Dukas’ DHIA career travels north of Mason-Dixon line
_ BY DONNA TOMMELLEO
W UNIVERSITY PARK - ‘Tis the
season for turkey and thanks and
‘tis also the season for county
DHIAs to reflect on-their testing
year and recognize the efforts of
individual producers at annual
dinner meetings.
This year’s banquet circuit in
troduces a new face to the Penn
sylvania dairy industry. He’s 28-
year-old Philip Dukas, the new
general manager of state's DHIA
testing lab, which officially opened
earlier this spring'.
Has Dukas found things to his
liking?
"I feel this is the best lab in the
country as far as efficiency and
accuracy go,” he reported.
_ But Dukas and staff are looking
for ways to increase the lab’s ef
ficiency. The new DHIA manager
explained the addition of a key
punch would help reduce turn
around time.
Currently, as samples enter the
testing lab at University Park, the
accompanying bam sheets must
travel to Penn State’s ad
ministration building so the in
formation can be key punched and
fed into a computer for processing.
The addition would cost about
|56,000 for most of the computer
hardware, said Dukas.
"The funding is ready,” he
added. “The Pennsylvania
dairyman is footing the bill.” He
explained that a previous 15-cent
raise in testing rates helped defray
costs.
While meeting with dairy
producers, either on the road or at
the state lab, Dukas has fielded a
number of requests to expand the
R testing program.
“There is an interest from
farmers to be able to access their
records via home computers,” he
reported. “We’ll constantly be
monitoring this interest.”
—“As each year goes l by. the
possibility of a remote access
system becomes more feasible,”
Dukas predicted.
Such a system, said Dukas,
would allow farmers, with the
right kind of computer, to call up
their records directly from the
main DBIA terminal.
Dukas’ background with the
Virginia DHIA gave him some
exposure to remote access
systems.
“This can tailor the reports to
exactly the needs of your farm,”
he explained. “But unless an on
the-farm access system is done
with a lot of planning, I seriously
question the credibility. DHI is a
gp very high credibility system,” he
£( added.
The new director of operations,
Dukas 'is a 1977 graduate of
Virginia Polytechnic Institute,
with a degree in Dairy Science.
The son of a career Army officer,
Dukas has lived all over the world,
but because of his involvement
with Virginia agriculture, calls the
“Old Dominion” home.
Following graduation from
Virginia Tech, Dukas began his
career as a DHIA supervisor.
nt,
these 13-year-old butterfat testers stand idle in one corner of
the state's DHfA lab. Lab manager Dean Amick estimates
that more than 5 million samples have run through the now
obsolete equipment.
Philip Dukas
Testing cows, said Dukas, became
his best source of practical ex
perience.
“You see bow a lot of guys do it
right and wrong,” he recalled. One
job often leads to more opportunity
and soon Dukas and wife Kit found
themselves milking 120 Holsteins
and tending calves on a central
Virginia dairy-
But the call for DHIA work
returned. Dukas answered and
began as an area fieldman in the
Shenandoah Valley region.
The central office in Blacksburg,
Va. expanded and Dukas moved
back to his alma mater.
“I still worked in the field to
some extent,” he said. However,
field duties were gradually
replaced with an administrative
role.
Following a year in the
Blacksburg office, Dukas was
hired by the Pennsylvania DHIA
and started earlier this fall as
director of operations. Dukas, wife
Kit and daughter Alex reside in
State College. The Dukases are
expecting their second child in
May.
Dukas’ arrival has been just one
of a series of innovations for the
state’s DHIA participants. At the
new lab’s christening in April, only
two of seven testing machines
were set up for protein, explained
lab manager Dean Amide. Today,
all the machines record the protein
and butterfat content within
seconds of each other.
Because of the growing interest
in protein testing, Dukas has been
examining different protein
pricing systems, such as the one
instituted by Milk Marketing, Inc.
“Any good protein program will
have a somatic cell adjustment,”
he noted, since an increase in SCC
will tend to elevate the protein
content.
The new general manager will
be at the helm less than four
months before the new nationwide
DHIA rules take effect.
“The whole tone of the rules is
different,” Dukas commented. “In
the past, the rules were to
safeguard the credibility of the
program and guard against in
fractions.
“But now, the rules are based on
a guarantee that every dairyman
has an accurate and reliable test,”
he added.
The following list includes some
of the more apparent rule changes,
which will take effect next year.
✓Any equipment used on test
day, found to be out of tolerance
must be repaired before further
use.
✓The beginning and ending time
for each milking shall be recorded
for DHI herds.
✓Cows used as donor dams or
embryo recipients must be tested
General manager Dukas, left, credits lab manager Dean Amick, right, with the lab's
efficiency. The two DHIA officials stand behind one of the newer pieces of equipment
which records butterfat on the left and protein on the right.
Bucks DHIA celebrates 59th year
PLUMSTEADVILLE -
Representatives of Deleware
Valley College were laden with
production awards, following
Bucks County’s annual DHIA
meeting, last week.
The Doylestown college claimed
the high herd milk and fat award
with 19,965 pounds of milk and 754
pounds of fat on 40 cows.
High-production honors for an
individual cow also went to DVC
for cow “Abagail," with 28,842
pounds of milk.
Bucks Co. DHIA president Bob Holland, far right, and banquet speaker Carl Brown,
second from right, join members of the Association honored for high production. From
left to right the award-winners are: Theodore Wilson, high cow lifetime milk and fat; Paul
Bishop, high cow for fat; Henry Swartz and Jim Harner, DVC representatives, high herd
for milk and fat, high cow for milk.
Uncartr Farming, Saturday, November 27,1982—A21
as members of the herd where
located.
✓All cows must be identified
with a visible tag, neck chain, leg
band or brand.
✓Adjustments for sick or in
jured cows on the first test day of
the lactation will be made
providing qualifications are met.
✓Bulk tank weights will be
recorded by DHI supervisors from
haulers weigh slips for three
previous pick-ups and the number
of milkings represented will be
recorded. If unavailable, reasons
why weights are not available will
Paul Bishop of Perkasie
collected the award for high cow
for fat. Bishop’s “Deann” finished
with 1,122 pounds.
Richboro dairyman Theodore
Wilson owned the top cow for high
lifetime production. Wilson’s
“Queenie,” turned in a lifetime
record of 225,187 pounds of milk
and 8,376 pounds of fat.
Stephen Natali of Perkasie
finished the year with the most
improved herd for milk.
In all, 56 herds finished the 1982
testing year. The county’s 3,362
be reported in -writing to the state
DMA.
to test when a
supervisor calls or arives at the
farm is a violation of Official DHI
rules. Advance requests by herd
owners not to test on a particular
day shall be respected when
reasonable.
✓Requests for retests shall be
made within 15 days of the original
test day.
“It’s a good set of rules,” Dukas
said. “We’d rather incorporate
them in our program and go on
with the business of the day.”
cows averaaged 16,223 pounds of
milk and 604 pounds of fat.
The following are executive
members of the 59-year-old Bucks
County DHIA: president, Robert
Holland; vice president, Roy
Shull; secretary-treasurer, Clyde
Bishop, directors, Clarence
Berger, Warren Buckman, Jr., Joe
Peters, Paul Wisser, Raymond
Gross, David Walton and Kenneth
Hager; supervisors, Christine
Hess, Ruth Ann Moyer and Earl
Whitman.
''iUi.