D6-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 23, 1998
The Pennsylvania State Association of
County Fairs has been in existence since
1912 and was formed to promote the
growth and improvement of Agricultural
Fairs, Associations and Societies within
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
That first year there were Thirteen mem
bers and we have steadily grown to cur
current membership of One-hundred
and Twelve. Each Agricultural Fair,
Association or Society has at its focal
point the education and showcase of
agriculture, horticulture, etc. and over
Seven million fairgoers each year can
attest to the quality of what we have to
offer.
At Fairs exhibitors compete for prize
money, ribbons, or merely enjoy the
competition. The following are only
samples in which there is competition -
livestock, hay & grain, vegetables, fruits,
& nuts, baked and canned goods, flow
ers, sewing, art, grange exhibits, con
tests, and others. This can involve both
young and old alike! Contact Fairs of
your interest to see what areas of com
petition are available.
For further information you can - contact
any Fair; write to PA State Association of
County Fairs, RO. Box 546, Gratz, PA
17030; visit us on the web at:
pafairs.org or e-mail us at:
F@Dafairs.ora
WWW.
Best Wishes in 1998 and...
"Have We Got A Fair For YOU!!
Local Youth Receives
Cargill Scholarship
SPRING MILLS (Centre
Co h Chnstyn Rossman, a 1998
graduate of Penns Valley
Junior/Senior High, has been
awarded a $l,OOO college schol
arship by Cargill Chnstyn is
the daughter of Barb Rossman
of Spring Mills
Chnstyn plans to study inter
national business at Penn State.
The scholarship is one of 250
awarded by Cargill to 1998 high
Fairs Are For Everyone!
school graduates from U S farm
families in 46 states This year's
scholarship program, m its 13th
year, attracted 2,432 applicants
The $250,000 Cargill
Scholarship Program for Rural
America is designed to recognize
and encourage the academic
achievement, accomplishments
and talents of young people from
farm families throughout the
United States.
Northwest Pennsylvania
County Fair
Armstrong Dayton Fair I 1 LJV
Butler Butler Fair
Butler Farm Show
Cameron County Fair
Clarion County Fair * I // \ f \J-^
Wolf's Corners Fqir
Clearfield County Fair
Harmony Grange Fair
Cochranton Community Fair
Crawford County Fair
Spartansburg Community Fair
Elk County Fair
Albion Area Fair
Erie County Fair at Wdttsburg
North East Community Fair
Waterford Community Fair
Green Township Community Fair
Indiana County Fair
Ox Hill Community Fair
Jefferson County Fair
Sykesville Ag & Youth Fair
Lawrence County Fair
McKean County Fair
Jamestown Community Fair
Jefferson Township Fair
Mercer County Grange Fair
Stoneboro Fair
Transfer Harvest Home Fair
Venango County Fair
Warren County Fair
Cameron
Clarion
Clearfield
Crawford
Indiana
Jefferson
Lawrence
McKean
Mercer
Venongo
Warren
Northeast Pennsylvania
County Fair
Centre Centre County Grange Fair
Clinton Clinton County Fair “UrH—
Columbia Bloomsburg Fair
Juniata Juniata County Fair
Luzern > Luzerne County Fair
Lvcommc Lycomtng County Fair
Minnesota Researchers Look For
Clues To Improved Breeding In Pigs
DES MOINES, lowa A bet
ter understanding of how the local
immune system keeps the uterus
clean in pigs may lead to im
proved artificial insemination
strategies, according to a Univer
sity of Minnesota researcher.
Previous studies have shown in
horses, immune cell migration in
to the uterus following breeding
removes excess sperm and bacter
ial contaminants to ensure a
friendly environment for embryos.
When mares failed to remove this
“inflamation” before embryo des
cent fertility was reduced.
University of Minnesota re
searcher Kevin Rozeboom may
have found a similar occurrence in
sows. In his study, sustained lev
els of those same immune cells oc
curred long after insemination and
may create a potentially hostile
environment for eggs, sperm and
embryos, when the last of multiple
artificial inseminations is per
formed during late estrus.
Rozeboom notes that mares and
sows are the only two domesti
cated animals where sperm is re
leased directly into the uterus and
doesn’t need to pass through a cer
vix. And when artificial insemina
tion is used on sows, it’s often
done several times during estrus,
instead of just once as in cattle.
That’s because the onset of ustrus
in pigs doesn’t accurately predict
the exact time of ovulation. So
multiple inseminations improve
the odds of fertilization and a larg
er litter of pigs.
Rozeboom and University of
Minnesota researchers Bo Crabo
and Mats Troedsson found that af
ter insemination, the level of cer
tain immune cells called polymor-
Pennsylvania Fairs
"The Showpiece of Agriculture"
phonuclear neutrophil (PMN)
cells, increases dramatically in the
uterus of pigs. In fact 95 percent
of all the cells they flushed from
the sow uteruses after breeding
were PMN cells. “Those are cells
that engulf and clean up contamin
ants that are introduced into the
uterus,” Rozeboom said.
Rozeboom found that when se
men was introduced into the uter
us, PMN levels began to rise with
in 6 hours and peaker at about 12
hours. Hiosepeak levels were sus
tained for another 12 hours before
they began to decline. In other
words, an inflamatory response in
the form of PMN migration into
the uterus appears to normally oc
cur following breeding.
Unfortunately, when producers
unintentionally perform artificial
insemination during late estrus or
just after estrus, the sustaining
PMN numbers coinciding with a
decreasing uterine movement may
have a negative effect on fertility.
Why? Because embryos enter the
uterine hom quickly after fertiliza
tion (within two to three days after
ovulation) and because high levels
of PMN cells remain in the uterus
where they may directly or indir
ectly effect sperm and embryo
survival, Rozeboom suggests.
Rozeboom presented his re
search to scientists gathered in
Location
Dayton
Prospect
Butler
Emporium
New Bethlehem
Tionesta
Clearfield
Westover
Cochronlon
Meadville
Spartansburg
Kersey
Albion
Wattsburg
North East
Waterford
Cookport
Indiana
Plumville
Brookvitle
Sykesville
New Castle
Smethport
Jamestown
Mercer
Mercer
Stoneboro
Transfer
Franklin
Pittsfield
Location
Troy
Centre Hall
Mackeyville
Bloomsburg
Grata
Port Royal
Dallas
Hughesvtlle
(Turn to Page 7)
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Des Moines for the joint Midwest
meeting of the American Society
of Animal Science and the Ameri
can Dairy Science Association
March 16-18. His research earned
the National Pork Producer’s
Council Innovation Award for
basic research.
His findings appear to confirm
earlier studies that showed an
insemination at the very end of es
trus often cancels any advantages
gained by multiple inseminations
during estrus.
More than 40 percent of sows in
the United States are bred by arti
ficial insemination and in some
areas more than 80 percent are
bred by artificial insemination.
“Artificial insemination can be
just as good as natural insemina
tion,” Rozeboom said. “But there
are so many more procedures in
volved and a mistake in one can
lead to serious problems.”
Rozeboom said additional
study is needed to determine the
effect of the immune response on
embryos and exactly how the re
sponse is triggered. Once those
questions are answered, more effi
cient precise breeding programs
could be developed to minimize
the immune response.
His research is supported by the
Minnesota Pork Producers Asso
ciation.
Date