last.”
Then, as if to prove his father’s
point Joshua started making a
tractor noise while playing on the
living room carpet with his farm
toys, practicing his plowing.
you just can’t beat it. I haven’t had
a whole lot of problems since we
put in the condo.
“I can get calves on grain quick
er and just grow a lot better than
being kept in the bam,” she said,
adding that it has other benefits
too.
feed prep; ip v jg
of a computerized feeding system combined with a totally
mixed ration (TMR) system.
Grazing
Gazette
pennState
College of Agriculture! Science*
in cooperation with USDA/ARS
TIMOTHY FRITZ
Montgomery Co.
Extension Agent
The hectic season of pasture
management should now be about
over for most graziers. The spring
growth explosion is behind up and
hopefully excess paddocks were
timely harvested for high quality
winter forage or for supplemental
forage to be fed during times of
slow growth. Most pastures
should have also been clipped at
least once to remove any old
growth or pasture weeds. (My
definition of a pasture weed is any
plant that is not normally grazed.
Consequently, dandelions and
many other field crop weeds are
not pasture weeds.)
Management of pasture should
now be shifting from attemptin to
keep up with growth to slowing
down the rotation to avoid over
grazing. Remember, the basics of
good management of intensive
grazing is to have the cows enter a
paddock when it is around 8
inches (6 inches for sheep) in
average height. Typical rest times
for cool season grasses will vary
from around 18 to 40 days
depending on temperature and
moisture conditions. Of course the
drier the conditions, the longer the
rest period. A good grazier has a
sense for how fast the pasture is
growing and when conditions
begin to change. This sense of
pasture growth is acquired over
time by regular walks through the
paddocks and experience. Obser
vation from a tractor, pickup or 4
wheeler is not good enough unless
you get off of it! You may also
have to get on your hands and
knees occasionally to really see
what’s happening in the paddock.
If the current paddocks in use
are slowing to a point where 8
inches of growth will not be
achieved, you have 3 basic
options.
1) Add more paddocks to your
system if available.
2) Increase forage supplemen-
‘CommuniTree’
CHAMBERSBURG (Franklin
Co.) A “CommuniTrec" Work
shop will take place on Thursday,
July 13, at the Penn State Mont
Alto Campus from 8:30 a.m. to 4
p.m.
The purpose of the program is to
provide information to municipali-
ties, homeowners, and tree care
professionals on urban tree selec
tion, planting, and maintenance.
The daylong program will
tation to slow down me rotation.
3) Reduce the number of animal
units.
Depending on your specific
situation one or more of the above
adjustments should be done before
the paddocks start getting light.
Grazing paddocks before they are
already for harvest is like harvest
ing com silage before the com has
tasseled. By slowing down the
rotation, pasture yield will be
increased dramatically. Remem
ber, grass that is short grows very
slowly compared to grass that is 4
inches or so tall and just kicking
into gear. Don’t harvest your pad
docks before they have reached
their full potential. Oh the other
hand, don’t rest them too long in
that pasture quality goes down
resulting in lower production.
Harvest excess paddocks early
before you would normally make
hay so that they can be returned
into the pasture system as needed
if pasture growth slows down
even further.
Flexibility and forward think
ing is required to achieve good
summer pasture yeilds and qual
ity. Follow the basic rules of Ist
group in at 8 inches (sheep 6
inches). Last group out when pas
ture is 2 to 3 inches and before
grazing of regrowth occurs. By
following proper rest and good
grazing management, your pas
tures should produce high quality
forage all summer long; where as,
poorly managed pastures will be
struggling to stay green.
Grazing Calendar
• June 24, Pasture Walk, Bed
ford Co. (814-623-9610)
• June 28. Pasture Walk, Lehigh
Co. (814-391-9840)
• July 13, Pasture Walk, Bed
ford Co. (814-623-9616)
• March 6 and 7, 1996—2nd
Annual PA Grazing Conference,
Grazing Research and Education
Center, 116 Agricultural Sciences
and Industries Building, Universi
ty Park, PA 16802
Workshop Set
include demonstrations and work
shops on planting, pruning, and
care of trees. In addition, there will
be sessions on landscape architec
ture, identifying tree hazards, and
working with poor soils.
For more information or to
register, contact Penn State
Cooperative Extension,
(717)263-9226.