Slaughter Plants Re-Examined Using Animal Welfare Strategies SCHAUMBURG, 111. Meat loaf and mashed potatoes are a weekly tradition in many homes, served with love by mothers across America. But Mom isn’t the only one these days who is putting an extra helping of TLC into the meal. Tobacco Auction Needs Location ANDY ANDREWS Lancaster Farming Staff LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.) The Pennsylvania Tobacco Marketing Association plans an other auction season. Problem is, the auction doesn’t have a location, and the associa tion is putting out a request. According to Dennis Hess, auction manager, “If anybody had an idea on a building that we could rent, we would probably like to have at least 10,000 square feet with a ground-level door and a couple of dock doors.” Almost any location in the county would be OK for the asso ciation. Hess said, “The tobacco season this year seems to be showing a fair amount of interest at this time. I have a feeling that the market will be better this year than last.” The Valby chippers are mounted on the three-point hitch of farm tractors This enables easy transport and maneuvering in woodlots The Valby chippers produce uniform chips which can be sold for burning, animal bedding, landscaping, pulp or mulch The chippers can handle residue from logging, land clearing, and gardening as well as slabs and edgings The chippers are self-feeding Model Max Capacity HP Range CHI4O 41/2”dlam. 17-40 CHISO 6” dlam. 20-50 CH 250 10”dlam Sawmill chipper with pulley. CH 250 OEM 18” wide slabs Hydraulically powered chipper for skid-steer mounting CHI4OHMD 6” dlam Thanks to the efforts of a live stock welfare guru named Tem ple Grandin, beef slaughter plants are taking a renewed look at their operations, this time through the cow’s perspective. “Animal handling in slaughter plants has seen a light year of Hess noted there is consid erably less tobacco in the area, about half of what was here last year. The auction operated late last year and into this year in a ware house at the Orion Industrial Park in New Holland. There, growers received bids of about 60-65 cents per pound, on aver age, according to Hess, for most ly Maryland 609 and some Pa. Type 41 tobaccos. The association conducted a sale in mid-December and sever al sales into the early part of this year in a leased 20,000 square foot building. Hess noted, despite depressed prices from last year, already this year there has been some interest by buyers. A little bit has been negotiated under contract at $1 a pound. Hess said he knew of one fel- VALBY DISK CHIRPERS 40+ Min. 23 gpm@ 2000 psi oil flow Growers should consider the following if they intend to mar ket the tobacco at the auction: • Grade the tobacco properly. Be careful about moisture levels keep them down. • Keep bales light. The ideal weight for tobacco bales is be tween 50-60 pounds. If they are packed together and become too heavy, the tobacco can become damaged, especially if wet. The association has eyed Jan uary as the possible start of the auction, or perhaps before, if a building becomes available. Hess noted that if anybody knows of available space for the auction, call him at the coopera tive, (717) 626-6970. Available in 8 models covering 17 to 200 HP Three point hitch hook up All models have drum brakes and drum locks for even coiling of the cable The Farmi winches also have production enhancing features such as upper and lower snatch blocks and a modular winch mechanism The famous Farmi clutch system grips and releases smoothly Farmi is the only winch in the world with a 5-YEAR WARRANTY ON THE CLUTCH. (US CUMMINGS and NICKER, Inc. WHOLESALE DISTRIBUTORS 100 Stover Drive Carlisle PA 17013 717/249-6720 1-800-222-8969 Serving Farmers Through Farm Equipment Dealers Since 1961 improvement in recent years,” said Dr. Grandin, who received her PhD degree in animal science from the University of Illinois. “The meat industry is improving the way it treats cattle.” Dr. Grandin is an assistant professor of animal science at low who received $l.lO a pound, “which already sounds better than last year,” he said. “Buyers are anxious to get started this year,” noted Hess. FARMI FARM TRACTOR LOGGING WINCHES 100*120 l©h<gh Av© - PO Box 928 Batavia. New York 14021*0928 716/343-5411 1-800-252-1552 Lancaster Firming, Saturday, November 11, 2000-A3l Colorado State University, wide ly recognized and well-respected for improving animal handling facilities and practices and in creasing cattle performance na tionwide. She will talk in detail about the treatment of cattle dur ing slaughter at the American Veterinary Medical Association’s Animal Welfare Forum, Nov. 10, 2000, in Itasca, Illinois. “Slaughter plants are operated very differently than they were in the ‘7os,” she said. “The industry is turning around thanks to a growing concern for animals. It’s been quite a dramatic improve ment.” And that improvement is, in no small part, due to Dr. Gran din. By using a “cow’s-eye-view” to relate to the fear experienced by animals in packing plants, she has revolutionized the industry. Dr. Grandin has developed en,ry chute and conveyor systems that calm animals and allow humane slaughter. Her equipment designs are based on research finding such as including solid sides and roofs overhead to block a cow’s wide-angle, 300-degree field of vision. More than half of the cat tle dispatched in North America now move through equipment she designed. As an independent consultant, Dr. Grandin reviews slaughter plant operations. In the first six months of 1999, she found that 17 of 22 plants she audited, or 77 percent, rendered more than 95 percent of cattle unconscious with a single shot from a captive bolt runner. The method destroys the brain instantaneously. How ever, some clinically dead cattle may involuntarily kick after stunning, according to Dr. Gran din, and appear to be in pain. Brain-wave research performed in New Zealand, Holland, and 515 North Reading Road, Rt. 272, Ephrata, PA 17522 717-733-4151 1 -800-522-3714 (PA Only) F- rirtneinn ivanlrff f j idtilii i < \ .tonwi. *uh|(< Mo aypovaUrornlia sa ner*>a t* f .n re Si,m «iki 't y APR l5 . mniiu i u u <<x ln|/ u/irn 4 ■> i < nou i' fma'MKl for the first /ear ont/ rotal tv*>an< *• Vl*-r n * ,< in, ,übnK 4 u“w : StaiXttVrt Progn n S*> < j'txrqt'M! ifixunt (nwxwi and 18 b A APR Standard prog am APH nn, v.ry Ix i npk T r< I Bloar G 1 MORI’ s>! inyiTc'itls ul M 7 '»') o nnmlh f\x«. r« f i kJode lax I»> t eiyn* dealer installatro ind <,**ui> \\ rw t<k iiable ' on a f >wv and ui Ix 4 ATV» and 6x6 nH mo v* hn leMFMafb RA/VGHftexcbdedi Utter /aki xiuimhw .< ref a«} financed be’-vK* - ' U"M>i 1 wl P< (.xaJxc V ’’ooo Wn« **!►> \ai<i ,- >€tv».ee' October U and December Si ?000 Of «>r *.»jt ec‘ to avartehrlitv at twli rpi i y <Jui*i, t nl/ ot‘ «»r mxblVxk tui> oj, See dealer tor detars. Aamny t J rUr * <* \M mxtd < are ‘or rider*? age ih and cider Pokirr »\« e nodr > n »lor nk rs <ig* nt, Always ■>.ear ahelmet and bofoM l< t ik< in n i inq For safety and t r annrq r{< rma.rn >in> ux_r ft U ■«> rtinru <<iii tSOU o4*. 3 'b\ c 2o<X_t- > Q|ais S#s.i' „ _ England has verified the proce dure as painless. By the end of 1999,37 of 41 plants reviewed, or 90 percent were using the stun ning procedure correctly. Her audits also revealed that 86 percent of plants achieved cattle vocalization scores of less than 3 percent. Cattle indicate stress by mooing and bellowing, so a quiet plant is a low-stress plant. Temple Grandin is in huge de mand, both nationally and over seas, because the good word is out. When she’s on hand, noth ing gets overlooked. “Cattle are afraid of the dark. They don’t like rapid movement, noises, or shadows,” Dr. Grandin said. “One plant had a problem with cattle balking and refusing to go up the chute. I toured the facility and found a small metal chain jiggling in the distance. After the chain was removed, the problem was solved.” Dr. Grandin’s problem-solving methods involve a critical, top to-bottom analysis in the most literal sense. She studies every inch of the plant, from floor to ceiling, to determine how a cow will perceive the environment. “Most adverse things found in slaughter plants are fairly easy to fix. Stunning equipment needs to be maintained; lighting may need to be adjusted,” Dr. Grandin said. “It’s a matter of plant man agers getting rid of all the dis tractions.” Regulations and guidelines for humane slaughter are explained in the Humane Slaughter Act, which is enforced by the USDA. Dr. Grandin was instrumental in the act’s development and also created objective criteria for hu mane treatment in slaughter plants, which are embraced throughout the cattle industry. WARWWINC^ The Way Out. NEW ADULT POLARIS ATV* IS'
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers