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VOL 37 NO. 4
Hunsinger Farm Is Best
Managed Operation
VERNON ACHENBACH JR.
Lancaster Farming Staff
SPRINGVILLE (Susquehanna
Co.) The moral of the story is:
Big changes get noticed, but it’s
many small changes which get
results.
Nothing could be truer for Sus
quehanna County dairyman D.
Byron Hunsinger who has been
recognized by the Pennsylvania
Dairy Herd Improvement Associa
tion (PaDHIA) for having the most
improved Holstein herd of Pen
nsylvania members.
Hunsinger’s 50-head, all
registered milking herd has shown
the best overall improvement in
management, not only among the
state’s black and white herds, but
among all dairy breed herds.
The recognition started this year
with the intent by PaDHIA to
reward those dairymen who have
been doing a lot of things right, but
INDEX
Sec. A... Market Reports
& General News.
Sec, B,..Women’s News,
Public Sales & Mailbox
Market.
Sec. C... Business News
& Classified 4-36.
Sec. Declassified 1-3.
See Story Index Page A 3.
A History And Perspective Of The Pennsylvania DHIA Program
Editor’s note: Penn State College of Agricul
ture’s Dairy and Animal Science Department
recently published a booklet entitled ‘‘A History
and Perspective of the Pennsylvania Dairy Herd
Improvement Association (DHIA) Program from
1910 to 1991.”
In the booklet’s introductory letter, Dr. Stan
Curtis, department head, said PaDHIA serves thou
sands of dairy farmers in Pennsylvania and else
where in myriad ways and it has been doing so for
more than 80 years. Curtis said the history was
written for those who have recently become asso
ciated with PaDHIA. In addition, he said even those
persons who have worked with this dairy associa
tion for decades can profit from its reminders of
where the association has been with a view to deve
lop a vision for its future evolution.
This presentation, written by Donald Ace, fits
well in this issue of Lancaster Farming , which
includes PaDHIA’s semiannual report to members
and many farm features on the top managed herds
in Pennsylvania. Therefore, Lancaster Farming is
grateful to Dr. Curtis for permission to reprint this
extensive DHIA history for its readers.
DONALD ACE
Professor Emeritus
Dairy Science Extension
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The author is indebted to Bill Heald, Larry Specht,
Dean Amick, Bob Kindig, Harry Roth, Ed Dieffenbach
and Dick Barth for providing verbal and written
consultation.
Section 1
INTRODUCTION
The evolution of production testing programs in the
United States has provided a significant part of the
Four Sections
not just one thing fantastically.
The program is based on a
multiple factor formula which
awards points according to certain
aspects of herd care and herd
response. The maximum possible
points is 130. Hunsinger received
the most with 103 points.
The points aie awarded for milk
and milk component production
increases, average peak milk pro
duction, average number of days at
peak, the improvement in somatic
cell count linear score (SCC LS),
the mean average SCC LS, the
average number of days open, the
number of services per pregnancy,
and the average age at first calving.
The award is unique from other
DHIA awards in that the herd must
show improvement and achcivc
ment in many areas, not just excel
lence in one.
In fact, Hunsinger’s herd was
not the lop herd in any one catag
ory. However, his herd performed
above average in all areas.
“I think (the management award
program! is a fairly decent thing to
have, not jus| because I won it, but
because it does give recognition to
someone who has made an effort to
improve. It’s something I think is
worthwhile,” he said.
What it means to Hunsinger is
that his investments in capital
improvements, education, nutri
tion, and other areas, have begun to
pay off.
All the small changes he’s been
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 7, 1991
From the left, D. Byron Hunsinger and wife Pat stand with sons Brandon, 10, and
Leslie, 12, at their family farm noted recently for its management.
making over the past several years
have come together and are show
ing results.
.Years ago, Hunsinger bought
his grandfather’s farm. It had not
been updated for some lime and
Hunsinger continued to operate
foundation for many of our industries. New ideas are
formed out of necessity or curiosity, or are an out
growth of previous ideas. To determine if an idea is
worthwhile or valid, it must be tested. The results of
testing provide new information, which may be useful
to the tester, as well as to a larger group of people in a
related field. Ideas spawn new ideas, reveal new needs,
answer old questions, and help make an industry move
forward and prosper. The Dairy Herd Improvement
Association (DHIA) records program, through testing,
analysis, refinement, and the creation of policies and
regulations, has evolved in this way. It has become a
valuable management and evaluation tool for dairy
men, the Agriculture Industry, and educators. Few
programs can equal its impact on and importance to the
success of an industry.
Modem dairymen and many of those conducting
DHIA programs have little or no knowledge of the first
50 years of testing done by this oiganization. Few of
them appreciate the insight of the early pioneer who
recordedSll.l pounds of butter churned from the milk
produced by a Jersey cow over a 350 day period. The
year was 1854. In 1890 the Babcock Test was intro
duced, allowing milk to be tested for fat content, and
the butter production of a cow was calculated on the
basis that butter was 83.5% fat'
Early records of butter and milk production were
recorded by individual breeders of cattle for their own
use. In the late 1800 s the seven day record was a popu
lar test, usually recorded during a fair or exposition,
and often coinciding with a beginning lactation. Those
milk weights extrapolated over an entire lactation
grossly overstated the amount of milk produced. In the
early 1900 s it was proven that the production of a cow
over the course of an entire lactation provided more
reliable information than that obtained during a shorter
lactation period. The 365 day lactation became a stan
dard period of measurement, and later the 305 day
60a Per Copy
according to the farm design.
Slowly, and especially within
the past three years, the design of
the farm has been changed to better
suit Hunsingcr’s present method of
operating.
“Probably the biggest thing we
record became the industry standard, with 365 day
records made available upon request
Today testing has evolved to provide valuable infor
mation about all facets of the dairy industry. It has
grown from individual dairymen's personal records to
state, national, and world wide computer based testing
and data processing, which helps dairymen everywhere
to manage herds more efficiently and profitably.
This history and perspective of the Pennsylvania
DHIA deals not only with testing and results, but also
with the people who made it happen. Hopefully this
view will give readers a better understanding of how
and why DHIA began, how it has grown to where it is
today, and where it will go in the future.
(Turn to Pag* B 14)
DHIA FEATURES
DHIA Positions Realigned A 25
DHIA History, Perspective A 27
Better Feed Management A 32
Smysers York DHIA A3B
Vonada Herd A 39
Mifflin Herd Management B 2
DHIA Newsletter C 8
DHIA Supervisor Awards C 9
DHIA Services Cll
DHIA Calendar Cll
Lancaster DHIA Cl 2
Gable Formula D 7
See Mein Index Om A 3
19.00 Par Year
did ... I built a new bam three
years ago. I built more silos. Prob
ably, overall, it’s better manage
ment feeding wise than I used to
do,” he said.
The old barn design had few
(Turn to Pago A 22)