Three Stark County dairies among state’s best

HARTVILLE, Ohio – Three Stark County dairies attained “elite” status from the Ohio DHI Cooperative for achieving production levels in the state’s top 5 percent.
The county’s top milk producers were spotlighted during the annual dairy banquet April 14 at the Hartville Kitchen.
Paradise found. Paradise Valley Farms, operated by the Paul Ramsey family of Louisville, reached the mark for all three components – milk, butterfat and protein.
The 380-head Holstein herd averaged 29,530 pounds of milk, 1,018 pounds of fat and 873 pounds of protein. The herd is milked three times a day.
Paradise Valley, which topped the county’s production list, is also the No. 4 ranked Holstein herd in the state.
Other leaders. Campbell Bros. Inc. and Circle Hawk Farm also merited elite status from the state DHI.
Campbell Bros.’ 77-cow herd earned the distinction for both milk and protein. The Holstein herd’s production average in 2004 was 26,366 pounds of milk, 947 pounds fat, and 820 pounds protein. It was also the county’s top producer among herds milked twice daily.
Phil Myers of Circle Hawk Farm ranked in the top 5 percent of the state’s Jersey herds on test for fat production, averaging 857 pounds of butterfat.
The county’s top Jersey herd, with production of 17,743 pounds of milk and 604 pounds protein, is also the fourth highest producing Jersey herd in the state.
County ranks. Rounding out the county’s top five herds on test were:
Vereldo Farms: 23,293 pounds milk, 966 pounds fat and 717 pounds protein;
Norwescor Holsteins: 23,299 pounds milk, 863 pounds fat and 686 pounds protein; and
Raber Dairy Farm: 22,622 pounds milk; 837 pounds fat and 701 pounds protein.
Additional honors. App-Fox Farms earned both the quality award and the Paul Stockert Memorial Award for Most Improved Herd.
The quality award recognizes the herd with the lowest somatic cell count. The App-Fox herd stood at 104,000 SCC. The 124-cow herd earned the most improved award with an average of 22,428 pounds milk, 811 pounds fat and 683 pounds protein.
Individual cow awards. The “Jewel” of the Jim Stockert herd continues to shine in the Norwescor Holsteins milking string. Jewel, born February 1989, earned the county’s lifetime production award, with totals of 319,569 pounds milk, 11,579 pounds fat and 9,602 pounds protein.
Behind her on the individual lifetime production list were two Holsteins from the Paradise Valley herd. The first produced 317,394 pounds milk, 12,155 pounds fat and 10,544 pounds protein in 3,739 days. The second totaled 311,635 pounds milk, 12,128 pounds fat and 9,988 pounds protein during 3,548 days.
All told, the Ramseys had 20 cows hit the 200,000-pound lifetime list.
Paradise Valley also had the top producer for both milk and protein in 2004. their top milk producer, in her fourth lactation, produced 42,152 pounds of milk. Their top protein cow produced 1,184 pounds protein in her second lactation.
The county’s fat winner was a Holstein from the Dan Kolm herd that produced 1,652 pounds fat in her third lactation.
State update. Bill Grammer of Sebring, newly seated director to the state DHI Cooperative, updated the local producers on programs and issues.
Grammer said cow numbers on test continue to increase, particularly as some of the state’s newer large herds join the system. There are currently 1,350 herds on test.
Programs like PocketDairy, which offers record interfacing with handheld computers, and PCDART offer farmers and herd managers ways to access computerized records and information quickly, Grammer added.
Achievement award. Jim Cawrse presented the Dairy Industry Involvement Award to Lavern Raber.
Cawrse, a past recipient himself, said Raber worked as a mechanic before farming full-time. Now retired, Raber was active in the county’s dairy industry, serving on the dairy board, and volunteering in his church and community.
Raber was unable to attend the banquet to accept the award.
Directors. During the meeting, members re-elected Brian Ramsey, Mike Yoder and Jim Stockert to the board of directors.
The banquet program included a reprint of the 1972 dairy banquet program cover, which proclaimed the association started in 1919 with 256 cows on test and grew to 4,000 cows on test in 1971.
In 2004, the county’s herds had 3,257 cows on test, according to Dennis Weilnau, OSU Extension educator who emceed the banquet.