Lancaster farming., June 28, 2003, Image 235

The motto at Bel-Ridge Farm in Paradise, Pa. is:
“beg milk from the cow, don’t force it,” says the
farm owner and manager. The combination of
cow comfort, attention to forage quality, and
POSILAC 1 STEP® have coaxed the Bel-Ridge
herd of about 50 cows from an RHA of 18,000
pounds to 27,000 pounds of milk.
In fact, the production increase made it necessary
to replace the 600-gallon bulk tank with a tank that
holds 1000.
“We can really see the results,” the Bel-Ridge
owner and manager explains. “When we gave the
herd a more comfortable cow stable and POSILAC
in 1997 -- the average came up real fast.”
“We see more of our two-year-olds milking over
100 pounds than we used to. And in their second
lactation they’re coming back strong. Our culling and
conception rates are as good or better than before
POSILAC. We focus a lot of attention on forage
quality because forages are the biggest key to cow
health and reproduction.”
“In the heat of summer, our cows are tested pretty
hard. POSILAC does its part helping the cows main
tain intake and production. And we have to do our
To find out how POSILAC 1 STEP®
can help you achieve your goals,
call 1-800-233-2999
“With POSILAC 1 STEP®
we see more two-year-olds
over 100 pounds, and they
come back strong.”
part managing them. Appetites really pick up, so we
make the extra effort to keep fresh feed in front of
the cows, especially in the summer.”
“POSILAC also makes it profitable to keep a cow
that has aborted because her production stays high
enough to keep milking her. We had a first calf heifer
fresh 620 days. She made more than 50,000 pounds
of milk for us. Because of POSILAC we could keep
her and breed her again, and she came back to make
30,000 pounds in her second lactation, and now she’s
safe in calf for a third lactation. POSILAC extended
that first lactation, so we could give her another
chance.”
“POSILAC pays even when milk prices are low.
We don’t change our herd management in times of
lower prices. We look for other ways to keep our cost
of production down. We have to keep things in place
that keep production up and keep the cash flow.”
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