A26-Ltnc*ster Fanning, Saturday, Juna 17, 2000
Fayette County Master Farmer In For Life
DAVID HIEBERT
Westmoreland Co. Correspondent
BROWNSVILLE (Fayette
Co.) No, Robert Jackson,
Fayette County farmer is not
in prison for life. He has just
never seriously considered an
occupation other than farm
ing.
Jackson, one of four Penn
sylvania farm operators
named master farmers for
2000, runs the 450 acre Double
J farm just south of Browns
ville. Jackson, three other
Pennsylvania and one Mary
land farm operators were rec
ognized in a ceremony held
March 6 in Harrisburg.
Although he has not seri
ously considered any other
career, Robert Jackson feels
the weather and fluctuating
milk prices have been two huge
challenges in his life. The
record highs and lows are
tough, whether it’s the weather
or milk prices.
Located in hilly country be
tween Pittsburgh and Union
town, the 125-cow dairy is at
the heart of the Jackson farm.
Robert (Bob) recalls some of
the transitions at the farm’s be
ginning.
After earning an associate’s
degree in agricultural business
from Penn State in 1975, Jack
son joined a partnership with
his father, Robert, and uncle,
Bill.
In 1979, they purchased
more land, converting the old
Stuart beef farm to a dairy.
In 1985, the families split
in his 1979-vintage double 6 herringbone milking parlor,
Robert Jackson notes that the herd bacteria count runs in
the 2-3,000 range. Cows and milkers are washed before
each milking, and Clorox is used as a disinfectant.
The senior Robert Jackson (on the tractor) is also a
Master Farmer. Although retired in 1988, he helps out
during the spring as he is able.
the business, with the uncle’s
side keeping the land nearer
Route 40, and Bob’s family
taking the Stuart place. The
other Jackson’s farm now in
cludes a retail outlet on the old
National Road (US Route 40).
When his father retired in
1988, Jackson took over the
Double J Farm. The current
farm includes 335 acres of
cropland, 75 rental acres, and
a 125-cow Holstein herd. The
herd’s average yearly milk
production is about 23,000
pounds.
To increase feed efficiency,
Jackson splits his milking
cows into high-producer and
low-producer groups, feeding
the high producers extra ra
tions to maintain peak produc
tion.
About 18 of the lower pro
ducers which are usually
toward the end of their lacta
tions are separated as a way
to keep them away from the
extra feed and extra weight
that comes with it. Jackson
and his wife, Joy, work closely
with the DHIA to keep pro
duction records, tracking cow
output through monthly mea
surements.
Bob also handles the herd’s
artificial insemination breed
ing program, noting that the
main advantage for the herd is
that he “can get her bread soon
enough after coming into
heat.” He’s achieved about a
50% first service conception
rate.
According to Jackson, AI
gives him access to more bull
studs. He works at a 13-month
calving interval and may keep
an unbred cow as long as a
year before culling, depending
on her production.
Also a consideration in
breeding are marketing fac
tors. Milk is sold through the
milk cooperative, Dairy Farm
ers of America, where he
serves as an alternate delegate.
The cooperative gives a prem
ium on fall production to coun
ter the natural spring flush in
April and May, when pasture
—and milk production
peak. Bob’s aim for fall
freshening, however, has had
limited success.
All heifer calves are kept for
possible herd replacements.
They are fed via the bottle for
the first 6-8 weeks and weaned
by the time they are 3 months
old. The 4-6 month olds grow
in their own pen, and are
moved on to the breeding area
by 15 months.
Bob aims for first freshening
at 2 years. The cows are
milked twice a day in the origi
nal double-six “super stall’’
parlor built in when the dairy
was formed in 1979.
When not on pasture, the
cows lounge in a frees tall facil
ity featuring a stall for every
cow. Bob limits the herd size at
this point to the number of
stalls in the bam.
Although he may change the
milkers in the near future. Bob
figures he can use the milking
parlor for another 10 years.
To run the farm, Bob has
hired 3 full-time employees
and a part-timer in addition to
his retired father, who hdps
out as needed and as he feels
able.
The Jackson family includes
Bob, Joy, and four children:
Andrea, 16; Amber, 11; Adam,
6; and Aaron, 4,
The couple served as re
gional leaders to the Pennsyl
vania Council of Cooperatives’
Young Leader Conference in
1993. Jackson served as presi
dent of the Fayette County
Holstein Association from
2000 Dietary Guidelines
Acknowledge Dairy’s Importance
ROSEMONT, 11. Leaders
of the National Dairy Council®
(NDC), the nutrition research
and communications arm of
Dairy Management Inc.™
(DMI), applauded the federal
government’s recently
announced 2000 Dietary Guide
lines, which maintains the old
guideline’s recommendation of
two to three servings of dairy
foods daily.
“One of the goals of the 2000
Dietary Guidelines is to provide
consumers with simple steps to
act on right now for good health.
Getting those two to three serv
ings of milk, cheese, yogurt and
other dairy products is a simple
and powerful action step toward
that end,” said Greg Miller,
Ph.D., NDC vice president of
nutrition research.
The 2000 Dietary Guidelines
emphasize the importance of
consuming good sources of cal
cium throughout life for healthy
bones. Adolescents and adults
over age SO have “an especially
high need for calcium,” the
guidelines state. Yogurt, milk
and cheese top the list of recom
mended calcium sources.
Outside his home in Brownsville, Master Farmer Robert
Jackson stands with a lawn decoration given to him by a
friend.
In the hill country of the Mon River Valley, Jackson uses
strip farming and pasture land to control erosion and pro
vide space for his 125-head herd of Holsteins.
1994-98 and is a current board Herd Improvement Associa
member. He also is a board tion and is a deacon at the
member of the county’s Dairy local First Christian Church.
In its advice to consumers, the
new guidelines include other im
portant references to dairy:
Low fat and fat-free dairy
foods have the same nutrient
content (except for saturated fat
and calories) as the higher fat
versions. This helps to correct a
common misconception that
lower-fat dairy foods might be
lower in important nutrients.
Chocolate milk, though it
contains some sugar, is high in
vitamins and minerals and
therefore is an important part of
the daily diet, especially for
those who need extra calories. It
contains the same level of cal
cium as white milk.
Soft drinks and other sweets
should not crowd lowfat milk
from the diet, as milk is an ex
cellent source of calcium and is
needed to maintain health.
Recent research has shown
that calcium from soy-based
beverage is absorbed only 75
percent as efficiently as from
milk. In accordance with NDC’s
comments to the committee that
authored the new guidelines,
calcium-fortified soy beverages
is not listed in the dairy group;
soy is offered only as an option
for those who prefer a non-dairy
source of calcium.
For more information on the
Dietary Guidelines and recent
ground-breaking research show
ing the role of calcium and dairy
products in preventing disease,
visit NDC’s Web site at
www.nationaldairycouncil.org
or DMl’s main Web site at
www.dairyinfo.com.
WoJw
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