HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1994-03-09, Page 19Times -Advocate, March 9, 1994
Page 19
One Foot in thTtTFkw
By Bob Trotter
BST beneficial in production of milk
No other livestock feed addi-
tive has been as thoroughly
cussed and discussed as bovine
somatotropin.
Known as BST, this growth
hormone, similar to but different
from, steroids in humans, has
been thoroughly tested for more
than a decade. It has been tried
in controlled herds and found to
be beneficial in the production
of milk.
In fact, some herds have im-
proved production dramatically
-- as much as 22 percent. The
normal benefit is expected to be
between 10 and 15 percent.
No residual effects are known
to be left in the animals injected
with BST and no effects of any
kind have been found in the
products when sold to consu-
mers. Because it is a hormone
found naturally in cows, no ef-
fects have been found anywhere
to deter or detract from its use.
Canadian farmers are uneasy,
though. They know that Canadi-
an consumers are wary about
food "additives". BST has al-
ready been approved for use in
cattle in the United States which
will give them a decided edge in
production over their Canadian
counterparts.
Most dairy farmers I talked to
recently have absolutely no wor-
ries about the safety of BST.
They are well aware of the ex-
haustive testing done in both
Canada and the United States as
well as in Europe. Their big
concern is consumer backlash.
"We can't afford a one per-
cent, two percent or five percent
backlash," says Kempton Matte
of Ottawa, president of the Na-
tional Dairy Council which
speaks for processors.
Dairy people are well aware
too, that the consumption of
milk, in spite of the expensive
My Father's March Break
Written March 4, 1994 by Harry A. Schroeder, Centralia, Ontario
We all have our dreams and visions
Of what we would like to do
To steal away to some distant lands
To some place that's exciting and new.
With no money to spend on travel
To venture very far and back
My Father enjoyed his brief March Break
The south side of the old straw stack
After forking down straw for bedding
He'd -enjoy chore's brief reprieve
While he bathed in the sun of a new March day
And placed his body and mind at case.
Watching sparrows on the roof tops
As they fluttered and chirped away
The sun brought new hope to a weary world
Like poster's resurrection day.
From his perch he could view their kingdom
It's wealth their whole family could share
While his wife his most priceless treasure
Hung out his long underwear.
With a gentle lift from his master
The dog shared their straw stack nest
And soaked in the sun and words of praise
For being the families best.
Over a skeleton framework of fence posts
The wheat straw and chaff was spread
Sheltering large sows in a blanket of straw
For a cozy warm winter bed.
An earthquake?, No! It's "George" the bull
Set free from his chained winter snare
Rubbing and bunting and rocking the stack
To remove last winter's hair.
In the distance the small rural schoolhouse
He could see all the children at play
A young family in a community of friends
Life could offer no more he would say
There'll be good and bad times before us
All part of life's puzzle for sure
The stack shaded all the recycled straw
A large pile of winter's manure
This portrait is a vision of memories
There's few that can ever go back
To the time they enjoyed their
brief March Break
On the side of the Old Straw
Stack.
WILDLIFE
SHRUBS
WORKSHOP
Thursday, March 31, 1994
Lucan Community Centre
9:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. (9 a.m. registration)
Please call 235-2610 or 451-2800 to preregister.
Planting wildlife shrubs can reduce your produc-
tion costs by attracting wildlife that will control
insects and other agricultural pests.
Information will be presented on the following:
► Deming with the conflict between agricultural
production and wildlife.
► , Reducing the costs and impacts of wildlife on
crop production.
• Birds that will help control insects.
• Availability of native and non-native shrubs.
► Programs that will assist you.
Registration is $10 and includes lunch.
This workshop Is sponsored by Agriculture
Canada and the Association of
Conservation Authorities of Ontario.
For more information on this and 3 similar
workshops held across Ontario, call the
Ausable Bayfield C.A. at 236-2610 or the
Upper Thames River C.A. at 461-2800.
attempts to promote it, has
dropped in the last decade. Any
additive which would add to dis-
affection for the product is cer-
tainly not needed at this time.
In addition, the long-term pro-
motion of milk as a perfect
drink full of great nutrition, en-
ergy, protein, carbohydrates, vi-
tamins A and D, calcium and
phosphorus, could be harmed by
an additive that is, essentially,
like a steroid even though the
cows and the farmers know it is
harmless.
More education of the consu-
mer is needed, they say. I am a
little concerned, though, that if
Canadian approval is held back
too long, some farmers will
cheat and use it anyway.
If it is readily available across
the border just a few miles
away, it will be available here.
Cheating is easy because no test
can detect if a cow has been
needled with it. Nor can you tell
by her milk because BST is a
natural substance produced by
all milk cows.
Suggestions have been made
that any milk from cows that
have been injected with BST
should be in well -marked car-
tons so consumers can choose to
use either type. I think this idea
is stupid. Either give general ap-
proval or no approval.
At this time, no approval has
been granted in Canada so I
would hope most farmers are
honest enough not to get sucked
into doing something illegal just
to improve production by 10 or
15 percent. I am of the opinion
they won't. It'll be the ones with
prize cattle who want to inflate
production records for breeding
and sale purposes who'll do the
cheating.
Kate Monk, of the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (!eft) spoke about conservation are-
as open to tourists in South Huron County at Thursday's meeting of the Huron Tourism Associ-
ation. Twenty-five people attended the general meeting at Frenchman's Inn.
Unsung nutrient gives
food animals a boost
GUELPH - University of Guelph
researchers have found that a nutri-
ent supplement readily available to
humans greatly improves immune
responsiveness, production ad
health in food animals, too.
A team led by animal scientist
Dave Mowat and veterinary scien-
tist Bonnie Mallard has found that
chromium, a naturally occurring or-
ganic nutrient, diminishes the ef-
fects of stress and increases the ef-
fectiveness of animals' use of
insulin.
A four-year study conducted on
campus and at the Elora Research
Station shows that organic chromi-
um boosts The immune system of
cattle, lessens the incidence of bo-
vine respiratory disease (popularly
known as shipping fever), and re-
duces the stress hormone cortisol,
which can also create breeding and
milk -production problems in dairy
cows.
"The need for supplemental chro-
mium is becoming widely recog-
nized and used for human nutrition
and health, but has yet to be ap-
proved for use as an animal feed
supplement," says Mowat, who is
the 1993 recipient of the Alltech In-
corporated Biotechnology Medal of
Excellence for leadership in chro-
mium research.
Stress increases the amount of
dietary chromium needed, he says.
In both humans and animals, stress
is triggered by similar conditions,
such as crowding, new surround-
ings, infection, -pregnancy or an un-
balanced diet.
Human nutritionists have long
known that various stresses can
lead to chromium deficiency,
which can cause maturity -onset dia-
betes or certain cardiovascular dis-
eases. Human trials also suggest
that athletes may be particularly
prone to chromium deficiency.
Mowat and Mallard's research so
far has been mainly with cattle. In
stressed beef calves, minute chro-
mium supplements (0.2 to 0.5 ppm
in diet dry matter) markedly re-
duced the incidence of shipping fe-
ver and improved weight gain dur-
ing the initial 28 days in the
feedlot.
By Chad Smith
THAMES ROAD - The Usborne
#1 4-H group met at the Thames
• Road Church on March 3 at 4 p.m.
The meeting opened with everyone
saying the 4-H pledge.
There were some new members,
but most have had 4-1 experiences
before. Since their 4-H project is
baking they played a game where
you have to match the description
with the name of a food. Then they
were separated into three groups of
six. With the three leaders Bev
Prout, Judith Parker, and Melonie
Miller they were taught how to pre-
pare ingredients for muffins and
cakes.
Parker taught the club members
in her group about recipe measure-
ments. Melonie taught the club
members in her group about baking
muffins and their differences.
Bev Prout taught her club mem-
bers in her group how to make and
decorate cakes.
Afterwards, an election selected
Erin Parker for president, Vanessa
Bray for vice president, Laura Mill-
er as treasurer and Chad Smith as
press reporter.
THE PURSUIT SQUADRON
"No matter
when we
apply it,
Pursuit gives us
great results:"
Joel Ronson, Ilderton, Ontario
When you farm 4,000 acres, flexibility is a
pretty important consideration. That's just one
of the reasons Joel Robson, who farms in part-
nership with his brothers, Jay and Jamie, uses
PURSUIT. "We use a lot of different kinds of
tillage - some no -till, a bit of minimum till and
conventional tillage," says Joel, "so we use PURSUIT
just about every way you can - early preplant,
preplant incorporated, pre emerge and even a little
bit of post emerge. It depends on the situation."
"But no matter when we apply PURSUIT, it
gives us the results we need," Joel adds, "and it
gives us results consistently. That's a major
issue for us."
"We switched to a PURSUIT program to get a
little better control of ragweed and lamb's quarters,"
Joel says, "and it's done the job for us. A PURSUIT
tank -mix 'is as good as anything out there."
Top soybean growers like Joel Robson rely on
PURSUIT for its wide window of application.
And for the peace of mind that comes from
knowing that PURSUIT will control their grass
and broadleaf weeds - including velvetleaf,
nightshade and triazine-resistants - under any
kind of growing conditions.
Performance. Consistency. Flexibility. That's
what control's all about.
You're always in control of soybean weeds
-with PURSUR:
arm!
Pariah is ■ registered tradeaaak or CyanamW Cans& Inc.
GOI M4M►o