A3B-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 17, 2000
DHIA Service Center, Orchard Road, University Park, PA 16802
Question: When unex
plained and unexpected
drops in milk production oc
cur, what should we look at
first?
This is the question that I
asked myself a few weeks ago.
I was looking at data from a
herd that was down in milk and
did not know why. The cows
told me that this was real and
not just a perception because of
Dairy
montir
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the staleness of the herd and
extended days in milk. Just as a
refresher, this herd stayed sta
ble at 197 DIM and the per
centage days in milk was in
creasing. At the same time,
they also saw a 12+-pound
drop in milk.
As I proceeded with possi
bilities that would make this
happen I kept thinking that nu
trition had to be the cause. The
drought in the area has hasten-
Thanks to Bryan
r W ve*n (Jla Lion systems* "
ed more than normal changes
in forage and I concentrated on
this fact. I asked many ques
tions and the answers were as I
expected. I should have known
from working with this herd in
the past that they react to
changes as any good manager
would. I also knew that their
nutritionist is exceptional and
probably all these questions
had already been asked. I was
hoping that some detail had
been overlooked and the an
swer would be easy.
We scheduled a farm visit
and a week before the visit the
dairyman called to say that
they thought they stumbled
onto the problem. A water
sample was analyzed and what
they found appeared to fit the
production problem. The coli
form count of the water was 21.
In addition, the coliform count
was made up of 12 from fecal
contamination. The farm al
ready has an ultraviolet light
system for water treatment.
This system seemed to fail
largely due to the inability to
keep buildup off the system.
They reacted quickly and in
stalled a chlorinating system
from a local water treatment
company.
When I got to the farm one
of Millersburg,
A Division of
Ventilation
iaf
week after this installation, the
cows were already showing a
considerable response. Bulk
tank shipments were up every
milking and it was noted that
individual cows would come to
the parlor leaking milk. This
was a welcome sign to the
dairy family. Did the water
change in the past few months
due to the drought conditions?
I did some research into
what is considered good water
from a coliform standpoint. Of
course for human consump
tion, the coliform count should
be less than one. Cows arc giv
en a bit more leadway at a
range of 20 to 50 before prob
lems occur. Calves need water
that is also less than one in
coliform count. Since most
(Continued from Page A 37)
and “gain their confidence,”
said Wenger.
“But you have to get to them
early, you have to get to them in
telligently, and you have to treat
them (right) and share some
power and contact and meet
(with them),” he said. This in
volves a lot more than simply at
tending the township meeting
and “taking out an ad in the
paper.”
And if you bully that small
percentage that are against any
type of development, or opposed
to large-scale family farms,
“you’re done,” he noted, with
lost community confidence.
“Act responsibly, admit mis
takes, and share power,”
Teter
PA
for choosing Farmer Boy Ag Systems
to construct his
New - 48’x500’Tunnel Ventilated Broiler
Building and Generator Building
Bullctini
Facility Siting:
Renovations
Poultry contract provided by
Farmers
Pride
Fredericksburg, PA
dairy farms share water be
tween people and animals, it is
advisable to check these levels
and ensure that they are below
one.
Water is the most used nutri
ent by our cows and yet the
most overlooked. I felt some
what stupid for falling into the
trap of taking something like
water quality for granted. Most
of my years were spent actively
dairying with the use of city
water and I did not have to
worry about coliform or other
water considerations other than
taste. If you to stop to think that
an average black and white
cow producing as little as SO
pounds per day will need 24 to
27 gallons water, then you may
be like me and vow not to take
water for granted any longer.
Wenger said.
“What would you pay not to
have your company demon
strated against in the capitol of
the state? Is that worth a thou
sand dollars? Five? Ten?
“It’s not just a permit that
you’re after. We’re talking about
a long-term relationship with
your neighbors, your commu
nity. You have something you
can build upon.
“You can’t take shortcuts on
this. If you take shortcuts on
this, you’ll pay later.’’
Wenger said what was done
in the past didn’t work. “And it
continues to get us in bigger and
bigger trouble,” he said. We
have to be smarter businesspeo
ple and farmers, and better
neighbors.