Field Day Focuses On Manure Management
DAVE LEFEVER
Lancaster Farming Staff
LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.)
Manure was the theme of the
day and, judging by the size of
the crowd, it’s a hot topic.
An estimated 250 people
turned out Thursday for the ma
nure handling and nutrient man
Field day visitors check out a piece of equipment de
signed to boost manure incorporation in the soil. Rotating
tines aerate the soil, allowing faster nutrient uptake.
Raw Milk Sales Still Allowed By Permit
HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.)
In an attempt to address concerns re
garding Pennsylvania’s raw milk reg
ulations, Secretary of Agriculture
Dennis Wolff recently reaffirmed
that there are no planned changes in
the policy.
“It has come to my attention that
there are concerns about the sale of
raw milk in Pennsylvania,” said
Wolff. “There are no current or
planned actions by the Pennsylvania
Land Use, Property Meeting Aug .
LEESPORT (Berks Co.) A
meeting on Land Use and Nearby
Property Values will be conducted at
7:30 p.m. on Aug. 13 at the Berks
County Agricultural Center, five
minutes north of the Reading Air
port, just west of Rt. 183.
The speakers will review a Penn
State study on “The Impact of Open
Space and Potential Local Disameni
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agement field day at Oregon
Dairy Farm north of Lancaster.
The event was sponsored by
Binkley & Hunt Bros., the farm
equipment dealer near Lititz.
Ken Ferrie, professional crop
consultant from Illinois and field
agronomist for Farm Journal,
spoke on the increasing impor-
Department of Agriculture to remove
a dairy farmer’s right to sell raw milk
or a consumer’s right to buy raw
milk. Now, as before, all persons
wishing to sell raw milk must receive
a permit from the department.”
The sale of raw milk in Pennsylva
nia is permitted under the Pennsyl
vania Milk Sanitation Law. This law
is designed to safeguard human
health and safety by regulating the
issuance of permits, and those enti
ties on Residential Property Values
in Berks County.”
The speakers include Dr. Richard
Ready, assistant professor, and Dr.
Charles Abdalla, associate professor
of agricultural and environmental
economics at Penn State University.
They will review their study which
used information on 8,000 Berks
County homes sold between 1998
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tance of good manure manage
ment.
According to Feme, good ma
nure management not only helps
livestock producers take care of
the environment and be good
neighbors, it also increases their
profitability.
Farmers can no longer afford
to ignore public concerns about
manure issues, he pointed out.
“The more we keep our head
in the sand, the bigger a target we
become to our neighbors,” Ferrie
said.
Good nutrient management
practices first of all depend on
knowing how soil works. That
was the topic of Feme’s first pre
sentation.
“Know your soil test,” he said,
noting that results will vary from
test to test and lab to lab. For
that reason, farmers should “stay
consistent with the same lab” for
their soil-testing needs.
The ability of crops to use nu
trients is dependent on a number
of qualities in the soil. These in
clude organic matter content, pH,
cation exchange capacity, and
(Turn to Page A 33)
ties that sell milk and milk products.
This law also prohibits the sale of
raw milk products, with the excep
tion of aged hard cheese, that is
cured at temperatures of not less
than 35 degrees Fahrenheit for at
least 60 days.
“These laws are designed to help
insure that milk and milk products
sold in Pennsylvania are safe and
wholesome for the entire family,”
said Wolff.
and 2002 along with nearby land
uses, and will discuss the findings
and future impacts and considera
tions.
For more information or direc
tions, contact Clyde Myers, Penn
State Cooperative Extension in Berks
County, at (610) 378-1327. The meet
ing is open to the public and is im
portant to real estate professionals
and county and local officials.
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CIRCULATION FANS
CAN HELP REDUCE
HEAT STRESS
Dan F. McFarland
Extension Agent
Agricultural Engineer
York
After providing shade and an
adequate air exchange, air move
ment can be beneficial by reduc
ing heat stress in dairy cattle. Air
moving across a cow’s body can
improve the rate of heat loss from
her body and also aid in evapora
tion of moisture from her skin.
Circulation fans in the animal
space accomplish this by mixing
air and minimizing “hot spots.”
To help reduce heat stress dur
ing hot weather, proper selection,
placement, and operation of cir
culation fans is important. Stud
ies indicate that an air speed of
220-440 feet per minute (2.5-5
mph) is necessary to be beneficial
for dairy cattle. Most circulation
fans are able to produce air velo
cities greater than this for a dis
tance of approximately 10 times
their diameter (24-inch diameter
20 feet; 36-inch diameter 30
feet, etc.).
However, the guard design,
blade design, motor size, and
blade speed all affect perform
ance. Dust and dirt build up on
the blade and guards can also
greatly affect performance.
Some fan manufacturers claim
“their” fans are able to move air
in the 2-5 mph range for up to 20
times the diameter. However, my
evaluation of these fans (with
cows in the area) indicates that
the spacing should be no more
than 15 times the diameter.
Cows influence the effective air
movement. Air leaving the fans
strikes standing cows and creates
a “wind shadow,” or an area of
little air movement for cows that
are downstream. Spacing the
fans 10 times their diameter or
less (in the direction of airflow)
usually provides uniform, effec
tive air movement.
13
In naturally ventilated shelters,
the direction of airflow should
V
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 9, 2003-A27
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follow the predominant prevail
ing winds during warm weather.
However, if quality fans are
placed as recommended, per
formance is still acceptable when
breezes come from the opposite
direction. Circulation fans are
usually installed with the bottom
7-8 feet above the cow alley (out
of cow and equipment reach) and
tilted 20 degrees to 30 degrees
downward.
Circulation fans should be
placed in the areas where the
cows spend the most time, the
resting area, feeding area, and
the milking area. In ties tall bams,
a single row over each stall row is
adequate. Freestall and loose
housing systems generally require
multiple rows of fans.
Typical recommendations for
freestall shelters place fans over
each stall row and at the feeding
area. Sometimes a single row of
fans is used over head to head
rows of freestalts. However, in
these head-to-head arrange
ments, the fans should be spaced
no further than 8 times their di
ameter to provide adequate air
flow.
In tiestall shelters, fans are
usually placed above the front
third of the stall. When sidewall
fans and perimeter inlets are
used to provide an air exchange,
some fan suppliers suggest that
fans above one stall row move air
in one direction while the other
row moves in the opposite direc
tion to circulate the air more
evenly. However, circulation fans
used in conjunction with tunnel
ventilation systems should en
courage airflow in one direction
toward the exhaust fans.
Circulation fans are useful
when the temperatures go above
70 degrees Fahrenheit (F) (or so)
in the animal area. Thermostats
or sensors with NEMA 4 enclo
sures should be installed in the
animal area and kept clean to ac
curately sense the conditions.
During periods of hot weather,
circulation fans improve the
cow’s ability to get rid of heat at
night. Research at the University
of Missouri found that core tem
perature of a cow could be re
duced up to 1 degrees F by using
circulation fans to aid cooling at
night compared to using fans
during the day only.
The most effective heat stress
abatement systems use circula
tion fans along with spray or
evaporative cooling during hot
weather.
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