HomeMy WebLinkAboutWingham Advance-Times, 1977-09-28, Page 16Times, September 28, 1977
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mounds to let the fatTner keep a
record of each cow's production.
#lidrOp in production is often the
ization is key
first sign; of sickness. Art said
their herd averages 45 pounds per
day, though they once had a cow
produce over 100 pounds daily.
A valve on the bottom of the
jars releasea the milk to flow into
the bulk cooler in the milkhouse.
The milk -is never exposed, from
MODERN MILKING—Greta and Art/De Vos share the duties in their new milking parlor.;
The parlor accommodates six cows at a time, allowing them to milk 35 in about an hour.
Use of the latest technology, such as automatic take offs which remove the milker when a
cow is milked dry, make it possible for one person to handle all the milking if necessary.
DINNER TIME—Protein needed for milk production comes from alfalfa haylage, auto-
matically brought from silo to feeding trough at the flick of a switch.
SMELLS GOOD—This cow is wearing the magnetic necklace which entitles her to an
extra ratio. of.g•rain mix if she puts her head into this feeder. The magnet triggers a
switch, releasing the feed into the box. Art De Vos said the cows get a necklace when they
freshen (begin producing milk after giving birth) and it is taken off after about Six weeks.
the time it leaves the cow until it
is picked up by the tanker, which
helps prevent contamination, and
the whole system is automatical-
ly washed with soap and an acid
solution after each milkirfg.
Now that the milking operation
has been streamlined, Art said he
plans to upgrade the manure
handling system. At present he
cleans thy barn with a small
loader and stockpiles the manure
before spreading it on the fields,
but he is thinking of going to a
liquid manure tank. This would
eliminate the manure pile and cut
down on the waste handling.
Another area he plans to work
on is the feeding program. He had
one silo erected last summer and
another is going up this fall;
when completed, one will hold al-
falfa haylage and the other will
contain high moisture cob corn
meal. "If we get the quality of
feed in the silo I think we will, we
shouldn't have to buy much pro-
tein (which can be a major ex-
pense)," he said.
The protein needed for milk
production will come from the
haylage, he explained, while the
cob corn meal will supply energy.
The meal, which is a higher
quality feed than corn silage, is
produced by harvesting and
grinding just the ears of corn
instead of chopping the whole
stalk. It's a technique he saw
used in the United States, he said,
and it seems to be the coming
trend.
The feeding system is already
quite mechanized. In addition to
the automatic feeders in the
milking parlor, there is another
feeder in the barn which releases
an additional allotment of grain
mix when triggered by a mag-
netic necklace fastened around a
cow's neck. A cow gets the neck-
lace when she freshens, Art said,
and loses it about six weeks later
when production begins to drop
off.
The flick of a switch brings
haylage from the silo via a silo
unloader and conveyor system,
eliminating another laborious
and time consuming chore.
Although they haven't com-
pletely abandoned cash crop and
beef farming, Art and Greta
intend to stick with dairy. The
operation is pretty well set up
now, and their confidence in the
herd is reflected in that they are
raising all their heifer calves to
add to it. If all goes as, planned;
one day Art may even quit his
other job and farm fulltime.
Pasture bloat can
kill in 15 minutes
Pasture bloat in cattle has be-
come a more serious problem in
recent weeks than in most years,
according to Dr. D. G. Davis, On-
tario Ministry of Agriculture and
Food cattle diseases consultant.
This disease is caused by an
excessive accumulation of gases
in, the rumen of cattle, and can be
very sudden and deadly,says Dr.
Davis, • The swollen rumen can
rupture or kill the animal by
crowding the lungs and heart.
Dr. Davis attributes the high
incidence of pasture bloat to the
cool wet' weather in August and
September which caused lush
pasture growth. • _ --- --
"Pasture bloat usually occurs
when cattle. are pastured on fo5.,
ages such as clover and alfalfa,
which contain high proportions of
soluble protein," he says.
Dr. Davis advises cattlemen to
check cattle several times each
day if they are on pasture with a
high percentage of alfalfa.
"Watch for swelling on the left
side of the animal," he says. "If
you notice swelling, act quickly
— sometimes you have only
about 15 minutes before the ani-
mal dies."
To treat bloat, drench the dni
mal with six to eight ounces of
commercial detergent;type oil
available from veterinarians or
livestock health outlets.
Household detergents or a
mixture of two ounces of tur-
pentine and two ounces of
mineral oil will also be effective.
"Drenching' should be done
slowly and carefully, with the
head of the animal no higher than
the horizontal," says Dr. Davis.
In severe cases, it may be
necessary to use the trocar and
cannula method. Have a
veterinarian demonstrate the
proper method and site. As a last
resort, Dr. Davis suggests open-
ing the site of the swelling with a
knife, and calling for professional
assistance.
"Pasture bloat can be reduced
through good management prac-
tices," says Dr. Davis.
He recommends feeding hay in
the barnyard before allowing
cattle out to pasture, waiting for
the morning dew to dry before
pasturing cattle, feeding rough
age while cattle are on pasture
and allowing cut alfalfa to wilt
and partially dry before feeding
it to cattle.
Farmer's woodiot
Council
to cutti
A tuckersmith farmer has been
ordered by a Huron County Tree
Commissioder to stop clearing
bushland on his farm. This parti-
cular bush is classed as number
one by the Ministry of Natural
Resources and cutting is pro-
hibited under Bylaw 43 of 1974,
which is a bylaw to restrict and
regulate the destruction of trees
by cutting, burning or ' other
means.
The bylaw provides that only
trees of a certain size may be cut
down. The bylaw doesn't cover
trees that are to be cut for use or
sale as Christmas trees; diseased
trees or trees damaged by in-
sects, wind, ice, fire, etc; trees of
poor form and quality cut to im-
prove the woodlot ; trees growing
on locations for fireguards, skid-
ways or logging trails; or trees
that are cut "in forest stand. im-
provement operations in accor-
dance with good forestry prac-
tices".
Only woodlots of twoacres or
more come under this bylaw
which doesn't interfere with the
right of the owner to cut trees for
BELMORE I
Grace Bird, new home econo-
mist for Huron County was
present at the second meeting of
the Belmore I, 4-H club Sept. 21.
The club has been named
"Featuring Fruit".
After a discussion of fruit im-
ports, types and some methods of
preparation, Miss Bird showed
the members how to section a
grapefruit or orange.
The meeting concluded with a
lunch served by leaders Marj
Deyell and Helen Eadie, which
included fruit cups made from
the orange and grapefruit sec-
tions.
orders stop
g of trees
his own use.
The Huron County Develop-
ment Committee noted -in its re-
port that the tree commissioners
have reported several infractions
of the tree cutting bylaw in
Huron, particularly in the north-
ern part of the county.
County Council supported a re-
commendation that the tree com-
missioners be given support in
enforcing the bylaw, and that
both the owners of the land and
the persons removing the trees be
charged under the bylaw when
infractions occur.
The bylaw provides for a maxi-
mum fine of $500 and imprison-
ment of not more than three°
months. Deputy -reeve Paul
Steckle of Stanley said this falls
"far short of a penalty" and sug-
gested this part of the bylaw
needs to be updated.
Administrator Bill. Hanly said
the Ontario Trees Act provides
for a similar penalty of $500, but
that a proposal is already before
government to have that changed
to a maximum penalty of $5,000,
plus the cost of replacing the
trees.
Steckle also complained of the
need for some consultation with
the tree commissioners before
permission is granted to clear
land in Huron County. Steckle re-
ferred to a case in his township
where "a beautiful little woodlot"
was cut down with the tree
commissioner's approval.
"The problem was that the
approval was given in the win-
ter," said Steckle, who went on to
explain_that the land on which the
trees were situated was just not
suitable for agriculture purposes.
"The tree commissioner
couldn't see that when there was
snow on the ground," argued
Steckel. Council agreed with him
that a recommendation should go
to the tree commissioners, urging
them to consult township councils
or county council before granting
OPEN YOUR MINA:
permission to clear land in the
future.
In other business, council gave
approval for a zoning change on
the south-west corner of Van-
astra from service commercial to
industrial. George Penfold of the
county planning department said
a small boat building enterprise
is being considered for that loca-
tion.
The risk of heart attack in men
increases with age — 400 per cent
from 3o to 50 years of age.
Farm
Drainage
FREE ESTIMATES
Anything over
30,000 ft. I O'/ft.
Smaller jobs
priced accordingly.
Government Approved.
Laser controlled.
GEORGE NESBIT
CLINTON, ONT.
Phone 482-9497
HOEGY
FARM SUPPLY LIMITED
Brodhagen, Ontario
Tel. 345-2941
After hours, 345-.2243
* Barn washing and
disinfecting
Spraying with carbola - whitens
and disinfects as it dries.
* Cattle spraying Yfor
lice and warble
control.
'EN 'HcUSE
WILL OPEN THE DOOR
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