Page 28-Foraging Around, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 22, 2000 OUR FIRST Y2K GLITCH - POOR FERMENTATION OF FORAGES Virginia A. Ishler Program Assistant Dairy And Animal Science Penn State Producers - dairy and beef - have been faced with ongoing problems related to poorly fermented forages. The main complaints have been animal deaths related to clostridial spoilage (botulism) and a rise in the Grazing Walks Set J. CRAIG WILLIAMS Penn State Extension Tioga County Following is the schedule for sev eral grazing events. 2000 Bradford County Grazing Network Schedule Contact Glenn Gorrell, (570) 569- • May 3 Dale Neufeld Sea sonal grazing/Solar Pump Water System 265-4072. • May 17 Dean Madigan Heifers On Pasture 265-3799. • May 28 Glenn Gdrell Grazing Summer Annuals 569- 2624. • July 12 Jim Warburton Grazing Brassicas 924-3984. • August 9 Foster Constable Late Summer Pasture/Cow Man agement— 833-2319. • August 23 Rob Moore Open-Air Milking System 699- 7968,699-3702. • September 6 Dick Packard Grazing Alfalfa 297-3676. • September 20 Terry Hoyt 2 Years Later/Windmill Water System 363-2805. • October 4 TBA • November 8 TBA 2000 Tioga County Pasture Walk Schedule Contact Jim Weaver, (570) 724- 7788, or Tioga County Extension, (570)724-9120. • May 6 Frank Hartley New Pasture Layout Trout Run. • June 17 Brian Helfrich & Lynn Wigglesworth Land plan ning is a basic tenant of Holistic Management. Setting up a small dairy on a shoestring. Working on direct marketing & value added dairy products 724-7839. • July 22 Robby England 549-5661. August 19 Erick Coolidge ■7778. 724-' • September 16 Don Chamberlain Have been in and out of the dairy business for many years. Have tried many different methods to make a profit in this changing field. Come get a feel for the history of dairying in the North ern Tier 549-4721. • October 21 Dave Johnson Took the plunge to dairy farming in a big way. Ist time dairy farmers doing it seasonal. Now, in the middle of the grazing slump find out where they are 324-2285. . * Special Report * number of cows with displaced abo- mansum The mild weather of the fall and early winter has resulted in silages that are continually heating, have a short bunk life, have large pockets of spoiled material, and are showing a high pH. Problems will get worse as the weather becomes warmer. The characteristics of clostridial silage are a pH above 5, ammonia nitrogen greater than 10 percent of the total nitrogen, more butyric Banquet hesston Disc Mower Conditioners Model 1340 Take a 12-foot swipe through your toughest crop Cut square corners Cut on either side of the tractor Maneuver around obstacles You can do it all while making quality hay with the Hesston' 8 1340 Disc Mower Conditioner Quick moves for quick hay makins. White the center pivot design of the 1340 gives you unmatched maneuverability, 16 high speed swmgaway knives keep you moving through damp hay and lough STOLTZFUS FARM SERVICE, INC. Rts. 10 & 41, Cochranville, Pa 215-593-2407 ZIMMERMAN’S FARM SERVICE School Road, Rt. 1, Bethel, Pa. 717-933-4114 D. W. OGG Frederick, MD - 301-473-4250 Westminster, MD - 410-848-4585 CJ. WONSIDLER BROS. Finland Rd , Quakertown, PA 215-536-1935 / 215-536-7523 Rts. 309 & 100, New Tripoli, PA 610-767-7611/570-648-2088 than lactic acid, and a strong rancid odor. Unfortunately, there are no magic antidotes to incorporate into rations to correct the effects of clostridial fermentation. This type of fermentation can occur in any type of storage structure, including round bales. In many cases, animals will go off-feed or dry matter intakes will be reduced. This can increase the inci dence of health and metabolic prob lems around calving and into lacta tion. The only solution is to reduce or remove the feed from the.ration. However, in many cases this may be the main forage source for the herd. Alternatives to feeding spoiled silage is to limit feed or eliminate it from close-up dry cows and post fresh animals. These animal groups are generally under the most stress and susceptible to feed related prob lems. Good quality mixed alfalfa grass hay could be purchased to help dilute the effects of the spoiled silage. Any obviously spoiled mater ial should be discarded and not fed to any group of animals. More byproduct ingredients could be incorporated to replace some of the forage. If silages are heating, then more frequent feeding through out the day may be necessary. Some animals appear to be more sensitive to heated silages than others. Any Cut corners without cutting quality. strategy to promote dry matter intake around the transition period should be implemented. There have been some reported cattle deaths related to botulism. Botulism occurs when animals con sume feeds that contain a toxin pro duced by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum. This has been seen recently in some beef herds, but dairy cattle can be affected as well. In many cases, more than one animal becomes sick. They usually show signs of weakness, muscular incoordination, coma, and then death. How quickly animals show symptoms of being sick or die depend on how much of the toxin has been consumed. A veterinarian should be called immediately. The suspect feed should be removed from the ration. Any ensiled forage with a high pH (>5.0) should be considered suspect. Many of the animal health prob lems that producers deal with are forage quality related. This year’s forages, regardless of silage additive use or proper filling procedures, are showing signs of poor fermentation due to unusual weather conditions. It is difficult to acknowledge that a forage product that one has spent time and money to produce may have little feed value. spots You’ll cut drying time too, with the long 110-tnch conditioner rolls Save maintenance time. too. From the specially designed gearbox to sealed cutterbed bearings to reversible knives, the 1340 is designed for low maintenance Come in today and see how the 1340 cuts tough haying jobs down to size ▲ Nobody knows hay Hko MARSHALL MACHINERY, INC. Honesdale, Pa. 570-729-7117 HERNLEY’S FARM EQUIPMENT. INC. 2095 S. Market St., Elizabethtown, Pa. 717-367-8867 STANLEY’S FARM SERVICE RD 1, Box 46, Khngerstown, Pa. 717-648-2088 UMBERGER’S OF FONTANA, INC. RD 4, Box 545, Lebanon, Pa. 717-867-2613
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