A3B-L«nca«ter Farming, Saturday, February 26, 2000 FreestaU And Discussed At JAYNE SEBRIGHT Lancaster Farming Staff HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.) A cow’s production and longevity can be greatly affected by where she chooses to lie down. Animals wili choose the most comfortable place to lie down. If the stall isn’t cushioned enough or if it’s difficult to get into, a cow will choose the manure over the stall. Lying in the manure can cause mastitis, leading to high somatic cell counts, higher vet bills, and more cull cow inci dents. If a cow does lie down in a stall that isn’t properly de signed, she can end up with swollen hocks, bruised shoul ders, and other injuries that hurt Lancaster Poured Walls, Inc. Concrete Construction 2001 Jarvis Road • Lancaster, PA 17601 717-299-3974 Concrete Rum pin Meter Pump Agricultural • Commercial • Residential her longevity. Speakers during the after noon session at the recent Dairy Animal Housing Conference ad dressed considerations in free stall design and bedding decisions and their impact on cow comfort. Those speakers included Wil liam Bickert, Jack Rodenburg, Richard Stowell, Dan McFar land, K. Larry Smith, Charles Guard 111, and Curt Gooch. Virtually everything in dairy freestall design has changed in the past 20 years, according to the panel. “Cow comfort has become a major issue driving the evolu tion of attitude about barn design,” said Rodenburg . “Your choice in stall design re flects your management style Along with Excellent Customer Service makes For a Winning Combination at PA DHIA! A low price of $299.95 plus tax includes herd management, heifer management and lab analyst! PA DHIA members updating from another herd management program pay only $159.95 plus tax. We offer full technical support! Quick and easy Installation! Bedding Management Recent Conference “Barn Owl 2000” and goals. It has also has a major impact on manure han dling and design.” The panel encouraged farm ers to evaluate cow stress and cow comfort in their herd and make sure that the freestall design encouraged cows to lie down at least 10 to 14 hours a day. “Lying down on the job pro motes cud chewing, increases blood flow, increases growth hormone, decreases cortisol, and causes less feet and leg prob lems,” said Rodenburg. The panel emphasized that compromises are inevitable in (Turn to Pago A 3 8) Wl 133 Rothsvillc Station Rd. • Lititz, PA 17543 717-626-4705 WE SHIP PARTS DAILY **'*l t * w *» CASBIk CASE Ifr David Brown ("BETTER-SILT 7 ) sA ■SUNROW® (AiOWOSIMp KMZE CORN PLANTERS & GRAIN CARTS This Is Our Fax No. 717-626-0996 If You Have A Fax No., Let Us Know, We Can Communicate With You By Fax, (Continued from Page A3B) farm price than farmers with lower component levels. The Pennsylvania Milk Mar keting Board also sets minimum price levels and over order premiums that are taken into consideration on the milk check. “The best thing about the new milk pricing system is that com ponents matter a lot,” said Bailey. “Farmers with higher butterfat, protein, and other solids will get higher prices.” While Bailey does think the new milk pricing system is working well, he does expect that milk prices will be low for mtnt TRAILERS EARTH MET« |ty CASE IH DISC BLADES w Save Up To 15% Discount On 16 or More Blades \ Through April 30, 2000 Mharlo Jim Kulick, Stover Farms, Cumberland County, uses Bam Owl 2000 to make day to day decisions in managing his herd of 170 cows. Bailey Reports Q ,-A #o*ss by Athens Harrows IAIHHMI Couller Chisels Chisel Plows the next four to five months. “What can farmers do? They can either get mad or work with the market,” said Bailey. He encourages farmers to budget their income and ex penses, forward contract their milk price when the price is good, lock in their feed and other costs, apply for better fi nancing, feed for components and value, and manage produc tion and expenses. These sugges tions will help them maintain profitability when the price falls. Farmers can visit Bailey’s web site at www.aers.psu.eduairyoutlook. Machinery Sales M-F 7 to 5 Sat. 7 to 11:30 PARTS DEPT. HOURS: Monday-Frlday 7 AM to 5 PM Saturday 7 AM to Noon Alter Hours Emergencies Call (717) 626-0885 (717)626-5159 Sun. Closed - Lord's Day '**■4 W . * v * VI UGMT No Matter Where You Are - You’re Never Too Far! Your Parts Are Just A Phone Call Away!
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