Dairy One Conducts Recordkeeping Workshops DAVE LEFEVER Lancaster Fanning Staff BLUE BALL (Lancaster Co.) Herd reports from Dairy One don’t look the same as the ones dairy farmers used to receive from Pennsylvania DHIA. That’s one of the changes brought about by last year’s merger of the two organizations. To help explain the new system and answer ques tions, Dairy One representative George Cudoc is conducting workshops in various locations through out the state. One of these sessions took place this week at Shady Maple Restaurant in Blue Ball. About 70 producers attended. Cow data for Dairy One members is now pro cessed at Dairy Records Management Systems in Raleigh, N.C. instead of the facility in State College, where the reports used to be generated. “You have some new opportunities that you’re not aware of at this time,” Cudoc told the group. “There are very few people who have the time to make the most of the records program they use on their farm,” he said. Focusing on a few key tools, however, can have a positive effect on profitability. Herd summary reports are the “largest single | DAIRY FARM UIPME NT| W For the BEST products with best performai you can alway count on Muel Give us a call for more information Manheim, Myerstown, Reading, Quarryville, and York Toll Free 866-665-3525 1048 North Penryn Road Manheim, PA 17545 •k Call Today For All Your New or Used Milk Tank And Refrigeration Equipment Needs! A Ist Class Team Together For 35 Years! change” in the new record system, according to Cudoc. The key to keeping records that help farmers make good management decisions is to make sure that all pertinent information is entered. For example, one goal is to reduce the size of the “breeding herd.” However, if a manager decides not to breed a cow because he or she plans to cull it at the end of the lactation, and the cow is included in the data as one of the breeding herd, the report will give an inaccurate figure for the size of the breeding herd. Managers should let their Dairy One technicians know all of this type of information so that reports reflect the herd as accurately as possible. The “stage of lactation profile” for individual cow production is one of the most useful tools for detecting problems in the herd, Cudoc said. The “stage of lactation profile” breaks each cow’s lactation down into periods. If a cow’s production is not peaking in the 41-100 day period, Cudoc said, that’s a sign something is wrong. This tool can also be used to detect other signs of trouble, such as abnormal component levels. (Turn to Page A2O) BEEN GOOD e even better. MDD products Her an excel in dairy cool rage vessels, products are wer: consider 'vation in tank for instance.
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