A2O-UncMtef Fanning, Saturday, November 4,1989 /FOCUS Pcnnsyliania /' • Dairy Herd i Improvement 1 ‘ 8 « ) - DHI-TCST for service or information. Educator, County BY PAT PURCELL LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.) —“I see myself as an educator and even an inspirer. I try to make the farmer aware of* what DHIA records have to offer to herd man agement. And I am concerned that the farmer use these records to eva luate herd management and trou ble shoot problems,” said Glenn Shirk, Lancaster County Dairy Extension Agent. “It (DHIA information) is essential to the farmer to be kept up to date and aware of what is hap pening on his dairy farm, and to monitoring his operation. It is essential to the county agent, too. Before we can conduct a program for farmers we need to know the facts first,” said Shirk. Gathering herd data from nearly 6,000 members across the state The Pennsylvania Dairy Herd Improvement Association (DHIA) has a storehouse of knowledge to offer not only members, but to all those who serve the farmer in mak ing his farm profitable. “If the farmer does not directly use the data, then his service peo ple do, such as the vet and the feed man.” “The challenge to DHIA is tak ing the overwhelming amount of data and presenting the informa tion in a form so that the message jumps out at you and entices the farmer to study it more,” explained Shirk. This is the challenge for the county extension agent also. The county agents rearrangement of information can show the farmer why and how the data is directly applicable to his business decisions. There are innovative ways to bring DHIA records to life. This is an opportunity for the county dairy agent to be creative and arrange DHIA figures in a such a way that facilitates trouble shooting. Putting lists of data into curves, graphs, tables and charts allows the farmer to see quickly and easily a clearer picture of his herd’s performance. For instance, creating lactation curves from production informa tion vividly shows if the cow is peaking and sustaining the peak at her capability. Shirk suggests developing lac tation curves for different stages of development and separating cows by age groups to isolate problems even further. For instance, separat ing cows by age and production could help in determining if the first calf heifers are producing at the desired capacity. “First calf heifers should be pro ducing at least 8S percent of the herd average just to maintain the current level of production. This group could be pulling down the whole herd average,” said Shirk. “The form in which the informa- Inspirer Dairy Extension Agent some eye-opemng compansions. Comparing herd performance to that of other herds in the same pro duction range can cause red flags go up in some problem areas. County Agent As Interpreter This all relates to profitability. The county agent can help identify the information which the farmer needs. But information is of little value if it is not accessible. The association’s goal is to serve the greatest number of its members. DHIA strives to present as much useful information as possible in a variety if limited number of reports. As can be expected this volume of information in a limited space can lead to some complex and sometimes confusing reports. The county agent can assist the dairy man by interpreting some of the more complex reports. And while many farmers retrieve the informa tion most important to them such as herd average, somatic cell count and individual production, there is a wealth of information untapped. And tapping this source can lead to a healthier business. “I do not get involved in the DHIA organizational operation, but I do encourage farmers to util- Your Full-Service John Deere Dealers ADAMSTOWN EQUIPMENT INC. Mohnton, PA Tunkhannoek, PA (naar Adamatown) 717-836-4011 215-484-4391 BARRETT CARLYLE & DEERFIELD AG & FOSTER EQUIPMENT EQUIPMENT MARTIN, INC. TURF CENTER, INC. SALES Smicksburg, PA Hagaratown, MD Wataontown, PA Elmar NJ 814-257-8881 301-733-1873 717-538-3557 609-769-1535 Unleash the Power of the new John Deere 4255 Get behind the wheel of a new 4255 Tractor, and never get behind. The new k 7.6L-, 6-cylinder turbocharged diesel * engine offers more lugging power and faster cold weather starting, yet delivers even better fuel efficiency than ever before. Add the uncomparable Caster/Action™ To help farmers across the state to have handy reference of commodity input costs in their feeding operations for DHIA record sheets or to develop livestock feed cost data, here’s this week’s average costs of various ingredients as compiled from regional reports across the state of Pennsyl vania. Remember these are averages so you will need to adjust your figures up or down according to your location and the quality of your crop. Com, No. 2y - 2.74 Wheat, No. 2 - 3.78 Barley, No. 3 - 1.98 Oats, No. 2 - 1.57 Soybeans, No. 1 - 5.32 Ear Com, - 54.15 Alfalfa Hay - 120.00 Mixed Hay - 106.75 Timothy Hay - 117 ize their services to be better records can help him succeed. businessmen,” said Shiik. “In bus- “We conduct workshops or iness, the profit motive can be the informational meetings to illus inspiration the farmer needs, but it trate what records can do for their depends on the individual. Some- herd management and we intro times health and production are duce them to their printed records, their goals.” pull out the information they need DHIA records are some of the and summarize the data into a form tools available to the farmer. It’s that they can easily apply to their up to the county dairy agent to help situation,” said Shirk. the farmer to identify his goals, and, appealing to those goals, show the dairymen how his CLUGSTON FARM ENFIEIj) h.R. GUTSHALL & EQUIPMENT E^u»*J E !l T Jn C - SONS, INC. NMdmora, PA Carlltto, PA 717-573-2215 301-452-5252 717-249-2313 BARTRON SUPPLY, INC. CLUGSTON EVERGREEN ABC GROFF |NC IMPLEMENT, INC. TRACTOR CO., INC. n«,h o .i.L’pa Chambaraburg, PA Labanen, PA 717-263-4103 717-272-4641 Average Farm Feed Costs For Handy Reference MFWD and you have a tractor with pull ing power far beyond what you’d expect from a “typical” 120-horsepower tractor. Tfest drive a 4255 today. For reliability and lugging ability in a 120-hp tractor gee your John Deere dealer fora 4255. Income Over Feed Costs There are some reports which (Turn to Pago A3O) ROBERT G. HAMPTON, INC Shiloh, NJ 609-451-9520
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