Milk Tester Recounts Long, DAVE LEFEVER “To a certain extent, I was Lancaster Farming Staff sleep-deprived,” Risser said of his LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.)* “ reer f 8 a . mi S J Mte L wi * h I the „„ , . ■ . , . Pennsylvania Dairy Herd Im- What job requires waking up p ro vement Association (DHIA). earlier than a dairy farmer in the “You’ve got to make up your morning? Jay Risser knows the mind, if you do this job, you’re answer —he lived it for 50 years, going to have to get up early and Risser demonstrates the centrifuge that he used to perform butterfat tests in the early years of his career as a milk tester. Thin females may be popular in « fashion magazines, but in the ' breeding shed and milking parlor it will cost you money. First estrus is a function of both age and weight. Therefore, heavier heifers breed earlier, enter the milking herd earlier and offer a return on investment earlier. Sweetlix GainPro* Poured Blocks put added weight on heifers for just pennies per day. Easy to use and proven to work, the economical supplement comes in convenient, non-returnable plastic tubs. Patented EnProAl® technology results in a consistent block with known consumption rates. Simply place tubs in the pasture with replacement heifers for a convenient self-fed supplement program FISHERY ft (p* For \\ Your Concrete rt=j«' S= Walts And (T ™ " Construction Needs Agriculture - Residential - Commercial Invest In Concrete, Qui CALL FOR FREE ESTIMATES CONTACT AND SEE HOW AFFORDABLE ROY SENSENIG CONCRETE WALLS CAN BE 717-355-0726 Authorized Dealer For K& ©f© E H E CONCRETE IT Hit E E WALLS, INC. For more information on Sweetlix products, contact FISHER AND THOMPSON, INC. (717) 656-3307 15 Newport Road, Leola, PA 17540 Also available at these other locations: Belleville, Chambersburg, Mifflinburg and New Enterprise 3 3 GAlNmKliingMmMndimttol Hemline Slatted Pit For Free Stall Barn 601 Overly Grove Rd., New Holland, PA 17557 ' < f > ff- •f < ■ > v ‘.Vj jf ;> > *1 I «* ! Work That Will Last A Lifetime stone Concrete Products keep ungodly hours.” Risser retired this past April, after a half century of rising at 3 a.m. to help dairy farmers make better management decisions. Milk testing, like dairy farm ing, has seen enormous change during Risser’s tenure. Since he first went to work, DHIA evolved from a simple, hands-on milk and feed cost analysis to a high tech service that offers a wide gamut of herd improvement tools. Risser grew up on a diversified livestock and produce farm be tween Lancaster and Lampeter. His start as a milk tester came in the early 1950 s during the Kore an War, when the young Risser chose to join the alternative serv ice because of his beliefs as a con scientious objector to war. The decision took him to Washington County in western Pennsylvania, where he carried out his two-year assignment test ing milk on dairy farms. The lo gistics of the job were a lot differ ent than they are for milk testers today. “We’d arrive at the farm in the '{•Sweetlix. W UVdTOCR SUMICHMr »ySTCM Productive Career The newer milking sampling containers, left, are a big improvement over the old “Whirl Paks,” Risser said. evening and stay overnight,” Ris ser said. “(The farm family) would give us three meals.” Dur ing his first year in Washington County, Risser was even treated to a special feast the week before Thanksgiving from a dairy family concerned about his holi day plans. “They asked me if I was going to make it home for Thanksgiv ing,” he said. “When I told them I didn’t think I would, they asked me in for lunch and served a full course turkey dinner.” During a typical farm visit, Risser would collect milk samples from each cow for the evening and morning milkings, meter and record milk production, test for butterfat, and calculate feed costs. He would finish the whole job, including a complete, hand- nieu) M©m® $ m Can Yon Afford To Guess When Zt Conies lb Feeding Your Crops, Corn, Soybeans, Alfalfa, Small Grains And Produce? Gro-mor Has The Programs That Produce PROFITS. Corn 7.21-7,9-18-9,5-1545 Alfalfa 5-1545,5-18-18 Soybeans. 54545 Roundup Ready Beans Sulfur Available For All Analysis Environmentally Safe We Use Only 100% Orthophosporic Acid Cal! For Char Prices \ ’ Check our Web page for more information: WWW.GRO-MOR.COM Dealerships Available Don Babcock OanllngerAg laaao Martin Chartea L. Pata Johnson Richard 318-784-5087 717-529-1120 814-793-3390 Candor 570-968-2580 Uabarman 724-376-2688 610-588-7144 E