A2O-Lanc««ter Farming, Saturday, September 11, 19W Pennsylvania Livestock Auction Waynnburg, Pa* Tburaday, Sept. 9, \999 Report Supplied By Auction CATTLE: SL. COWS: UTILITY &. COMMERCIAL 33.00-40.00; CANNER & BONING UTILITY 30.00-36.50; CAN NER & LOW CUTTER 28.00-33.75; SHELLS 28.00 & DOWN. BULLS: YIELD GRADE 1 1500#-2000# 38.00- YIELD GRADE 2 1000#-1400# FAT 37.00-41.00. FEEDER STEERS; MALI 300-500# 55.00- 250-280# 54.00-104.00, M 600-900 LBS. 40.00-73.00. HEIFERS M l&L-l 300-500# 42.00-94.00; L-l 400-650# 42.00-87.00. BULLS MiH 300-620# 45.00-97.00. CALVES: VEAL: PRIME 68.00-78.00; CHOICE 38.00-70.00; GOOD 35.00-60.00. FARM CALVES: #1 HOLSTEIN BULLS 90-120# FEW 35.00-86.00; #2 HOLSTEIN BULLS 80-100# FEW 20.00- BEEF X BULL&HFRS./HD. 20.00- HOGS: BARROWS & GILTS #l-2 210-255# 26.00-37.00, #2-3 255-280# 29.00-35.50; SOWS #l-3 300-500# NONE AVAILABLE. FEEDER PIGS: 1-3 15-20# 5.00- 17.00/HD.; 1-3 25-35# 10.00- 1.00/HD. LAMBS; HIGH CHOICE 80-100 LBS. 50.00- CHOICE 40-75 LBS. 50.00- FEEDER lAMBS GOOD 60.00- SHEEP 18.00-29.00; FAT SHEEP 18.00 & DOWN. GOATS: LARGE 35.00-100.00/HD.; MEDIUM 20.00-41.00/HD.; SMALL 10.00- HORSES: 35.00-65.50; PONIES 20.00- I'M I® NOT L10N... THE CLASSIFIED LIVESTOCK SECTION HAS BEASTLY SELECTIONS' Financed By First Union Bank, Blaine T. Fessler V.P. 610-655-2884 Built b COLLEGE PARK, Md. Many dairy and beef cattle pro ducers in the Mid-Atlantic region face a double whammy this year. Not only is there a growing short age of forages, but feeding drought-stressed crops could be deadly for their cattle. So said Lester Vough, forage crops specialist for Maryland Co operative Extension at the Univcr WELLSBORO (Tioga Co.) - Successful graziers know there is more to grass-based dairy and beef operations than just turn ing the cows out each morning. Proper pasture management is critical, especially in drought conditions such as much of Pennsylvania has experienced this growing season. “The key is keeping forage primed so it’s ready to respond to moisture,” said Tioga County Cooperative Extension Agent Craig Williams. “If you make it go dormant (through over graz ing), it won’t respond to rain.” Pasture growth and the resulting fertility and nutrient availability are the focus of an ongoing study Williams and sev eral other extension agents are conducting throughout the state. The idea was to take weekly grass growth measure ments, plot the data on graphs, then use the information to study the complex relationships between feed and milk produc tion, pasture rotation schedules OPEN ictions: Columbia Crossroads, PA (North of Troy) take Rt 80 to Rt 1 SON to Rt 15N to Rt 14N to Rt 6E, Go 1/4 mile turn left onto Rt 14N, at Ist “Y” go right (implement dealer is on left), go 5.6 miles & turn left onto Pierce Rd. (dirt road). Schick Enterprises, Kutztown, PA 800-527-7675 Drought Brings Health Danger For Cattle Successful Grazing Means Measuring Pasture Growth sity of Maryland. The problem. Dr. Vough ex plained, is nitrate poisoning, parti cularly in severely drought-stunt ed corn. Excessively high levels of ni trogen are likely to occur in com and other forages that have been growing under stress conditions, such as when can has been fer tilized for high grain or silage and regrowth rates, and the amazing variability, even on adjacent paddocks, of those regrowth rates. Using the Alistair Pasture Gauge, an instrument that cal culates grass density, height, and pounds-per-dry matter, agents have the benefit of uni formity as they obtain measure ments. Everyone agreed the “eyeball” is the best measure, Williams continues, but with seven different agents there was a need for a “common denomina tor.” In Tioga County, Williams used Russ and Karen Tomlinson’s Kick-a-Moo Farm, an intensive, rotational grazing operation, as a study area. During a Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture-sponsored field day at the farm, Williams discussed the study process and, on the pasture walk, explained some of the differences in pasture fertili ty- yields and becomes stunted by drought Vough notes that some soil moisture is necessary for plants to absorb and accumulate nitrates. So fields of late-planted com may not have received sufficient rain for significant nitrogen uptake to have occurred. Although severely stunted, such plants may not have elevated nitrate levels. Grazing in a drought year is challenging, he noted. A field that “gets hammered” all the time will simply shut down. The data gathered so far shows how fast grass will respond to even a little bit of water, if it is in the right stage (of growth). Graziers must therefore be ready to adapt to changing conditions. At Kick a-Moo Farm that means moving the cows about every 12 hours and keeping a close watch on the pasture growth. Those practices, in conjunction with the sporadic, small amounts of rain which have fallen on Tioga County, have been enough to keep the Tomlinson pastures relatively green. “Some areas of the state have received no rain, and the plants have just gone dormant,” Williams said. “That’s the strug gle with grazing. Keeping track of how the grass is growing is the only way to keep on top of it. It really does make it a week-to week management issue.” OCISE In addition, the resumption of normal plant growth after a heavy rainfall will reduce plant nitrate levels. So forage harvesting should be delayed three to five days after the rainfall So how do you know whether or not your com or other annual crops such as sorghum-sudan grass might have toxic nitrate levels? The only way to know is to have them tested. Hie Maryland Department of Agriculture now offers free nitrate testing to farmers in drought stricken counties of the state. Samples should be taken to Mary land Cooperative Extension coun ty offices. They will be forwarded to the MDA state chemist in An napolis for testing. Farmers should contact their local exten sion office for details on submit ting the samples. How can farmers cope with ni trate toxicity? Vough suggests these management practices: • Cut the forage for silage. Hie fermentation process will reduce nitrate levels. Delay feeding the silage for about four weeks to make sure the fermentation pro cess is complete. • When chopping com for sil age. include only the top two thirds of the plant. The bottom third always has the highest nitrate accumulation. • Before feeding forage, have it chemically analyzed for nitrate content County extension offices in Maryland also have fact sheets available free of charge that per tain to nitrate poisoning of live stock, as well as procedures for feeding drought-stressed com.
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