SYRACUSE, N.Y, As part
of an effort to better serve Dairy
lea’s growing milk marketing and
insurance businesses in Pennsyl
vania, the cooperative has opened
a Southern Division office in To
wanda. Pa.
The office, located at the junc
ture of Routes 6 and 220, now
serves as the center of operations
for the new Southern Division.
Created at the beginning of the
year, the Southern Division in
cludes the Pennsylvania, New Jer
sey and Southern New York mem
bership areas.
Dairylea’s new and expanded
milk sales tin the Pennsylvania re
gion have warranted a major in
crease in the cooperative’s pre
sence in that area.
“Pennsylvania is a highly im
portant milk producing and pro
cessing region vital to the
Northeast dairy industry,” said
Rick Smith, chief executive offi
cer for the cooperative.
“In a little more than a year,
Dairylca has increased its milk
sales in Pennsylvania by an aston
ishing 120 percent! As a result, we
are focusing on the opportunities
to expand our membership in the
region, as well as enhance services
SYRACUSE, N.Y. Paying
additional premiums for the pro
duction of high quality milk has
become somewhat of a norm in
the dairy industry.
At Dairylea Cooperative, milk
quality is a lop priority yet the
approach it takes is a little differ
ent. Not only does Dairylea offer
its members a lucrative premium
program for quality milk, it goes
one step further by bringing well
trained resource people to its
members’ farms to assist them in
pursuit of quality milk production.
In some cases, producing quali
ty milk is like solving a puzzle.
All the pieces must fit together in
just the right way.
When Erick and Dixie Cool
idgc, of Wcllsboro, decided to
concentrate on earning additional
income through Dairylea’s quality
premium program, they drew
upon the expertise of their Co
operative’s quality control person
nel.
“Our goal was to enhance our
bottom line, but we had to become
educated about new ways of doing
things. Dairy farmers have to be
educated about improved milking
practices and quality control mea
sures, and 1 commend Dairylca for
working to increase member
awareness in this area,” Erick
said.
Knowing that help was just a
phone call away, he contacted Bob
Manning, Dairylca manager of
field quality control, and Anne
Czymmek, Dairylca area supervi
sor, for some personal assistance
on their Dairy of Distinction farm.
Although the Coolidges had
used approved practices and man
agement tools on their 150-cow
larm, the quality premium re
quirements had been just beyond
their grasp. They figured that one
or two changes needed to be made
on their dairy operation, Lc-Ma-
Rc Farm, to finally cam the quali
ty premium.
They have made seven changes
since beginning this endeavor.
“The Coolidges were commit
ted to doing everything necessary
to qualify for the quality premium
program,” said Manning. “They
worked hard and smart to achieve
their goal.”
Dairylea Opens
to our members and customers.”
Additionally, the Towanda of
fice provides logistical and other
support, as needed, for insurance
and financial operations, and other
corporate dealings.
In particular, the Southern Divi
sion operation is assisting Agri-
Service Agencies Dairylea Co
operative’s wholly owned insur
ance subsidiary in promoting
the new Agri-Service Farm Safety
Group in Pennsylvania, which al
lows farmers to purchase worker’s
compensation insurance at sub
stantial savings.
Thad Woodward, Dairylea’s
general manager of the Southern
Division, is based at the Towanda
office and will oversee its opera
tion. Donna Kerrick, a recent ad
dition to the Dairylea team, will
staff the office.
Initially, business hours for the
Towanda office will be from 10
a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through
Friday. The office telephone num
ber is (717) 265-4521.
Dairylea, a Syracuse-based
dairy cooperative with approxi
mately 2,300 member farms
throughout the Northeast, markets
approximately 3.1 billion pounds
Premiums Paid For Quality
The first change on the Cool
idge farm resulted from a Public
Health Rating. Although the farm
scored 96, the inspector found a
small amount of residue inside the
receiver jar. The Coolidges and
their employees tried several
methods to eliminate the residue,
but nothing worked.
Manning, determined to find an
answer to this problem, arrived on
a Saturday with various chemical
solutions. “I appreciate the way
Bob handled my situation,” Erick
said. “He really works with mem
bers.” Ultimately, the milking
equipment company was called in
to test the residue in the receiver
Jar and the Coolidges’ water sup
ply to determine what course of
action was needed. The company
now periodically monitors the wa
ter supply for any changes. Elim
inating the residue in the receiver
jar helped lower the bacteria
count.
Second, the pipeline Tiller me
chanism was changed. After pull
ing the filter over a 24-mch steel
spring, a tapered gasket is fitted
over the open end. The gasket nar
rows the diameter of the filler,
which slows down the speed, and
therefore the force, of the milk
flowing through the filter. Rather
than forcing small particles
through the filter, the slower speed
allows the filler to remove smaller
particles from the milk.
Third, a routine check of the va
cuum pump and system showed
inadequate vacuum for proper
cow milk-out. “We were finding
that some quarters didn’t milk out
properly,” Erick said. So, a more
powerful vacuum pump was in
stalled on the milking system,
which has helped increase milk
production through belter cow
milk-out.
Fourtlr, responding to Man
ning’s recommendation, they dis
covered that changing inflations
every six weeks aids in complete
milk-out and leads to better udder
health. Manning pointed out that
the rubber of the inflation is de
signed for a specific number of
milkings. Overuse of the infla
tions causes the rubber to become
porous, leading to incomplete
milk-out. When this happens, the
New Southern Division Office
The new office of Dairylea was opened to serve growing milk marketing efforts in
Pennsylvania.
of milk annually. Dairylea panici- marketing network stretching For information on membership in
pates and is invested in a milk from Maine to Maryland to Ohio. Dairylea, call 1-800-654-8838.
cows are more likely to develop
mastitis.
In addition, the harshness and
frequency of cleaning acids, sani
tizers and hot water break down
rubber inflations, which causes
the inflations to crack and develop
porous areas in which bacteria can
grow. Complete cleaning of the
inflations becomes impossible be
cause of these porous areas. Plus,
the pulsating process and the num
ber of milkings affect the lifetime
and durability of inflations.
Fifth, Manning suggested that
the Coolidges change their bed
ding materials, because sawdust
bedding, their original choice,
wasn’t keeping the cows clean. “1
really like the appearance of saw
dust, and dry sawdust is great,”
41st Annual
Cecil County Fair
Ag Showcase Day
August 2, 1994 9:00 A.M.-3:00 P.M.
(Lunch is Noon @ $4.00/person)
Alternative Summer Forages
• Mower plus conditioners
• Rakes & Tedders
• Round Baling (High moisture forage & dry hay)
• Alternative Forages (baled, chopped & wrapped)
• Tillage Demonstrations
Come to the fair grounds at the intersection of Route 213 and
Route 273 and follow the Ag Showcase signs to the field.
Supplies and Equipment Sponsors:
♦Southern States, ♦Hoffman Seed, *Agway Seed,
♦Ag Industrial, ♦Biggs, Inc., ♦Cooper Enterprises,
♦Benjamin Haines Equipment, ♦C.B. Hoober & Sons,
♦Mid-Atlantic Agrisystems
♦Delgate Ethel Murray - sodas
Supportive Sponsors include:
♦Cecil County Fair Board
♦Coop. Extension Service, U of MD College Park/Eastem Shore
♦Cecil Soil Conservation Service/District
♦Central MD Farm Credit Service
♦Maryland Dept of Natural Resources Fair Hill
said Erick. “But, we were unable
to keep the sawdust dry, which
caused high somatic cell counts
(SCCs). We’ve switched to hay
bedding from round bales, which
is more cumbersome to maneuver,
but it has been worth the effort.”
The SCCs decreased after they
moved to hay bedding.
Sixth, the Coolidges selected
the Pennsylvania Dairy Herd Im
provement Association’s
(DHlA’s) SCC results option, in
addition to their basic tests for
milk weight and butterfat. Penn
sylvania DHIA offers a package
of recordkeeping options that
farmers can receive for a nominal
fee. With the SCC option, Penn
sylvania DHIA provides monthly
records that include; the SCC
range for each animal; the amount
of lost income per animal, per day
and per month due to SCC levels;
and the frequency of high SCCs
over the cow’s lactation. “These
reports indicate the high SCC con
tributors in the herd, which we
have found useful for culling pur
poses,” he said.'
Seventh, at the urging of Man
ning and Czymmek, they switched
their milking preparation tech
niques. Before, they used a bucket
of hot water and a towel. Now,
they only use individual towels
and include pre- and post-dipping.
Erick admits this change was
the most difficult. No one, includ
ing himself, liked it at first, be
cause it changed a traditional
(Turn to Pago A 39)