A32-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 30, 200 C
Lehigh County Honors 4-H Members, Leaders
ALLENTOWN (Lehigh Co.) girl (ages 8-10) were Paul Schap
— About 200 friends and family pell of Schnecksville, member of
gathered recently to honor Le- the Seeing Eye Puppy 4-H Club,
high County 4-H volunteers and and Lorissa Lazarus of Breining
members for their achievements. sville, member of the county
Betty Selig, Trexlertown, re- sheep and swine dubs and the
ceived a 4-H clover pin with a di- Country Cabbits 4-H Club,
amond chip for 40 years of serv- Outstanding boy (ages 11-14)
ice as a volunteer club leader was Daniel Post, New Tripoli,
with the Trexlertown Merry He’s a member of the Lowhill
Stitchers 4-H Club. Laurels 4-H Club. The outstand-
Six 4-H members were award- ing girl was Rachel Rennie, Cen
ed plaques as outstanding ter Valley. She’s a member of the
4-H’ers. Outstanding boy and Southern Lehigh Helping Hands
Outstanding 4-H officers Kristen Oplinger, news re
porter, Wescosville; Nicole Wirth, president, Emmaus;
and Katie Harwick, secretary, Kempton and Seeing Eye
puppies accompany Kristen and Nicole.
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 shopping
around, said Tom Noyes, dairy
agent at the Wayne County of
fice of Ohio State University Ex
tension.
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 important
now than ever, he said. The cur
rent All Milk Price the base
price of milk plus additions for
butterfat, protein and other so
lids 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 hundred
weight.
“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 al
tering 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 milking pro
cedures -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.
In Federal Order 33, which in
cludes Ohio, the milk price pro
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 discounted.
“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 re
ceives only a small bonus. Anoth
er 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. Additional
bonuses often are paid for pro
ducing 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 bonuses
above the market price for milk
within a federal order offered
simply to secure milk for a buyet.
They are not based on quality.
The more competition- there is
4-H Club, the Veterinary Science
4-H Club, and County 4-H Teen
Council.
Outstanding boy and girl (ages
15-18) were Harvey Emert, IV,
Catasauqua, and Erin Lichten
walner, Coplay. Both are mem
bers of the Neffs Cloverettes 4-H
Club and County 4-H Teen
Council. Erin is also a member of
the Veterinary Science 4-H Club
and has volunteered as a counse
lor at residential 4-H camp. Har
vey and Erin will represent Le
high County at the National 4-H
Congress in November 2001.
This year’s delegates to National
4-H. Congress John C. Straw
bridge, Whitehall, and Katie
Harwich, Kempton have just
returned from Atlanta, Ga.,
where the event was held imme
diately following Thanksgiving.
Teen leaders who hold offices,
teach projects, volunteer as camp
counselors, or who help younger
individual members were hon
ored for years of service.
Those who completed one year
of service were Jessie Graham,
Philip Laube, and Rachel Laube,
Coopersburg; Christopher
Jameson and Robyn Wirth, Ore
field; Amy Lenhart, Jenny Len
hart. Josh Minnich, Karley
White, and Stephanie Wolfe,
New Tripoli; Kristen Oplinger,
Wescosville; Nick Reiss, Allen
town; and Nicole Wirth, Em
maus.
Teens completing their second
year of leadership were Seth
Bleiler and Stacey Mangold, New
Tripoli; Erin DiMiceli, Slating
ton; Jackie Federici, Orefield,
Amy Goetz, Fogelsville; Katie
Harwich and Suzanne Harwick,
Kempton; Adam Rabenold and
Tim Rabenold, Allentown; Ra
chel Rennie, Center Valley; and
Nathan Wagner, Coplay.
John C. Strawbridge, White
hall, and Josh Wagner, New Tri
poli, have been teen leaders for
three years. Erin Lichtenwalner,
for milk, the higher these bon
uses 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 their highest milk pro
duction in the spring, when grass
and hay supplies flourish, but the
school year is almost over. So
finding ways to increase fall pro
duction could be beneficial, he
said.
However, with expanding
dairy herds, milk production
across the United States is be
coming more consistent through
out the year. So, seasonal bon
uses have diminished and may
Glickman Announces New Forestry Council Members
WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S.
Ag Secretary Dan Glickman has
announced the selection of four
members to the USDA National
Urban and Community Forestry
Advisory Council. There is one
new member and three are reap
pointed. Their term begins Jan.
1,2001 untU Dec. 31,2003.
The new member appointed to
the 15-member councU is Eliza
beth Kinch, with the Derby
Community Foundation, Derby,
Kan.
Three members have been re
appointed to serve a second
Coplay, and Harvey Emert, IV, Tom Rabenold, Allentown; Jane
Catasauqua, have completed Schappell, Schecksville; Betsey
four years of teen leadership. Schmeltzle, Emmaus; and Denise
Other 4-H adult volunteers and Raymond Shirk, Allentown,
who received pins for years of Outstanding club officers re-
Outstanding 4-H members, front, Erin Lichtenwalner,
Coplay; Lorissa Lazarus, Breinigsville; and Paul Schap
pell, Schnecksville. Back, Daniel Post, New Tripoli; Har
vey Emert, IV, Catasauqua; and Rachel Rennie, Center
Valley.
service were Cathy Dassler, Sla
tington, 15 years; Darlene Bros
ky, Zionsville, 10 years; and Den
nis Haas, Orefield; Kris Rigler,
Whitehall; and Kathy Smith,
New Tripoli, all five years of
service,
Those completing their first
year as 4-H leaders were Ju
lianne Anglestein, Bethlehem;
Cheryl Bennecoff, Kutztown;
Robin Carmody, Trexlertown;
Maureen Krasnai, Zionsville;
Sharon Mangold, New Tripoli;
Kathy McGovern, Emmaus;
Donna Nardo, Coopersburg;
Robyn Oplinger, Wescosville;
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 nulk. 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 premi
um 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 re
ally pay off. For a 100-cow Hol
stein operation producing
term. They are; John Ball, associ
ate professor of forestry, South
Dakota State University, Brook
ings, S.D.; Dan DeWald, natural
resources manager. City of Belle
vue Parks and Community Serv
ices, Bellevue, Wash.; and Debo
rah Gangloff, executive director,
American Forests, Tracy’s Land
ing, Md. Gangloff will continue
to serve as the chairwoman of
the council.
“The experience these four
members bring to the council will
enhance USDA’s efforts to pro
tect and increase urban tree
ceived plaques. They were presi
dent, Nicole Wirth, Seeing Eye
Puppy 4-H Club; secretary, Katie
Harwich, Lowhill Laurels 4-H
Club; treasurer, Amy Lenhart,
Neffs Cloverettes 4-H Club; and
news reporter, Kristen Oplinger,
Seeing Eye Puppy 4-H Club.
The Laurys Station 4-H Club
won $25 for its outstanding club
scrapbook. The Lowhill Laurels
4-H Club and the Lehigh County
4-H Equine Club won $25 each
as outstanding 4-H clubs.
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 proba
bly obtain these bonuses with
little or no added production
costs, Noyes said. Just make sure
barns are well ventilated, stalls
are well bedded, the operation is
clean, and proper milking tech
niques 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 advantage,” he
said.
Noyes shared these ideas with
dairy farmers and other partici
pants at the Ohio Dairy Manage
ment Conference, Dec. 4 in Co
lumbus.
cover and heighten the impor
tance of urban and community
forestry initiatives throughout
the nation,” said Glickman.
The council advises the secre
tary concerning the care and
management of trees, forests,
and related natural resources in
urban and community settings.
The council also works with fed
eral and state agencies and other
partners to share information,
technical assistance, and award
competitive cost-share grants
that advance the science and
practice of urban forestry.