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
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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.