Dairy Beef, BQA To ‘Marry’ (Continued from Page A 1) program at the new Livestock Evaluation Center near Pennsyl vania Furnace Wednesday. The DBQA program will join with the Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) program already in place in the state, with a focus on best management practices for send ing dairy culls to market free of carcass defects. “We’re going to marry our Dairy Beef Quality Assurance program with our Beef Quality Assurance program,” Slayton said. Dairy producers who complete a one-day training session will be eligible for a DBQA certificate and a BQA sign to display on their farm. Blue ear tags are also provided for market animals on certified farms. The idea is for meat packers to recognize the tags as a sign of good-quality slaughter cattle. Slayton stressed that the certif icate represents producers, not individual animals. Eventually, DBQA should pay off in increased market cow prices for dairy farmers, accord- Abe Harpster, dairyman and member of the Beef Quality Assurance commis sion, urges dairy producers to pay attention to the quality of their cull cows. Hi Calcium Lime Dry, applied with boom truck 80% CCE-fast acting Starting $14.25 per ton Central Berks Co., PA Call for quotes in other areas sl/per ton COD discount Dean Himeisen Lime Spreading 610-775-3454 (cell) 610-780-4298 000000000000000000000000000 1 Question: o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o Are these your feed products? To Maximize your own grain Roasting! 2 The answer is - v o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o —lncreased energy availability excellent palatability. —Better Digestibility. —Removes molds, toxins reduced. Schnupp's Grain Roasting Inc. 416 Union Rd. Lebanon, PA 17046 1-800-452-4004 717-865-6611 David N. Groff 262 Pawling Rd. Lewisburg, PA 17837 570-568-1420 000000000660060000000000000) ing to dairy groups backing the program, including the National Milk Producers Federation, Pennsylvania Dairy Stakehold ers, Pennsylvania Professional Dairy Managers Association, and the Pennsylvania Holstein Asso ciation. A major driving force behind the program is the increasing consumer demand for safe food, according to Slayton. “Consumers demand safe food,” he said. “They give us no tolerance. There’s no element of apology there.” Food quality is also a big factor in the competitiveness of beef. “Alarmingly, up until a few years ago.. .one out of four peo ple ordering beef at a restaurant had an unpleasant eating experi ence,” Slayton said. “To remain competitive, the industry must maintain or even increase high quality standards for our prod uct. “ There can be no excuses by the industry, because there is no tolerance by the public.” A recent survey shows that the public has more confidence in farmers and ranchers than in government inspectors, restau rants, or meat packers, according to Slayton. That’s a confidence producers should build on, he noted. DBQA elements include class room instruction, cowside train ing, and a personal contract stat ing that the producer will adhere to best management practices. Certified producers will also re ceive a manual and a newsletter. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture will conduct random “third party” audits of certified operations. A major focus of the program is to teach producers good med ical, inject ion, methods, for cattle. Lesions caused by improper in jections cause tough spots in beef. According to Slayton, value losses from injection-site lesions increased more than twofold from 1994 to I 1999. ***>*'■»,”»•£**» > > -' .- " ' ' The program also stresses good recordkeeping in all aspects of pro duction, from feeding to medica tion. Drug resi dues are another important concern of consumers. Abe Harpster, dairyman from 000 006 Paul Slayton, Pennsylvania Beef Council executive director, second from right, pres ents Dairy Beef Quality Assurance certificate and farm sign to Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Dennis Wolff for attending the program Wednesday. Joining them are Dr. John Enck, Bureau of Animal Health and Diagnostic Services director, left, and Scott Wright, Pennsylvania Beef Quality Assurance director. Photo by Dave Lefever Evergreen Farms, Spni9e Creek, and a member of the BQA com mission, spoke about the benefits to dairy farmers of becoming cer tified DBQA producers. According to Harpster, a con certed effort on the part of dairy producers to become DBQA-cer tified will go a long way. “What we need to do now is get a lot of people involved,” he said. “It’s a simple program. There are a lot of dairy producers already doing the things they need to do. “We want Pennsylvania to produce the best market cow that’s out there,” Harpster said. Dr. Larry Hutchinson of Penn State’s veterinary science depart ment outlined best management procedures. Dairy farmers should view their slaughter cows not as cull animals, but rather as valuable market animals, Hutchinson noted. Tha Toy Pullars - Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Naur York 4 - BIG CLASSES OF 6ROUNP POUNDING ACTIONI THE LAST TRUCK A TRACTOR PULL OF THE 2003 SEASONI (Spanrered by Laneattor Tractor t Equipment) For More info Cell The Office At *?“'!* 512.00 r GATES OPEN AT 5:O(T\ (717) 859-4244 Children 5-12 $6.00 I EVENT STARTS I or track at Children Under 5* FREE I AT T-OO SHARP J (717)284-2139 BUCK V AT 7.00 SHARP J UATADCDABTfi dad IT www.buckmotorsports.com L. IWWI UnarWHl o KAWIV iq miles S. of Lancaster on Rt. 272 A Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 6, 2003-A33 “There are no cull cows any more,” he said. “We have pro duction cows and we have mar ket cows.” Dr. Celie Meyers of Taylor/ Excel Packing Company, Wya lusing, spoke about beef quality from a packer’s perspective. “Quality assurance is all about meeting the customer's expecta tions,” Meyers said. “DBQA can serve as a basis for continual im provement.” Century Farm Applications Accepted LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.) Lancaster County Cooperative Extension Director Leon Ressler has announced that applications for Lancaster County Century Farm nominations are being ac cepted by the Pennsylvania De Also on hand for the program kick-off was Pennsylvania Ag Secretary Dennis Wolff and Dr. John Enck, director of the Penn sylvania Bureau of Animal Health and Diagnostic Services. Hands-on injection site and ne cropsy demonstrations were also part of the program. A total of 80 ag officials and dairy farmers from across the state attended. partment of Agriculture. “To qualify as a Century Farm, the farm must have been owned by the same family for 100 consecutive years,” said Ressler. “A family member must currently live on the farm and the farm must consist of at least 10 acres of the original holding or grow more than $l,OOO annu ally from the sale of farm products.” Lancaster County has 142 registered Century Farms. Century Farm in formation, applications and assistance in filling out the application may be obtained from the Lancaster County Coop erative Extension, 1383 Arcadia Road, Room 1, Lancaster, PA 17601 or by calling (717) 394-6851. Lancaster Farming's Classified Ads Get Results!
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