A2B-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 15, 1990
Mylin
EVERETT NEWSW ANGER
Managing Editor
MANHEIM (Lancaster
Co.) —For this superior supervisor,
25 years of service to Pennsylvania
DHIA gives him a good overview
of where dairying has been and
where it will go in the next ten
years.
Jay Mylin, Manheim, Lancaster
County’s DHIA manager, recently
received the superior recognition
from the state association. And in
an interview Monday afternoon,
Mylin said the needs of dairymen
for management information have
increased over the years. The lacta
tion records that historically have
been provided by DHIA are no
lomger sufficient to provide for the
dairymen’s needs.
“No doubt about it,” Mylin said.
“Dairymen are different managers
than we saw 20 years ago. Young
dairymen coming into the business
are really working to utilize the
information we can provide. These
dairymen need to be concerned
about all the different aspects of
herd management. Not only laction
records but also feed costs and
breeding records.”
The computer has allowed
Mylin to summarize all the infor
mation in the DHIA reports so the
good managers are able to pinpoint
anything they want to know about
their herd. For example, the DHIA
summary data that Mylin provides
for one herd owner is used to group
the cows according to production
and feeding needs. The informa
tion that formerly took hours to
assemble can now be provided
Herd Feed Improvements, Love Of Cows Create Results
ANDREWS niques and placing their herds on The Donaldsons work with Wayne The cows are arranged in a tie 1331 the working day is done.
- Farming Staff total mixed rations (TMR) in June Mill in using the TMR, a balance stall. The Donaldsons use the ( “It’s a long day,” said Pam.
'• (Warren of 1989 that, more than a year later, in the forage of 2 A com silge and bucket milking technique using an “But we are in business for
many joys to paid off in terms of production. 'A haylage on a dry matter basis. A automatic milker into a 55-pound ourselves. We enjoy working with
and beyond The Donaldsons were able to commercial pellet feed and a buf- enclosed pail, where the milk is the cows. To be in dairy fanning,
's that the increase their rolling herd average fer packet are used to provide addi- later transfered to the holding tank, you have to love working with
°althy, in total milk pounds by nearly tional balance, depending on the Someday, according to Pam, the cows.
nee 3,000 pounds, making them num- forage test conducted every other farm may purchase a pipeline Pam and Mike met at Delaware
ber 1 in improvements for the month. milker. Valley College, where they were
Brown Swiss breed. They also “We can’t buy good forages up both dairy science majors. They
'iced number lin total increase in this part of the state, and we feed purchased the farm this year from
-otein, by nearly 100 pounds, what we can raise,” said Mike. Mike’s father, Jack, who grew up
breed. The response to the TMR proved on l^e farm. Jack still helps on the
'rchased the farm from valuable, though, when the farm although he s ‘‘retired from
T ack Donaldson), and Donaldsons saw the results after farming, said Pam. The farm is
were allowed to the cows were freshened. nearly a 100 years old, but has been
'"istakes,” said The Donaldsons manage 53 * n e family only about 20 years,
it was the head of Brown Swiss (28 mature
nd deter- and 25 heifers and calves) and 26
d and head of Holstein (14 mature, 12
■*d-” heifers and calves). The Holsteins
r rolling herd average is 15,168 lbs,
M 3.7% F, 3.2% P.
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming StaiT
RUSSELL (Warren
Co.) There are many joys to
dairy fanning, above and beyond
the 24-hour-a-day worries that the
cows are fed correctly, are healthy,
and that the hundredweight price
of milk won’t drop even further.
A dairy farm often provides the
best environment for children who
enjoy working with cows, at least
in the eyes of many dairy families.
“You have to enjoy working with
cows to be in the dairy business,”
said Pam Donaldson. Together
with her husband, Mike, they man
age a 125-acre dairy farm (40 till
able, 85 rented) right on top of the
Pennsylvania/New York state
border.
But it was a combination of
improved herd management tech
Donaldson's iarshlne Farm raises all of the calves In hutches. Pictured here are.
laH In rlnht Carah in* Ifauln 5* BIW) ChrlltAnhar R
Observes Changes In The
shordy after the central lab has pro
cessed the test samples.
Another useful use of a dairy
men’s DHIA records comes when
he wants to establish a line of cre
dit. Mylin has spent several days
with credit managers to help them
know what to look for in the DHIA
records that will show the manage
ment ability of the dairymen.
“You can look in the bulk tank,
but you don’t know how many
cows it took to produce the milk,”
Mylin said. “With DHIA records
the banker can sec the production
per cow, and the feed costs. He can
then compare these records to the
average in the county and the state
to get some information about the
dairymen’s management ability.”
Even dairymen ask Mylin what
is good. And one way to rate good
is to compare with the averages.
Mylin said the weekly FOCUS
page in Lancaster Farming has
been useful for just such
comparisons.
For Mylin, the county DHIA
management position is part-time.
He spends about two days per week
on his testing circuit. The remain
der of his time is spent on relief
testing for others who may be ill
and in hiring and training new
supervisors as needed.
Because of the new options
offered by DHIA, Lancaster Coun
ty DHIA has been able to increase
their number of cows on test by
2000 while the cow numbers in the
county decreased 6,000.
“I’m pleased that we have a lot
more options,” Mylin said.“We
ha ve the managers who want all the
informadon they can get But we
niques and placing their herds on
total mixed rations (TMR) in June
of 1989 that, more than a year later,
paid off in terms of production.
The Donaldsons were able to
increase their rolling herd average
in total milk pounds by nearly
3,000 pounds, making them num
ber 1 in improvements for the
Brown Swiss breed. They also
placed number 1 in total increase
in protein, by nearly 100 pounds,
for the breed.
“We purchased the farm from
Mike’s dad (Jack Donaldson), and
I suppose were were allowed to
make our own mistakes,’’ said
Pam, laughing. “But it was the
combination of TMR and deter
mining what cows stayed and
those that did not that helped.’’
It took more than a full year
before the results became known.
also have dairymen who don’t
want more than the basic informa
tion. And now we can provide a
program for them too. This has
been a real benefit for us in Lancas
ter County.
Mylin said he does not expect
on-farm computers to replace the
dairymen’s desire for DHIA
records.
“I don’t think we will see a large
number of farm computers on the
family farm in the next 10 years,”
Mylin said. “Most dairymen have
so much to do that I think they will
still be willing to pay a fair price for
this service.”
The most likely prospect for a
farm computer is the large herd and
Mylin tests five or six herds with
more than 200 cows. These large
herds are on DHIA test and use the
DHIA information very well. And
while the trend is toward commer
cial herds, even the breeder herds
now are a lot more concerned about
the bottom line.
“Fanners still register their cows
which is great,” Mylin said. “But
we see the difference where even
the owner of a registered herd
needs to watch the bottom line. For
the dairyman who does not make
this adjustment in management, he
has some struggles ahead. I see
some dairymen who still have this
mind set, but the younger genera
tion, even though they want to sell
breeding stock, will not keep a cow
around just because she has a good
pedigree.
Mylin said it is important to rec
ognize that DHIA only keeps score
and does not set the trend in the
dairy business. For example,
Needs Of Dairymen
jped ...
information that can be obtained from DHIA members.
DHIA can’t do much about compo
nent pricing for milk. But if DHIA
can give the dairymen an edge,
that’s what they want to do.
Mylin thinks the real edge DHIA
can give the dairymen is in the pro
fitability of his herd. He has com
piled figures based on $l2 milk and
a 50-cow herd that show a dramatic
increase in profit with only small
management changes based on
information that DHIA provides
their members each month. For
example, if you decrease the calv
ing interval from 14 to 13 months,
you increase your income by
$6,200. If you decrease your soma-
But the Pennsylvania DHIA has
done their part to help the Donald
sons in the farm operation.
“When you’re on DHIA, you
have to test each month,” said
Pam. “The testing forces you to
pay attention to the cows you
breed, how you manage them, and
what’s going on with your herd.
It’s easy to overlook those things if
you’re not on test”
Mike Donaldson begins the
farm day by arriving to feed the
cows by 4:30 a.m. At 5:30 a.m., he
milks the cows, and finishes about
8 a.m. The rest of the day, there are
additional chores, including taking
care of the haylage and mixing the
rations.
The cows are milked twice a
day. Pam takes care of the dry
cows and returns to feed the cows
again at 4 p.m. She milks the cows
at S p.m. It isn’t until about 9 p.m.
, A FOCUS I
Pcnnsvhjnu /
Dairy Mini* - J
Improumcm Atwcuuon) 0,11 I '* oO-DH, ‘ TEST for Mfvice or mronnation.
tic cell count by SO percent, you
increase profit another $3,400.
If you save one pound of grain
per cow per day by having records
to feed correctly, you gain about
$1,300 and if you increase the roll
ing herd average by 1,000 lbs.,
even with the extra feed costs to get
the production, you still have a
$5OOO higher income.
To me dairying is the most excit
ing business in agriculture because
there are 101 different manage
ment decisions you can make to
change the income for that dairy
herd. And that’s what makes our
job in DHIA is so important.
Pam said that, in addition to
farming, she also works at the Rus
sell Veterinary Hospital on a part
time basis. “My job is in the
Embryo Transfer Program, a new
aspect of the hospital,” she said.
“Dr. Patrick Farrell. DVM, MS, is
not only my employer, he is also
our herd veterinarian. We are on a
monthly herd health check this
keeps us up to date on the reppro
ductive state of all our cows.”
The Donaldsons have three
children, Sarah, 10; Christopher,
8; and Kevin, 5.