AM-Lahcaster Farming, Saturday,' June Id, 1999 QUESTION: How do DHIA records fit into farm management advisory teams? Who should be members of the team we wish to organize? ANSWER: The concept of a team management approach is not a new cme. Organization among team members is the essential character istic that makes this type of man agement approach new and very effective. When I was growing up and first Grazers r so cows won’t knock it over • Leveling stand • Pull by hand, tractor, etc, • Salt block holder • 150 gal &50 gal sizes Also available: steel float-bracket w/1” male fitting Levi’s Welding 1851 Mine Rd., Paradise, PA 17562 717-442-3077 Mon & Tue 8-8:30 AM stalled working on a daily farm, wc did things like many others. We used the services of a veter inarian for herd health issues which sometimes overlapped into nutrition. We also had a feed salesman come by and balance diets, accord ing to what we grew on the farm. Then a fertilizer salesman guided us along for the crop needs. I was too young to know or care about the financial advice given by the loan officer. Lastly, when we were extra pri vileged, we had a visit by the coun ty extension agent to discuss the hot topics of the time, involving some of each of the above. In hindsight, I sec that what was really lacking to get the best from all these people was the timing that WATER WAGON for would have brought all or some of these advisors together. This is where die advisory team approach is different We now realize the importance of coordi nating efforts toward a common goal with the many advisors who come to our farm. I am certain tly not the expert to ask about details of these types of groups. For Pennsylvania dairymen, your best option is to contact Perm State University personnel who are working at putting this concept into practice across the state. I did take the opportunity to attend a couple of workshops that have helped initiate the start of some of these advisory teams. I also have many opportunities to work with dairymen and their advisors at farm meetings, where we discuss PA DHTA records and the stay our cows tell to whoever might listen. Recently, I visited a dairy in eastern Pennsylvania. Although there was not a plan to form an advisoiy team, I felt like we had inadvertently initiated one. Upon arrival, I met with the vet erinarian, the nutritionist, the arti ficial insemination technician, two employees, and the owner. This turned out to be the very best on farm meeting that I had the pri vilege of attending. To me, we had the essential peo ple. We not only had the off-farm professionals who work together trying to improve the herd, hit we had employees, who can provide valuable evaluation input as we discussed the implementation of changes. I recently was asked to be a member of a newly formed adiv sory team for a dairy whose owner feels a bit of stagnation in their herd's progress. I hope to bring this group insight concerning the cows’ performance through DHIA records. This information is key to establishing goals that all members of the team need to work at accomplishing. When discussing who should be on the teams that are formed, most of the obvious people come to mind. Often omitted in that group ate the employees. Bad idea! Another gorup of people who may be missed when faming teams are the DH3A technicians. These are trained professionals with a lot of experience and this talent should be tapped. Average Farm Feed Costs For Handy Reference To help fanners across the state to have handy reference of com modity input costs in their feeding operations for DHIA record sheets or to develop livestock feed cost data, here’s last week’s average costs of various ingredients as compiled from regional reports across the state of Pennsylvania. Remember, these are averages, so you will need to adjust your fig ures up or down according to your location and the quality of your crop. Com, No.2y 2.44 bu., 4.36 cwt. Wheat, No. 2 2.45 bu., 4.10 cwt. Barley, No. 3 1.52 bu., 3.24 cwt Oats, No. 2 1.47 bu., 4.59 cwt. Soybeans, No. 1 4.33 bu., 7.24 cwt Ear C0m—73.42 ton, 3.67 cwt. Alfalfa Hay 88.75 ton, 4.44 cwt Mixed Hay 82.50 ton, 4.13 cwt. Timothy Hay 86.25 ton, 4.31 cwt
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