Editor’s Note: The following is the second article of a two-part series including excerpts from the bulletin “Dairy Excel’s 15 Measures of Dairy Farm Competitiveness” found at http://ohioline.osu.edu/b864/index.html

Originally conceived as a cement pump, the hose pump is fast becoming the technology of choice for transferring abrasive dairy waste like sand-laden manure.

Animal waste storage and treatment systems have historically been selected and designed to efficiently use valuable fertilizer nutrients for crop production while protecting soil, air and water quality. The primary reason to store manure is to allow the producer to land-apply the manure at a time compatible with the climatic and cropping characteristics of the land receiving the manure. Manure nutrients can be best utilized when spread near or during the growing season of the crop. Therefore, the type of crop and method of manure application are important considerations in planning manure storage and treatment facilities.

It is well known that daughters from artificial insemination (A.I.) sires produce more milk than those bred by natural service. Incorrect A.I. techniques can lower the overall success rate of your breeding program. At one time, most producers have learned correct techniques in semen handling and insemination procedures, but unfortunately, many have developed some bad habits. Reviewing proper procedures should help eliminate many of these mistakes.

Cash grain producers generally sell their grown commodities through traditional marketing outlets that set a price for delivery or allow the grower to take advantage of various price risk marketing tools (forward contracts, options, etc.). Occasionally, a neighboring dairy producer may be in need of additional feed because of a less than optimum growing season.

My friend Steve is in the avocado business, which I think makes him an avocadonist or an avocodinarian. He has many distributors (avocodlers) who count on him to keep them supplied. The freeze that hit southern California this winter wiped out the crop. I called him after I heard him being interviewed on national radio. When he answered, he was in Chile! Turns out he was down there, and in Mexico (home of the guacamole), arranging to import Spanish-speaking avocados to fill the gap for the avocadophiles in the United States of Avocado.

Winter has arrived in Michigan. In weather very similar to that of Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan, I have come from the cold and entered the cold. My leave taking of Afghanistan is nearly complete. I am home physically. However, parts of me are still embedded in the U.S. military unit of soldiers, airmen and warriors. I was told by many of my friends in Afghanistan that the return home would be difficult.

Mass balance is the balance between the inputs and outputs within a system. With manure, phosphorus (P) mass balance is used to estimate the acres of land or the amount of “root zone” needed to use livestock manure nutrients. Simply, P balance equals P imported minus P exported.

Fisher Pumps The Fisher Pump is a submersible centrifugal unit that does not require priming, draining or sealing.

As a recent high school graduate and college student, I worked the summer and fall seasons as a sprinkler maintenance technician for a large university. When I took the job I had only a basic understanding of sprinkler systems, but I needed a paycheck and was willing to learn more. I was fairly paid and professionally treated. And although I had a fancy title, it meant little more than ‘grunt’ because that’s the way management had historically viewed the position.