DHI Field Service

DHIA helps you manage your dairy herd using record reports and test results.

Why Keep Records?

Good management = More $$$. Based on a 100-cow herd and some estimated values, keeping DHIA records will help you...

Add 1 pound of peak milk

1 lb. peak = 250 lb. milk per cow x $20.00/cwt = $50.00
$50.00 x 100 cows = $5,000 per year

Lower SCC

• Cutting your herd’s SCC in half increases 1.5 lbs. of milk per cow per day
• Milking 85 cows x 1.5 lbs. milk = 127 lbs. milk per day @ $20.00/cwt = $25.40 per day x 365 = $9,271 per year
• $0.40 cwt milk bonus @ 22,000 lbs. RHA x 100 cows = $8,800 per year
• Combined lower SCC and milk quality bonus for 100 cows = $18,071 per year

Maintain reproduction

• Every month over 13 month calving interval = $100 milk loss per cow per year
• Reducing calving from 14 to 13 months = $100 x 100 cow = $10,000 per year

Every dairy farmer should know...

• Calving interval
• Pregnancy rate
• Days to 1st service
• Services per pregnancy
• Conception rate

Lower cull rates

• Cut your cull rate by 5% saves 5 animals for a 100 cow herd
• $1,000 difference between replacement cost and cull price = $5,000 per year

Maintain optimum age at first calving

• Every animal over 24 months calving age amounts to $100 milk loss per month
• Example: 27 month average age at 1st calving for a 100 cow herd with 34% 1st lactation animals equals $300 per 1st lactation animal x 34 = $10,200 per year
  

DHI Testing Programs

As a National DHIA Quality Certification Services certified provider, Lancaster DHIA offers the following routine testing programs: 

• Supervised
• Owner Sampler
• Prime
• Basic 

Testing programs include…

• on-farm Herd Management Software (Dart and PocketDairy)
• keeping Heifer Records
• production Benchmarks
• herd comparison
• a discounted annual subscription to Lancaster Farming for all Lancaster DHIA routine testing program customers.

Other Testing Solution

• Lab Only

Field Service Leadership can help you get started on the program that is right for you and assign you a local technician.

Below is a list of our Field Service Leaders and the areas they serve.

Becky Hershey
1-717-413-3331
becky@lancasterdhia.com

• Pennsylvania (Counties of Lancaster, Lebanon, Berks, Bucks, Chester, York, Montgomery)
  
• Maryland (Counties of Cecil and Hartford)
  
• New Jersey
  

Arlan Crider
1-717-372-5835
arlancrider@lancasterdhia.com

• Pennsylvania (Counties of Franklin, Cumberland, Adams, Perry, Dauphin, Huntington, Fulton, Bedford, Somerset, Blair, Potter, Tioga, Bradford, Lycoming and Sullivan)
  
• Maryland (Counties of Frederick and Washington)
• New York
  

Don DeHart
1-888-202-3442 Ext 101
dond@lancasterdhia.com

• Vermont
• New Hampshire
• Massachusetts
• Connecticut
• Rhode Island