A22-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 25, 1990 DICK BARTH General Manager, PA DHIA My last article dealt with the changes to Pennsylvania DHIA member control that will be brought about by reorganization. This time I want to discuss the employee side of the picture and explain how the 245 DHIA super visors in the state will be managed within -a uniform management structure. Before starting, let’s recap the main purpose of reorganization, which is improved service quality. The desired characteristics of DHIA service from a member’s point of view are: (1) a competent, professional DHIA supervisor who can explain the records system to members; (2) reliable service that is accu rate and provided when needed; (3) uniformity of services from county to county: (4) a variety of optional ser vices that allow members to choose the combination that best meets their needs. A reorganized PA DHIA places the responsibility for DHIA super visors on field management staff. Therefore, each supervisor reports to a senior supervisor who is responsible for six to eight Doebler’s Growing Hear all about it at Doehler’s Farm Days September 2, 8 and 9, Sf Re the first to see our new “greener” plots, Sfc Check out seven new Doehler’s corn hybrids for 1991 a Tour our new climate-controlled seed storage A first 3* Have lunch with the Doehler family. Talk research, dryers, computers HowMOgethere. Doehler farm is located at Jersey Shore, PA between Williamsport and Lock Haven Get off Route 220 at Pine Creek exit Go south Watch for big news in the next Lancaster Farming. employees. Senior supervisors, of which 10 are now in place, spend about half their time testing herds and the other half supervising supervisors. Senior supervisors report to our five region managers who are cur rently in place. The region mana gers (RM’s) report to the director of field services who in turn reports to me. RM’s are responsible for all field services in their regions. They eventually will hire, train, evaluate and promote all field ser vice personnel within their reg ions, and will be accountable to management staff and members for service quality and costs. They are backed up by staff in State College who provide technical assistance, training and personnel support. But changes in the organiza tional structure alone do not mean members services will improve. Achieving that goal requires top notch people who are motivated by fair and impartial treatment. Thus, all field staff will be man aged under the same pay and ben efits system that is partly designed now and will be completed within the next six to 12 months. It is composed of: (1) annual DOEBLER'S Hybrids jjOf " u "j reviews of supervisor perfor mance by staff and members, and (2) annual salary reviews for all employees with salary increases based on merit and seniority. It also requires a hiring system based on a uniform set of qualifi cations to be a supervisor, promo tional opportunities within the staff structure, and a training sys tem that is reliable, effective and on-going. All of these elements are under development now to be in place by 1992 when the entire reorganization is to be completed. Members (or their county board representatives) generally express two concerns about not having DHIA supervisors to manage. One is usually termed a loss of control over who will test individual members. Our approach is to strive for a competent service force of well-trained supervisors across the state so that if the regu lar supervisor is not available this month, his or her replacement is just as qualified and acceptable. The other concern is usually over service costs and the fear that costs will escalate after reorgani zation. The truth is that costs will escalate no matter what happens because the association is affected by inflation like your farm is. As your costs increase due to infla tion, so do the association’s. The real issue to deal with is how to assure that service improves as costs increase so that members have a better opportunity to improve the returns on their DHIA investment. Syri-Con Precast Concrete Corp. 477 E. Farmeraville Road New Holland, PA 17557 717-355-2361 The only concrete slat with Your Animals Comfort In Mind Contact Us For Complete Details On Heifer Cattle, Hog And Free Stall Barns /I FOCUS I r / u—— ■ Pinnvylvunij I —>— ——' Djiry J Improumcnl AssikljlkhA C, “ >- 80 °- D HI-TEST for service or mfomuuon There is no longer any doubt goals listed at the beginning am that reorganization is an absolute for the long term health of botl necessity in order to achieve the PA DHIA and its members. The July 1990 USDA-DHIA elite cow evaluations are available. To be eligible for the elite list, cows must be registered, alive and have calved since April 1,1988, and have adequate lactation compar isons with other cows in the same management group. This table indicates the minimum Predicted Transmitting Ability (PTA) values for protein dollars (PRO $) that cows must have to make the elite list. Pro $ is calculated from the formula: Pro $ = $0.02744 (PTA milk) + $1.48 (PTA fat) + $1.43 (PTA protein). Breed PRO $ # Elite Cows 112 266 143 440 121 571 179 7945 153 1050 127 92 78 143 Ayrshire B. Swiss Guernsey Holstein Jersey M. Shorthorn Red & White “Waffle Cattle Slats” Waffle Heifer Slats H-Bunks ELITE COW LIST BY L.W. SPECHT Waffle Hog Slats Concrete Hog Penning Tjk 8’ ■ / M ft 28" J ' 1 ( 39” J-Bunks
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