|
|
February 2009 Pennsylvania Dairy Stakeholders awarded Lancaster DHIA The “Pacesetters Award”
Lancaster DHIA was recognized for its courage and vision in meeting the changing needs of Pennsylvania’s dairymen when it was created in 1992, an outgrowth of the Red Rose DHIA. Today it serves more than 207,000 cows in an area that includes most of Pennsylvania and many surrounding areas. Among the first to break from the parent state of DHIA, their leadership served as a catalyst for forward thinkers, inspiring others to support dairy producers far beyond “milk testing.” With a vision of a profitable, successful dairy industry, Lancaster DHIA’s board of directors is pro-active in seeking out new technologies which will help dairymen be more effective managers and increase their productivity. With 85 employees, the Lancaster DHIA team maintains a “listening ear,” always being willing to provide greater value to their customers. One innovation which provides dairy producers with valuable herd data is PCDART, a herd management software program with pre-loaded management reports, offering quick access to individual cow information and easy input procedures. A companion hand held pocket management program, Pocket Dairy, allows all the necessary information to be accessed cowside. Lancaster DHIA was instrumental in developing Pocket Dairy, piloting the program before it was introduced more widely. It is now being used nationwide. Leaders in Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Lancaster DHIA introduced this technology for cow identification in Lancaster County. With a button ear tag in place, RFID allows easy and accurate identification and the ability to enter precise data into the management systems. Lancaster DHIA compliments the tradition milk testing with a wide array of other testing possibilities, recently expanded with the opening of their microbiology lab which features a culture lab. This state-of-the–art technology offers expanded services including ELISA testing for Johne’s and the ability to perform milk evaluations on specific cows or bulk tank samples. The expansion of their services is aimed exclusively at providing value to their customers, whether large herds or small. From a small organization which broke away from the state of DHIA, Lancaster DHIA has grown to be well respected throughout the nation, providing leadership within national DHIA and serving as a catalyst for others who seek to support a thriving dairy industry.
|
| July 2008 We have launched the new culture lab last November we also started testing Milk Elisa Johne’s this past April. We have teamed up with USDA and PA Department of Agriculture in this effort. There will be several options for producers currently on the state program to use their DHI milk sample for their Johne’s test also. Any herd may send samples using their DHI samples on test day for analysis. There will be more information sent out as it is available pertaining to the state programs. For specific questions please contact our office or David Griswold @ 717-772-2852. There is a brochure for Culture Lab / Micro Lab and the recent brochure on Johne’s. These both are being sent to all producers.
|
| January 2008 PCDART meeting are right around the corner! Check out the event calendar. The Culture Lab is a new branch of the Microbiology lab. Samples can be sent to be cultured or they can be tested for Mycoplasma. Milk, towels, and bedding can all be analyzed. Milk evaluations can be performed on specific cows, quarters, or bulk tank samples.
|
January 2007
|
|
August 2006
|
Past News: |
