DAMASCUS, Ohio — In an industry with little good news right now, milk producers in Columbiana and Mahoning counties gathered March 23 to recognize the two counties’ top dairymen.
Eight farms rank among Ohio’s top herds on DHI test, earning DHI Elite awards for the top 5 percent of milk component production.
State leaders
Smith Vale Farm, ranked as the No. 4 Holstein herd in Ohio (energy corrected milk), earned Elite awards in all three components and was the top milk and protein herd in the two counties. The 135-head Smith herd averaged 32,232 pounds milk; 1,187 pounds fat; 992 pounds protein (33,496 ECM).
Cold Run Jerseys, David and Jim Herron, is the top Jersey herd in Ohio and led the two counties in butterfat production. The 249-head herd earned Elite awards in all components, and averaged 23,275 pounds milk; 1,285 pounds fat; and 880 pounds protein, for energy corrected milk production of 30,980 pounds.
Other Elite herds
Other local dairy farms earning DHI Elite production awards were:
- Lowmiller Farms, which is ranked eighth in the state’s Holstein herds, 31,436 pounds milk; 1,172 pounds fat; 961 pounds protein;
- Nature View Farms, Jay Herron, is ranked third in the state’s Jersey herd production, with herd averages of 21,438 pounds milk; 1,041 pounds fat and 801 pounds protein;
- Doug and Marty Dye, 30,138 pounds milk; 1,139 pounds fat and 902 pounds protein;
- Showalter Farms, 29,434 pounds milk;
- Leslie Farm, 1,194 pounds fat; and
- Herron Jersey Farm, 738 pounds protein. The farm, operated by Tim Herron, also received the two counties’ most improved herd award.
The Dyes also received the top quality herd award for a somatic cell count of 88,000.
Individual cow awards
In the Holstein breed, a cow owned by Whiteleather Farms produced 47,389 pounds ECM, which topped all cows in Ohio for milk production in 2017. In the Mixed herds, a cow at Martig Farms produced 38,791 pounds ECM, which was the third-highest production in the state last year.
A Jersey from the Cold Run herd produced 47,639 pounds ECM, and Leslie Farm had the top Milking Shorthorn, with ECM production of 20,440 pounds.
Bill Kornbau received two individual cow production awards. One of his Ayrshires produced 24,040 pounds energy corrected milk and one of his Brown Swiss produced 22,571 pounds ECM.
Randy Mattevi received the Guernsey top individual production award for a cow producing 21,368 pounds ECM.
Big data
Elton Lowmiller updated members on news from the state DHI Cooperative and the National Dairy Herd Information Association. The state co-op provides Dairy Herd Improvement herd testing and lab services, and also provides management for Southeast DHIA, that serves farmers in Florida and Georgia.
At the National DHIA annual meeting, March 6-8, in San Antonio, Texas, Lowmiller reported, delegates passed a resolution regarding data access and use.
The National DHIA delegate base felt it was important to reaffirm the data flow and access to the National Cooperator Database at the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding, but dairy herds want to know where and how data access and use are occurring.
The cooperator database will be asked to provide documentation on data access and use of DHI system data provided voluntarily by dairy herds.
Lowmiller said individual farms can opt out of any data access/use.
Scholarships
The Columbiana-Mahoning DHI board presented $500 scholarships to Jarod Herron and Kylie McLean and is currently accepting applications for the next round of scholarships.
In a board election, Steve Crist and Crist Martig were each re-elected to serve another term. Jim Herron serves as the current board president; Miranda Simon, vice president; Bret Lowmiller, secretary; and Steve Crist, treasurer.
