A32—Lancaster Famine, Saturday, April 10,15A2
NDHIA director promotes quality program
BY DONNA TOMMELLEO
UNIVERSITY PARK - States
not meeting minimum standards
specified in a proposed quality
program by the National DHIA
could lose their official DHIA
record status, said National DHIA
director of field service George
Gramling.
n The Quality Certification
Program, still in its rough draft
stages, was developed internally to
upgrade DHIA programs on a
national basis, he explained.
“Everybody realized we have to
have something with some teeth in
it,” said Gramling.
And what a set of choppers!
Unofficial records cannot be used
for USDA sire summaries or cow
index. Purebred breeders would be
at a loss to merchandise cattle
without official records.
But the program is not scheduled
to go into effect until late 1984,
Gramling reassured. Meanwhile,
the national director has been on
the road a great deal to bang the
proposal to the local level and field
expected suggestions, questions
and criticisms.
The program will attempt to
provide a uniform set of standards
that all 46 states, which currently
have DHIA programs, will follow.
However, Gramling admitted that
evaluation procedures have yet to
be finalized.
Gramling explained that
variation regarding certain DHIA
practices can vary from state to
state and county to county. For
example, the NDHIA recommends
that milk meters be tested at least
once a year.
“There are many cases where
this has not been done,” said
Gramling.
Meter testing and length of time
between tests are the only two
requirements on the entire
program. The remaining set of
standards, Gramling noted, are
listed as recommendations.
The national Q.C.P. calls for
testing meters not less than once a
year. Pennsylvania DHIA
recommends that all supervisors
with more than 25 herds per month
check meters every six months. In
addition, any new meter in Penn
sylvania must be checked before
first use.
The second Q.C.P. requirement
states that no more than two
percent of all test intervals exceed
45 days.
The remaining recom
mendations, Gramlmg noted, will
be divided into three categories
field services, -milk testing
laboratories and dairy record
processing centers.
If Q.C.P. is approved, a super
visor could very well end up back
in school. In addition to on-the
farm training, the Q.C.P.
recommends a new tester attends
a beginner’s class as well as an
annual conference.
Gramhng explained that an
annual job perfomance exam also
is being considered. Supervisors
would be evaluated on meter care,
sample handling, rule en
forcement, percent error and turn
around time.
The Q.C.P. suggests that each
state supply its membership with
the DHLA rules. Gramlmg stated
that infraction of by-laws will be
properly enforced. Although he
admitted the NDHIA will have
more enforcement authority,
Gramling said the national
association will concentrate more
on promoting the program through
education.
Under the Q.C.P., members will
have to provide visible iden-
tification on all cows tested.
Gramling noted that state’s should
strive for no less than 11.25 tests
per herd per year, as an average.
He explained the more often a herd
is tested the more useful the in
formation becomes in herd
management.
The Q.C.P. also suggests that
states offer all official National
Cooperative DHIA programs.
In order to qualify for cer
tification, states must meet a
minimum set of standards. If
below that minimum, said
Gramling, the state will be offered
a grace period of at least a year. At
the end of the grace period, if a
state still turns in a below
minimum score, it will operate in a
“non-certified category.”
“That state will be unoffial,”
said the national field director.
Although nothing has been
finalized, Gramling remarked that
at the next meeting of the NDHIA
board of directors in July 1982,
“something can be approved.”
Until then George Gramling, a
Wisconsin native, will continue to
put many miles on his auto as he
travels around the country to bring
the program to the people.
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Most of George Gramling's time has been field services visited Penn State on Tuesday
spent traveling across the country and ex- and helped christen the new state DHIA
plaining the DHIA's proposed quality cer- building,
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