V % t » f > I f , Rains Blessing To Ohio COLUMBUS, Ohio Rain the weekend of May 21 helped Ohio’s recently planted crops get off to a good start, although projected low commodity prices due to the nation’s high grain sur pluses won’t be much of a reward for farmers. ftamsylvania Beef Council (Continued from Pago A 26) When low milk cows are kept past breakeven (generally 45 to 60 pounds) or health-compro mised cows are kept until they are overtly biologically broken, they begin to incur double losses for the dairy. The cows aren’t putting income back into the operation. They’re taking up space that a more productive animal could be using, and at the same time they are becom ing less valuable as beef ani mals. Even the healthy appearing low-milk cow can quickly lose value as she gains weight instead of making milk with the energy she consumes. The per pound beef value diminishes rapidly as cows approach BCS scores of 4 and 5. “With our cows, we’ve mainly learned not to hold heavier ani- * * ** ** v *4*i< ** - V PAUL B. \V- . .... —„ ;ll , VV INC\V-. S ~ ««4\ fc \|Wy»’ * >\ MU' V' MlW«*ihh * ■ ■■■■r»we«'PHW'>m» . A* Your Complete Headquarters for Sprayers And Parts Raven Tough Polyethylene Tanks We Aslo Stock A Complete Line Of: \Sttk mm PAPFR * Sprayer Hose Sprayer Nozzles Pumps • Ball Valves And And PUMPS • Nylon Fittings Accessories Accessories * Poly Tanks PAUL B. ZIMMERMAN, INC. I*f ,1 50 Woodcorner Rd., Lititz, PA 17543 [~ H0URS ~~“1 IiiSSSI Mon, Thurs, Fn 7-8 30 IJUSJ 1 Mile West of Ephrata Tues , Wed 7-5 30 (717)738-7350 Sat 7-4 oo HARDWARE - FARM SUPPLIES • CRANE SERVICE f KENNETH V. STAUFFER R.R. #1 Box 307, Mt. Pleasant Mills, PA 17853 PHONE (717) 539-4606 FAX (717) 539-4703 1-888-539-4606 Please Call For Free Information! VLIlt l '' f t “We expect another year of low prices,” said Carl Zulauf, agricul tural economist at Ohio State Uni versity. “The impact on farmers is that this will be the second (conse cutive) year of low hum income. “It is most people’s opinion that most farmers who are highly Regional Center for Dairy Beef Quality Assurance SERVING THROUGH EDUCATION. PROMOpON&JRESEARCI 7 mals quite as long," said Jett Grove. Jeff and his brother Jay milk 175 cows on their farm near Shippensburg. He’s been paying attention to why cull cows bring the prices they do. The failure to evaluate is costly. Dairy farmers can benefit when they approach their culling decisions as a positive, productive, and profitable func tion of dairy management and view themselves as contrib utors of valued food products instead of salvage price-takers. The Regional Center for Dairy Beef Quality Assurance is dedicated to raising producer awareness of key management and decision factors affecting consumer confidence, beef value and dairy profitability. To learn more about dairy beef quality assurance, contact Tammy Weaver at (717) 939-7000. 'II/f * « . 4 Crop, Low Prices Aren’t leveraged can easily stand one year of falling income,” Zulauf said. “It’s when you put two or more years of lower income to gether that financial strain be comes more widespread.” An otherwise dry spring allow ed Ohio farmers to get virtually all their own and soybeans planted two weeks ahead of time, said Ohio State crop specialists. A con tinued dry spell would have dam aged what could become an out standing crop year, they said. “We sort of had it pretty nice this spring in getting crops planted,” said agronomist Jim Beuerlein. “A lot of seed got planted in fairly dry soil, and it just laid there waiting for water. “There are some fields with thin stands now, but the recent rains will correct that,” Beuerlein said Ohio and Indiana are well ahead of the nation’s major soy bean-growiling area in the West ern Cent Belt, where planting is lagging due to rain, Zulauf said Illinois is the exception, where planting is right on target However, it’s still not too late for western farmers to get their soybeans planted in time, if the weather starts to cooperate. Favor able growing conditions could add to the nation’s already high stock pile of soybeans. U.S. soybean producers also face competition from overseas iUMBEATABLE PRICES!! SUPER TOUGH STEEL BUILDINGS Factory Direct 800/825-5059 oilseed growing areas, where un proved weather conditions are ex pected to raise production, Zulauf said. In particular, Malaysia’s palm oil production is expected to return to normal after sustaining drought from the El Nino weather pattern, he said. Meanwhile, last weekend’s showers in Ohio didn’t seem to be evenly distributed, leaving some fields still thirsty for water. Den nis Baker, an agriculture/com munity development agent for Ohio State University Extension in Darke County, said “Any amount of rain would help” but the weekend’s showers were spot ty and sparse in the west-central Ohio county. In Wood County, an Ohio State research branch received almost an inch of rainfall last weekend while some nearby areas received about two inches, said Paul Houdashelt, manager of the Northwestern branch of Ohio State’s Ohio Agricultural Re search and Development Center (OARDC). “It was highly variable up here,” Houdashelt said. “There are some portions of the area that are excess in moisture, and other areas that are adequate.” OARDC’s Northwestern Branch received 1.22 inches of precipitation for the month as of May 23. compared to 5.26 inches for May 1998. April brought 5.7 inches of precipitation compared to 3.47 inches in April 1998. Farmers usually finish com planting and are well into planting soybeans by late May. This year, some com is as high as 3-4 inches in northwestern Ohio, while soy beans are just starting to emerge from the ground, Houdashelt said. “We were concerned about how the dry weather was going to af fect com stands,” said agronomist Peter Thomison. “If we can get some more rain it wouldn’t hurt us any." Young plants not only need moisture to help them grow, but rain also washes herbicides into soils to be effective on weeds. Beuerlein said that relatively cool temperatures helped keep weed population down while farmers waited for rain. Ohio’s wheat crop is looking "excellent,” said plant pathologist Pat Lipps. There is some concern that rainfall could spread a fungal disease known as head scab, which caused major losses in 1995 and 19%, he said. However, the dry conditions over the past month has probably prevented the scab fungus from producing spores, which should limit the number of infections this year. 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