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The Huron Expositor, 1983-06-15, Page 13yam SAY CHEESE—Allan Carter, of RR4, Clinton, produces 800 litres of milk a day with a herd of 40 milking cows. Experimenting with mixtures of feed, he is attempting to improve the production of his herd. Herd improvement is dairy farmer's goal Fresh out of high school, Allan Carter, of RR4 Clinton went right into dairy farming with his father instead of spending a few years at an agricultural college. "I might have missed out on some of the expertise and b,know I missed a lot of fun, but I think I gained financially by staying on 'the farm. t think it would be almost impossible to start out today," he says. The 33 -year-old farmer bought his 150 acre farm from his father in 1970 with a herd of 35 milking cows and has been working on improvingthat herd ever since. He now has 40 milking cows and a breed class average of 130, the same as the Huron County average, although he is working towards an average of 140. "At one time I milked 47 cows but 1 didn't get as much milk as 1 do now," he says. In 1978, he began breeding his own Holstein replacements to improve his herd. 1 -Ie found he wasn't gaining by buying cows. Although it costs more to breed, it pays off in the long run with production, he says. Experimenting with the feed, changing the mixture of grain andsoybean meal with vitamins, he is working at determining the best mixture for the best production. And. for five years now, he has been participating in a Herd Health Program, which involves a veterinarian visiting the faro( once a month to check the cows for pregnancy or infection. One way he makes up for not going to college is by attending seminars sponsored b the Ministry of Agriculture, and Food in the winter months and consulting regularly with OMAF's dairy specialist. He is also gradually selling all of his National Identification Program (NIP) cows and replacing them with Registered Ontario Purebreds (ROPs) which make up 75 per cent of the herd now. "1 still have some good old NIP cows that give nie good milk and put it in the bucket. If 1 was in show business, I would have gotten rid of them all," says Mr. Carter. Although he doesn't show his cows now, he is planning to once his daughters, Pam, 9, Cindy, b and Vicki, 3 are old enough to join 4-H. His breeding program started to pay off this year when farmers from Wisconsin and Ohio bought seven heifers he would have kept if not for the quota. He plans to sell more cows in the future rather than slaughtering them as he previously did. And, as his improvements start to take effect, he is increasing his profits. "The more milk you can get out of fewer cows, the more money you make," he says. Most dairy farmers are well-established and enjoying good profits because of the high costs of starting out on a dairy farm. "There is little competition in dairy because of the quotas," says Mr. Carter. "It kind 'of worries me since someone is going to have to produce milk in the future." Although quotas were given away when Mr. Carter first started, it would now cost close to $200,000 to buy a quota for an average herd, he says. THE HURON EXPOSITOR, JUNE 15, 1983 — A13 Sale prices higher Thii market at Bruksels Stockyards traded actively at high prices on both steers arid h ors. Cows sold high- er. Pis were steady. There were 865 cattle and 1125 pigs on offer. Choice Steers -81.00 to 84.00 rivith sales to 85.75. Good Steers -78.00 to 81.00, A steer consigned by Maple I,I Emblem Farms of Dungapnon weighing 1260 lbs. tripped the market at 85.75 with their offering of 42 Steers averaging 1192 lbs. selling for an overall price of 83.37. Six heavy steers consigned by Wilhelm Bros. of R.R.4, Walkerton averaging 1387 lbs. sold for an overall price of 84.25. fancy steer consigned by Bill Devereaux of R.R. 5, Seaforth weighing 1070 lbs. sold for 84.00. A steer consigned by Rae Zettler of R.R. 2, Walkerton weighing 1280 lbs. sold for 85.00 with his lot of 10 steers averaging 1179 lbs. selling for 83.70. Two steers consigned by Ralph Dickson of R.R. 5. Stratford averaging 1225 lbs. sold for 84.90 with his lot of 12 steers averaging 1330 lbs. selling for 83.25. Fourteen steers consigned by Morrison Bros. of R.R. 1, Lucknow averaging 1222 lbs. sold for an overall price of 83.50. Eight steers consigned by Andy McMichael of Wroxeter averaging 1185 lbs. sold for 83.65. Twenty-seven steers it by Fr ser Must of- R.R. fR.R. 2, Blu•vale averaging 1214 lbs. sold for 83.45. Eight steers consigned by John Perrie of Brussels aver- aging 1185 Ibs. sold for 84.00 with his load of 40 steers averaging 1200 lbs. selling for an overall price of 83.00. Six steers consigned by Stam Farms of R.R.4, Kin- cardine averaging 1246 lbs. sold for 83.20. A steer consigned by George Underwood Farms of Wingham weighing 1390 lbs. sold for 84.25 with their load of 42 heavy steers averaging 1325 lbs. selling for an overall price of 82.23. Four steers consigned by Grant Sterling of R.R. 2, Bayfield averaging 1106 lbs. sold for an overall price of 82.50. Five steers consignedyby Dan Brickman of Sebringville averaging 1178 lbs. sold for an overall price of 83.05. Choice Exotic Heifers - 80.00 to 84.00 with sales to 84.25. Choice Hereford Heifers - 78.00 to 80.00 Good Heifers -75.00 to 78.00 A heifer consigned by J.P. Connell and Sons of Palmer- ston weighing 1130 lbs. sold for 84.25 with their offering of 26 heifers mostly herefords, averaging 940 lbs. sold for an overall price of 79.42. A heifer consigned by Jack Flanagan of Dublin weighing 1130 lbs. sold for 84.00 with his, offering of 21 heifers averaging 1084 lbs. selling for an overall price of 82.56. Two heifers consigned by Joe Smith of Brussels aver- aging 1115 lbs. sold for 82.25 with his lot of 8 heifers averaging 1028 lbs. selling for 80.70. Three heifers consigned by Gordon Roulston ,f R.R. 1, Ripley averaging 1133 lbs. sold for 81.15. A heifer consigned by Ross Goll of Wingham weighing 1020 lbs. sold for 80.25. A hereford heifer consign- ed by Jim Cronin of R.R. 4, Seaforth weighing 1030 lbs. sold for 80.25. Three heifers consigned by Peter Martin of R.R. 2, OMAF phone bill is higher at stockyards Dungannon averaging 970 lbs. sold for 81.20. Choice Cows -57.00 to 61.00 with sales to 65.75. Good Cows -54.00 to 57.00 Canners & Cutters -50.00 to 54.00 Heavy bulls traded to a high of 67.75. Light fancy bulls to a high of 77.25. 30 to 40 Ib. pigs traded to a high of 34.75. 40 to 50 Ib. pigs to a high of 44.50. 50 to 60 lb. pigs to a high of 48.50. 60 to 70 lb. pigs to a high of 52.75. 70 to 80 lb. pigs to a high of 56.50. We record the sudden passing of the late Howard Culbert of Maple Emblem Farms who made a notable contribution to the beef in- dustry in Huron County. We extend to his wife and fan.ity our deepest sympathy. For the past year OMAF has had a Zenith phone number that you can call your OMAF office without a charge to you. The charges are billed to the OMAF office. This system has been effec- tive but expensive. For in- stance, our phone bill at Stratford amounts to about $40,000 per year. Much of this is from Zenith numbers. You can help reduce this cost by keeping your calls brief. During the springtime it would also help if you could tell the secretary who an- swers the phone what your call is about; e.g. twitch control in rapeseed, soybean seed treatments, corn dryer design, etc. This way, if the person you are trying to call is on another line he can get any information needed be- fore he returns your call. As ,well. there may be someone 'else in the office who can answer your question. It's been a pleasure assisting such a dedicated group! SEAFORTH VETERINARY CLINIC Dr. B.D. Nuhn Dr. D.D. Templeton Dr. I.L.PBrash Dr. N.J. McKinnon Before you write off soft water as just another luxury, look at the facts. Town or country, dairy or home, water conditioning is a good Investment When you add up all the benefits. the Surge Premier Water Conditioner may be one of the best investments a homeowner or dairyman can make. Here's why. Properly conditioned water can greatly extend the life and efficiency of your plumbing, water heater and appliances. Makes cleaning easier and life more pleasant, because soft water Is far more gentle to your skin. There areeven more banal its In dairy applications because the Surgy sm Prymlerttelpspou'.get top'' gr nictft4) (134Ssf gtbj enr Monthly detergbni'bills can often be reduced as much as kit,. So save time, save wear on equipment, and save on detergent. Let us eomeout and run a Tree analysis on your water, today, When you look at the facts you'll see why proper water conditioning doesn't cost, it pays. GRAND CHAMPION—K heifer at the Hensall Sprint $1.20 pelr pound, Ross Not n Varley, Seaforth received the Best Finish award for his Fair calf show. The heifer was top seller at the sale, selling for a gh, Exeter Is shown presenting the winning trophy. (Wassink photo) Hensall fair results next week USED FORAGE SPECIALS HURON DAIRY EQUIPMENT LTD. SURGE R.R. f#4 Seaforth, Ontario NOK 1 WO Dial 527-1935 Don't Keep Bossy in the barn all Summer : . We Have All The CEDAR POSTS and FENCE SUPPLIES you'll need to keep her fenced in! Open: Monday -Friday tiII9:00 p.m. Saturday 11117:00 p.m. WINTHROP GENERAL STORE Doug and GaiLSchroeder 527-1247 R.R. 1, Seaforth In4.,4.ANin/1Nr. �^ .''f'^iVI111'TaV You Peed FORAGE AID 3 9' Haybines 2 9' New Idea Cutditioners 3 3 point mowers 2 trailer mowers 2 hay conditioners 1 12' self propelled haybine 2 Super 717 New Holland Harvesters 10 Balers [2 1 770 New Holland harvester 1 890 New Holland harvester 1 550 International harvester 12 Forage Boxes 1 852 New Holland Round Baler Demo McKee Round Baler Demo New Idea Small Round Baler with throwers] FERMENTATION CONTROL PROCESS for grass, corn silage, haylage, hay and high moisture corn On behalf of WALTON FEEQ MILL and VARNA FEED MILL LTD. we would like to thank our customers for their support over the year. Because June is DAIRY MONTH we would like to offer SPECIAL PRICES on sanitation health and pesticide prices. McGavins We also have a ROTARY HOE for rent! Farm Equipment Ltd. WE ALSO SELL: • HERBAGEUM SALT FREE • MINERALS • PRE -MIXES • CONDIMENTS • VITAMINS FOR ALL TYPES OF LIVESTOCK (Sales Agent for 10 years) Richard Lobb, Auctioneer Seaforth in Walton Brussels 527-0245 887-6365 for Galt Chemical Products Clinton, Ont. 482-7898 20% CALF STARTER BUY 5 and get the 6th '/2 PRICE! KEITH SIEMON Farm Systems Ltd. • Patz • W is • • Farrnatic • • Kitchener Silos • We thank the DAIRY INDUSTRY for the important contribution it is making to the food needs of our country! OPNOTCH TOPNOTCH FEEDS LIMITED GIVE US A CALL!_ WALTON FEED MILL am VARNA FEED MILL LTD. 887-6023 SNI: 482-9219 R.R. 4 Walton 345-2794 Seaforth 527-1911 Now offering a complete line of PURINA CHOWS