A26-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 30, 2000 WEST MIDDLESEX (Mercer Co.) Have you ordered your tickets yet? The Pennsylvania Junior Hol stein Association northwest dis trict welcomes all junior members to the 2001 Pennsylva nia Junior Holstein Convention, Feb. 2-4 here at the Radisson Hotel. Friday activities will include the annual meeting of the Penn 2001 PA Junior Holstein Convention Ticket Order Form Fndw iruarv 2. 2001 Mixer, Dance and Food Saturday. Fel 3. 2001 Tour to Cheese Plant Ice Skating Meal & Speech Presentations Sunday. Febru, 2001 Awards Breakfast and Program Convention T-Shirts .small .medium .large x-large Ticket orders must be received by Fj Name(s). list other names and ages on back of this paper Address. Count Phone(, Adult Chaperone. Send Ticket Order Form with Check Payable to "2001 PA Junior Holstein Convention Jodi Caldwell 22496 Gravel Run Road Saegertown, PA 16433 Phone (814) 398-2476 For Lodging Reservations Contact Radisson Hotel, RT 18 & 1-80 Exit 1-N West Middlesex, PA 16159 (724)528-2501 ♦lndicate you are with PA Junior Holstein Convention Room Reservations are due by January 12, 2001 Lodging Rates $ 72 00 plus tax (Single, Double, Triple, Quad) All juniors must be in their rooms by 12 30 a m on Friday and 1 30 a m on Saturday Doors will be open at all times when mixed company is in the room ABSOLUTELY NO DRUGS OR ALCOHOL WILL BE USED OR CONSUMED Upon registration, each junior will name a chaperone that is responsible for his or her action If you do not name one, there will be chaperones at the hotel Anyone found destroying hotel property will be charged for damages The Convention Committee will not be responsible for anyone leaving the Convention facilities without permission of the Convention Chaperone Any violators of these rules will not be eligible for any state awards for a period of one year, and they will be sent home at the parents’ cost Parent’s Signature, Emen Phone Numberl Junior's Si; ;naturei List other juniors below Name(s). *» » • ••i * > . t » >.j> * > . Pa. Junior Holstein Convention Feb. 2-4 sylvania Junior Holstein Associ ation along with the mixer complete with a DJ for a dance and a few special surprises and activities. There will also be plenty of food and drink for ev eryone to enjoy while they renew old acquaintances and meet some new friends from around the state. Saturday is packed full of contests and activities that begin At large Order Total $. Junior Convention Rules 300 = .at $ 13 00 = $. lanuarv 12. 2001 Age(s), ■OV.V.V/. , ,’.V, with dairy bowl and speech con tests. There will also be an ex temporaneous speaking contest this year with sign-up at the con vention and speeches given on Saturday. Juniors are encouraged to get their entries in for both of these state contests. The will be an op portunity to leam more about DHIA and how it can benefit your dairy operation. The association will also be offering the chance for juniors to go ice skating on Saturday after noon. There will be a tour to a large cheese plant where moz- Pennsylvania Holstein Association WEST MIDDLESEX (Mercer Co.) Join the fun in 2001 as the Northwest District offers a mid winter break from the dairy farming routine at the Radisson Hotel. The Radisson is located in West Middlesex, Pa. just off of I -80 at exit 1-N. In addition to the board of di rectors meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 21, the host committee offers an afternoon tour to Con trol Molding and Plastics Com pany and the Wendell August Forge Company. The conven tion banquet will be Wednesday evening. The Hall of Fame winners Maximize Milk Checks Without Expanding Dairy Operation COLUMBUS, Ohio Dairy farmers can increase their milk checks without expanding their herd. It just takes a little more management and some shop ping around, said Tom Noyes, dairy agent at the Wayne County office of Ohio State Uni versity Extension. There is probably an opportu nity for some producers to gain at least an additional $1.50 per hundred pounds of milk pro duced, Noyes said. And, with milk prices more than $1 per hundred pounds lower than normal, maximizing the milk check is more import ant now than ever, he said. The current All Milk Price the base price of milk plus additions for butterfat, protein and other solids content is about $12.50 per hundredweight. The average All Milk Price received by Ohio dairy farmers over the past 10 years is $13.76 per hun dredweight. “You can affect what your milk price is through manage ment on the farm and looking at different marketing alterna tives,” he said. “You could gain $1 per hundredweight just by altering what you do on your farm.” Improving milk quality by lowering the somatic cell count and controlling other factors could make a noticeable differ ence. Somatic cells are animal body cells present at low levels in normal milk. High levels of these cells in milk caused by things such as mastitis infection, udder injuries, stress, poor milk ing procedures and cow age indicate abnormal, reduced quality milk. Milk with a high somatic cell count has a shorter shelf life, yields less cheese and may have poor flavor, Noyes said. L Ofder 33, which in cludes ohio/tne mifk price pro zarella cheese is produced. Fol lowing the Saturday evening meal, the association members will hear the winning speeches presented along with a dance and some special surprises. Sunday morning will con clude with the awards breakfast, where juniors are recognized for their achievements over the past year. There will be a well-stocked dairy baralong with commercial exhibitors who are available to share their industry knowledge with the juniors. There will also be the photo contest, display Will Conduct Convention and Distinguished Young Hol stein Breeder winner will be an nounced. After dinner, the Millcreek Ramblers will provide entertainment and dancing will follow. The Annual Meeting will be held on Thursday, Feb. 22. Members will have a chance to meet Bud Leckie, President of the National Association. The Ladies Program this year will begin at 12:15 p.m. to allow the ladies to attend the morning session of the annual meeting and participate in the ladies pro gram. The ladies’ luncheon and pro gram will be held at the Oak ducers receive is adjusted up or down by how much their milk’s somatic cell count is below or above 350,000 cells per milliliter. Milk below 350,000 cells per mil liliter gets a premium, while milk above 350,000 is dis counted. “In Federal Order 33, about 53 percent of the milk produced has a somatic cell count between 201,000 and 400,000 cells per milliliter,” Noyes said. ‘That means more than half of the milk produced is discounted or receives only a small bonus. An other 25 percent of the milk has counts worse than 400,000. So there is definitely room for im provement in gaining take home dollars through reducing somatic cell counts.” The premium amounts vary by market and can range from 10 cents per hundredweight to $1 per hundredweight. Addi tional bonuses often are paid for producing premium quality milk for consecutive months, he said. All quality programs also are based on milk being free of antibiotics, added water, low sediment and off flavors. Based on the milk supply, some buyers may offer over order premiums. These are bo- nuses above the market price for milk within a federal order of fered simply to secure milk for a buyer. They are not based on quality. The more competition there is for milk, the higher these bonuses may be, Noyes said. They often range from zero to 30 cents per hundredweight and vary by month. Dairy farmers can adjust their production to take advantage of seasonal bonuses. These bonuses often occur in the fall when chil dren are going back to school and demand for milk increases. The problem is, many producers often get thefr highest milk pro duction in the spring, when contest, and plenty of opportu nity to visit with friends from across the state. The Radisson Hotel has an indoor swimming pool and an arcade room along with all the other amenities of a conference hotel. Make sure to get you hotel and ticket order information in by Jan. 12. For contest entry forms or ad ditional information on Pennsyl vania Junior Holstein activities, contact Pennsylvania Holstein Association, 839 Benner Pike, State College, PA 16801, (814) 234-0364. Tree Country Club with enter tainment. The convention sale will high light Thursday evening. Con signments are currently being sought. If you are interested in consigning, please contact either Mike Weimer at (814) 498-2047 or Bill Allen at (717) 944-1374. Friday, Feb. 23 will be the awards breakfast. Award recipi ents will be honored and Walter Shide will speak. The convention will also in clude a fully stocked dairy bar and many commercial exhibits that will highlight the new tech nology available to the dairy in dustry. grass and hay supplies flourish, but the school year is almost over. So finding ways to increase fall production could be benefi cial, he said. However, with expanding dairy herds, milk production across the United States is be coming more consistent throughout the year. So, sea sonal bonuses have diminished and may not be around much longer, Noyes said. Bonuses also exist for milk with high levels of protein. Some buyers are paying 10 cents per pound of protein in milk. Having a high protein dairy herd can add significantly to the bottom line, Noyes said. “You have to shop around for the market that best suits your milk,” he said. “And once the buyer who pays the best prem ium is found, producers have to be willing to change where they ship their milk, so they can get the best price possible. Ohio pro ducers often are loyal and are hesitant to shift buyers. But, the decision should depend on the price.” In the long run, taking advan tage of premium prices could really pay off. For a 100-cow Holstein operation producing 20,000-pounds of milk per cow per year, an extra $1.50 per hun dred pounds of milk produced would gamer $30,000 of addi tional income per year. By adjusting management practices, producers could prob ably obtain these bonuses with little or no added production costs, Noyes said. Just make sure bams are well ventilated, stalls are well bedded, the opera tion is clean, and proper milking techniques are followed. “There is obviously additional money to be made by producing high quality milk and shopping around to find the market that will be to your advhrtthge,” he said.