‘Blue Print For Success’
(Continued from Page A4l)
ketability. It also provides some
liability protection.
• “But I’ve gotten along just
fine with my limited records all
these years...”
My response may sound harsh,
but it’s the truth, “Times are
changing and so is the beef in
dustry.”
To quote from Ken Jordan, di
rector of auctions for Jordan
Cattle Auction in Texas, “The
train is leaving the station, we
better get on board, or we will be
left standing at the station.”
• “So what kind of records
should 1 keep, and for how
long?”
This is a frequently asked
question. Most experts recom
mend keeping records for at least
two years after marketing your
cattle. Cow-calf producers
should keep them a bit longer.
To keep accurate records, first
of all, the cattle need to have ear
tags for proper identification. Ei
ther put your own in, or if your
cattle come with tags, they can
be used. Observation and sorting
are easier and more precise when
(j/San)
GREENLAND
SUPERFLOW
FERTILIZER SPREAD
AliZZn\ SUPERFLOW
SEEDER
Spreaders are the
most accurate
broadcast
spreaders in the
world. The unique
pendulum action
keeps the spread
pattern close to
the rear of the
machine while at
the same time
providing a
symmetrical
pattern on both
sides
The pattern allows “back and forth” as wei
and around” operation. The “truncated” pi
inaccurate overlap problems, eliminating streaking
Stop By Your Nearest Dealer and See
First Hand Why They’re Worth The investment
PENNSYLVANIA
Clifford
• North East Dist. &
Equip.
570-222-9090
Conneautville
• Andrew Farm
814-587-2450
Klingerstown
• Stanleys Farm
Service
570-648-2088
Leola
■ M.M. Weaver & Son
717-656-2321
New Berlmville
• Erb & Henry
Equipment
610-367-2169
CUMMINGS and BRICKER, Inc. £££££!£ mT
I g 100 Stover Drive. Carlisle PA 17013 717/249-6720
Distributed By:
you can identify a steer as the
blue tagged #123, rather than the
black, blaze-faced steer with the
white spot on his left rear foot.
Maybe descriptions work for
you, but how are you going to re
cord information about that steer
by his description?
Your record sheet will need to
include the tag ID (in this case
B 123), treatment date, withdraw
al date, diagnosis, temperature,
product used, route of adminis
tration, dose, how many times
treated, and treatment results.
Your records should also include
date placed on feed, incoming
weight and health status, vacci
nations, de-worming and im
plant dates and information as
noted above.
If the packer calls and says
there was a quality problem with
one of your steers, and the hide is
already off, how are you going to
know which steer it was and
more importantly, why you had
the problem? You can’t even
begin to tackle the problem with
out records and identification.
In most cases, the ear tag
would provide the packer a way
to identify the steer so you would
I «p<oMfcng »i0lf)
New Ringgold
• Eckroth Bros. Farm
Equipment
570-943-2131
Orelield
• Eckroth Equipment
601-366-2095
Peach Bottom
• Triple H Equipment
717-648-3775
Penn Run
• Manor Motors
724-254-4753
Rome
• Allis Hollow
Equipment
570-247-2601
100-120 Lehigh Ave , PO Box 928, Batavia, New York 14021-0928 716/343-5411
I 1
I
in
iM
Saxonburg
• James Alderson
Farm Equip.
724-352-1081
Punxsutawney
• R.H. London Farm
Service
814-938-7444
Sharon
• Watsons, Inc.
724-346-6514
NEW JERSEY
Pittsgrove
• Schaper Bros.
856-455-1640
Sussex
• William Sytsema, Inc,
973-875-5449
know which one was the dark
cutter, for instance. Then you
could look over the records to
help determine why. Your re
cords are the most valuable man
agement tool on your farm.
Another aspect of the Blue
print program is Beef Quality
Assurance. An advisory commit
tee is developing a BQA Certifi
cation program for PA cattle
producers.
• “Why should I become a
BQA Certified Producer?”
There are four major reasons.
• The first is the obvious fact
that we should all be working to
gether to gain and secure con
sumer confidence. We should be
doing everything in our power to
assure a quality and safe prod
uct.
• The second is product ac
countability. The industry-wide
trend from commodity to brand
name recognition of beef has
come about, in part, because con
sumers look for accountability.
Like it or not, the consumer
holds us accountable. Following
BQA guidelines both protects us
and holds us accountable for our
part in the production of safe,
quality beef.
• The third reason for becom
ing BQA certified is to make bet-
Rust free polyester
hoppers, ’’DURA-COAT”
enamel on painted
components with
stainless steel metering
plates, precision
adjustments, and a
variety of spouts for a
multitude of applications
have earned <jSj)
Superflow seeder
spreaders a world-wide
reputation as the premier
broadcast spreader.
ter business decisions with the
use of good records. The record
keeping allows the individual op
erator to determine which part of
his production system may need
adjustments or changes.
• Fourth, BQA is economical.
The records you keep benefit the
management economics of your
enterprise, and it helps your
lender understand what you’re
doing. In essence we’re building
Versatile
spreaders band
material in
vineyards,
orchards and
nurseries, as
well as spread
lime, and salt
and sand for
winter use.
economic value in our industry
by using BQA to build consumer
confidence that leads to greater
demand for beef... which ulti
mately benefits everyone’s bot
tom line.
BQA Certification Director
Reprinted with permission
from “Keystone Cattlemen”
*
Feedlot Comer
December, 2000
Wendall Landis,