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, keeping DHIA records will help you:
1. Add 1 pound of peak milk
1 lb. peak = 250 lb. milk per cow x $20.00 = $50.00
$50.00 x 100 cows = $5,000 per year
2. 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 = $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
3. Maintain reproduction
- Every month over 13 month calving interval = $100 milk loss per cow per year
- Bring calving from 14 to 13 = $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
4. Lower cull rates
- Cut your cull rate 5% – save 5 animals for a 100 cow herd
- $1,000 difference between replacement cost and cull price = $5,000 per year
5. 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
DHIA Testing Programs
Lancaster DHIA offers the following DHIA Testing Programs. Join us and get started managing your herd!
- Supervised Testing
- Owner Sampler Testing
- Prime
- Basic
- Lab Only
- On-Farm Computer PCDART for all types of testing (except Lab Only)
Programs also include the following:
- Usable I.D. for Young Sire Programs
- Keeping Heifer Records
- Production Benchmarks
- Herd Comparison
- $12.00 annual fee subscription to Lancaster Farming for all herds on regular DHIA Testing Programs (Does not include Lab Only)
Contact a field service coordinator below and he’ll get you started on the right program and assign you a local technician.
Contact your Field Service Coordinator
Field service coordinators can help you get started with DHIA and let you know who your local tech is.
We have 3 field service areas on the map: Green, Blue, and the Lancaster Area (see counties below).
Contact the field service coordinator in your area.
Lancaster Area Field Service
Becky Hershey
1-717-413-3331
LDHIA@lancasterdhia.com
Becky service the following counties: Lancaster, Lebanon, Berks, Bucks, Chester, York, Cecil (MD), Harford (MD)
Field Service
David Bigelow
1-814-330-5222
davidb@lancasterdhia.com
David services all counties except the counties in the Lancaster Area.
Vermont Field Service
Brett Denny
1-802-233-8662
bdenny@vtdhia.org