A2B-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 8, 1990
VERNON ACHENBACH JR.
Lancaster Fanning Staff
SMOKETOWN (Lancaster
Co.) Lancaster County’s Red
Rose Dairy Herd Improvement
Association (DHIA) is 50 years
old and continues to show growth,
officials said Tuesday during the
group’s annual banquet.
Statistics from DHIA show that
while the number of cows in Lan
caster County dropped by 6,000
from 1989, at the same time the
number of cows on test increased
by 2,000.
Statewide statistics show a simi
lar trend the number of cows
decreased while the number of
cows on test increased by 5,200.
Officials said part of the reason
for that is the sendees offered by
Pa.DHIA, but also the human ele
ment that goes along with it.
Lancaster County’s DHIA man
ager Jay Mylin received the top
award in the state for a member
the Superior Service Award
and was also recognized for his 20
years of service.
Also part of the exceptional
group that forms the Red Rose
program is new member Deborah
Ebersolc. She was presented the
Rookie of the Year Award, also a
statewide honor.
About 400 people attended the
banquet, held at Good ’N Plenty
Restaurant. Clifford Blank, presi
dent of the association, reported
that “Everything is running
smoothly.
“We have very little agenda at
most meetings and very few
reports of any problems and we are
staying in line with costs. We to
tope to hold the line on costs,”
Blank said.
He said that the next goal for the
Red Rose DHIA is to find out what
the effect of the proposed re
organization of the Pennsylvania
DHIA will have on Red Rose. The
re-organization the combining
of all county services under one
state agency is to take effect in
coming months.
Blank also reported that the
county has 1,119 herds on test, as
of September. He said that number
of herds represents an increase of
25 herds on test in Lancaster Coun
ty since September 1989.
Of those herds on test, 233 arc
on twice-daily tests, 422 are on the
AM-PM test program and 464 ( arc
on owner-sampler testing.
Blank commended the work of
the county DHIA supervisors and
also urged each member present to
talk to neighbors and to get others
to put their herds on test.
County agent Glenn Shirk
lauded the merits of testing, espe
cially with milk prices dropping
drastically.
“As we look ahead to a tighten
ing of belts, many of you will say,
‘Do I need this (DHIA testing)?
Can I afford this?’
“I say you can’t afford to not
have it,” Shirk said, adding that
DHIA testing is one of the most
valuable management tools avail
able and the lack of proper man
agement is especially significant
when budgets are tight.
Norman Hershey, a state direc
tor for Lancaster County who
serves on the Pa.DHIA finance
committee, said that as of Jan. 1,
the DHIA membership rate is to
MILK.
FT DOES A
BODY good;
Red Rose DHIA Conti
increase to about 8 cents a cow on
test.
According to Hcrshey, 1 cent
has been added to cover additional
costs for sample pickup; 2 cents to
build up state reserves; 1 cent for a
future building fund; and the
remaining 4 cents to reflect general
increases in maintenance and
labor.
Also announced during the
meeting were the results of an elec
tion of directors for the county.
Rclccted to director were John
Howard in Association No.B and
P. Robert Wenger in Association
N 0.5.
New directors are Larry Aaron
in Association No.ll; Kenneth
Miller in Association N 0.2; Joseph
Graybcal in Association No. 14;
and John P. Lapp in Association
N 0.9.
In other business, Nelson Kreid
cr received the district-level Dis
tinguished Service Award.
Other Years of Service Awards
went to J. Wilbur Houser, with 35
years service and Jay M. Risscr
with 35 years of service.
Red Rose Performance Awards
were presented to 10 supervisors
who were judged to have done out
standing jobs during the past year.
Those receiving performance
awards were Rebecca Hershey, J.
Wilbur Houser, Patti Johnson,
Nelson Krcidcr, James Lehman,
Harold Probst, Joan Probst, Harold
Lindccamp, Jay Risser, Maurice
Welk.
In production awards, protein
production was valued above all
else during the past year, a Change
from butterfat emphasis, to reflect
market trends.
The top protein herd in Lancas
ter County is owned by Robert and
Linda Scnscnig. Their herd pro
duced an average 22,981 pounds
of milk and 753 pounds of protein.
The award for the top Holstein
herd in Lancaster County went to
Weaver Homestead, of New Hol
land, whose herd averaged 24,692
pounds of milk and 739 pounds of
protein.
The award for the top Brown
Swiss herd in the county went to
Richard Wenger, Manheim, whose
herd averaged 17,185 pounds of
milk and 591 pounds of protein.
The top Jersey herd in the coun
ty is owned by Robert U Inch Jr., of
Quarryville, with an average milk
production of 14,187 pounds of
milk and 551 pounds of protein.
Warren A. Schmuck, of Peach
Bottom, took home a production
award for having the lop Ayrshire
herd in the county. Schmuck’s
herd showed a rolling average of
14,939 pounds of milk and 507
pounds of protein.
Axel Linde and Mildred Wid
mann, of Kirkwood, received an
award for having the top producing
Guernsey herd on test. The rolling
herd average was 16,554 pounds
of milk and 578 pounds of protein.
Others recognized for having
herds with a rolling herd average
of 700 or more pounds of protein
were John Howard, Willowstreet;
Weaver Homestead Farm, New
Holland; John Coleman Jr., Ronks;
Spring Belle Farm, Lancaster;
Elmer High, Lititz; Robert and
Karen Gochenaur, Lancaster;
Ammon Reiff, Lititz; and Mahlon
King, Gap.
Those Red Rose DHIA supervisors receiving special awards are, from left front, Nel
son Kreider, Wilbur Houser and Rebecca Hershey. From the left in the back row are
Harold Probst, Joan Probst, James Lehman and Jay Risser. Not shown are Patti John
son, Harold Lindecamp and Maurice Welk.
Elected directors of the Red Rose DHIA are, from left, John Lapp, Larry Aaron, P.
Robert Wenger, John Howard, and Ken Miller.
<gr. , ye„ jHIA are, from left, J. Wilbur Houser
with 35 years; Jay Risser with 25 years; and Jay Mylin with 20 years.
Receiving Red Rose DHIA herd production awards are, from left, Warren Schmuck,
Ayrshire; Richard Wenger, Brown Swiss; Mildred Linde, Guernsey; and Weaver
Homestead, Holstein. Not shown are Robert Ulrich, Jersey; and Robert and Linda
Sensenig, whose herd had the top protein production.
nues To Blossom
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