A34-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 12, 1998 DHIA Service Center, Orchard Road, University Park, PA 16*02 QUESTION; Our cows’ milk average dropped sevcrly when we started the new high moisture com last month and we cannot turn it around. Is there something you could suggest to help us? ANSWER; A while back, I happened to be in the area where this herd is located. I decided to take the opportunity to talk with the family, look at the cows, and put information from their DHIA reports into the bam to see if any thing can be done to help a 43-pound average. The DHIA reports told the same stoty as the dairyman. Produc tion was off by close to 20 pounds. Herd summary I showed that normally the herd drops during this time of year, com pared to May and June, but this year the drop was mote severe. Past records indicate the cows should be milking SO to 55 pound s, although the dairy man would like 60 to 65 pounds, like production in early summer. Casual observations were made as we made our way around the bam. Cows were in very good condition. Many cows were standing while chewing their cud. Air quality was decent. The cow com fort was above averaee as noted by no ble mishes on hocks and several cows got up, demonstrating ease at doing so. The one thing that bothered me was, upon watching several cows drop manure, large amounts of yellow com specks were seen. When we looked at the high moisture com, it was apparent that this was the source of the specks. The new com was put in very dry and had little fermented smell. Vermont Castings Gas Stoves and Fireplaces Prices Start at •899°° 1060 Division Highway 322 East, Ephrata, PA 17522 1 Block East of Fit. 222 (717) 733-4973 800-642-0310 Mon,Tuea, WM. 10 k>6; hon. It was processed by a roller mill coining out of the silo and con tained a fair amount of cob, retained by the combine. The first change we discussed was to tighten down the rolls as much as possible so the com would become feed instead of manure fortifier. This change should make more feed available for milk. We next looked at the MUN report. The average was 11.1. This is in the middle of the range and could easily be overlooked as being okay. Farm • Home • Auto • Business • Health • Life Here To Fill All Your INSURANCE K NEEDS V/uver Itsmtu ktm ’’We're Here To Serve’’ • Rober Slusher • Cindy Beyer • Bob Lee • Carol Young 2488 Maple Ave., Quarryville 800-882-1415 Heavy Duty Headlocks Finished with TGIC Polyester Powder Coating... Superior to Epoxy! • Extra Heavy Construction • Yokes lock on individual catches • Yoke stabilizer on large sizes • Designed for easy entry & exit • Removable neck bar Added Value With Our 2 Coat Process! Five step metal preparation, including iron phosphate conversion coating, to enhance adhesion & prevent undercoat corrosion Paul B. Zimmerman, Inc. 295 Woodcorner Rd. • Lititz, PA 17543 • 717/738-7365 Hours: Call or write for additional information Mon. - Fri.; 7-5 and the name of your nearest dealer Sat.: 7-11 this report and see what makes that average. A potential problem was noted in that most cows in early lactation made up the lowest MUN values that were part of that average. We also saw that the very high est MUN was 14.2. Sometimes in low producing cows, we have this very narrow MUN range. During iarly lactation, it is rare not to find my cows with MUN values at 16 *o 20. A question was raised about adequate protein in early lactation cows. We looked at other parame ters dealing with this question and saw that cows were not peaking at all. Herd summary n showed 41 days to peak. In other words, first test day is the highest and goes down from there. Again we think of protein in ear ly lactation. The nutritionist will be asked about increasing the ratio of degradable protein to carbohydrate especially in those early cows. We now talked about the feed with emphasis on the forage por tion. The family is aware of the 3 Sizes Available To Meet Your Cattle Handling Needs • CA Series: 7 locks per 10’ • HE Series: 6 locks per 10’ • CO Series: 4 or 5 locks per 10’ 2 Zinc rich epoxy powder undercoat 3 TGIC polyester powder top coat, baked at 400° to fuse coats, forming a cross link molecular bond I like to look a little further at low quality of the haylage that is currently being fed. We talked about plans to overcome this prob lem. Substituting a small quantify of good forage for poor will pay big dividends. Time will tell if we are success ful at raising production. The essential thing to remember is that we used DHIA records in several capacities. Number one, we looked at past performance to set realistic goals. Number two, we got past blam ing the feed man and got on to sol ving the problem. Number three, we pinpointed some areas of concern in our feed ing program. Number four, the best approach at problem solving is level think- Average Farm Feed Costs For Handy Reference Com, Noufy 2.33 bu., 4.17 cwt Wheat, No. 2 2.70 bu., 4.50 cwt Barley, No. 3 1.54 bu., 3.29 cwt Oats, No. 2 1.37 bu., 4.28 cwt Chore-Time’s complete package of feeding, watering and ventilation equipment just got even better thanks to the “extras" you get with Chore-Time's new PLUS feeders: + New MODEL C2* PLUS has modified labor-saving feed windows, new feed saving pan design, and reinforced wear areas. + New MODEL H 2™ PLUS adjusts the feed level on each 300 feet (92 meters) of feeder line with the turn of a single handle. New pan assembly uesign helps improve feed conversion. + New MODEL G™ PLUS features a plastic grill and new feed-saving pan shape for even better performance. Authorized [Northeast! ■ln Northeast Agri Systems, Inc. Flyway Bualneta Park Delmarva Offlea 139 A West Airport Road ' 305 Unlvarsity Ave. Lltllz, PA 17543 Fedaralsburg, Md. 1-800-673-2580 1-800-735-6361 717-569-2702 410-754-9434 Store Hours: Monday-Friday 7:30 am to 4:30 pm E3B BWWCT * 24 Hour-7 Day Repair Service SJpSj 1 1 ing by all members of the team, Will the herd get to the 60-pound average of a few months ago? Probably nob Can we make some low cost changes to increase production?] feel certain that we can, and I believe the best way to reach high er production goals is to plan now to eliminate the factors leading to low production. Soybeans, No. 1 5.35 bu. 8.93 cwt. Ear C0m—59.07 ton, 2.95 cwt. Alfalfa Hay 115.50 ton, 5.78 cwt. Mixed Hay 11550 ton, 5.78 cwL Timothy Hay 110.00 ton, 5i cwL master distributor since 1982 m
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