(Continued from Pago 1)
enters the TMR mixer. Costs for
roughages are set on a yearly basis,
and grain costs are figured each
month according to the market
price.
While the herd average is over
24,000 m, Daniel is more interested
in milk per person produced in a
year. Last year’s production of two
million pounds is about where he
thinks they should be, but he has
his sights set on a little more pro
duction per person because they
spend all their time with the cows.
Last winter they milked 3x, but
the loss of hired help over summer
has them back to 2x right now.
Brenda likes to help with the physi
cal labor of caring for the cows too.
But their four small children take
her time now. She still keeps the
books and helps make the manage
ment decisions.
There are three cows classified
Excellent and 2S Very Good in the
herd. Individual records go up to
35,836 m 1188 f 1109 p. Daniel
breeds his cows to bulls with 90
percent reliability with proofs of
plus 2,000 m and plus 2 type points.
Longevity is his greatest desire in
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This Dairyman Has Youthful Enthusiasm
With Pencil-Pushing Practicality
breeding dairy cows. He is not a
fan of index numbers which tend to
weight preferences toward high
producing two year-olds with littie
regard for the value of aged cows
with good lifetime production.
“Our goal is to sell half of our
heifer crop each year, so that
means we need to keep the necessi
ty for culling our cows at a low
rate,” Daniel said. “It costs $1,300
to $1,500 to raise a heifer to first
freshening. If you can sell the hcif- |
er rather than replace a cull cow,
you have a cash income increase
rather than a replacement cost
expense. I would rather keep the
old cows even if it takes a little lon
ger to get them bred.”
Last year the cull rate in the herd
was 13 percent. There are quite a
few cows in the herd over 10 years
old. While part of the success for
long-lasting cows comes from
genetics, environment plays an
important part too. Daniel credits
his cow mattresses, tunnel ventila
tion, and extra box stalls, as rea
sons why the cows would rather be
in the bam than out on pasture.
When you walk into the bam, you
Dal
• Top-rated Health Insurance Coverages
lea
\ Vbv /Kin nr j i |.'t *». , »* «» »» *»u% .
Dairy of OWmctton Suppltment to Uncuter Firming, Srturday, July 27,1996—P»f1« 9
can see and feel that these cows are
comfortable.
BST is used according to body
condition later in lactation after
they are bred back. “We don’t use
BST when they say we should,”
Daniel said. “We use it only when
body condition merits it We have
found that it helps production, and
I have seen a profit increase from
using it the way we do. I don’t like
it, but if you are going to compete,
its another management tool. It
would have been better if we had
never seen BST, but it;s out there,
so we use it.
“I haven’t seen any herd health
problems related to BST. In fact,
our herd health has been better
since we started to use it Some
cows are naturally thick, and you
can give them BST and keep their
body weight down. If you have a
frail dairy kind of cow, you would
not use BST on her. BST actually
benefits a small herd more because
you can manage it better. We do
body scores each month, and if the
cow is in good flesh and bred back,
we use it
“With BST we are not quite as
worried about getting the cows
bred back as fast as we once were,
especially the two year-olds. Our
calving intervals have been
extended to between 13 and 14
months since we have increased
the higher production levels in the
lactation a little longer with BST.”
Daniel believes there is a real
future in the dairy business for
those who “push the pencil” and
specialize in what they are doing.
Each farm is different, and it is
never good to compare your farm
with another situation. Each indivi
dual must assess his or her own
situation. For example, the grazers
have little investment so their situ
ation may work on their farm. For
the Rices, caring for the cows and
having no field work works for
them. But Daniel’s main caution is
to find a situation where you can
manage your debt.
“In the future, I see that daily
farmers will need to be sharp pencil '
pushers,” Daniel said. “We are
gearing up to increase our size and
become even more specialized.
With our smaller investment, we
always have the option to get out
without much trouble. If we see it’s
just not working, and the dairy bus-
Pennsylvania Dairy Of
Distinction Farms Named
(Continued from Pago 1)
maintaining the appearance of the
farm as well,” says Branda Bel*
tram. Communications Director
for ADADC. “Every time a con
sumer drives by a dairy farm and
thinks of it as a beautiful, whole
some place, that’s good publicity
for milk.”
Created in 1983, the Daily of
Distinction Program, is designed
to highlight those farms that help
to create a positive image for milk.
Applicants for the Dairy of Dis
tinction award are judged by com
mittees who evaluate the farms’
roadside appearance, as well as
the cleanliness of the grounds and
buildings.
Winning lams receive offical
18x24 “Daily of Distinction”
signs which are mounted at the
roadside for all to see. Award win
ning farms are also visited annual
ly by the judging committee to
ensure that they continue to meet
the standards of excellence set by
the program.
For further information about
the Dairy of Distinction program,
contact ADADC at (717)
283-2204. ,
Editor’s Note: Attached is a
list of the 1996 Pennsylvania
Dairy of Distinction winners by
district
District 11: Ronald L. Bur
chfield, Conneaut Lake.
District 12: Dale & Paula
Wack, Harmony; Wesley R.
Diehl, Beaver Falls; Marge Wear-
Dairy
of fli
Distinction
mess goes sour, we can nave a cow
jockey in here tomorrow and be out
of the business by Saturday.
“But to be successful, you need
to gear up to be big enough to buy
in bulk and specialize unless you
want to have a lot of employees.
“I got out of college end went
into a management development
program for a large organization.
But the guys who trained me never
saw their families. They worked
from five in the morning to eight at
night six days a week. That’s why I
left the program. If I’m going to put
in that kind of time, I might as well
work for myself and see my family
at the same time.
“I like business, dairy or other
wise, and I have looked at other
opportunities. But always, if you
are the manager or die owner, you
put in a lot of time.
“It’s a long hard road getting
started in dairy fanning,” Daniel
said. “And we are not out of that
hard road yet, but with half decent
milk prices and grain prices set
tling down a bit, I think the dairy
business is going to be good for the
next several years. Maybe after
that it will tighten up a little again,
but I’m looking forward to it”
ing, Evans City.
District 13: Kent Kenyon,
Couersport; Randy L. Whitman,
Cocranton; Jay H. Houser, Spring
Mills.
District 14: David Lemmon,
Markleton; Edward W. and Todd
E. O’Brein, Somerset; Brian W.
and Blake L. Beeghly, Somerset:
Richard D. and Maynard L. Say
lor, Rockwood; Curtis & Donna
Brant, Hatrisonville; Earl J. &
Carol S. Hendershot, Warfords
burg; Ted, Roger W. and David
Latuch, Rockwood; Don Stoner
ook, Martinsburg; Sollenberger
Farms, Curryville.
District 16: John W. Rishel,
Mifflinburg; Marlin Lesher,
Pitman.
District 17: Michael & Nadine
Molyneux, Forksvillc; Daryl &
Susie Krotzer, Liberty.
District 18: Lloyd & Denise
Pease, Susquehanna; Mark Tomp
kins, Montrose; Sandra & Edward
Kelley, Montrose.
District 19: Nevin S. Homing,
Lititz; D.G. Kauffman/J.E. Kreid
er, Lancaster, Samuel E. Beiler,
Gordonville; Marvin R. or Ruth
Stoltzfus, Leo la; Johnathan or
Miriam Stoltzfus, Jr., Ronks.
District 20: Larry K. Bauscher,
Lenhartsville; Dan Rice, Kemp
ton; Kenneth Sanner, Kutztown;
Karl Herr, Oxford; Eugene Mar
tin, Lebanon; John B. Kline.
Myerstown; Raymond Kleintop,
Jr., Danielsville.