Page 12—Ag Progress Section 2, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 15, 1998
Animal Greenhouse Highlights
Livestock Exhibits At Ag Progress Days
UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre
Co.) The barn of the future
may note a big, wooden struc
ture with weather vane. You can
see the shape of farm buildings
to come at Penn State’s Ag
Progress Days August 18-20.
The Animal Sciences Facility
will showcase the latest trend in
animal agriculture: “greenhous
es,” constructed with modern
building materials, that serve as
low-cost and surprisingly sturdy
farm buildings, says David
Wolfgang, veterinary science
researcher in Penns State’s
College of Agricultural Sciences.
“A big concern in animal agri
culture today is raising products
cost-effectively,” Wolfgang explains.
“The Animal Sciences Facility
demonstrates one of the cost
cutting innovations in animal
shelters
“With this type of facility, today’s barn
could be just metal tubes for the frame
with plastic sheeting for walls. The sides
roll up for ventilation, and solar protection
is built right into the plastic. The resulting
structure can be built at a substantial
reduction in initial cost compared to a
standard barn, and plastic walls are pro
jected to last seven to 10 years They have
been effective even in northern climates.”
The exhibit, which is a joint ettort
between Penn State’s Departments of
Dairy and Animal Science and Veterinary
Science, will include an animal diagnostic
lab display, a cattle breeding database, a
meat irradiation and food safety display,
and the latest Penn State research on
induced dairy lactation.
Several other animal-related displays
will be featured in the Dairy and Livestock
Tents Team Dairy, a service offered by
Penn State Cooperative Extension special
ists, University faculty and industry repre
sentatives, will unveil four newly educa
tional program areas to help Pennsylvania
dairy producers thrive in the changing
agribusiness environment
The four new program areas include
Systematic Dairy Business Growth,
Specialization Identifying Opportunities
and Transition From Dairying.
Information also will be available on
other Team Dairy services, including the
Dairy Farm Business Summary and the
Dairy Management and Profitability
(Dairy MAP, programs, and the Nutrient
Management Educational program.
Other presentations will include the
Dairy Advisory Teams, comprised of
agribusiness representatives who work
with 30 dairy farm families to develop and
achieve a set of goals; the Dairy Heifer
Growth display, which will highlight the
results of current research in heifer rear
ing techniques; and the Dairy Grazing dis
play, which will feature pasture, feeding
and supplementation strategies for high
producing cows.
The Ag Progress Days Youth Skillathon
and Lamb Show will be held on August 19
at the Junior Livestock Exhibition Tent.
The Skillathon will allow all Pennsylvania
4-H and Future Farmers of America (FFA)
members with lamb projects to demon
strate their knowledge of lamb production,
nutrition, quality assurance and meats in
a quiz format Participants also will take
part in a lamb show and will be judged
independently on showmanship in the
competition Top finishers in the skillathon
and lamb show will be awarded cash pre
miums Winners of each age group of the
Overall Outstanding Youth Awards will be
presented savings bonds, according to
William Henning, associate professor of
dairy and animal science.
“The event will introduce a
new concept in livestock shows,
with more emphasis on the
knowledge and ability of the
exhibitor, and less on the live
animal,” Henning explains. “The
skillathon and show will take
much of the pressure off young
exhibitors to buy expensive ani
mals in order to have a chance to
‘win.’ This will be an outstand
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and an opportunity for training
of agents, teachers and leaders
involved with such projects.”
The deadline for Skillathon
and Lamb Show applications
was August 10. For more infor
mation, contact Henning at
(814) 863-3670.
Penn State’s Ag Progress
Days features more than 500
acres of educational and com-
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mercial exhibits, tours and
machinery demonstrations. It is
held at the Russell E. Larson
Agricultural Research Center at
Rock Springs, nine miles south
west of State College on Route
45. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tuesday and Thursday, with
extended hours of 9 a.m. to 8
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and parking are free.
For more information, call
(800) PSU-1010 toll-free until
August 20 or visit the Ag
Progress Days site on the World
Wide Web at http://apd.cas
psu.edu.
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