Minnesota DHIA News

A PUBLICATION OF MINNESOTA DHIA Volume 7, Issue 8 August 2007

DHIA Scholarships Deadline Approaching

September 30 is the deadline for applications for $500 DHIA Scholarships. DHIA members and DHIA employees and their families are eligible. Applications are available from your DHIA Field Rep on sample day, on the National DHIA website www.DHIA.org, or by calling our office at 800-827-3442. Last year, there were 11 winners from Minnesota DHIA membership.

Fastest Service

If you have internet access, you can access your reports within seconds of processing being completed. This will be a nice feature (and its free right now) for weekends and holidays. You will get a message at logon that says there will be a $2 charge. That will be covered by MN DHIA, so there will be no charge to you. This access will save you time and if you choose to access data here instead of by mail, it will save costs to MN DHIA.

1. Logon to www.DRMS.org

2. Select “Producer Services” from the top green bar.

3. select “DHIA Reports” under the “Producer Products” header

4. Go to the second gold bar called "Web Reports" and click to sign in (set your password the first time in) – you will need your herd code and your access code (the one you give consultants). You will soon receive a letter from us reminding you of your Release Code. Please call if you need it sooner.

5. View this months reports as well as past months (only for months you have processed there)

If your Field Rep has entered your email address into their software, you will receive an email telling you when your herd has processed, and providing a link to the logon page on the DRMS website. Our goal is to attach reports to an email again after some other projects are completed.

If you have comments or suggestions, please contact Minnesota DHIA at 800.827.3442, and press 14, 19, or 35 to share your ideas with us.

Consultant Access to Your Data

Consultants will be able to access the reports on the web as well. They will need your release code and herd code to access any of your data. They will be charged $3 per herd to view reports. Most consultants already receive the Condensed Report and cowfile, so they will not need to access your reports on the web.

Dairy Metrics provides consultants with the ability to look at benchmark data, comparing your herd and their other herds to a variety of groups of herds including most of the country. Consultants who are currently customers of Minnesota DHIA will be automatically enrolled and given access to the Dairy Metrics system that enables benchmarking.

Minnesota DHIA only provides your Release Code only to you. It is then up to you to provide it to the consultants you work with to allow them access to your data electronically. If you want to change your Release Code, please call Minnesota DHIA at 800.827.3442.

Does Quarter Milking make a Difference?

Following the discussion at spring Field Rep conferences, some Field Reps volunteered to help us evaluate the impact of quarter milkers. To participate, they got permission from the herd owner, and then took a separate milk weight and sample from the quarter that was milked separately. The labs at Zumbrota and Sauk Centre donated the lab analysis and helped with data movement. DHIA staff then assembled the data and calculated the impact on the tank SCC if the quarter milk had been added to the tank. In the chart below, “DHI SCC” is the weighted raw SCC average from the herd summary. “T SCC” stands for total SCC for the herd or tank, if all the quarter milked quarters were added to the tank. “T-D” is the difference, or the bottom line of how much the tank or herd SCC was impacted by not including those bad quarters in the tank. Note the wide range of impact on the tank, from negligible to very significant. Note that herd R quarter milked 2 bad quarters, totaling 14 pounds out of a tank total of nearly 1900 pounds and the difference in the tank was 40,000 SCC. Herd B withheld about the same amount of out of about the same tank volume but the impact was only 3,000 because the quarters withheld were not nearly as high in SCC as the quarters in herd R.

	DHI SCC	T SCC	T-D	# cows	!/4 cows	% 1/4	Qmilk	T milk
A	140	141	1	126	1	1%	4	4441
B	82	85	3	57	2	4%	12	2094
C	162	171	9	133	3	2%	32	5111
D	280	290	10	89	1	1%	6	3946
E	204	216	12	93	1	1%	4	3823
F	165	178	13	155	3	2%	22	6124
G	305	319	14	125	1	1%	5	4391
H	234	249	15	63	4	6%	26	2557
I	267	284	17	136	1	1%	12	6296
J	211	229	18	150	1	1%	8	6625
K	118	138	20	84	2	2%	19	3263
L	140	160	20	126	1	1%	15	4441
M	278	298	20	135	1	1%	17	4471
N	225	248	23	51	2	4%	22	2041
O	292	317	25	393	6	2%	34	13192
P	68	98	30	55	2	4%	15	2123
Q	141	178	37	104	4	4%	45	4122
R	107	147	40	44	2	5%	14	1891
S	394	438	44	60	3	5%	15	2464
T	164	246	82	88	6	7%	23	2603
U	53	160	107	68	13	19%	604	2279
V	261	373	112	135	3	2%	31	4333
W	539	833	294	25	2	8%	41	410
			42	108	3	3%	45	4045

Averages appear to be a bit skewed due to 2 herds in this very limited study. Note that herd U is quarter milking 19% of their cows, and that herd W is withholding 2 very bad quarters on only 25 cows and those unusual situations have a big impact. If we remove these two herds and the two with the least impact on quarters (because this is a limited study) we see the average herd reduced tank SCC by 30,000 by quarter milking 2 cows in an average herd size of just over 100 cows. We do note that the amount of milk in the bad quarters was often very close to the average amount of milk in the other 3 quarters. There were 11 cows in the study with quarter milk that exceeded 10 million in SCC, and ranged as high as 26 million. There were 12 cows/quarters being withheld where the quarter milk was under 200,000. Thanks to Charlie Clobes, Jo Pedersen, Nathan Voth, Eugene Stoeckel, Steve Stang, Kevin Knoblach, Tiffany Lesmeister, Josh Johnson, Bruce David, Lester Perschbacher, Rosalie Egge, and Jim Schwingler for their help, and special thanks to the labs.

Lower your SCC - Advice from Dr. Jeff Reneau:

Cow hygiene score card. A University of Minnesota study showed that in herds where environmental mastitis predominate, hygiene of the lower rear legs and udder correlated to SCC. Cows with higher cow hygiene score also had a higher SCC. The average hygiene score for rear legs and udders for cows in this study was 2.95 (on a hygiene score scale of 1-5 with 1 being spotlessly clean and 5 being very dirty) and the average SCC for the 1191 cows studied was 405,000. For the cows in this study, every 1 unit score improvement in hygiene resulted in a 50,000 reduction in SCC. Using the cow hygiene score card, also found on the above mentioned website, you can determine the potential SCC impact of keeping your cows cleaner.

Cows are dirtier in early lactation. Unfortunately this is also the time when they are most vulnerable to getting new mastitis infections because their immune system may be somewhat depressed. Therefore, more intense bedding and stall management should be given to maintain clean and dry stalls for close-up dry cows, fresh and early lactation cows.

University of Minnesota Diagnostic Lab culture records indicate that most of the mastitis in Minnesota dairies is coming from environmental pathogens. That is why the bottom line for reducing Minnesota BTSCCs boils down to hygiene. More effort in keeping cows cleaner and more effort in cleaning teat surfaces prior to milking will always pay off in lowering BTSCC. How about it? Let’s all initiate a “cleaning” in a concerted effort to get Minnesota’s SCC back on track.

Farm Safety Message:

Consider these maintenance items that could save your life as well.

n Stick a new SMV emblem over the old faded ones so motorists can see you better on the road. It's cheaper than defending yourself in a lawsuit if a car runs into your unmarked equipment.

n Apply the reflective markers that outline the extremities of your equipment.

n Repair any lights that are not working on your tractor, combine or drawn equipment.

n Check all guards and shields for proper function and replace any that are bent, broken or missing. Lubricate PTO spinner shields according to the owner's manual so they will telescope and spin freely.

n Starting a tractor while standing on the ground kills a farmer nearly every year.

n Order a ROPS kit and seat belts for your older tractors that don't have them. (Tractor roll-over is the number one killer of farmers—without a ROPS you have a 20% chance of survival; with a ROPS and fastened seat belt you have better than a 99% chance of walking away.)

n Install a fire extinguisher on your tractors and combine. A first aid kit is a good—and inexpensive—idea too. Consider providing a means for two-way communication (a cell phone, CB, or business radio) so you can call for assistance from the field if needed.

Some think of preventive maintenance as a way to save time and money. Think of it also as a way to save the farm—and the lives of those that live and work on it.

July Quality Leaders	SCC	Cows		SCC	Cows
DAN AND JOLENE SCHLANGEN	34	65	WAYNE KOEPP	101	139
SCHEFERS BROS	42	77	KIMM'S DAIRY	103	86
DAVID SCHUUR	43	58	RICK&MICHELLE MARSCHALL	103	131
WINTER VIEW HOLSTEIN'S	49	38	CULLBARR FARMS	104	85
JIM KULINSKI	49	49	JOHN ROBERS	104	21
ART AND JANE STUMPF	52	54	DANIEL HALLBERG	105	60
AB ACRES	56	41	LYNN WAEGE	105	53
PETERM&LYNN HENDRICKSON	58	69	DAVE SCHROEDER	107	32
STEVE SEARLES	60	5	JULIAN + DAVID SJOSTROM	108	52
BREEZY WILLOWS DAIRY	64	36	MARK & CARLA BRUNHOLZL	109	22
KEVIN ANDERSON	67	45	MIKE + BETH DEPPA	109	65
BRUCE AND JODI HEIM	69	158	MARVIN RADEMACHER	109	63
ROBERT MILLER	69	63	HARLAN + KATHY LAPE	109	50
D & J DAIRY	73	99	SCHOSSOW DAIRY	110	60
GERALD SEITZER	74	59	JEFF BLENKER	110	47
RKB DAIRY	74	90	PHILIP & SHEREEN HAUGE	111	45
GARY BECKMAN	74	76	ROBERT SWYTER	111	66
HABERER HILL DAIRY	75	24	TONY AND STEVE WITT	111	39
ACKERMAN FARMS	76	102	SONDAG DAIRY	113	36
RICHARD SCHNOBRICH	77	43	ROD RAY	113	50
MARK KLEHR	78	55	MARLIN PETERSEN	113	37
JOHN+MARY RADEMACHER	78	104	RALPH SWIGGUM	113	61
TOM FUECHTMANN	79	103	JOSEPH FINK JR	113	36
TRAVIS-RICHARD SCHLOSSER	79	32	NATHAN&BRIDGET GIBBS	114	117
RUECHEL DAIRY FARM	80	87	ROSEVEIW DAIRY	114	167
LARRY LEXVOLD FAMILY	80	64	PETER+AMY GIESEKE	114	93
SELKE FARMS	80	157	GOODVUE AYR FARMS II	114	54
DONALD + DARLENE MATROS	83	72	LARRY + BECKY RABE	115	43
RICHARD+TRUDIE MCCONNELL	83	61	JOPPS CENTURY FARMS	115	98
WM MCFARLAND + SONS	84	47	FRANK PATRICK	115	60
JERON NATHE	86	241	GREG PAULUS	115	44
MAYNARD SCHUMACHER	87	50	STEVE AND SANDY SIEGLE	115	53
MARK PIEPER	88	39	JEFF MILLER	115	62
ALLAN DUESTERHOEFT	88	27	DAVID POPOWSKI	115	142
DEAN FRISLE	89	65	JEFF PETERMEIER	117	21
TIM & SUE HOESE	90	38	GARY P LIESER	117	53
DAVID SMITH	90	33	ALICIA THURK	119	30
MATT ROBERT	91	28	JOEL & SARAH PETTIT	119	101
AL + MARK SCHMITT	92	100	STANLEY MARTIN	120	34
TWIN OAKS DAIRY	93	56	JIM AND LAURIE ORTH	120	68
ROBERT + FAWN STAUB	93	30	HENRY SOENNEKER	121	28
KIDMAN DAIRY	94	106	SC0TT AND DENISE GATHJE	121	71
BOB AND BARB PETIT	96	62	HAPPKE HOLSTEIN FARM	122	73
GOLBERGS LAKEVIEW DAIRY	97	71	JOEL & NICOLE GROSS	123	43
WENESS%DAN	97	15	ROMUALD KLIMEK	124	89
BOB & TERRI KETCHUM	98	119	BIRCH POINT FARMS PESHON	124	225
ROBERT SLATER	99	29	BROCHMAN DAIRY	124	76
DARREL + LISA MAUS	100	70	BOB NEUMANN	124	49
DAVE CORBETT	100	35	LYON DAIRY INC.	126	85
GILMAN HALBAKKEN	101	85	DEAN RAUSCH	126	62