SALEM, Ohio — The National Mastitis Council (NMC) recognized the best in quality milk production, including some producers from Farm and Dairy readership, during the Jan. 31 awards luncheon in St. Pete Beach, Florida.
There were 18 Gold and 20 Silver NDQA winners. These farms were selected from 122 applications submitted for the 2016 awards. Farms were nominated by professionals, such as dairy plant field staff, veterinarians, extension specialists and Dairy Herd Improvement supervisors.
Winning gold from Ohio wwere John Christian and Rhoda Chupp, Sugarcreek; and David, Marie and Mark Miller, Millersburg.
Silver winners were Mark, June, Andrew and Jenny Boehm, Rawson, Ohio; LeRoy and Linda Keim, Wilmot, Ohio; Wayne Martin, Trenton, Kentucky; Joe Neubert, St. Marys, Pa.; Milan and Clara Weaver, Navarre, Ohio; and Raymond Yoder, Jr., Dundee, Ohio.
In addition to milk quality indicators, such as somatic cell count and standard plate count, judges looked at specific details about each operation, including milking routine, cow comfort, udder health monitoring programs, treatment and prevention programs, strategies for overall herd health and welfare, and adherence to drug use and record keeping regulations.
