AiO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 8, 2000
OPINION
What Flag Is Flying Over Your Dairy?
If you have watched a car race for any length of time, you know
that no one is more important to the race than the flagman in the
tower. His job is to monitor the track for problems and if a problem
develops, he has to fly a different colored flag to let the drivers know
that a problem exists ahead. The driver depends on the flagman to
warn him of problems, because he is concentrating so hard on “the
windshield view” the challenges that are directly in front of him.
What view do you have in managing your dairy? Do you have the
“long view” of the flagman, or do you operate week after week with
the short-sighted “windshield view” of the driver? The flagman at a
race is looking for situations that are very apparent accidents,
breakdowns, etc. As the “flagman” for your dairy, what you need to
look for may not be so obvious. Following are some items that will
help you to measure whether the “race” is running well at your
dairy. These factors are related directly to your profitability, and
can signal some hidden problems with your nutritional program.
Your nutritional consultant should be monitoring these control
points with you every month. If they are not doing this, I encourage
you to start tracking these indicators.
Peak Milk In first lactation Holsteins should be higher than
85 pounds.
In second lactation and older Holsteins should be higher than
105 pounds.
Remember the old rule for each extra one pound of milk at
peak, you get 250 pounds more milk during the lactation (this is
without bST).
Persistency First calf heifers lactations should be at 95 per
cent persistency.
From the first to the second test, the herd should average 110 per
cent persistency.
All cows in the first 100 days should average 100 percent persist
ency.
Udder Health 70 percent of your herd should have a weighted
SCC score of three or less.
Milk Components:
True Protein % = 82-88%
Milkfat %
Monitoring these factors will help to assure that the green flag
continues to fly over your dairy and that the race for producing
quality milk in a profitable manner continues in your business.
Sheep
Ohio.
Town and Country Day, Rich
ard and Martha Rhoades
Farm.
Pa. Simmental Association Field
Day, Triple L. Farm, New
Oxford, thru July 9.
Piketon Annual Open House,
Piketon Research and Exten
sion Center, Piketon, Ohio.
Piketon Horticultural Field
Night, Piketon Research and
Extension Center, Piketon,
Ohio,
Field Day Marketing Your
Knowledge and Sustainable
Lifestyle, Quiet Creek Herb
Farm, Brookville, 10 a.m.-2
p.m.
Sidewalk Sizzle and Ice Cream
Freeze, Reading Terminal
Market, Philadelphia, 11
a.m.-4 p.m.
Tioga County Farm-City Day,
Sunset Mountain Farms, 10
a.m.-5 p.m.
Ohio Florists Association Short
Course, Columbus, Ohio, thru
Mer^^Cm^^urang^Fa^
icrcer ounty
thru July 15.
Derry Ag Fair, New Derry, thru
July 15.
Ephrata Area Young Farmers
❖ Farm Calendar ♦
Summer Picnic, Ephrata
il^^3o^a; m^ -3p f m^^^^
Dr- '' Tow- ihip F~ ; thru Julv
'ooster,
/erry Townsl
15.
Mason Dixon Fair, thru July 15
Junior
School, Mercer County, noon.
Pa. Association of Ag Educators
Summer Institute for Excel
lence, Shippensburg Area
Senior High School, thru July
13.
Pa. YoungFarmersAssoaauon
Summer Conference, Ship
pensburg Area Senior High
School, thru July 12.
4-H Teen Leadership Confer
ence, Lebanon Valley College,
Annville, thru July 14.
Marketing Business Farm Tour,
Paul and Sandy Arnold,
Argyle, N.Y., 1 p.m.-3 p.m.
Beef Improvement Federation,
Wichita, Kan., thru July 14.
Ephrata Area Young Farmers
meeting, Zoning, Zartman
Farms, Ephrata. 7:30 p.m.
National Brown SwissConveiT
tion, The Hilton, Harrisburg,
thru July 15.
Pa. Holstein Junior Judging
School, Susquehanna County,
noon, thru July 13.
(Turn to Pag* All)
air,
Dave Swartz
Perry County
Extension Agent
air, ti
uly
Holstein Judging
To Be Aware
Of Potato Leaflioppers
Potato leafhoppers have
been reported feeding on al
falfa in Lancaster County,
according to Robert Ander
son, Lancaster County exten
sion agronomy agent.
Each year these small,
green insects reach Lancaster
from overwintering popula
tions in the South. Once es
tablished in an alfalfa field,
their populations can increase
rapidly. Both the adult leaf
hopper and nymph cause
feeding damage.
Scouting fields on a weekly
basis can help prevent signifi
cant forage and yield losses
this little pest causes. The first
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WHOM DO YOU FOLLOW?
Background Scripture:
Ephesians 2.
Devotional Reading:
John 17:1-11,20-23.
I am writing this on a train
traveling from Vevey, Switzer
land to Verona, Italy. It is a Sun
day, and I feel the strangeness of
not getting ready for our Sunday
school class and worship in
downtown Dallas, Texas.
Along the way we see the tow
ers and spires of many churches
where presumably Christians are
assembling according to their
own custom. Then I begin to
wonder how many of the other
travelers on our train are also fel
low Christians.
If Valere and I got off at the
next stop and entered the nearest
church, would we feel a part of
this congregation, or like strang
ers?
Have you ever noticed that,
outside your own congregation,
you may feel little sense of identi
fication with other Christians?
Presbyterians may feel they have
little in common with Baptists.
Protestants may find it difficult
to think of Roman Catholics and
Orthodox as brothers and sisters
in Christ and vice versa.
Why is it that, although we
confess the same Lord, we do not
feel much of a connection with
other Christians? Perhaps it is
because our God is too small, our
Christ is too narrow, and our
churches too parochial. Maybe
what we believe about Christ ac
tually erects walls between us
and other followers.
While I would never say that
what we believe is not important,
nevertheless 1 would remind you
visual sign of damage is often
yellowing of the alfalfa leaf,
especially on new growth. The
brassy yellowing often occurs
in a V-shaped wedge and is
referred to as hopper bum.
Often by the time the yel
lowing is noticed, significant
losses have already occurred.
Severe damage causes
stunted plants with shortened
intemodes. Stunting and leaf
loss results in the loss of quan
tity and quality hay. Under
severe feeding pressure, an
entire cutting of hay may be
lost.
In addition, severe feeding
reduces plant vigor and re
duces winter hardiness. Stunt
ed alfalfa allows light penetra
tion into the canopy and
encourages weed growth.
To Scout For
Potato Leafhoppers
As alfalfa is cut, the potato
leafhopper will move to ad
joining fields. The regrowth of
cuttings must be scouted care
fully.
Robert Anderson, Lancas
ter County extension agrono
my agent, reminds us that
large populations of leafhop
pers moving from a cut field
to the new growth of an adja
cent field can cause consider
able damage.
Fields should be scouted on
a regular basis (every 5 to 7
days). Begin checking new
growth immediately after har
vest. Use a sweep net, taking
20 sweeps in five different
that belief and faith are not iden
tical and the greatest of these
is not our beliefs, but whom we
follow. James reminds us that
“You believe that God is one;
you do well. Even the demons
believe and shudder” (James
2:19). You may believe in Jesus
Christ, but that does not neces
sarily mean that you follow him.
Sons Of
Disobedience
Ephesians puts the emphasis
upon following, noting that be
fore becoming Christians, his
readers followed “the course of
the world, following the prince
of the power of the air, the spirit
that is now at work in the sons
of disobedience. Among these we
all once lived in the passions of
our flesh, following the desires of
the body and mind and so were
by nature children of wrath, like
the rest of mankind” (2:2,3).
I have called myself “a Chris
tian” as long as I can remember.
Yet, although I am certainly a
Christian in my beliefs, I am
sometimes not Christian in my
discipleship. Instead of living as
a child of God in Christ, I find
that I am living as one of the
“children of wrath.”
Perhaps that may also be true
of you sometimes when your
loyalty, your behavior, and atti
tudes are those of the world, not
of Christ, so that you continue to
be a ‘stranger far off.” Whenever
your politics, economic status,
social standing, race, skin color
or sex are more important to you
than the teachings and spirit of
Christ, you are still living as
“strangers and sojourners” in
stead of “fellow citizens with the
saints and members of the
household of God . . .”(2:19).
Ah, yes, you may reply, but
Ephesians assures us that we are
“saved through faith; and that is
not our own doing, it is the gift
of God not because of
works . . .” (2:18,19).
Yes, it is true that the chasm
areas of each field. Average
the number of leafhoppers
and nymphs per sweep. For
hay less than 10 inches tall,
consider an insecticide appli
cation if more than 0.1 leaf
hoppers is found per sweep. If
hay is more than 10 inches
tall, consider an insecticide
application if two or more
leafhoppers are found per
sweep.
To Be Safe
Around Grain Bins
Although automated equip
ment has made the storage
and handling of grain faster
and easier than ever, the stor
age structures and handling
equipment create hazardous
work areas.
Farm workers should make
sure they take the proper
steps to prevent illnesses, inju
ries, and death. Label grain
bins to warn of the hazards of
entrapment. Lock entrances
to grain handling areas to
keep bystanders and children
out. Install ladders inside
bins. Do not enter bins that
are being loaded or unloaded.
Flowing grain can trap and
suffocate you in seconds. If it
is necessary to enter a bin,
shut off and lock out power
before entering.
Use a safety harness and a
safety line. Have several peo
ple outside who can lift a per
son out of the bin.
Feather Prof.’s Footnote:
“Well done is better than
well said. ” Ben Franklin.
between our good works and the
favor of God is too great for us
to bridge. A good work for each
minute of the day for every year
of our whole lives cannot bridge
that chasm. It most certainly is
“the gift of God.”
Where They
Fit In
In the next sentence, however,
we find just where good works fit
in: “For we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jestfs for good
works which God prepared be
forehand, that we should walk in
them” (2:10, my italics).
Good works cannot save us,
but neither can we claim God’s
gift if we do not proclaim our
gratitude through good works.
They are simply the by-product
of following Jesus Christ, trying
to incarnate in our lives his ex
ample, living by his teachings
and commandments.
Christians sometimes build
walls that continue to make
strangers of other children of
God. But Christ is a wall-breaker
“he . . . has made us both
one and had broken down the di
viding wall of hostility . . .”
(2:14). If you either build walls or
let them divide the household of
God, you may possibly believe in
Christ, but you are not following
him.
So take a good, hard look at
your life. Is it Christ you are fol
lowing?
Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St.
Ephrata, PA 17522
—by—
Lancaster Farming, Inc.
A Stemman Enterprise
William J. Burgess General Manager
Everett R. Newswanger Editor
Copyright 2000 by Lancaster Farming