A
PUBLICATION OF
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 “DHIA Records”
3.
Select “Web
Reports”
4.
Go to web reports
sign up, you will need your herd code and your access code (the one you give
consultants). On your first visit you
will need to create and enter a password.
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.
45 Years of Dedicated Service
We
would like to extend to Field Representative Andrew Alsleben from Glencoe our
congratulations and best wishes on 45 years of service. Andrew currently services herds in the
counties of McLeod and Carver. Please
extend your best wishes to Andrew during his next visit to your dairy
operation. Cleanliness of equipment, regular
service, and correct data have been hallmarks of Andrew’s work. We thank him for his willingness to help test
other herds when needed as well.
EXPO
Bound?
If you are attending World
Dairy Expo this year, you might stop in at the booths of some of our DHIA
partners. In the Exhibition Hall, you
will find Valley Ag Software in booth 4331.
VAS provides Dairy Comp 305 and Scout software, and a complete RFID tag
and reader system that has become vital in management use in many dairies
across the
Over in the Coliseum on the
main concourse in booth 37 you will find their leading competitor, Dairy
Records Management Systems. DRMS now
processed our DHIA records. You will be
able to see how their website works and look at PC Dart software and the Pocket
Dairy program. They offer a very complete and competitively priced software
package, and have RFID abilities as well.
Still on the main concourse
of the Coliseum in booth 23 you will find the Minnesota Department of Ag booth,
with many MN businesses, including Minnesota DHIA helping in the booth.
Milking Equipment Checkup
Here
are some tips from Dr. Andy Johnson, past President of the National Mastitis
Council and well-known mastitis expert.
At every milking:
·
Check the vacuum level—verify that it is at the desired level.
·
Check the cleanliness of inflations, shells and claws—also look for
tears, holes, twisted inflations.
·
Check the air-vents—a cleaning tool should be readily available.
·
Use the “fall-off” test—with all other units attached hold one unit
upside down so it is leaking the full amount of air. The vacuum level should
not drop more than 0.6” in a properly functioning system.
·
Use the “recovery” test—with all units attached open a milk inlet, or
pull off a milk hose from the milk line so that the vacuum drops about 1”. Then stop the leak—the vacuum level should
recover within 3 seconds. If the vacuum level bounces up more than 0.6” above
where it is supposed to be, the regulator isn’t working properly.
·
Observe cow behavior—stepping or kicking at the units at the end of
milking indicates over-milking. Red or blue teats indicate problems with vacuum
level or pulsation.
Daily:
·
Test the vacuum level by placing a finger into an inflation for a few
seconds. If the inflation pinches or causes discomfort you may want to have
your system evaluated during milking.
Weekly:
·
Pull off a short air tube and listen to the pulsator action—does the
change from vacuum to no vacuum sound the same from each unit and is it crisp?
Annually—3-4 times per year
for larger dairies:
·
Have entire system serviced and maintained. Check pulsation, air flows,
and vacuum level.
·
Have milking time evaluation done.
·
Ideal claw vacuum during peak milk flow should be 11.5” to 12.5”.
·
Make sure all automatic takeoffs are functioning properly.
·
Have milking routine evaluated—timing, teat end cleanliness, proper letdown,
etc.
Properly
functioning equipment is vital for udder health and maximum production
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.
In order to
be published in the year-end Annual Summary for Minnesota DHIA, herds must have
11 tests in calendar year 2007, and must have selected the publicity
option. To check, look at the lower left
corner of your herd summary report. It
will say either “Publication” or “No Record Publication”. To change your option, talk to your Field Rep
on sample day.
DHIA Service Reminders
1.
All reports
are optional on each sample day.
2.
All herds
should be offered monthly tests (12 per year) as a service standard – 56% of
MnDHIA herds have 12 tests in the last 365 days, and we are now supplying twice
a month service to one dairy. One large
dairy is testing the fresh cow group more frequently.
3.
Herds may ask
for a special test at any time, for example you can have a test any time to
help evaluate SCC.
4.
Individual cow
mastitis culturing services are available to all farms. If your regular field rep is not trained in
this area, we will supply one who is, for this special sampling.
5.
Milk ELISA
Johne’s testing is up and running, with about 2,000 cows per month being tested
using the DHIA milk samples.
6.
Computers
should accompany Field Reps to farms, with printed reports available on the
farm on sample day (this does happen on nearly all farms – if it isn’t
happening on yours – it is an exception).
Most popular reports are “Sample Day Downby Milk”, Action Lists (why
wait until the mail comes with the same information?), Reproduction Report, and
Youngstock Reports. Some Field Reps
leave the “Monitor” which tracks and compares data over a year.
7.
Meters and
other equipment should be clean and sanitary when delivered and when it leaves
your farm. Field personnel should wear
rubber footwear and should clean and sanitize the footwear before leaving your
farm. If you have any concerns on
cleanliness, please visit with your Field Rep on sample day.
Don't forget the Dry Cows!
It seems that there is
always more to do than time to do it, especially during busy times of the year
like harvesting. It is especially easy at this time of the year to let the
bedding management of dry cows and close-up heifers slide a little. Animals coming fresh with a high SCC or
clinical mastitis are more prone to other fresh cow disorders, may have a
higher average SCC and lower production for their lactation, and oftentimes
don't get bred back as soon as cows freshening with a low SCC. Keeping those animals clean prior to and
after calving will likely give a good financial return, as well as saving the
time and hassle of dealing with mastitis infections later.
“The best that life has to offer is to work hard at work worth doing.”
August Quality
Leaders
|
|
SCC |
Cows |
|
|
SCC |
Cows |
|
DAN
AND JOLENE SCHLANGEN |
40 |
66 |
|
GARY
P LIESER |
117 |
53 |
|
REWITZER+SONS |
50 |
42 |
|
ALLAN
DUESTERHOEFT |
119 |
27 |
|
ART
AND JANE STUMPF |
52 |
54 |
|
CHUCK
KLAPHAKE |
119 |
101 |
|
BOB
AND BARB PETIT |
59 |
60 |
|
JOEL
& SARAH PETTIT |
119 |
101 |
|
ZUMBRO
VIEW FARMS LLC |
62 |
54 |
|
SC0TT
AND DENISE GATHJE |
121 |
71 |
|
AIMEE
FINLEY |
67 |
118 |
|
HAPPKE
|
122 |
73 |
|
BRUCE
AND JODI HEIM |
69 |
158 |
|
JOEL
& NICOLE GROSS |
123 |
43 |
|
LIESER
DAIRY |
73 |
79 |
|
WITTE
GROSHENS |
123 |
65 |
|
D
& J DAIRY |
73 |
99 |
|
GOLBERGS
LAKEVIEW DAIRY |
123 |
78 |
|
GERALD
SEITZER |
74 |
59 |
|
MAPLE
BREEZE DAIRY LLC |
124 |
164 |
|
ACKERMAN
FARMS |
76 |
102 |
|
BIRCH
POINT FARMS PESHON |
124 |
225 |
|
RICHARD
SCHNOBRICH |
77 |
43 |
|
|
125 |
47 |
|
JOHN+MARY
RADEMACHER |
78 |
104 |
|
JOHN
LORI KOKETT |
125 |
57 |
|
TRAVIS-RICHARD
SCHLOSSER |
79 |
32 |
|
BRYANT
KRANZ |
125 |
118 |
|
TOM
FUECHTMANN |
79 |
103 |
|
DEAN
RAUSCH |
126 |
62 |
|
LARRY
LEXVOLD FAMILY |
80 |
64 |
|
LYON
DAIRY INC. |
126 |
85 |
|
SELKE
FARMS |
80 |
157 |
|
LYNN
& MARY THOMAS |
127 |
35 |
|
HABERER
HILL DAIRY |
84 |
23 |
|
BRUCE
AND CHERYL MOHN |
128 |
55 |
|
WM
MCFARLAND + SONS |
84 |
47 |