November 2004

Delay in U.S. country-of-origin labeling is good news for pork producers in Ontario

With the U.S. Congress postponing implementation for most commodities until 2006, the Canadian Pork Council is continuing to argue against a measure that it sees as costly and serving no useful purpose
by SUSAN MANN
The Canadian Pork Council (CPC) still firmly believes that mandatory country-of-origin labelling in the Unites States will be very costly, serve no useful purpose to anyone either within or outside the U.S. and shouldn't be put in force.

Mandatory labelling, part of the 2002 Farm Bill, was supposed to come into effect in the United States in September, but Congress has delayed implementation until 2006, except for wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish.

The delay is good news, says Martin Rice, the CPC's executive director. So far the voluntary program hasn't had an impact on the Canadian pork industry. "I'm not aware of anyone (in the U.S.) using it," he says. "Most people just view it as impractical."

In making a case against mandatory labelling, the CPC has tried to point out the ways the proposal will hurt the U.S. industry. The additional value that country-of-origin labelling provides doesn't even come near to what retailers view as sufficient to justify the additional expense of putting the regulations in place.

"Several studies, including work done by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) itself, demonstrate clearly the enormous costs for all parties within the food value chain arising from mandatory labelling under the Farm Bill provision," the CPC wrote in a letter to the USDA earlier this year.

The council also pointed out that the record keeping and other costs of compliance will fall disproportionately on smaller independent farmers.

That's because pork and red meats have to remain competitive in price with poultry which, inexplicably, is not subject to mandatory labelling under the Farm Bill.

The proposed legislation will make it mandatory for U.S. food retailers to provide country-of-origin information to consumers at the final point of sale. Anyone who sells more than $230,000 of fruits and vegetables must have a license under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA).The definition also includes butcher shops, fish markets and exporters. There are 4,500 PACA licensees operating 37,000 retail stores throughout the United States.

Salad bars and delis located within retail establishments that provide ready-to-eat food are exempt from the law. Food service establishments, such as restaurants, are also exempt. Commodities covered include muscle cuts of beef, veal, lamb, pork, ground beef, lamb and pork, farm-raised fish, shellfish, wild fish and shellfish, frozen and fresh perishable agricultural commodities and peanuts.

In general, processed foods and foods that are mixed aren't covered by the proposed law. For example, oranges would have to be labelled with the country of origin, but orange juice would not. Pork bellies would have to be labeled, but bacon would not. Salad items, such as lettuce, carrots and cabbage, would need a label if they were sold on their own. But if they're put in a salad mix, they wouldn't need one.BF


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November 2004


Ingersoll producer finds shorter dry cow period reduces disorders, brings financial gain

Shortening the dry cow period from 60 to 35 days has helped John Heeney reduce metabolic disorders, produce more milk per cow and simplify management of his herd
by WENDY ADAMS
Shortening the dry cow period to 35 days from the traditional 60 is resulting in fewer metabolic problems for cows and more milk for dairy producer John Heeney of Glenroe Farms in Ingersoll.

Typically, the dry cow ration would be changed four times over the 60-day period, but Heeney's style is to "feed roughly the same forage concentrations in our milking cow ration as we do in our dry cow," he explains. "We feed dry cow nutrient specs like the grains and concentrates. We change our mineral, we change our protein, we change our grain, but we don't change our forage concentrations."

Heeney, a five-generation dairy farmer currently milking 250 cows, points out, "Cows love being consistent, so it makes good sense to continue that approach."

What motivated him to break from tradition was the desire to get his cows healthy after calving. "I guess we wanted to do it and see what happened with stuff like ketosis, DAs (displaced abomasums) and other metabolic disorders."

He has found that the change has had a significant impact. "They just calve great. We haven't seen any problems with cows in terms of them taking off after calving." Quota was a factor, too. "We've got a lot of quota to ship and we're growing and we need every bit of milk we can get."

Heeney also milks three times a day. Despite the shorter dry period, his cows "peak really, really well and we don't seem to lose any milk in the next lactation." He believes the production level is related to the fact that the cows are off to a good start in the first place by not having to deal with metabolic issues.

This cow group produces "another 700 litres of extra milk per cow per lactation. And that's significant," Heeney says, noting that the financial gain comes from the extra milk produced, not the diet. He finds ration costs are about the same as for a 60-day dry cow period. "The cost per cow per day for 35 days is more expensive, but there are less days."

Another selling point for Heeney is that he finds less management is required. "The consistency for the cow is the biggest reason. It just makes life simpler for management and for mixing feed and cow handling."

According to research by Dr. Ric Grummer of the Department of Dairy Science, University of Wisconsin, quoted in the Texas newspaper Country World, "there is evidence to question if the dry period length for a modern Holstein cow can be reduced from 60 days to 30 days." In support of that, a study entitled "Is a Short Dry Period Possible?" suggests that when the 60-day dry period was established many years ago, it was suited to the type of cow that existed at the time. Today's cows have different genetics and technology is more advanced. "Lactation is more persistent and cows do milk more at drying off," says the study, conducted by Pennsylvania State University's Department of Dairy and Animal Science.

Originally, Heeney tried shortening the dry period to 30 days, but he ran into a few problems. Some of his cows calved early and milk had to be held back until mastitis treatment cleared. Grummer's article says a shorter dry cow period is better suited to herds with low incidence of twinning and producers with practices in place that can target calving dates. He suggests producers work closely with a herd veterinarian to deal with dry cow therapy and potential residue issues.

But regardless of cows calving early and twinning, Heeney looks at the overall gains -- the consistency of rations, less moving of cows and the simplicity of the group situation. "Those (early) cows are still going to be OK and the metabolic disorders aren't going to be happening."

Overall, Heeney finds the program is working so well for the animals and their management that he plans to continue it even when he reaches quota. "I won't change. I love it." BF


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November 2004


Who needs gasket cement?

While it's good that most of us have managed to break some of our old habits, we should replace them with good new habits, like using a torque wrench or dielectric grease when making repairs
by RALPH WINFIELD

When I worked in the local repair garage as a teenager in the 1950s, we used gasket cement on virtually every gasket, including head gaskets. Why? Because the boss of the day told me to do it that way. He was a graduate of the school of "hard knocks" who could fix just about anything that came through the door. He could repair magnetos and weld, braze or solder pretty much any item that was broken or leaked.

On some occasions I should have paid more attention, but I didn't because as a teenager I was absolutely sure that I knew all that I needed to know. Fifty years later, I regret not picking up on some valuable learning opportunities.

By contrast, I had to unlearn some bad habits picked up along the way. One of the most notable was the misuse or overuse of gasket cement. In 30 years back on the farm doing most of my own tractor, machinery and vehicle repairs, I have never bought any gasket cement.

What brought this issue of gasket cement to the forefront was the need to change a thermostat in one of my tractor engines recently. Some earlier invader had applied gasket cement to both sides of the gasket -- for what reason I have no idea. When you have two well-machined mating surfaces, a new gasket is all that is needed. Every time I find myself aggressively scraping gasket material from the mating surfaces, I fear that I am going to cause a leak by scarring a well-machined surface. It is during these scraping exercises that I repent for all the sins committed during my teenage years in the local garage.

On the positive side, I learned how to make gaskets during that same time period. To this day, I keep a stock of gasket materials that allow me, in an emergency, to make a gasket for a water pump or thermostat cover connection. However, I do prefer to buy pre-made gaskets whenever possible.

There are several other items that should be in every farm shop today which were definitely not available in that repair garage 50 years ago. They are:

  1. An anti-seize compound;

  2. A thread-locking compound;

  3. A torque wrench (or wrenches);

  4. A dielectic compound

An anti-seize or other heat-resisting lubricant is an absolute must when installing bearings on shafts or connecting exhaust system components. If there is the slightest chance that you will have to take those components apart again, do yourself a huge favour and apply a little dab. The time required to apply it will be paid back with a high rate of return.

On other occasions, the use of a thread-locking compound, such as Loctite(tm), is another absolute necessity. For some bolted connections, it is essential to maintain the required bolt torque. Let your service manual be your guide. Many machine companies will recommend its use and will specify the strength required. Strength is usually designated by colour. Read the label.

Before we move on to torque wrenches, there is another torque issue that you should know about. When you are looking at the mounting bolts of heavy final drive components, you might find one- to three-inch lengths of pipe on each of the mounting bolts. Do you know why they are there?

Your first clue should come from looking at the grade markings on the bolt heads. If they are grade eight (or metric 10.9), the additional bolt length might be required so that the bolts can be strained (stretched) sufficiently to maintain the torque required for the application. Did you also notice that lock washers are never used on bolts torqued to high limits?

As for the torque wrench, we didn't have one in that 1950s repair garage, but today you should have at least one if you are just changing wheels on a vehicle with disc brakes. If the five bolts are not "criss-cross" or "star-torqued to the same torque value, you can warp the rotor. With an appropriate torque wrench and the correct procedure, I can't possibly imagine why you would put gasket cement on a head gasket.

I recall that we almost always had the engine head "planed" (face surface ground) when the head was removed for any reason. The common removal reasons were to grind valves or just to replace a leaking head gasket. I'm sure that most of the leaking head gaskets resulted from warped heads due to improper head bolt torquing.

The fourth must-have item is dielectric grease or compound. Fifty years ago, vehicle electrical systems were a lot less sophisticated than they are today. About the only location where we worried about corrosion was at the battery terminals. When a light or other electrical device didn't work, you got out a file to clear the ground connection of rust. Today, with all the electronic gadgets, any high electrical resistance connections can create serious problems. Many sensitive circuits are double-grounded in an effort to eliminate those pesky transient faults.

So, while it's good that most of us have managed to break some of our old habits, we should replace them with good new habits like using the torque wrench or dielectric grease when we are making repairs. And, by the way, I sure wish now that I had picked up a good habit from that boss many years ago. He had an uncanny knack for making magnetos work. As an overconfident teenager, I assured myself that I would never need to know that art. After all, magnetos were old technology then. But they have stood the test of time and many are still functioning on antique tractors.

By way of a footnote, when I penned this article earlier this year, I did not know that my former old boss had just passed away at age 99. I guess ESP was working, but a little late. I might never find out how to repair magnetos! BF




© copyright 2004AgMedia Inc..


Agricultural engineer Ralph Winfield farms at Belmont in Elgin County.
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November 2004


Get manuals for all the machines you buy

The key to doing your own repairs is collecting the necessary information, which means laying your hands on the appropriate manuals. Alas, they are often hard to come by for used machines
by KEITH BERGLIND

Once upon a time, repair jobs were easy and usually based on visual information. A mechanic could rely on previous experiences and training to "figure out" what was wrong.

Not any more. Shops are now filled with technicians who read computer screens and follow trouble codes. The actual diagnosis may be done by some hidden computer program, which is intended to tell the technician specifically where to look.

All too often, people tell me that they no longer try to do repairs because "everything is run by computers". What they are really telling you is that they are overcome by new systems for which they are not trained, and they don't know how to proceed with even the simple repairs.

The real problem is twofold:

  • There is a lack of information on that specific system.

  • Electronic system and devices usually cannot be checked or tested visually.

Let's look at the first problem -- collecting the information we need for this repair. There are usually two classes of information. The first and hardest to get is the proprietary information that the manufacturer doesn't want to share with anyone. This usually means all the circuits and parts inside a control or computer box. Not even the dealer will have this information. This means the box will have to be replaced once it is found to be at fault.

Interestingly enough, I have found some electronic engineer types who can do wonders with circuit board repairs, often limited only because of special chips which cannot be tested or replaced. The manufacturer of the tractor probably bought the controller from a supplier who keeps his own proprietary information secret. The company service staff never even get to see this stuff.

But these faults are only a small segment of the repair work on your tractor or truck. Most of the repairs we used to do still need to be done: brakes, steering, engine internals, transmissions and drive shafts. Even the electronic ignition and fuel injection systems need simple testing and repairs.

So that means there are still lots of things you can fix at home. But you do need information.

So I'm asking you to start collecting shop manuals for all the machines you buy. For example, if you buy a new or nearly new Dodge minivan for the family, go to the dealer's parts department and order a set of shop manuals for that specific model. These manuals won't have all the information needed for some repairs, but at the very least you will learn enough to be able to ask the dealer service people the right questions. Believe me, it's great fun to go to the Chrysler dealer's service department with a problem only to find out that they also don't know what to do, but we do have some very interesting conversations.

I wish factory shop manuals were part of every used vehicle I buy, so that the correct service information will be there when I need it. Most manufacturers sell shop manuals only for current production machines and vehicles. In these cases, all future owners are denied this source of information.

Many years ago, we bought two 4020 John Deere tractors for our family farm. At that time, I asked the parts department for a shop manual but was told they were not for sale. Under pressure, the dealer ordered a new shop manual "for his shop." I still have that manual and it is well worn.

One problem I encounter when ordering shop manuals is getting manuals for all the sub-components. For example, if the new windrower has a different brand industrial engine, it is troublesome to get a proper engine manual. More important, for serious farm repairs, is getting manuals for the electronics, such as the monitors. These devices are the area where the most frustrating faults will take place.

After a lifetime of collecting, I have lots of shop manuals. I always get a chuckle at farm auctions when really old manuals are sold to collectors. Why are there never any new-model manuals? The answer is easy. They've already been sold privately to friends with current model machines.

Please start your own collection. I may need your manuals one day to fix your machine.BF




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November 2004


The pros and cons of multiple milkings

Hydro increases, labour and material costs, and the BSE crisis have got Joyceville dairyman Bill Moreland thinking about cutting back from three to two milkings a day. Others are finding benefits in more frequent milking for their fresh cows
by WENDY ADAMS

Milking cows more than twice a day is showing real health benefits for the animals, but at what extra burden to the farmer?

Joyceville dairy producer Bill Moreland has been milking his herd three times a day since 1994. He's likely going to switch back to the traditional twice a day due to increased costs for hydro, cleaning materials, labour and the lingering effects of BSE.

Moreland says hydro price hikes have cost him another $300 a month this past summer. Eliminating the extra shift means lower labour costs and less hydro for milking and cooling, as well as less water, pre-dip, post-dip and cleansers. He believes an overall cut back on milking will alleviate some stress on the cows, because their production will drop. Moreland keeps them longer because of the BSE situation. "We're overstocked with heifers like everybody else," he says.

Moreland's 67 cows in a tie-stall barn take one person two and a half to three hours to milk. Production is 270 BCA, up 15 to 20 per cent from twice-a-day milkings.

Moreland hates to let his cows go because, he says, "you're giving them away, really. If you don't have extra barn room, you're kind of between the devil and the deep blue sea. It just hurts so much to send out a nice cow that would easily make you $2,000 or $3,000 from milk (net) and you ship her out for $150."

The three-times milking decision was made because the right person was available to work the third shift, leaving the Morelands with more free time. The current milking schedule is 5 a.m., 1 p.m. and 9 p.m. Another factor was to benefit the cows. "I always felt that's where a certain amount of the udder injuries came from. Their udders were so firm, their teats were so full that if they happened to lie down and rub by that teat with a dewclaw, there was just no flex at all," Moreland explains. "Now, a cow can be giving 100 pounds a day and when you look at her udder you're wondering where it was. They're just not bursting."

Some producers milk their cows up to six times a day, milking fresh cows at the beginning of a shift and again at the end. Inglewood dairyman Peter Armstrong has been milking his fresh cows four times a day since December. The rest of his 235-head operation -- a partnership with brothers Robert and Philip -- is milked twice daily. The two-and-a-half hour time span per shift is the right scenario for getting in the extra milkings.

Using a double 12 parlour with a quick exit, extra milkings only take about 10 minutes. Following the first milking, cows go back to their stalls where they can eat, drink and lie down. Armstrong has noticed increased ration consumption for this group, which is up to 75 per cent from 60 per cent when compared to what the rest of the herd eats. The cows give much less milk the second time through, but it results in higher production throughout the cow's lactation, Armstrong explains. This is what led them to the decision to go to extra milkings for 21 days.

The fresh period is a stressful time and they're susceptible to so many things, Armstrong explains. "Just those extra two milkings a day takes stress off the udder. I think it's better for their somatic cell count." The Armstrong's computerized operation shows production for the fresh cow group has jumped to an average 38 kilograms per day, up from 28. Cows that have just freshened can vary between 34 to 43 kg. "To be fair, I think we'd want to go through a 12-month cycle. Even if we didn't get the bump in milk production we were hoping for, I think the fresh group is healthier because of it. We have gone a stretch of five months without an incident of mastitis," says Armstrong.

Fresh cows averaging 15 kg in the first milking only give four or five on the second, Armstrong explains. Variances occur, of course, depending on the age of the cow. The mature ones can produce 20 kg and give eight or nine the second time around, whereas the first-calf heifer may give eight kg on first milking and two on second.

Armstrong has had some unexpected results. "We were originally told that with our first-calf heifers we probably wouldn't see a bump in their milk and we've probably seen the biggest gain in milk production over the whole lactation," he says. Those cows were averaging 28 to 29 kg a day at twice-a-day milking but are now at 31 to 32 kg. "We're probably talking a good 10 to 12 per cent increase with that group."

Once the cows come out of the fresh group on day 22, the numbers really vary, Armstrong explains. "Some days they're averaging 43 kilos per day, then all of a sudden it could be 38. They're happy, they're healthy and they're eating. Is it the weather?" he jokes. "Whereas that heifer group, it's very consistent and I don't know why that is. We've maybe seen a kilo (increase) on the high (mature) ones and I would say that would follow through on the rest of the lactation."

Producers considering multiple milkings need to assess their setup. "The caution for typical Ontario herds is that they should have at least two hours between those milkings," says Jack Rodenburg, dairy cattle production systems program lead with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food. He also points out "there is research that suggests that milking cows five or six times a day for a long period of time will cause some damage to the teat ends and that's why the recommendation is to only do it for the first 25 to30 days."

A study entitled "Fixed Responses to Multiple Milking" by Dr. Allen Young, extension dairy management specialist at Utah State University, provides some insight into the decision-making process: