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Howard County
Ag Survey Released
COLUMBIA, Md. In Febru
ary 2003, the Agricultural Mar
keting .Program of the Howard
County Economic Development
Authority, mailed a survey to the
owners of all agriculturally as
sessed parcels in the county, and
to all farmers known to rent land
in Howard County. The purpose
of the survey was to collect in
formation for the analysis of land
use policies, to evaluate agricul
tural development support pro
grams, and to gauge the farming
community’s own initiatives in
adapting to the “new” agricultur
al paradigm throughout the re
gion.
Survey results indicate that ag
riculture in Howard County’s
rural west looks increasingly like
a tapestry of small farms involv
ed in direct marketing enterprises
such as turf, nursery horticulture
products, fruits and vegetables,
agritourism, and horses. Though
small in acreage, these farms
vary greatly in the diversity of
their production and their total
gross sales.
Direct marketing, particularly
through on-farm sales, is the
dominant marketing outlet for as
many Howard County producers.
Farms that sold a majority of
their crops through direct mar
kets usually did not depend on
retail alone, but on wholesale
markets as well. But those selling
through auctions or cooperatives
engaged in very little direct mar
keting. The number of methods
utilized by different size opera
tions is not significantly different.
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DEALER LIST:
AIR TOOL SHACK
27964 Thompson’s Corner Rd.
Mechanlcsvllle, MD 20659
B&M Tool Sales
15357 Georgia Rd.
Mlddlefield, OH 44062
Beiler’s Pneumatics
718 Vintage Rd.
Christiana, PA 17509
County Line Welding
7 SR 655
Millcreek, PA 17060
Economic indicators of the via
bility and sustainability of the ag
riculture industry in Howard
County need to be measurable
and attainable. These indicators
should be reviewed on a yearly
basis, but in reality, it takes sev
eral growing seasons to affect
substantial changes in production
patterns and marketing. In addi
tion, legislative advocacy, educa
tional opportunities for the farm
ing communities, and
reconnecting agriculture to com
munity development and revitali
zation are all imperative for a
healthy agricultural industry.
Howard County will never
produce the volume and kinds of
agricultural products that are
grown in larger Maryland coun
ties because of high land costs,
development pressures, and natu
ral resource constraints. Yet for
every restraint there is an oppor
tunity: abundant local markets,
an increasingly aware citizenry,
and strong local government sup
port that recognizes agriculture’s
unique contributions and chal
lenges in Howard County.
me is
Frysville Machine Shop
240 Frysville Rd.
Ephrata, PA 17522
Gingerich Logging Supply
16700 Jade Ave.
Bloomfield, IA 52537
J.K.S. Repair
RR#l, Box 299
Watsontown, PA 17777
Juanita Harness Shop
RR 2, Box 241
Mifflintown, PA 17059
This article is the last in a
three-part series discussing
down cows. Thus far the arti
cles have addressed common
causes of down cows. Dippel is
a veterinarian with Lancaster
Veterinary Associates, Sa
lunga.
SALUNGA (Lancaster Co.)
The first thing to mention as far
as treatment is hobbles. This is
for cows that have the strength to
get up, but not the coordination
to keep their back legs together
underneath them.
This can happen with splitting
out and ripping adductor mus
cles, or with damage to the
nerves innervating the adductor
muscles. It involves a hobble or
strap or rope that connects both
back legs to each other, prevent
ing them from splaying out.
Many down cows have been
able to stand up just with placing
hobbles on their back legs. Make
sure the straps are not tied so
tight that it cuts off blood flow to
the feet. Tie the hobble to give the
cow enough room to take small
steps.
If the cow cannot rise with the
hobbles, or splitting out is de
termined to not be the problem,
the next decision to be made is
whether or not to lift her.
There are several ways to lift
cows, including float tanks, hip
lifts, balloons, and slings. What
you choose depends on how
much you are willing to spend,
the value of the cow, the extent of
Keystone Air Power
1234 S. College St,
Myerstown, PA 17067
King’s Tool & Supply
463 Maidstone Branch Rd.
Dover, DE19904
Mast’s Saw Shop
6105 County Rd. 129
Romulus, NY 14541
Rivenriew Air Power
RR #2, Box 665 L
Liverpool, PA 17045
What Are My Options?
More Than One Way To Lift A Cow
Peter Dippel, DVM
Flood Tanks
Shady Lane Hardware
215 Orchard Rd.
Spring Glen, PA 17978
Stoltzfus Plumbing
1355 Mt. Vernon Church Rd.
Hopkinsville, KY 42240
S.C.D. Hydraulics
5731 Derby Ave. S.W.
Kalona, IA 52247
Winter Road Supply
65 E. Winter Rd.
Loganton, PA 17747
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 28, 2003-A37
her paralysis, the amount of time
you have, as well as what you
have access to.
Although float tanks are ideal,
they are generally the most ex
pensive. This option should not
be used unless the cow is at least
attempting to get up on her own,
or if she is a valuable cow.
The process involves winching
her into the tank, filling it with
warm water, and letting her float
for up to 12 hours. Then the
water is drained out and hopeful
ly she can stand up by herself. If
she goes down, or cannot get up
again after laying down, then she
can be floated again.
Not only does this method get
the weight off of her legs, but the
warm water therapy is great for
her muscles and joints. Here in
Lancaster County, there is com
pany that delivers float tanks to
the farm for about SISO for a
local call.
The charge is an additional
$75 for every refill of the float
tank with heated water, so it cm
soon become very expensive if
she needs to be relifted a few
times.
Hip Lift
Another option, which is often
maligned by dairy vets and farm
ers, is the hip lift. If used proper
ly, it can be a good, economical
way to lift cows. This procedure
involves a big clamp with pads
that tightens around her hip
bones.
It should be placed tight
enough on the cows hips so that
it will not slip off, but no tighter.
The problem with these is that
they can cause damage in the hip
area as well as pain for the cow if
they are made too tight, or if she
is lifted repeatedly.
However, they are cheap, and
if the producer doesn’t want to
float her, hip lifts are better than
doing nothing or just rolling her.
A veterinary practice may loan
the lifts out for free for any dairy
man that needs it for a down
cow. After it is attached, lift her
with a come-a-long or a skid
loader until she can get her back
feet under her. Usually they will
stand up with their front feet
once their hind end is raised.
Once she is standing, lower the
lift slightly to see what happens.
If she looks like she can stand
without the hip lift, remove it. Be
very careful doing this. If she
cannot stand by herself, and you
remove the hip lift, she will fall
down and possibly do more dam
age to her body.
If you think she cannot stand
by herself, then leave the hip lift
on for a few minutes. If she
makes no attempt to stand on her
back legs, and just hangs in the
lift, then only hold her there for a
few minutes and then lower her
to the ground.
If she stands by herself and
puts most of her weight on her
legs, but it is doubtful that she
can stand without the hiplift,
then let her stand for a longer pe
riod of time.
If she does not stand by her
self, or if she lays down and can
not get back up again, it may be
necessary to lift her several times
a day.
She should be lifted at least
twice a day, but no more than
four times a day. It is reported
that cows that were lifted over a
course of two weeks eventually
were able to stand by themselves,
so do not give up hope if they do
not stand right away.
Slings
Slings are another alternative.
They are usually made out of re
inforced canvas with a pole down
each side, with cutouts for the
legs and the udder.
Balloons
Balloons are placed under the
cow and then inflated to lift her
rear. If at all possible while lifting
her, milk her out while there is
access to the udder, so that if she
finally does stand by herself she
will not have dried herself off.
Rolling
If the dairyman does not want
to lift the cow for whatever rea
son, but wants to see if she will
eventually get up, rolling her
from side to side every three
hours can be very helpful.
This gives each leg a chance to
be out from under all her weight
bearing down on it. Usually at
least two people are necessary to
roll a cow from side to side. This
also should be used with other
treatment methods.
For example, in between lifting
her, roll her every three hours.
Other symptomatic therapy in
volves anti-inflammatories such
as aspirin, banamine, or dexame
thasone, but these should be used
with discretion because of side ef
fects. If she is pregnant, dexame
thasone should not be used.
How long to continue with lift
ing her or other treatment op
tions depends on how much pa
tience the producer has and her
response to the treatment.
If she seems to be responding
favorably and seems to be putting
more weight on her limbs, then
she should have more time.
If she is making no progress
and up to two weeks have gone
by, there probably is little hope
for her recovery.
The prognosis for every down
cow is different because it de
pends on how much damage was
done by the initial insult, and
how well the dairyman is manag
ing her while she is down.
Prevention
While successfully treating a
down cow so that she eventually
stands up is good, preventing her
from being down in the first place
would probably have been better.
Many cows cannot be prevent
ed from going down, because not
everything is under the control of
the dairyman. For example, if the
cow calves with a tremendously
big calf and develops calving pa
ralysis, this is not really the
dairyman’s fault.
However, there are a few
things dairyman can do to reduce
the number of down cows on the
farm. Using calving ease bulls
will usually result in first calf
heifers delivering smaller sized
calves, and thus they will be less
likely to develop calving paraly
sis.
During the months before a
heifer freshens she should be fed
a balanced ration, because im
proper feeding can cause big
calves at freshening.
Also, cows should be fed prop
er dry cow and transition rations
to keep the incidence of milk
fever as low as possible.
If cows are continually slipping
on concrete and going down, con
sider investing in black alley
mats especially in high traffic
areas.
Work on eliminating the root
cause of the problem, because it
is much easier to prevent a cow
from going down, than treating
her once she is down. If she does
go down, lifting her and nursing
care can be a very big time com
mitment, but if she finally stands
by herself, the reward is great.