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.