It was time. Time for our ladies to get TESTED, and it
wasn’t going to be a true/false or multiple choice kind of test. Sure they were
a little nervous at first, but the test anxiety quickly wore off, and the work
began. Now with it over, all they can do is sit back, relax and wait for the results.
Okay, so it may not have been that kind of test, and our
herd of dairy cows may not have felt any stress whatsoever, but it was an
exciting day for me, as our dairy completed our first unsupervised (owner sampler) test. I had been
talking about this day for about seven years, since I first became a part of
the farm with my Husband and In-laws. Sampling milk from cows was not new to
me. I grew up on a farm that was on what we called official test or supervised test, (See more about the DHI service options at http://agsource.crinet.com/page479/DHIServiceOptions)
but it was certainly a foreign concept to my farm by marriage.
I was excited. Did I say I was excited? Maybe I should tell
you this also qualified in my book as a date night! My husband set up a
babysitter to watch our 3 and 5 year old, I donned my best barn attire, and
across the yard I went to meet with our DHI
Field Technician, Patty. She unloaded the meters, hoses,
test bottles, clipboard and data sheets. We hooked the meters up to our
milkers, got out a waste milk bucket and improvised a table.
It was time to
start milking. Patty stayed with us for the first five cows or so, providing
great advice on making sure the meters hung straight, how to read weights
accurately and mixing the samples before putting a small amount in the sample
bottle.
Then we were on our own. Well, not really, she made sure we had her
phone number, so we could call or text if we had any problems.
The rest of the milking went along flawlessly. My
Mother-in-law had worried our cows would be afraid of the meters or lick them
to the point of breaking, but our ladies didn't even seem to notice the extra
apparatus hanging from the pulsation line.
It was enlightening to see how much
milk the cows were giving and kind of fun cheering on the pet cow, willing her
to give just a little more.
I am not really sure why I didn't push a little harder to
encourage testing on our farm. A little research on the topic revealed this gem
from the AgSource website, “Just comparing average non-DHI production to the average
AgSource member's production shows AgSource members gross over $1,000 per cow
more annually than non-DHI producers through higher levels of productivity and superior
milk quality.” You can bet I will be sharing that fact with everyone this
evening!
Perhaps it was the small size of our herd that made us think
milk testing wasn’t necessary for us, but it can certainly benefit farms of all
sizes. We thought we had an idea about how well each and every one of our
ladies was producing, but now there are no questions. Plus, we will receive all
kinds of additional information including somatic cell count, butterfat and
protein. In addition, reproductive information will be conveniently located on
the reports to assist us in culling and breeding decisions. What’s even more
ideal is test results can be sent via mail, email or fax. Or with a
little additional set-up can be uploaded for use in on-farm software programs. AgSource
also recently released MyAgSource, an online
database and benchmarking program that gives a producer access to all of the
report options that they offer via the internet. This program allows the
user to benchmark their herd against peer herds, sort and filter data, and have
access anywhere they get internet access, instead of, or in addition to
traditional paper reports.
Stay tuned for my next post on receiving and interpreting
our results! – My Father-in-law may not admit it, but he was the first one to
ask me last night when we would get them in the mail!
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Author Brenda Brady is our Communications Specialist. Brenda graduated from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls with a degree in Agricultural Education. She went on to teach high school agriculture for 13 years. Brenda grew up on a small Registered Holstein farm in central Wisconsin and now farms with her husband and in-laws.
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Author Brenda Brady is our Communications Specialist. Brenda graduated from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls with a degree in Agricultural Education. She went on to teach high school agriculture for 13 years. Brenda grew up on a small Registered Holstein farm in central Wisconsin and now farms with her husband and in-laws.
