Page 24—Foraging Around, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 18,1998
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff
MONTROSE (Susquehanna Co.)
—For years, one Susquehanna County
grazier called it “garaergrass,” because
it simply didn’t fit the description of
any common forage.
It wasn’t well-known type of grass.
It grew profusely and '
quickly. It endured
drought. It was a
“monoculture” and it
worked, in a way, to
feed the herd.
But Jim Gamer, in
whose honor the grass
was named on his
farm, was unhappy
with the results. The
feed quality was low
in terms of protein
and dry matter. The
milking average of his
dairy was low and
needed improvement.
Then, along about
1990, Gamer listened
to the work of Sonny
Golden, a dairy nutri
tionist from Spring
ville. Gamer said that
Golden, a proponent
of grazing for a long
time, told him to fence
off the entire farm and
simply grow pasture.
So, the same year,
Gamer sold his baler
and other harvesting
equipment. He kept
the rake, rotary mow
er, and manure
spreader. He took a
first cutting of the
grass and baled it up.
Then he brought
his dairy herd onto the
intensive rotational
pasture.
Those efforts paid
off in a big way. By
allowing the cows to
harvest the “gamer
grass,” forage protein
content improved to
20 percent from 12
percent. Diy matter
intake went up. The
milk average, already
low, increased.
Now, Gamer takes
about 18,000 pounds
of milk from the
cows.
More importantly,
gone are the heada
ches of mechaniza
tion, equipment
repair, feed worries,
and other matters.
Last month, Gamer
was recognized with
the Outstanding Pas
ture Producer Award
from the Pcnnsylvani
a Forage and Grazing
Council at its awards
ceremony in
Grantville.
Gamer, technician
with the Susquehanna
County Conservation
District, has hosted
numerous field days
and tours of his farm.
He manages about
‘Garnergrass’ Management Leads To
Improved Forage On Montrose Farm
fkfj f M ® THE POWER TO IMPLEMENT
PRECISION FARMING YEAR ‘ROUND
A j x J9w ■ MuiJ’JiyriiJf)
The optional elevator-mount moisture
sensor provides accurate moisture
readings even in the toughest conditions.
Visa & Mastercard accepted with all orders
Web Site: http:/www.gvminc.com
CALL TODAY FOR OUR NEW 300 PAGE 1998 PRODUCT CATALOG
said.
He raises about 70 head of all
registered Holstein. There are about 45
milking cows and the remainder ate
dry cows and young stock.
Gamer began work on the dairy in
1980, when, he noted, “Kay and I pur
chased the farm.” His father was a farm
manager and, at the time, owned only
an old car. He essentially started fann
ing from scratch what few fanners
can do anywhere these days.
Gamer farais with wife Kay and two
daughters, Melinda, 22 and Andrea,
18, and a son, Justin, 14. His two
daughters are in college—Melinda is
student teaching and Andrea is a dairy
science major at Delaware Valley Col
lege. Justin is in the 9th grade.
The Ag Leader
PF3OOO Precision
Farming System
leral-purpose
■/controller. On a
is a gei
monito
system measures and
displays yield, moisture, combine
speed, grain flow, and acres per hour.
The PF3OOO also displays and
records average yield, average
moisture, acres, distance, wet
bushels, and dry bushels of each load
as well as field totals.
IMI
INCORPORATED
Gamer, who began grazing in 1989,
switched to an intensive rotational
grazing system in 1990. He began
grazing on paddocks measuring 5-7
acres.
Back then, grazing was relegated to
“steel wires and posts,” with little flex
ibility, he noted. Now, the one-acre
paddocks are rotated every 12 hours.
(Turn to Pago 25)
It organizes data by year, farm, field,
grain, and load for easy identification.
Data can be transferred to a computer to
print a summary of all fields. Also, print
yield and moisture maps if you are using
GPS and a memory card.
374 HEIDLERSBURG ROAD
BIGLERVILLE, PA 17307
800-345-3546
OR MIKE MACHEK 800-899-5502
I Mb
Mf MOk> r \kn