80—UncMttr Farming. S»turd«y. Juna 14, 1975
DHIA System Was
Depending on your ethnic
background, you can argua
whether Leif Ericsson and
his fallow Vikings or
Columbus and his sslllng
craws wora the real
dlscovarars of America.
You can even discuss the
merits of Danish modem
furniture, Royal Copenhagen
china and Red Danish bulls.
But you may not be aware
that a Danish immigrant
named Helmer Rabild has
left a heritage which con*
tinues to provide direct
benefits to U.S. dairy far*
men and indirect benefits to
consumers of dairy
products.
Rabild was instrumental
in organizing the first cow
testing association in this
country, the forerunner of
today's modem, nationwide
computerized Dairy Herd
Improvement Association
record-keeping system.
The organizational
meeting of that first
association was held on Sept.
26,1905, in the Grange hall at
Fremont, Mich. (Newaygo
county), an area famous for
furniture-making and fruit
growing. Patterned after
similar organizations which
had begun 10 years earlier in
Denmark, the local
Michigan association
commenced operations in
January 1906.
News of this new
development spread rapidly
in agricultural circles, and
the states of Maine and New
York organized similar
associations in 1908. The
following year, Rabild was
called to Washington, D.C.,
by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture to head up a
nationwide cow-testing
program under the auspices
of what was then the USDA’s
dairy division.
He undoubtedly had a hand
in establishing the Maryland
prog* am, which began
operation in 1911.
Cow testing programs
were originally supervised
by agencies of the USDA in
cooperation with colleges of
agriculture and experiment
stations at land-grant
colleges. They were taken
under the wing of the
Cooperative Extension
Service when it was
organized in 1911.
In 1927 the cow testing
associations were
redesignated as Dairy Herd
Improvement Associations,
and the on-the-farm
technicians have had their
titles changed from cow
testers to supervisors.
Under a memorandum of
understanding signed in
1952, the associations
became quasi-independent.
They hire their own
supervisors, but continue to
receive technical assistance
from the Cooperative Ex
tension Service at each land
grant college.
This quasi-independent
status led to the formation of
a county,, state and national
organizational structure for
DHIA members. The
Maryland Dairy Herd Im
provement Association, Inc.,
was founded in 1965. Its aim
is to give farmers direct
representation at the
national policy-making level
in dairy record-keeping
programs.
Computerization of DHIA
record-keeping systems
began in 1951 at Utah State
University. Today the Utah
State operation has evolved
into a private agency
headquartered at Provo,
Utah. It processes the DHIA
records for dairy fanners in
all or part of 12 states, in
cluding Maryland.
There are currently 10
other regional record
processing centers providing
computerized services. Five
of them are operated by
state universities such as
Penn State. The University
of Maryland operated its
own center from 1965 to 1969.
Maryland dairy farmers in
the DHIA program now
receive computer printouts
each month from the Utah
processing center. These
print-outs provide an array
of information on individual
cows about which Helmer
Rabild and the orginal cow
testing association members
could never have dreamed.
Modern dairy record
keeping has developed to a
level of refinement that few
dairymen can match by
themselves, unless they are
mathematical wizards, have
the use of their own elec
tronic computer, and devote
moat of their time to this sort
of work.
Direct benefits of the
DHIA program to dairy
farmers have included a
tremendous increase in milk
production per cow over the
years and an awareness of
the practical aspects of
P. L ROHRER & BRO., INC.
Smoketown, Pa
f
Begun In Denmark
genetics In breeding
programs to Improve over*
sll herd production. This
awareness has resulted in
the associated national sire
evaluation program, which
officially began in 1935.
The total DHIA program
has benefited all dairymen,
whether or not they have
ever actively participated,
declares Dr. Charles M.
Chance, Extension DHIA
and dairy management
specialist at the University
of Maryland in College Park.
And it has aided con
sumers by providing a
plentiful supply of
wholesome milk and milk
products at reasonable
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In addition to his normal
responsibilities. Dr. Chance
and the entire membership
of the Marylsnd Dairy Herd
Improvement Corporation
are currently Involved In
planning for the twelfth
annual meeting of the
National DHIA. It is
scheduled March 28-31, 1976,
at the Hilton hotel in
Baltimore.
Participating host states
include Maryland, Delaware
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and Weat Virginia. Since the
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cluded in the Thirteen
Original Colonies, it appeara
appropriate that they should
help host the convention
during the Bicentennial
Year.
The convention, in
cidentally, will mark 70
years of cow testing activity
in the U.S. and 65 years since
the forerunner of the DHIA
program began operating in
Maryland.
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