Franklin County Dairy Uses Technology To Max Bottom Line
JAYNE SEBRIGHT
Lancaster Farming Staff
MERCERSBURG (Franklin
Co.) Computers, good venti
lation, and sound management
help the Hissongs maximize the
bottom line on their 235-cow
dairy in Mercersburg.
Father Ron and his sons, Rick
and Rod, work to maximize pro
duction and minimize labor on
their dairy through using com
puter technology to detect heats,
monitor milk records, and
manage farm records.
With a rolling herd average of
24,750 pounds milk, 805 pounds
fat, and 766 pounds protein, the
Hissongs share management re
sponsibilities on the farm.
“My dad takes care of the
calves and handles the shop
work, while Rod and I share the
herd management responsibili
ties,” said Rick. “Rod does most
of the employee management
and reviews, while I do more of
the purchasing and contracting
of feeds.”
The Hissong’s dairy operation
celebrated its 50th anniversary
last year. In 1949, Ron’s father
Glen purchased the farm. Ron
and Glen formed a partnership
in the early 1970’s until Ron
took the farm over in the early
1980’s. Last year Rick and Rod
incorporated with the father to
form Mercer Vu Farms, Inc.
One of the most interesting in*
novations the Hissongs use on
their farm is a computer system
that detects heats in their dairv
animals. Using transmitters that
are mounted with pouches on
the cow’s rump, the Heat Watch
system indicates when cows
come into heat.
The transmitters are put on
the cows at about 45 to 50 days
in milk. Then the Hissongs wait
for the animal to come into heat.
Every day they check the stand
ing heat list on the computer
and see who needs bred that
day.
“I used to get really disgusted
spending 20 minutes two or
three times a day monitoring
heats and not seeing anything,”
said Rick. “When we got the
Heat Watch system, we didn’t
need to spend that time watch
ing heats. That’s a labor cost
savings.”
According to Rick, the initial
cost of the Heat Watch system
was about $6,000 for their 145-
cow herd. Each transmitter costs
$55, and you need enough
transmitters for about half of
your herd. A farmer also needs
to purchase the software to
record the data.
Once the Hissongs started
using Heat Watch, they immedi
ately saw significant cost sav
ings. “The nicest thing about the
Rick and Rod Hissong formed a corporation with their
father Ron last year. The Hissongs ship their milk to Land
O’Lakes, Inc.
program was that our days open
decreased 30 days and our days
in milk dropped by 60 when we
first started using it,” said Rick.
The Hissongs also use the
Surge Parlor Manager software
to monitor milk records and
Lancaster County DHIA’s PC
Dart Program to manage their
herd records.
“The system helps you moni
tor everything from when to
trim the cow’s feet to when to
dry her off,” said Rick.
Using Heat Watch and the
PC Dart programs, the Hissongs
are currently doing a study to
determine the best time to breed
cattle.
“When we put the informa
tion into the computer, we enter
in how long after the first mount
she is bred,” explained Rick.
“Our most optimal time seems
to be between eight and 15 hours
after the first mount.”
The computer prevents the
Hissongs from having to invest
more in time and labor.
“When we expanded, our goal
was to go from 140 cows to 230
cows and not add any labor,”
said Rick. “With the help of the
different computer packages we
use, that’s what we did.”
Milking three times a day, the
Hissongs have three full-time
milkers. Each milker works one
shift each weekday and milks a
double shift every other week
end. The milking shifts normally
take around Eve hours. Each
milking requires only one person
to run the parlor and move
cows. That frees up the Hissongs
to manage the herd, handle the
feeding, and take care of any
problems.
To improve milk quality and
guarantee dependable employ
ees, the Hissongs do regular em
ployee evaluations and offer
both quality and attendance
premiums to their employees.
The Hissongs also have a new
naturally ventilated free stall
barn that they feel helps them
keep production up during the
hot summer months. The barn
was built three years ago when
they decided to expand the herd
to 230 cows.
“In the old barn we used to
see anywhere from a 15 to 20-
pound drop in production
during the summer months,”
said Rick. “In the new barn, our
herd drops only about five to
seven pounds in the summer.”
The key to natural ventila
tion, according to the Hissongs,
is the sight location of the barn.
“If your barns going to see down
in a valley, it’s probably not the
best place to build a naturally
ventilated barn,” said Rick.
The Hissong’s farm is located
on a hill, so the barn has a nice
breeze going through it most
days. The building has 14-foot
sidewall openings and a 38-inch
high by 38-inch wide “chimney”
or open ridge roof.
“Of course, you’re always
going to have those hot summer
days when there is no breeze
going. But, if I had it to do over
again, I would build it the exact
same way,” said Rick. “ When
you walk into that barn, you
don’t smell a dairy barn just
fresh air.”
The free stall barn was built to
allow for future expansion,
which the Hissongs plan to do in
the next three to four years. Cur
rently milking their herd in a
double-eight herringbone parlor,
they’re already at the maximum
herd size that is ideal for that
size parlor.
“Right now we’re contem
plating what our next step will
be and how those pieces will fit
together,” said Rick. “Ideally
we would like to build a new
parlor suited for 600 cows be
cause that’s what it is going to
take to make the expansion cash
flow.”
With the parlor comes an
other free stall barn plus a spe
cial needs area and a freshening
area for the herd.
“When we look into the
future, our goal with the new set
up is that this farm will send a
tractor-trailer load of milk to
market every day,” Rick said.
“That kind of volume gives you
a lot of power over how and to
whom your milk is
marketed.”
The Hissongs cur
rently run two groups
in their herd. They
feed a TMR ration for
mulated for each
group. The high
group’s ration is for
mulated for 90 pounds
of milk, while the low
group gets a 70-pound
mix.
They use home
grown forages and
mostly homegrown
high moisture corn, al
though the drought
prevented them from
growing enough this
year. They purchase
other ingredients in
the TMR, and they
depend on a local nu
tritionist to formulate
the rations.
The forages and
high moisture corn are
grown on the His
song’s 700-acre farm.
Currently they have
about 400 acres of
corn, 100 acres of
beans, and ISO acres of
alfalfa.
The Hissongs cur
rently raise all of their
replacements, which
include about 174 heif
ers right now. How
ever, after the new
Agway heifer replace
ment system opens up
in Shippensburg, they
plan to send all of their
replacements to that
facility.
Rick started work
ing on the dairy after
he graduated from
Penn State with a
major in Agricultural
Systems Management
& Technology in 1993.
Rod joined his father
and brother in 1998,
after graduating from
Penn State with a major in
Dairy and Animal Science.
Ron’s wife Judy also helps out
on the farm by keeping the fi
nancial records and handling
the time cards. Rick is married
to Becky and has two children,
Ryan, who is three years old,
and Rachel, who is about a
month and a half. All of the His
songs are actively involved in
their local church, the First
United Methodist Church of
Using Heat Watch, PC Dart, and Surge Parlor Manager
software, both Rod and Rick rely heavily on the computer
to keep them updated on the herd.
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In 1999, the Hissongs hosted
Franklin County Fall Farm Fun
Fest, which they enjoyed doing.
“It was a great experience,
and we got a lot of nice compli
ments on it,” said Rick. “We
enjoy showing people what
farming is all about. With less
than two percent involved in ag
riculture, it’s important to edu
cate people about how a
working dairy farm is run.”
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