Virginia BCIA Announces Plans For Test Station Program
CULPEPER, Va. Rules and
regulations for the 2003-04 Vir
ginia Central Bull Tests and
Sales are now available through
the Virginia Beef Cattle Improve
ment Association. This will be the
46th year for the Central Bull
Test Stations in Virginia. A total
of four tests will be conducted at
the two test stations located in
Culpeper and Wytheville.
The Culpeper station at Glen
mary Farm in Rapidan will test
two sets of bulls. Senior bulls
Tree Fruit Expert Predicts Big Crop, Despite Wet Spring
UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre
Co.) Cool, wet, foggy and
windy this spring has been bad
news across Pennsylvania un
less you are a plant.
Fruit trees, in particular, seem
to be growing extremely well,
according to an expert in Penn
State’s College of Agricultural
Sciences, who predicts a bumper
crop this summer and fall.
As miserable as the weather
Quality hay production Is the focus of the July 12 edition of the
Pennsylvania Forage and Grassland Council's Foraging Around
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Grass youth contest coverage, conservation updates, reports \fef7
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(bom August IS to December IS,
2002) will be delivered July IS
and tested for 112 days with eligi
ble bulls selling December 13.
The junior test group (bulls bom
December 16, 2002 to March 31,
2003) will be taken in at the sta
tion November 4, tested for 112
days, and sold April 2,2004.
The Southwest Bull Test Sta
tion in Wytheville will test two
age groups of bulls senior bulls
bom October 1 to December 31,
2002 and junior bulls bom Janu-
has been for people, there have
been no late frosts and conditions
have been just warm and dry
enough for fruit crops to get a
good start. The only factor that
may hold back fruit yields this
year will be last year’s drought,
according to horticulture profes
sor Robert Crassweller.
“We have seen some effects of
drought last year we haven’t
had die dense ‘snowball’ blooms
we get occasionally,” he said.
ary 1 to March 31, 2003. Both
sets of bulls are scheduled to ar
rive at the station September 30.
Senior bulls will be tested for 112
days, and junior bulls for 133
days. Eligible bulls in both test
groups will be sold on March 20,
2004.
In addition to the traditional
tests, the opportunity exists for
breeders to custom feed bulls
through the BCIA program so
that contemporary groups may
be maintained. Additionally, pro-
“But we have had medium to
moderate blooms across the state,
which indicate we’ll have lots of
fruit.”
Crassweller noted this has
been an unusual spring. “It
stayed.so cold for so long there
was little difference north to
south normally there is a
10-day difference as the early
growing season progresses,” he
said. “But once it got warmer,
things progressed rapidly. Cher-
PASS Reveals
HARRISBURG (Dauphin
Co.) Processors in Pennsylva
nia intend to contract 7,300 acres
of snap beans in 2003, 4 percent
less than the 7,600 acres con
tracted in 2002, according to the
Pennsylvania Agricultural Statis
tics Service (PASS).
Sweet com processors in
tend to contract 1,000 acres,
down 29 percent from the
1,400 contracted in 2002. To
mato processor data is not
published for Pennsylvania
in an effort not to disclose in
dividual operations.
U.S. processors plan to
contract 1.28 million acres of
vegetables in 2003 for the na
tion’s five major vegetable
crops (snap beans, sweet
com, cucumbers for pickles,
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Thin females may be popular in
fashion magazines, but in the
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jf 15 Newport Road, Leola, PA 17540
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Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 21,2003-A29
visions to the program have been
added to allow breeders more
flexibility in developing both sale
eligible and custom tests bulls.
Registered bulls of any recog
nized beef breed, or recorded per
centage bulls of breeds which
have an open herd book are eligi
ble for the central tests. All bulls
must be recorded in their respec
tive breed association, and have a
complete performance record (in
cluding EPDs). Bulls must also
meet breed-specific minimum
ries, peaches, and apples were all
in bloom at the same time. Nor
mally one dies out by the time
another starts to bloom. This is
the first time in 25 years I have
seen them all bloom together.”
The past five years brought
drought conditions, but this
spring has been almost too wet,
bringing growers concerns about
disease. “We came into spring in
pretty good shape across most of
the state with moist soils. But all
Vegetable Contract Intentions
green peas, and tomatoes), un
changed from 2002.
Acreage for freezing at 411,300
acres is down 2 percent, while
acreage for canning forecast at
873,100 acres is up 1 percent
from 2002. Increased acreage for
cucumbers for pickles, green
peas, and tomatoes offsets de
creased acreage for snap beans
and sweet com.
U.S. snap bean processors in
tend to contract 194,400 acres,
down 12 percent from last year.
Contracted acres for freezing are
at 59,800, down 8 percent from
2002. Contracted acreage for
canning, at 134,600 acres, is
down 13 percent from 2002.
Sweet com processors intend
to contract 438,600 acres, down 1
percent from file previous year.
YW EPD requirements, individu
al performance specifications, as
weU as pre-delivery health and
management protocol to be eligi
ble for the tests.
Breeders in Virginia and bor
dering states who are members of
Virginia BCIA are eligible to con
sign bulls. For copies of the rules
and regulations as well as entry
information regarding the
2003-04 central bull tests, contact
the Virginia BCIA office at (540)
231-9163 or visit http://
bcia.apsc.vt.edu.
the rain we have had in May
might cause an increase in dis
eases such as apple scab, peach
scab, peach leaf curl, brown rot,
and fire blight.
“Fruit growers are never
happy with the weather, but they
will take what they can get,” said
Crassweller. “It’s ironic that after
so much drought, we are getting
too much rain. But despite wet
conditions, there is potential this
year for a really good crop.”
Contracted acreage for freezing
at 216,400 acres is 3 percent less
then last year’s total, and con
tacted acreage for canning, at
222,200 acres is 1 percent more
than last year.
Tomato processors plan to
contract 312,600 acres in 2003,
up less than 1 percent from last
year. Contract production at
11.49 million tons is 1 percent
above 2002.
U.S. green pea processors in
tend to contract 243,200 acres, up
6 percent from last year. Con
tracted acreage for freezing, at
135.100 acres is 4 percent more
than last year’s total, and con
tracted acreage for canning at
108.100 acres is 10 percent above
last year.
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