Schedule Released For Pennsylvania Graded, Feeder Cattle Sales HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.) The schedule has been released for the Fall Pennsylva nia Graded Feeder Cattle Sales. These dates have been selected so area producers can plan ahead to market their feeder cattle. Cattle will be sold in uniform lots according to USD A grade, weight, sex and breed or color. Some sales will not accept cattle with dairy breeding, yearlings, bulls or cattle with horns. Cattle that have been dehorned should be healed. Castrated males should be healed and guaran teed against stags. Personnel from the Livestock Division of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, COLUMBUS, Ohio Live stock grazing on plants or fed cereal grains during drought conditions may run the risk of being poisoned, causing illness and even death. Ohio State University Exten sion livestock specialists said that certain plants like weeds and ornamentals are toxic, and during times of dry conditions when no other pasture feed is available, livestock may be in clined to consume them. “Toxic weeds are typically in the pastures all the time and livestock normally leave them alone,” said Steve Boyles, an Ohio State Extension beef cattle specialist. “The concern, how ever, is that during drought situ ations that’s the only thing green still standing and that may make them more desirable to the animals.” Boyles said livestock produc ers should get to know some of the more common toxic weeds and plants and keep livestock well fed to ensure they would not be tempted to eat them. Some toxic plants include holly, rhubarb, ivy, morning glory and brackenfern. “One concern may be the risk of cyanide poisoning,” said Boyles. “Symptoms include la bored breathing, staggering, trembling muscles and convul sions.” He said some sources of cya nide poisoning include twigs and leaves of wild and culti vated cherry trees and certain marsh grasses, such as ar rowgrass. The grass contains a high salt content and lack of salt on the pasture may drive live stock to feed on the plant to meet salt requirements. Farmers can minimize live stock illness from poisonous LDP’s Available For 2001 Stored Grain YORK (York Co.) The Farm BUI recently signed by President Bush authorizes Loan Deficiency Payments (LDP’s) on contract crops grown on farms without Production Flexibility Contracts (PFC’s). According to Wayne Kurtz, executive director of the York County Farm Service Agency, “This provision is similar to the regulations for the 2000 crop year, so interested county pro ducers should provide sales doc uments to our office. These documents will establish a LDP rate, if any, even though the Bureau of Market Development will grade the cattle for frame size and muscle thickness, using USDA feeder cattle grading standards. The 2002 sale dates and loca tions are as follows: • Eighty-Four Auction Sales, Eighty-Four (Washington County) Sale date and time: Friday, Oct. 4 7 p.m. Cattle received: Friday, Oct. 4 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Estimated headage; 700 No cattle with horns, dairy breeding or bulls will be accepted. Contact: Clair Kearns (724) 239-2124 Sale barn: (724)222-9965 Dry Weather Can Pose A Feeding Risk For Livestock plants by following the sug gested guidelines: • Learn the identification of poisonous plants. • Do not manage forage in high-density areas of poisonous plants. • Supplement feed with salt, minerals and other nutrients. • Avoid grazing animals in areas of abundant poisonous plants. • Provide adequate water to prevent nonselective grazing. A more dangerous source of cyanide poisoning is found in forage grasses, such as sorghum, sudangrasses and sorghum sudangrass crosses. Boyles said the grasses produce prussic acid that, under dry conditions, can accumulate in high levels. The active component of the poison is hydrocyanic acid, which is ex tremely toxic to livestock, espe cially cattle and sheep. Boyles recommends produc ers follow the suggested guide lines when grazing sorghum and sudangrass varieties: • Plant sudangrass and su dangrass hybrids instead of sor ghum varieties, since sudan grass hybrids have lower prussic acid potential. • Do not graze sheep on su dangrass or hybrids until the plants are 12 inches to 15 inches tall; 18 inches to 24 inches tall for cattle. • Do not graze sorghurn sudangrass hybrids until the plants are at least 24 inches tall. • Regrowth sorghum should not be grazed until after the plant is completely killed by frost or dried. Young, regrowth forage can be very toxic. • Do not graze forage varie ties after a drought, or if the plants show visible signs of moisture stress. Test the plants for toxicity levels before grazing. grain is already sold. Producers who have crop year 2001 grain currently stored on farm may obtain a farm stored LDP any time.” Kurtz concluded by stating “not much corn activity is antic ipated since prices have strengthened from last year.” The deadline to submit these re quests are 30 days after the new rules are published in the federal register. Interested York County pro ducers can contact the county FSA office at (717) 755-2966, ext. 2, Monday through Friday, 8 a,m.-4:30 p.m. • Middleburg Livestock Auc tion, Middleburg (Snyder County) Sale date and time: Friday, Oct. 4 7 p.m. Cattle received: Friday, Oct. 4 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Estimated headage; 300 to 400 Contact: Larry Benfer (570) 837-5638 or Clarence Shirk (717)656-8793 Sale barn; (570) 837-2222 •PA Livestock Auction, Waynesburg (Greene County) Sale date and time: Wednes day, Oct. 9 10:30 a.m. Cattle received: Tuesday, Oct 8 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Estimated headage: 1000 No bulls or yearlings will be • Do not graze hungry live stock on forage varieties. The more they consume the greater the risk of being poisoned. It is much safer to offer feed such as hay or silage. In the case of silage, it should be allowed to ferment for at least two weeks before it is fed. Information on prussic acid poisoning can be obtained through an Ohio State Exten sion fact sheet titled, “Livestock and Prussic Acid Poisoning” by logging on to the Ohio State Extension 2002 Drought Web site at http://corn.osu.edu/ droughto2. Producers should not only be aware of potentially poisonous plants, but also of plant toxins produced by other organisms. Maurice Eastridge, an Ohio State Extension dairy specialist, said drought conditions increase the risk for the development of mycotoxins toxins produced by molds during the growth or storage of cereal grains, espe cially corn. Some of the more common mycotoxins include aflatoxin, vomitoxin, citirin, ochratoxin, fumonisin, and zer alenone. Eastridge said the best man agement practice to keep mold development under control is to store grain under optimal drying conditions before feeding it to 2 MF 260 Forage Harvesters with Hay Heads and Corn Heads Gehl 1540 Blower Badger TAS4 Blower Agri-Metal Bedding Chopper, w/11 HP Honda Engine 702 Uni Power Unit w/767 Chopper Bodco Manure Pump, 3 Pt. w/Hoses 410/848-7965 graded. Contact: Joe Friend (301) 746-8178 Sale barn: (724)627-9585 • New Wilmington Livestock Auction, New Wilmington (Lawrence County) Sale dates and time: Friday, Oct. 11—7:30 p.m. Cattle received: Friday, Oct. 11 —Ba.m.-2 p.m. Estimated headage: 100 Contact: Tom Skelton (330) 793-3590 Sale barn: (724)946-8621 • Central PA Livestock Coop Feeder Calf and Yearling Sale Belleville Livestock Auction, Belleville (Mifflin County) livestock. Mold growth takes place in most feeds when mois ture content is above 15 percent. Many health-related problems associated with moldy feed can go unnoticed in livestock, but moldy feed is generally unpalat able and will result in less teed intake, which leads to weight loss and reduced milk produc tion. “Cattle are more resistant to mycotoxins than other livestock, like swine and poultry,” said Eastridge. “But it’s important to monitor feed intake and conduct standard feed tests. Not all mycotoxins are regulated by the FDA.” Aflatoxins, produced by strains of the fungus Asper gillus, are the only mycotoxins regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. Corn grain con taining over 20 parts per billion of aflatoxin cannot be marketed commercially, and milk with .5 parts per billion is also prohi bited for sale. Additional information on molds, mycotoxins and poison ous plants is available through an Ohio State Extension fact sheet titled, “What Do I Do If Mycotoxins Are Present?” by logging on to the Ohio State Extension 2002 Drought Web site at http://corn.osu.edu/ droughto2. BUY, SELL, PHONE: 717-626-1164 or 717-394-3047 FAX 717-733-6058 Mon., Tues., Wed., Fri. 8 AM to 5 PM; Thurs. 7 AM to 5 PM READ LANCASTER FARMING FOR COMPLETE AND UP-TO-DATE MARKET REPORTS Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 7, 2002-C3 Grade 5 bolts gvjrom 990 #! liyilpn P.O. Box 727 UNIIED Ephrata, PA 17522 ftfIW.SEIS 5 (71 7) 738-9987 MMsaiL “First in Synthetic Lubricants” The most technically advanced engine protection money can buy Full line of gas and diesel oils • gear oil • auto trans oil • hydraulic and hydraulic trans oil • compressor oil • greases Chris R. Beiler Jr. 267 Hammertown Rd. Narvon, Pa. 17555 Sale date and time: Friday, Oct. 18 7 p.m. Cattle received: Friday, Oct. 18 7a.m.-noon Estimated headage: 300 to 350 Contact: Brian Click (717) 935-2146 Sale day: (717)935-2146 • Indiana Farmer’s Livestock Market, Homer City (Indiana County) Sale date and time: Saturday, Oct. 5 7 p.m. Cattle received: Saturday, Oct. 5 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Estimated headage: 400 Contact: Becky Lipsi (724) 397-4087 Sale barn: (724) 479-2600 • Bedford Cattlemen’s Assn., Bedford County Fairgrounds, Bedford (Bedford County) Sale date and time; Saturday, Oct. 19— 1 p.m. Cattle received: Friday, Oct. 18 Ba.m.-2 p.m. Estimated headage: 250 Contact: Dave Miller (814) 623-2321, Daryl Diehl (814) 735- 4683, Bethany Fritz (814) 733- 0109, or Joe Cogan (814) 652- 9275. • Westmoreland County Cat tlemen’s Assn., Westmoreland County Fairgrounds, Greensburg (Westmoreland County) Sale date and time: Saturday, Oct. 19 6:30 p.m. Cattle received: Saturday, Oct. 19 8 a.m.-11 a.m. Estimated headage: 200 No cattle with horns, dairy breeding or bulls will be accepted Contact: Dustin Fleeter (724) 837-1402 or Conrad Dovovan (724)593-6230 • Middleburg Livestock Auc tion, Middleburg (Snyder County) Sale date and time: Friday, Nov. I—7 p.m. Cattle received: Friday, Nov. I—7 a.m.-3 p.m. Estimated headage; 300 to 400 Contact: Larry Benter (717) 837-5638 or Clarence Shirk (717)656-8793 Sale barn: (717) 837-2222 Additional information about these sales is available by calling Mark Butcher, Livestock and Fair Division, PDA Bureau ol Market Development, at (717) 787-5319, www.pda.state.pa.us. @
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