D6-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May's,2ool
$1 Million Awarded In
State Conservation Grants
HARRISBURG (Dauphin
Co.) Rep. Raymond Bunt Jr.
has applauded the more than $1
million in state grants awarded
for conservation easements and a
park project in the 147th Legisla
tive District.
The Department of Conserva
tion and Natural Resources
(DCNR) awarded $285,000 to
the Montgomery County Lands
Trust for a conservation ease
National Junior
Gelbvieh Classic Heads
To South Dakota
RAPID CITY, S.D. The
2001 American Gelbvieh Junior
Association (AGJA) Black Hills
Gold Classic will make the Cen
tral States Fairgrounds in Rapid
City, S.D., its home July 9-13.
The AGJA, the South Dakota
Junior Gelbvieh Association and
South Dakota Gelbvieh Associa
tion are joint sponsors of this
event.
The National Junior Gelbvieh
Classic attracts youth ages 7 to
21 from across the nation for a
week of leadership contests and
cattle shows. The last two Junior
Classics have seen record attend
ance and numbers of cattle. This
year in Rapid City will be no ex
ception.
The events kick off with open
ing ceremonies on Mon., July 9.
That evening will feature a bus
trip to the Mount Rushmore
Lighting Ceremony. The next
three days feature a variety of
contests including livestock
judging, team fitting, photogra
phy contest, poster contest, quiz
bowl, advertising, sales talk,
showmanship and impromptu
speaking.
The week tops off with the
N.Y. Farm Bureau Applauds
House Vote To Eliminate Death Taxes
GLENMONT, N.Y. New
York Farm Bureau, the largest
general farm advocacy organiza
tion in the state, commends the
U.S. House of Representatives
for their vote to repeal the death
tax. Death taxes impose a tre
mendous burden on family farm
ers and other small business
owners who pour their lives into
building something for their fam
ilies, only to lose that gift at the
time of their death. Repeal of
this tax can erase the burdens
and uncertainties associated with
estate tax planning.
“Due to the current estate tax
structure, surviving farm family
members often have to sell land
or equipment to generate enough
money to pay the estate tax bill,
ultimately devastating the farm,”
Balance®Pro Gains Registration In Pennsylvania
RESEARCH TRIANGLE
PARK, N.C. Balance Pro
herbicide for com is now avail
able for use in Pennsylvania.
Balance Pro is a low-dose,
broad-spectrum herbicide for
com that controls more than 50
of the toughest weeds in com,
including foxtail, lambsquarters
(including triazine-resistant spe
cies) waterhemp and velvetleaf
when applied pre-plant or pre
emerge.
One of the product’s unique
ment on 165 acres of land in
Lower Frederick Township, the
Spring Mountain Camp, and
$BOO,OOO to the National Lands
Trust for a conservation ease
ment on 880 acres in Marlbo
rough Township, the Musser
Scout Reservation.
“I’m very pleased to see the
state is providing funds for these
critically important open space
and habitat preservation projects
in Montgomery County,” Bunt
steer show on Thurs., July 12
and the breeding heifer and bred
and owned bull show on Fri.,
July 13. Clint Rusk of West La
feyette, Ind., will judge this
year’s show. The final event of
the week will be the Awards
Banquet and State Basket Auc
tion Friday evening.
To participate in this year’s
Black Hills Gold Classic, a youth
must be between the ages of 7
and 21 by Jan. 1,2001. If you are
not currently a member of the
American Gelbvieh Junior Asso
ciation, you must become an
AGJA member by June 18. Con
tact the American Gelbvieh As
sociation office for a membership
application. To show cattle at
this year’s Classic, the cattle
must be in the youth’s name by
June 1,2001.
For more information on the
AGJA Black Hills Gold Classic
or to join the American Gelbvieh
Junior Association, contact Pat
rick Doyle at the AGA office,
(303) 465-2333 or email pat
rickd@gelbvieh.org. A tentative
schedule is available to view on
the AGA website at www.gelb
vieh.org.
stated John W. Lincoln, presi
dent of New York Farm Bureau.
“If the farmland is located near
an urban center, as much of the
farmland is in New York State,
the sale often results in that farm
ending up in the hands of devel
opers.”
The support from those New
York Representatives who voted
in favor of repealing the death
tax to help save family farms is
greatly appreciated by New York
Farm Bureau. Needs across the
country vary, and support from
all members of the House of Rep
resentatives was difficult to ac
quire, but proved successful.
Property values in New York are
much higher than in other states.
Therefore, estate taxes are much
more draining to New York
characteristics is its ability to re
charge. If weeds emerge during
periods of dry weather, Balance
Pro will recharge with as little as
a half-inch of rain and control
weeds up to two-inches tall.
“With some meteorologists pre
dicting extended dry weather
across the state in the next few
weeks, that benefit may prove
especially attractive to com
growers in Pennsylvania,” said
Rob Schrick, Balance Pro prod
said.
“As a long-time advocate of
protecting open space in our
county, I strongly support these
conservation easement projects
and applaud the Montgomery
County Lands Trust and the
Natural Lands Trust for their
strategic alliance that is working
to protect the most critical and
threatened natural areas in the
county.”
“The Musser Scout Reserva
tion, in particular, is a priority
natural region that deserves pres
ervation. Its large size and the
quality of its forest, the Unami
Creek and other natural re
sources make it a true regional
treasure.”
The scout reservation is home
to Camp Delmont, Camp Garri
son and Camp Hart. It has been
the site of scout activities since
the early part of the last century.
“This conservation easement
will help ensure that the land re
mains protected open space in
perpetuity,” Bunt said. “This
state funding is a testament to
the hard work and commitment
of the lands trust and others,
without whose vision and dedi
cation to conserving our natural
resources these projects never
would have been possible.”
Towamencin Township also
received a state grant. It will get
$98,000 to restore Fischer’s Park.
The funds are for a playground,
a gazebo, an addition to the
existing rest facility, installment
of ADA access, picnic tables,
landscaping and sign and other
related improvements.
The grants are provided by
DCNR through the Community
Conservation Partnerships Pro
gram. The program provides fin
ancial and technical assistance to
municipal governments and local
organizations for parks, recrea
tion, conservation and greenways
projects.
farmers and farmers in the
northeast, making the issue a pri
ority for the region. The bill to
repeal death taxes will now need
to be passed by the U.S. Senate
and then signed by President
Bush. The bill being considered
now in the Senate will eliminate
death taxes immediately.
“Elimination of the death tax
and increase in the threshold is
very much needed,” added Lin
coln. “Farming requires high op
erating costs to maintain the op
eration, making farmers rich in
terms of land and equipment but
at the same time cash poor. Cap
ital is needed for constant rein
vestment in order to maintain
the farming operation and
should not be needlessly taken
away through death taxes.”
uct lead for Aventis Crop Sc
ience.
Balance Pro can be used in a
one-pass program, as a bum
down, in a tankmix, as an early
pre-plant, a pre-plant incorpo
rated or in a sequential program.
“Balance Pro is one of the
most effective com herbicides
available,” Schrick said,” and
now Pennsylvania corn growers
will be able to benefit from its
outstanding weed control.”
Why Do Vaccines Fail?
Many commercial vaccines are
available for use in a variety of
dairy cattle of all ages and stages
of lactation, and numerous infec
tious agents (also termed patho
gens) are represented. Vaccines
undergo a licensing process to in
sure their ability and effective
ness to protect against disease.
Many of the pathogens affecting
cows are well identified.
Nonetheless, at times the re
sults in terms of protection seem
less than adequate. How the im
mune system responds to a vac
cine is a complex interaction of
many types of cells, and the fail
ure of just one small step in this
interaction can result in poor im
munity. When a disease outbreak
occurs due to a pathogen against
which the cows were vaccinated,
the question arises, why didn’t
the vaccine protect our herd?
There are several possible rea
sons.
1. The vaccine actually offered
incomplete protection. Depend
ing on the pathogen, some vac
cines provide incomplete protec
tion. This reduces the severity of
infections, but may not necessari
ly prevent infections.
2. The wild (disease causing)
type of the pathogen is a version
that is not presented in the vac
cine, so the immune system can
not recognize it sufficiently well
to mount a memory response.
Particularly for viruses, new
strains can appear that were not
previously used in development
of commercially prepared vac
cines.
3. The vaccine was not stored
properly, had expired, or was not
administered according to direc
tions. Vaccines are more sensi
tive than many drugs with re
spect to storage temperature.
Dry vaccines that are mixed and
reconstituted with a solution
should not be stored longer than
the day they are mixed. Booster
injections refer to a repeat vacci
nation, often within 2 to 4 weeks
after the initial vaccination. 4.
The vaccine was mixed with an
other vaccine or drug. This
should never happen. If two vac
cines are given, use two separate
injection sites and syringes. Vac
cines are a suspension that in
cludes the pathogen and an adju
vant.
Customer Practices Studied To
Help Improve Beef Satisfaction
DENVER, Colo. Three
beef cuts have been studied
through the checkoff to help
better understand consumer
likes and practices and increase
demand for both higher-valued
and underutilized cuts.
The research was conducted
at a leading university and coor
dinated by the National Cattle
men’s Beef Association under
contract to the Cattlemen’s Beef
Board.
Goals of the “Beef Customer
Satisfaction II” research were
to:
• Determine the relationship
of quality in lower-valued cuts
such as the clod;
• Learn the value of prepara
tion instructions on the top sir
loin steak, which can be
undesirably tough when over
cooked;
• Investigate whether new
technologies, such as calcium
chloride injection, improve the
top sirloin’s tenderness when the
product is prepared to a higher
degree of doneness; and
• Determine whether calcium
chloride injection could be used
5. The cow’s immune system
wasn’t competent, or “ready” to
respond to the vaccination. Re
search has demonstrated that
leukocytes from cows at calving
have impaired function, and this
includes the lymphocytes that
are critical for memory and anti
body production. Cows vaccinat
ed at calving do not produce
antibodies as well as cows vacci
nated at other times in the lacta
tion cycle.
6. The cows are given too
many vaccines at one time.
In some herd situations, cows
receive up to 15 different patho
gen types during one vaccination
session. It is uncertain what ef
fect this has on the cow’s ability
to respond most effectively to
any one pathogen. If less than
desirable results are being
achieved, it might be appropriate
to reduce the number of vaccines
administered at any one time.
Summary
• Some vaccines may not pro
vide complete protection, but
they may reduce mortality and
economic loss compared with no
vaccination.
• Some vaccines will not pro
tect completely against new wild
type pathogens (especially vi
ruses).
• If vaccines are not stored at
proper temperature and prepar
ed exactly according to label,
don’t expect optimal protection.
• Never mix a single vaccine
with other vaccine or drug prep
arations.
• Administer vaccines at the
proper time in the life
cycle according to the label. Vac
cination near the time of calving
or during health disturbances or
several infections should be
avoided.
• It may not be most effective
to give multiple different vac
cines at the same time.
• Work with your veterinar
ian to determine the exact patho
gen(s) causing problems whdh
developing your comprehensive
vaccination program.
This article, written by Ron
Erskine, Michigan State Uni
versity, is reprinted from the
“Michigan Dairy Review, ”
April 2000.
to enhance the acceptability of
lower-priced steaks.
The research found that for
the clod steak, in-home factors
such as cooking methods and
degrees of doneness influenced
consumer satisfaction more than
did the quality grade. Research
ers concluded that preparation
techniques that improve flavor
without reducing tenderness im
prove customer satisfaction.
Customer satisfaction of top
round steaks, meanwhile, were
not improved by the introduc
tion of the calcium chloride
marinade.
Research found that flavor
predominantly determined
whether consumers liked the top
sirloin steak, followed by tender
ness and juiciness. Cooking
method also had an influence on
palatability of this cut, with
fried being the method with the
highest ratings and broiled being
lowest. The calcium chloride
marinade had no effect on ten
derness or customer satisfaction.
Whether participants liked
the flavor was the major factor
driving customer satisfaction for
all three categories of beef cuts
analyzed.