A3O-l3Hcaittr Panning, Saturday, February 26, 1994
DHIA Makes
(Continued from Pago A 1)
in our organization are the field
technitions on the employee side
and the farmers on the other side.
These are the two areas in which
we must work hardest. The county
committee is the most important
committee in the organization. I’m
planning to try to attend each coun
ty board or committee meeting
each year so that I maintain contact
with the grass toots of our organi
zation. We want to work with our
field service.”
The rapid change in the national
DHIA scene has put Pennsylvania
“The most important people in our organization are
the field technicians on the employee side and the far
mers on the other side.”—Dave Slusser, general mana
ger, Pennsylvania DHIA
in the position of being a testing
ground for the new approach that
calls for the elimination of exclu
sive territories for providers of ser
vice. Dave said he believed good
things were going to come out of
the trials of the past few years in
Pennsylvania DHIA. He believes
their experience has prepared the
state association to be efficient and
ready for the competitive age.
“We are in the information busi
ness, which is an important part of
farming,” Dave said. “We can’t
afford to be police officers as we
have been in the past. We can’t
afford the liability. But we need to
provide a good service for those
who want accurate information.
We will not necessarily be the
cheapest, but we will provide good
service at a reasonable price.”
Phil Dukas, national CEO,
addressed the group on Friday and
gave an overview of the changes to
expect in the future that include:
increased pressure on profitability;
increased educational levels in the
area of technology-farmers will
not hesitate to pick up the compu
ter to see what’s available; open
ness to new ideas will be the result
of belter communication, and
higher expectations will come
from exposure to greater consumer
“Our efforts are put toward keeping the most money in
the hands of farmers."- Frank Orner, president, Pen
nsylvania DHIA
service.
“To satisfy these needs, we must
focus on doing whatever it lakes to
satisfy these needs,” Dukas said.
“We cannot convert everyone to
our way of thinking, but we must
give others what they need for their
operations. These needs range
from the intense cattle breeder/
marketer to the commercial pro
ducer. Each group has different
needs.”
Dukas listed general trends as
follows:
Service will be more customer
oriented.
Pressure will continue to cut
overhead.
Employees will be developed to
fit new job descriptions.
Reduced farm profitability will
put pressure on DHIA’s cost/
benefit relations.
Farm production technology
will increase, and DHIA will need
to help farmers use the technology
at the management level.
Economic orientation will
replace production orientation.
President Frank Omer reported
on his vist to the national DHIA
manager’s meeting in California.
He said the farms in the West are
prepared to produce milk with
whatever efficiency is needed to
Adjustments
beat production in the East. Pen
nsylvania dairy farmers face stiff
competition from these dairymen.
In Pennsylvania DHIA, Omer
said we need to develop programs
that suit whatever the members
need. Some herds are going to get
larger, and some are going to
remain small with one person car
ing for the cows and a spouse
working off the farm.
“Our efforts are put toward
keeping the most money in the
hands of farmers,” Omer said. “In
addition, the extension service is
important to us, as they are our
educational atm and they also are
working with reduced personnel.
We need to work with them
whenever we can.”
Omer credited Dave as the new
general manager with building a
team spirit and complementing the
staff. “It’s very important that
everyone from the local level on up
to managment speak positively
about Pennsylvania DHIA,” Omer
said. “It’s important we all work
together to make Pennsylvania
DHIA a strong organization.
Gordon Conklin, guest speaker
at the opening of the general ses
sion, said agriculture is facing a
monumental challenge from envir
onmental concern, animal welfare,
and government programs.
“We live in a society where 95
percent of the people are two or
more generations removed from
the farm,” Conklin said. “We live
in a world where people believe
Elvis is alive and God is dead. Peo
ple act not on what they know but
on what they believe. Education is
not enough. The challenge is to
help people change their beliefs.”
In a look at the 21st century,
Conklin said the number of dairy
herds in the nation would be
reduced to 50 to 75,000 by the year
2,000, but total milk production
will increase. High precision farm
ing is the wave of the future with
focused time frames for pesticide
application and precise fertilizer
application rales.
The average farm will take lar
ger inputs of skills and manage
ment. Prices for farm products will
be low in relation to hours worked
to earn food. Manure disposal will
be a major problem.
Farmers make up two percent of
the population but own 40 percent
of the land surface. This gives an
enormous political potential of
taking away land rights in the
name of preserving agriculture.
“With new information systems
you will be swimming in a river of
information when you only want a
glass of water,” Conklin said.
“Computer services to access all
kinds of information will be a chal
lenge to sort out what is relevent so
you can disregard the rest •
I’m optimistic. Not all will be
well. But over a lifetime, I have
seen that dairymen have shown it
is possible to live with courage and
treat neighbors with compassion. I
hope that’s what you really seek,”
Conklin said.
At the awards banquet Friday
night, Kent and Jodi Heffner,
Schuylkill County, and Bob and
A* DHIA annual meeting are from left, Bill Jackson, vice president:
Phil Dukas, national CEO; Frank Orner, president; and Dave Slusser, general
manager.
Marcia Trotter, Lawrence County,
were honored as DHIA'S Young
Cooperative Couples.
The 1993 herd management
awards were presented as follows:
Ayrshire Breed: 1. Plumb Bottom
Farm, Mifflin County, 91 points;
2. Ardrossan Farms, Chester
County, 81 points, and 3. Dela
ware Valley College, Bucks Coun
ty, 80 points.
Goal Breed; I. Kickadee Hill,
THE PENNSYLVANIA DAIRY HERD IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION
Membership Districts and Directors
ilph Glikins
©
leorge Cut
Q
illiam Jackson
DISTRICT NAME
Ralph Gilkmson
George Cudoc
William K Jackson
Marion Butler
Frank Orner
Andy Meier
John Brodzma
Steve Mowry
Lane Sollenberger
Neal McCulloch
'Brooks Smith
Luke Rebuck
John Wilcox
H Joe Lyons
Dale Hoover
John Catrogiovanm
Don Duncan
Norman Hershey
Lawrence County, 45 points; 2.
Harold & Joan Stump, Montgom
ery County, 33 points; and Susan
Shields, Indiana County, 33
“We cannot convert everyone to our way of thinking,
but we must give others what they need for their opera
tions. These needs range from the intense cattle breeder/
marketer to the commercial producer”- Phil Dukas,
National DHIA CEO
Sieve Mowry
John Brodzina
MAILING LIST
13686 Macedonia Road, Wattburg, PA 16442
455 Three Degree road. Valencia, Pa 16059
RDI Box 404 J, New Salem, Pa 15468
RD 7 Box 368, Wellsboro, Pa 16901
RD 1 Box 88, Rockton, Pa 15856
Route 1, Freidens, Pa 15541
RD 4 Box 355, Tyrone, Pa 16686
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RDI, Box 362, Robesoma, Pa 19561
4195 Old Philadelphia Pike, Gordonville, Pa 17259 717-768-8126
points.
Guernsey Breed: 1. Trotacre
Farm, Lawrence County, 87
(Turn to Pago A 25)
©\
Lane
Sollenberger
Neal McCulloch
TELEPHONE
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