Grazing Gazette PENNI BB Cotlegß of Aflrimkml SckMH ■■ ta coopantiM with USDA/AIU LOOKING BACK AND LOOKING AHEAD Larry Muller and Steven Pales Penn State We have finished the first year of articles in the Grazing Gazette column. We hope the various arti cles have been useful and infor mative to you. This column was initiated because of the increasing need for educational articles in the grazing area. The movement “back to grazing** and pasture-based sys tems is still increasing. It is not going back to the “good old days,” but it is upgrading old technology that may be right for economical and environmental reasons. Intensive grazing is another management tool that is being looked at fay many producers. It is not for everyone, and not every one will be successful who adopts The Cargill Herd Builder Program - designed to bring your dairy replacements into the milking herd at 22 months of age at mature body size. The results speak for themselves at Thunder Valley Farms in New London, PA. We were apprehensive about changing to Herd Builder lasi year, but we were sur prised at how fast the calves take off. At 2 to 3 days of age our calves are eating Herd Builder Starter. We are seeing a better grown heifer calf without the “hay belly” wq used to see. We find the calves wean easier and we are able to wean sooner. With the Herd Builder feeds the calves appetites are easily satisfied. Recently, we tried Cargill’s new Half- Time milk replacer and found.our calves ate even more calf starter earlier allowing us to wean even sooner. This will help us cut back on Milk Replacer costs and raise a healthier calf." “As a result of the Herd Builder program I am now breeding by body size and not by the calen dar. I am getting the heifers to breeding size in 13 months at least two months sooner. We are pleased with the Herd Builder program and the results from our Cargill nutrition program for the milking herd. Our Cargill representative [Robfcrt Davis, Cochranville, PA] has shown a lot of inter est in our operation. He brings us good recommendations, convinces us to adapt new management practices that are profitable, and challenges us to set new management goals." For more information on the Herd Builder program and other proven Cargill technologies, call us 1 -800-833-3372 a pasture-based system. With good grazing and animal manage ment, it provides the opportunity to-improve profitability and lifestlye. Grazing meetings. Attendance and enthusiasm has been high at local, state, and regional grazing meetings. More than 200 attended the recent two-day Pennsylania Grazing Conference in Carlisle. A program highlight was the presen tation by Dave Forgcy, a highly successful dairy producer from Indiana and a regular columnist for Hoard’s Dairyman, who switched to a grazing system about four years ago. Many other excellent presentations were made in such areas as watering and fenc ing systems, raising dairy heifers and beef on pasture, grazing man agement principles and fine tuning, calf raising systems, low cost milking systems, and others. Twelve different producers parti- Robert Davis (Cargill), Kathy St. John, John St. John, DHIA RHA: 24,324 lbs, 861 F, 798 P— ISO Cows. cipatcd in the program. Copies of the proceedings of (be Grazing Conference are avail able for purchase for $lO. Send requests to (he address at the end of this column and make checks payable to Penn State University. Grazing meetings and pasture walks are being held on a regular basis throughout Pennsylvania. We encourage you to attend some of these meetings if you want to team more about pasture-based systems. Grazing center. This column, the Pennsylvania Glazing Confer ence, and other grazing activities are sponsored or coordinated through the Grazing Research and Education Center. The Grazing Center was formed nearly two years ago with the mission to enhance the environmental sus tainability and profitability of ani mal agriculture through better use of grassland resources. The major objectives of the Center are educa tion and research in the pasture systems area. The Center has a dedicated advisory council of individuals from various sectors of the agricultural community, including seven producers repre senting dairy, beef, and sheep industries. Council members meet periodically with faculty and staff to offer guidance on research and educational needs of clientele in pasture management and utiliza tion. The council provides a direct channel for two-way communica tion between the Grazing Center members and those it serves. Looking ahead. We plan to con tinue writing a bi-weekly Grazing Gazette column. Our goal is for these articles to be timely and informative. We welcome your suggestions for topics for the col umn. These articles will be authored by various members of the Grazing Center, but we want to know what you want -written. Bound copies of the 15 articles from last year’s Grazing Gazette columns are available for $5. Make checks payable to Penn Slate. gjMMSi SS GATES and FENCING , rs I vA 17527 PHONE: 717-442.8134 • FAX 717 442-3112 SALES & SERVICE “We’re proud to be part of a financially sound cooperative. Atlantic does its best to get the greatest return from the marketplace. ” ADC Is the Place To Be Financial stability and the greatest return from the marketplace - the outstanding benefits that Jeff Moore refers to - are among the strengths of the premier dairy cooperative in the region. Atlantic. Dairy Cooperative has a 78-year history of excellent service to its members. Financially strong, ADC guarantees a market for all member milk and excels in maximizing returns. ADC is a leader in providing equity payments, quality bonuses and over-order premiums to members. Nearly 4,000 dairy farmers agree that "ADC is the Place to Be." For free information on how you can secure the future of your dairy farm operation, write or call; Atlantic Dairy Cooperative 1225 Industrial Highway I**| Southampton, PA 18966 1-800-645-MILK Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 30, 1996-A3l One of the goals of the Grazing Center is to coordinate education al activities ;,.id disseminate infor amtion on grassland agriculture. Please let us know of various graz ing activities, meetings, and pas ture walks during the upcoming grazing season. Wc will list these activities in a Grazing Calendar at the end of the Grazing Gazette column. Please contact us at the Grazing Research and Education Center, 116 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building, University Park, PA 16802; fax (814) 863-7043. Larry Muller can be reached at (814) 863-4205 or Lar ry Muller9agcs.cas.psu.edu. Ste ven Pales can be reached at (814) 86S-202S or slf@psu.edu. —Jeff Moore Centreville, MD MiwicniiniCwiiiii'i