
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, February 4, 1994                   TAG: 9402040283
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RENEE SHAFER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

IT WON'T BE HERE SOON; SHOTS COST TOO MUCH

Roanoke-area dairy farmers and milk processors said there's no question in their minds that a controversial bovine growth hormone is both safe and effective. But consumer concern and cost are likely to keep the valley's milk supply free of BST.

"BST is the most tested drug on the market. It's 100 percent safe, good as gold, but there are still questions out there among the consumers," said Fred Scott, general manager for the Valley of Virginia Cooperative Milk Producers Association. Like all dairy cooperatives - which include farmers and processors - Valley of Virginia will not knowingly accept milk from BST-treated cows.

"We've just asked our producers not to use BST until education and understanding develops in the marketplace," Scott said.

Joann Boone, public information specialist for the Kroger Co., said Kroger has asked its suppliers not to use BST, but it is impossible for the stores to determine if milk comes from cows that have been injected with the hormone.

If you are drinking milk, you are already digesting naturally occurring BST, said Tom Bailey, professor of veterinary medicine specializing in dairy production at Virginia Tech. "You cannot detect the difference in levels of BST in treated and untreated cows. The levels are the same among cows from the same herd producing the same amount of milk."

Cooperatives, such as the Maryland and Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative Association Inc. in Reston and the Cooperative Milk Producers Association in Blackstone, say they must rely on their suppliers to guarantee that milk does not come from BST-treated cows.

Though the hormone supplement has been found to increase milk production in cows by six to 15 pounds per day, local farmers say it's still not cost effective.

BST shots cost $6.60 per cow and must be administered every two weeks. Cline Brubaker, a dairy farmer in the Callaway area, said that with the shots, the cost of feeding each cow would go from $7.50 to $10 a day. "Instead of getting $7.50 for every 100 pounds of milk one cow produces, I would have to get $16.60 to break even."

Ken Woodsen, an agricultural agent in Franklin County working with dairy farmers in the area, said farmers will not be using BST anytime soon. In order to give their cows shots every two weeks, farmers would need facilities that few of them have.

\ The milk hormone\ \ BST stands for bovine somatotropin, a protein hormone created by the pituitary gland of cows.

\ Monsanto Co. has copied this protein by implanting a gene from a cow in a bacterium.

\ The Food and Drug Administration has found BST safe for both people and animals. Monsanto, working with the FDA, will conduct a post-approval monitoring program to check for any unusual increase in infections and antibiotic treatment.

by CNB