Minnesota DHIA missed some remarkable production numbers in our annual summary.  Here are the corrections, with our apology.   Our congratulations to both these herds on outstanding production.

The state's high Guernsey herd by dollar value was missed.  Tom & Jody Luebke P1 of  Mayer had 7 tests, all supervised and had annual  % Milk Sold of 102, and a Rolling Herd Average of 17,731 pounds of milk,  950 pounds of butterfat, 624 pounds of protein, and USDA Dollar Value of $2,861 on 14 Guernseys.  The Luebkes were the high producing Guernsey herd in Minnesota for 2003.

The 10th High Herd on the Honor Roll was also omitted by mistake.  Speltz Dairy, of Altura, had 12 supervised tests with annual Milk Sold at 101%, milking 3X, with 148 Holsteins, RHA for Milk is 30,288 pounds, 1049 pounds of butterfat, 882 pounds of protein, and USDA Dollar Value of $3,758.

Herd Turnover = 100 X Cows that left during past year / RHA cows

The "average number of cows" used in Herd Turnover is the base number of  cows used to calculate the RHA. In old terminology it is the number of  Cow-years for the RHA. It is not printed on the New Herd Summary but can be located on the Condensed Report as the Number of Cows in RHA.  Average  is 38%

For DHIA herds as of the end of May.  Herds over 23,000 RHA milk are at 39%.

% Cull = 100 X Cows that left the herd during the past year / (cows currently in the herd + left herd cows)

The % Cull is calculated for three lactation groups as well as overall. To tie all these values together and because we do not have an historical value readily available for individual lactations a different denominator was chosen. The number of cows is the number currently in the herd. The idea is to express what portion of the cows that had an opportunity to produce were removed.  Average % Cull is 26%.

% New Infections = Number of cows over 200,000 SCC on this test that were under 200,000 on the last test/Number of cows under 200,000 on the last test and still had an SCC this test.  This number tells us what percent of the cows who could have been infected with subclinical mastitis between the last test and this one, actually were.  Let's say you have a 100 cow dairy.  If you had only 10 cows that were under 200,000 SCC on the last test and 2 of those are over 200,000 on this test, you would have 20% new infections.  Fresh cows are not counted here since they had no SCC on the last test.  They appear in their  own column to the left of New Infections.  Average New Infections is 11%.  According to Dr. Jeff Reneau fo the U of M, % New Infections is the most dynamic indicator of where SCC in your herd is headed.  Reneau and Dr. Ralph Farnsworth believe that if you can hold the New Infection Rate under 5% for several months in a row, the herd SCC will drop.  During May, 1080 herds met that goal of % New Infections under 5%.

Did you ever want a pocket size list of information on your cows to look at in the barn? Your Field Rep can give you such a list on sample day.  In Dairy Comp 305, your Field Rep can type in "PALM" on the command line to get a "4 quadrant" report. Like your action lists. You can then cut the sheets into quarters, staple them together and put them in your pocket. This will give you a list of all milking cows by Name, their milk weight, days in milk, reproductive status, days since last heat, and days carried calf. You can also change any of the other items, but you can only have a total of 6 items on the report.  Note that this report will be sent directly to the printer. Please make sure that your Field Rep has the printer connected to the computer and turned on.

Jeri Hanson recognized as "Outstanding Field Rep"
Minnesota DHIA recently recognized Field Representative, Jeri Hanson for her exceptional performance for 2002.
Jeri has been a Field Representative since November of 2001. Currently, there are 40 herds in her unit, which includes the counties of Brown, Jackson, Redwood and Renville.

Jeri has been involved with the Minnesota Dairy Industry for many years. She was raised on a dairy farm near Sleepy Eye where she worked closely with her family. This hard work would lead her to an education as a Veterinary Medicine Technician and a position at the Sleepy Eye Vet Clinic where she would serve many of the same dairy producers as she does now. Jeri is also involved in her community. She attended the Blandin Leadership Training in Grand Rapids, which helps her play an active role in the Bridging Brown County program.
Jeri, her husband children now reside in Comfrey where they raise corn, beans and some oats. They also contract feed hogs and raise a small herd of Registered Hereford cows and calves. Jeri and her family are active members with the 4-H program in Brown County where they exhibit cattle, hogs, poultry and pets. Jeri and her husband also serve as 4-H leaders and have done so for 13 years. In her spare time, Jeri's hobbies include riding horses, reading and visiting with family and friends.

Manure Testing for Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous, and Potassium (K) has doubled this year over any previous year.  The Lab tests manure for custom applicators and producers if all types of livestock as well as poultry.  There has been a large increase in the producers interest in water quality, both ground water and surface runoff.  By running an analysis and working with your crop consultant or fertilizer dealer, there is money saved on commercial fertilizer.  By calling 800-369-2697, Stearns Central Lab will provide postage-paid kits to use when sending a sample for analysis.  The charge for N, P, and K testing is $20 for either liquid or solid samples.  Guidelines on how to take a sample that is representative of the total manure are included in the kit.

Forage Testing is also available.  The Stearns Lab offers testing of all forages on Near Infrared (NIR) or Wet Chemistry.  The lab processes up to 250 samples per day for DHIA members, cooperatives, feed companies, commercial hay producers and hay auctions.  Samples are being tested from as far away as Texas, Washington, and Canada.  When Minnesota customers mail in samples one day, the lab receives them the next forenoon and will have them tested with the results E-mailed or faxed the same afternoon for quick one-day turnaround time.  Results may also be mailed out.  The cost is $10 for NIR.  To receive free sample bags, input forms, and postage paid mailers, call us at 800-369-2697.

Minnesota DHIA recently recognized Field Representative, Mark Jaeger for his exceptional performance for 2002.  Mark is from Gibbon, and has been a Field Representative for Sibley County DHIA since February, 1983.   Currently, in Mark's unit, there are 49 herds.  Mark started 5 of those as new herds on DHIA in 2002.

Mark is also active with the Minnesota 4-H program during the Minnesota State Fair. He currently serves as the Minnesota 4-H Dairy Goat Show Coordinator.  In the past, he served as a Director for the Minnesota Dairy Goat Association for 2 years.  Mark has maintained his own herd of milking goats for the past 17 years.   Mark has been a Sibley County resident all his life.

On behalf of Minnesota DHIA and the dairymen you serve, we honor and congratulate Mark on his efforts.

Culture results can provide you with valuable decision-making information. By knowing which mastitis pathogens are infecting the high SCC cows in your herd, you can target management decisions for greatest impact.   In General, reduction and/or preventing new infections will depend on appropriate milking procedures, comfort and housing for both dry and milking cows, heifer rearing, and appropriate dry cow management.  Identifying infections early will allow you to make management changes that will have the greatest impact and result in fewer new infections.

Here are some general guidelines for the use of Bulk tank and Individual cow cultures:

§         Use Bulk Tank cultures to determine if contagious organisms are present. If so, work with your herd veterinarian to use individual cow cultures to identify infected cows and develop an eradication or control program.

§         High levels of environmental organisms on a Bulk Tank culture are usually an indication of poor udder prepping, and/or bedding management issues.  If that is the case, environmental infections may be a major problem for the dairy.  The types of organisms on the Bulk Tank culture may be an indication of the kinds of infections cows will have, but most of the bacteria on the report are coming from the manure or other contamination that was still on the teats when the unit was attached.  The actual number of bacteria coming from the milk of cows infected with environmental organisms is relatively low.

§         If a Bulk tank culture showed high environmental levels, udder prepping and other management changes should be made and then another Bulk Tank culture should be done to determine the effectiveness of the changes.

§         Many dairies that have a number of different people doing the milking use monthly bulk tank cultures as a monitoring tool.

§         On smaller dairies annual, semiannual, or quarterly Bulk Tank cultures are useful to identify potential problems.

§         Individual cow cultures will often include chronically High SCC cows, fresh cows, newly infected cows, or cows soon to be dried off.  Antibiotic sensitivities can be done to assist dairymen and their Veterinarians in designing treatment protocols.

Many Minnesota DHIA Field Representatives have received training in sampling techniques developed by the University of Minnesota and will be happy to assist dairymen in taking samples that will provide accurate culture results. All listed below have been trained on tank samples.  Those with an x in the cows column also have been trained to sample individual cows.  Field Representatives can send culture samples to the lab of the dairymen's choice when they are on the farm for DHIA testing.   We commonly send samples to the Stearns DHIA Lab or the University of Minnesota.