Characterization of the Management Practices of the Top Milk Producing Herds in the Country

SYMPOSIUM: MANAGEMENT FOR HERDS TO PRODUCE 30,000 POUNDS OF MILK Characterization of the Management Practices of the Top Milk Producing Herds In the Country E. R. JORDAN Department of Animal Science Texas Agrtcultural Extension Service The Texas A&M University System Dallas 75252-6599 R. H. FOURDRAINE Department of Animal Science Texas A&M University College Station 77843 ABSTRACT

Out of 128 surveys mailed to dairy fanns that had been identified by the nine DHI processing centers as the top milk producing herds in the country. 61 surveys were returned. The predominant forage being fed was com silage, followed by legume hay and baylage. On average, 6.7 feed additives and 3.5 alternative feeds were fed. Producers reported the following incidences of metabolic disorders: parturient paresis, 7.2%; displaced abomasum, 3.3%; ketosis, 3.7%; and nonspecific downer cow syndrome, 1.1%. Producers scheduled detection of estrus 3.1 times per day. Only 18.3% of the herds used routine synchronization of estrus. Artificial insemination was used on 94.8% of the cows and 88.5% of the heifers. The most important trait in sire selection was PTA for milk. For mastitis control, 75.4% of the producers practiced predipping, 85.2% used individual paper towels, 93.4% practiced postdipping, and 95.1 % treated all cows at cessation of milking. Increased profitability and lower costs or higher returns were the primary motivators of these producers. Veterinarians were the most frequent source of information, followed by fann magazines. Satellite delivery of educational programs was the least acceptable

Received September 3, 1992. Accepted February 5, 1993. 1993 J Dairy Sci 76:3247-3256

delivery method. Extension professionals need to be cognizant of the producers' preferred information sources and delivery systems to ensure accurate, timely, cost-effective transfer of technological advances. (Key words: management. survey. educational methods, dairy herd improvement) INTRODUCTION

Dairy producers throughout the nation experienced a major decline in fann income in 1991 compared with income in 1990. The average all milk price received by fanners for 1991 was $12.24/45.45 kg of milk compared with $13.74/45.45 kg of milk in 1990, or $1.50/45.45 kg of milk less (14). Individual producers have very little control over the price that they receive for their product; thus, they need to explore means of enhancing efficiencies. In 1991, the average production per cow for 21 selected states was 6808 kg of milk (14). Greater productivity per cow is an achievable goal, as illustrated by producers in New Mexico, California, and Washington, where production per cow is >8182 kg of milk (16). At least two herds in the country have averaged >13,636 kglyr of milk per cow, and a number of herds are producing >10,909 kglyr of milk per cow. Many factors, including climatic conditions, affect a producer's ability to attain high production. The objectives of this survey were to characterize management practices of the 3247

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top DHI herds in the country and to identify socioeconomic factors influencing management in these herds. In addition, the preferred educational delivery method for transferring technological advances was explored. MATERIALS AND METHODS

The top DHI herds, based on yearly rolling herd average for milk production, were identified in 1991 by requests to each of the nine DHI processing centers for names, addresses, and basic management information on a minimum of the top 10 herds that they processed. Additional herds were identified as needed to ensure inclusion of a minimum of 10 herds from each USDA production region of the country. The herds were then surveyed in March 1992 to characterize the following areas: nutritional, reproductive, and herd health management; facilities; implementation incentives; preferred information delivery systems; and future plans. Surveys were mailed to 128 dairy producers throughout the country. Sixty-one producers

returned their surveys in the self-addressed, stamped envelopes provided. The data were summarized (22) to indicate the practices that had been implemented by the top dairy managers in the country, the preferred educational delivery methods, and the future plans of the producers. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

General DHI information on the 128 dairies initially identified by the processing centers and on the 61 returned surveys is in Table 1. The information provided by each processing center varied; consequently, the number of responses per item differed. The herds of the producers responding to the survey did not differ statistically from the herds of the producers that failed to respond to the survey, nor did herds milked twice daily differ from herds milked three times daily. Gisi et a1. (8) reported that milk production increased 12% when cows were milked three times daily compared with milking twice aaily. However, results from the present study indicate that

TABLE 1. General infonnation from DHI records on all the herds identified by the processing centers and on the herds responding to the questionnaire. Responding

Identified Parameter

X

SD

n

X

SD

n

Milk, kg Fat. kg Fat. % Protein, kg Protein. % Days to first service Days open Projected calving interval. mo Services per conception FlI'St lactation cows,, no. Cows in lactations >1.2 no. Cows leaving the herd,3 no. Average age (first calf),4 mo Average age (all cows),, mo Average DIM Average days dry Cows without sire identification. no. Cows without dam identification. no. Cows, no.

11,359.9 401.9 3.53 352.6 3.14 88.8 132.8 13.6 2.2 87.7 3.98 15.9 26.5 45.9 178.9 57.8 45.5 48.7 210.6

956.4 48.9 .29 44.7 .09 17.44 22.2 .77 .52 155.7 9.3 27.2 2.3 5.8 25.9 9.7 153.8 146.4 336.3

128 127 127 116 116 102 113 115 111 128 111 76 108 108 108 118 100 100 118

11,096.3 394.5 3.55 347.1 3.13 84.9 130.1 13.5 2.3 108.7 4.8 16.8 26.1 45.3 174.4 57.7 74.8 67.4 243.7

1,051.5 45.4 .25 32.3 .08 17.2 20.5 .70 .59 203.8 11.3 29.3 2.0 5.6 22.5 10.5 210.7 189.9 416.8

61 60 60 57 57 50 55 55 53 61 51 36 54 54 54 55 50 50 60

'Cows entering the herd that are in their first lactation. 2Cows entering the herd that are in any lactation except the first. 3Cows leaving the herd for dairy purposes. 4Average age of first lactation cows at calving.

'Average age of all cows in the herd at their most recent calving. Journal of Dairy Science Vol. 76, No. 10. 1993

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higher production can be attained through implementation of various management practices, which mayor may not include increased milking frequency. The Dm data indicated a herd size of 244 cows (milking and dry). The culling rate of these herds seems to be relatively high because 44.6% of the herd is in the first lactation. However, 6.8% of the cows in these herds left the herd for dairy purposes. When surveyed, the producers responding indicated that they had 231 milking cows, 26 dry cows, 75 bred heifers, and 131 open heifers. The net increase in cow numbers shows that these producers apparently expanded their herd size during the past year. Of the total cows, 160 were registered. These data, combined with the information on expansion, indicates that the number of heifers entering the herd did not accurately reflect culling, but rather the effects of culling cows, replacing cows sold for dairy purposes, and expanding the herd. The producers surveyed have been in the dairy business for 26.1 yr (range 3 to 70; SD 13.7) and have been on DHI test for 20.2 yr (range 3 to 62; SD = 12.1). Only 3.3% of the producers were <30 yr of age, 39.3% were between 30 and 39, 21.3% were 40 to 49, 24.6% were 50 to 59, and 11.5% were >60. The educational level of the producers increased compared with that shown in a 1983 survey of herds producing >9090 kg of milk (G. T. Lane and R. L. Ricketts, 1983, personal communication). In the present survey, 11.5% of the producers had not completed high school, 45.9% were high school graduates, 36.1 % were college graduates, and 6.6% had some graduate work compared with 8.4, 62.4,

=

19.7, and 9.6%, respectively, in the previous study (G. T. Lane and R. L. Ricketts, 1983, personal communication). The most common business arrangement among the 61 survey respondents was sole proprietorship (52.5%), followed by partnerships between related persons (24.6%), family corporations (18.0%), partnerships between unrelated persons (3.3%), and nonfamily corporations (1.6%). Producers were asked what percentage of their forages were raised on the farm: 63.3% of the producers raised 76 to 100% of their forages; 11.7% raised 51 to 75%; 8.3% raised 26 to 50%; 6.7% raised 1 to 25%; and 10% did not raise forage. Dairy producers apparently spend more time with their cattle and less time with cropping enterprises than in 1983, when 85.2% raised >50% of their forages (G. T. Lane and R. L. Ricketts, 1983, personal communication) compared with 75% in the current study. The predominant forage fed to lactating cows was corn silage, followed by legume hay and legume haylage. Grass hay was fed on a more limited scale to the lactating herd but was the primary roughage for the dry cows, followed closely by com silage. Some producers also fed legume hay or haylage to dry cows (Table 2). Although forage analysis has long been advocated. a wide range of forage analyses was conducted annually. Grass hay was analyzed the least and legume haylage the most; however, the number of analyses was not statistically different by forage. When asked to characterize their feeding system, 34.4% of the producers used multiple feeding systems. Total mixed rations were fed by 67.2% of all producers to an average of 2.9

TABLE 2. Percentage of producers feeding various forages to their lactating or dry cows and the number of forage analyses performed annually on each forage by those producers feeding that forage.

Lactating

Dry cow

Forage

herd

herd

Com silage Legume hay Legume haylage Grass hay Small grain silage Grass haylage Sorghum silage

67.2 55.7 49.2 24.6 13.1 U.5 8.2

(%)

52.5 21.3 13.1 57.4 16.4 U.s U.s

Annual number of forage analyses

X

SD

(n)

5.8 4.4 7.2 1.8 2.9 6.5 2.7

8.8 5.6 6.5 2.6 3.4 8.5 1.6

41 36 31 36 13 11 7

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groups of cows that were fed 2.7 times daily. Cows were fed 4.2 times daily in stanchions by 26.2% of the producers. Parlor feeding was practiced by 21.3% of all producers. Computer feeders were used by 9.8%, magnet feeders by 3.3%, and other Jeeding systems by 9.8% of the dairy farmers. Producers were asked to identify feed additives and alternative feedstuffs included in their rations (Table 3). On average, 6.7 additives and 3.5 alternative feeds were used. Eighteen of the producers (39.1%) used multiple fat sources. Whole cottonseed was used by 72.1 % of the producers. This high usage may reflect the depressed price of cottonseed (during fall 1991 through early spring 1992) more than the continual use of whole cottonseed by these producers. The survey did not investigate long-term use patterns or the influence of price on the use of ingredients. G. T. Lane and R. L. Ricketts (1983, personal communication) reported that 3.4% of producers fed methionine compared with 9.8% in the present study. The usage of yeast has tripled, from 16.9 to 50.8%, and niacin addition has doubled, from 15.6 to 37.7%, when the 1983 survey results (G. T. Lane and R. L. Ricketts, 1983, personal communication) are compared with those of the current study. Producers reported the following incidences of metabolic disorders: parturient paresis, 7.2%

TABLE 3. Percentage of producers (n

(range 0 to 44.1 %); displaced abomasum, 3.3% (range 0 to 14%); ketosis, 3.7% (range 0 to 20%); and nonspecific downer cow syndrome, 1.1% (range 0 to 6.1 %). The incidence of parturient paresis was approximately 50% higher, and displaced abomasums were nearly double, those reported by Varga et al. (23). Reduction of Ca intake prepartum was used to prevent parturient paresis. (13). This survey did not have a complete ration analysis for dry cows or lactating cows; however, because 21.3% of the producers used legume hay and 13.1% used legume haylage for dry cows, the occurrence of milk fever increased as expected. Whether these producers used alternative preventative measures such as reduction of P intake (5) or alteration of the anion-cation balance (9) is not discernible from this study. The incidence of ketosis and nonspecific downer cow syndrome was similar to that reported by Varga et al. (23). In 1982, Wildman et al. (25) developed a body condition scoring system to evaluate the body condition of cows throughout the production cycle independent of body weight and frame size. A chart has since been prepared to standardize further the subjective scoring procedure (6). Gearhart et al. (T) examined the relationships between health and body condition score. Health problems, such as dystocia,

= 60) using various feed additives or alternative feedstuffs. Alternative feedstuffs

Feed additive

(%)

(%)

Bicarbonate Bypass protein source Magnesium oxide

Yeast Zinprol!!> 1 Tallow Bypass fat Niacin Buffer Other fat source Dyna-K1!l2 Dynamatel!l2 Trace mineral 3 t3-Carotene Methionine Choline

Whole cottonseed Dry distillers grains Blood meal Meat and bone meal Molasses FIsh meal Wet brewers grains Beet pulp Cottonseed hulls Com gluten meal Peanut meal Soy hulls Dry brewers grains Com gluten feed Wet distillers grains Peanut hulls

75.4 68.9 65.6 50.8 47.5 45.9 41.0 37.7 32.8 21.3 19.7 19.7 19.7

1l.5 9.8 6.6

lZinpro Corporation, Chaska, MN. 2Intemational Minerals and Chemical Corporation, Mundelein, 3Trace minerals other than trace-mineralized salt. Journal of Dairy Science Vol. 76, No. 10, 1993

n...

72.1 37.7 37.7 34.4 29.5 19.7 16.4 13.1 9.8 9.8

8.2 6.6 6.6 4.9

o o

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SYMPOSIUM: 30,000 POUNDS OF Mll..K

cystic ovarian disease, foot problems, and metritis, have been associated with changes in body condition during various phases of the production cycle. This technique has been widely adopted. Body condition scoring was used by 61 % (n = 59) of the producers surveyed; 66.7% used it at dry off, 47.2% at calving, 36.1 % at peak lactation, 30.6% at midlactation, 27.7% at late lactation, and 22.2% at veterinarian herd checks. Lazarus and Smith (12) reported that 62% of a select group of New York herds received a monthly or biweekly visit from a veterinarian. In the present study, veterinarians were used by 81.4% (n = 59) of producers for a routine herd health program; 75.8% of all cows received a prebreeding exam. Cows were routinely checked for pregnancy every 3 wk on average by 89.7% (n = 58) of the producers. An additional 8.6% occasionally checked cows for pregnancy on the average of 7.25 times per year. Cows and heifers were vaccinated extensively for many diseases (fable 4). The vaccination rates for leptospirosis, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, and bovine virus diarrhea were greater than those reported by Heinrichs et al. (10).

During winter, 63.4% of the herds calved in maternity pens and 15% calved in pastures compared with 45% in maternity pens and 40% on pasture during summer (fable 5). The percentage of cows calving varied by season; fewer calvings occurred in spring (20.7%) and summer (19.5%) than in fall (34.1%) and win-

=

TABLE 4. Percentage of producers (n 60) vaccinating cows and heifers against various diseases. Disease

Cows

Heifers

ter (25.7%; n = 57; P < .01). The percentage of cows calving in fall was also significantly (P < .01) greater than during winter. It was not discernible from this survey whether the seasonality of calving was to attain the higher milk price that usually occurs in fall, to avoid some summer heat stress, or for some other reason. On average, producers had scheduled detection of estrus 3.1 times daily (range 0 to 24; SO = 3.3) for 17.6 min each time (range 0 to 60; SO = 11.3). Seven producers did not indicate scheduled detection of estrus, and 9 producers had >4 periods scheduled for detection of estrus. In one herd, cows were checked for estrus 24 times daily. Producers were allowed to indicate multiple locations for detection of estrus; 66.7% checked cows on a pasture or drylot, 55.0% in the feeding area, 43.3% in the housing area, and 33.3% during milking. The surface on which cows are observed for estrus affected the duration of estrus, mounting activity, and standing activity; dirt was superior to concrete (2). Multiple types of footing for detection of estrus were also indicated by producers; 61.2% of producers checked cows on dirt, 48.3% on grooved concrete, 21.7% on smooth concrete, and 10.0% on other surfaces. Stall mats were the most common other surface. Synchronization of estrus has been recommended as a management tool to assist producers in optimizing reproductive performance (1). Only 18.3% of the producers used routine synchronization every 3 wk, on average, as a reproductive management tool. Washburn and Dailey (24) did not find increased reproductive efficiency in herds that were routinely synchronized compared with control herds that did not synchronize estrus because of the variability between herds and the improvements in the control herds that were

--(%)--

Bovine virus diarrhea Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis Parainfluenza-3

Brucellosis Leprospirosis Bovine respiratory syncytial virus

Hemophilus somnus Blackleg

Staphylococcus aureus Pinkeye Herd-specific mastitis

INot available.

93.3 91.7

93.3 93.3

90 NAI 83.3 66.6 36.7 28.3 11.7 11.7 5.0

90 88.3 91.7 63.3 35.0 56.7 5.0 23.3 1.7

TABLE 5. Percentage of producers (n = 60) using various locations for parturition during winter and summer. Location

Winter

Summer (%)

Maternity pen

Pasture Tie stall or free stall Drylot

63.4 15.0 11.7 10.0

45.0 40.0 6.7 8.3

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TABLE 6. Incidence of reproductive disorders in high producing herds.

X

Disorder

n

Range

59 59 59 59 61

o to 22.6

(%)

Retained placenta Abortion Uterine infection Cystic ovarian disease Dystocia

(%)

9.0 2.7 12.8 13.5 3.3

o to o to o to o to

10 66 58.8 29.4

visited routinely throughout the trial. Because 81.4% of the herds in this study were involved in routine herd health programs, the improvement in reproductive efficiency as a result of a routine synchronization program may not have been economically justifiable. Although not asked in this survey, a number of producers indicated selective use of synchronization. Milk progesterone tests were used by 9.8% (n =61) of producers; 83.3% of that group (5 of 6 producers) used the tests to verify detection of estrus or to aid in diagnosis of cystic ovarian disease, and 33.3% (2 of the 6 producers) used the tests to diagnose pregnancy. The incidence of reproductive disorders is reported in Table 6. Although individual herds had problems with each of the disorders investigated, the incidence of retained placenta, uterine infection, and dystocia were less in these high producing herds than reported by Coleman et al. (4); however, the incidence of cystic ovarian disease was nearly three times as high.

Despite the high production and some of the reproductive disorders noted, the projected calving interval in these herds was 13.5 mo (fable 1; range 12.4 to 15.9 mo), which is above the usual recommendation of 12 to 13 mo; however, further research is needed to determine what changes, if any, need to be made in the recommended calving interval for higher producing herds. Physiological and economic considerations should be included in evaluation and development of guidelines. Artificial insemination was used on 94.8% of cows and 88.5% of the heifers in these herds; the remainder of the cows were bred by natural service. Clean-up bulls were used after 3.7 services (range 1 to 9; SD 1.9). Young sires were used by 66.7% of the producers; 23.0% (range 2 to 100%) of the cows and 17.9% (range 2 to 75%) of the heifers were bred to young sires. Producers were asked to rank various sire selection criteria and to indicate minimum acceptability (fable 7). Using orthogonal contrasts (22), PTA for milk was the most important trait (P < .(01) considered in sire selection. Cheese yield dollars, PTA for type, PTA for fat, PTA for fat percentage, PTA for protein percentage, PTA dollars, and calving ease were less important than PTA for protein (P < .01). Producers used PTA for type for sire selection more than PTA for protein percentage, PTA for fat, PTA for fat percentage, PTA dollars, cheese yield dollars, or calving ease (P < .(01). Although calving ease did not rank high, several producers consider it for heifers only.

=

TABLE 7. Selection criteria used by managers of high producing herds. Criteria2

R8ling l

X 1.88 2.49

PTAM, kg PTAP, kg PTAT PTAP, % PTAS PTAP, leg PTAP, %

2.n

Calving ease CY$

4.12 4.79 5.27 6.31 6.42 6.96

Minimum level

SD

(n)

X

SD

(n)

1.44 1.28 1.52 1.93 2.34 2.03 1.69 2.67 2.07

49 46 46 31 32 29

676.1 23.5 1.07

145.1 3.6 .52 .04 16.1 3.6 .08 2.42 87.2

24 19 21 4 9 9 6 7 5

2S 37 23

-.02 195.6 20.5 -.07 9.67 161.0

IProducers ranked the criteria used (I = the most important). 2PTAM PTA for mille; PTAP PTA for protein; PTAT PTA for type; PTAS =PTA dollars; PTAP =PTA for fat; and CY$ = cheese yield dollars.

=

=

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=

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SYMPOSIUM: 30.000 POUNDS OF MILK

The average cost of the semen used was $20.89, ranging from $4 to $50. When asked about usage of the most expensive semen, 66% of the 53 producers used it for their heifers, 13.2% used it for the cow herd, and 49.1% used it for cows in the top 37.2% (range 10 to 80%) of their herd. Mastitis has been recognized as being one of the most costly diseases in the dairy industry. Several researchers have characterized the relationship between increasing sec and decreasing milk production (II, 21); therefore, higher producing herds are expected to have lower sec. In the present survey, sec were low; 65.6% of the herds had sec <200,000; 32.8% were between 200,000 and 400,000, and 1.6% were between 400,000 and 600,000. When G. T. Lane and R. L. Ricketts (1983, personal communication) surveyed producers with herds >9090 kg of milk in 1983,48.9% of the herds had sec <200,000, 36.9% were between 200,000 and 400,000, 4.5% were between 400,000 and 800,000, and 9.6% were not tested for sec. The comprehensive plan of mastitis control has been developed over several years to reduce the number of new IMI and to decrease the duration of existing IMI. Philpot and Nickerson (20) summarized the control program that included proper milking hygiene, functionally adequate milking machines, dipping of teats after milking, treatment of all quarters of all cows at drying off, prompt and adequate treatment of all clinical cases, and culling of chronically infected cows. Although not all areas were examined in the current survey, the rate of adoption of techniques addressing three areas of mastitis management was high. For udder hygiene, 75.4% of the producers practiced predipping of teats, 62.3% either clipped or singed udders, and 85.2% used individual paper towels to dry teats. Pankey et aI. (18) reported that predipping with good udder preparation reduced the rate of IMI with major mastitis pathogens, esculin-positive streptococci, and coliforms by >50% compared with good udder preparation alone on four commercial dairy farms. Postdipping, considered the single most effective practice for prevention of IMI of lactating dairy cows (18), was practiced on 93.4% of the farms compared with 86.7% in the survey by G. T. Lane and R. L. Ricketts (1983, personal communication).

All cows were dry treated by 95.1 % of the producers; 1.6% of the producers dry treated cows based on sec, and 3.3% of the producers dry treated cows that had clinical mastitis during lactation. G. T. Lane and R. L. Ricketts (1983, personal communication) reported that 45.6% of the producers dry treated; thus, nearly twice as many producers managing the highest producing herds in the country presently dry treat compared with those surveyed in 1983. The facilities were diverse; 44.2% of the farms had herringbone parlors, 37.6% had stanchion or tie-stall barns, 8.2% had parallel parlors, 5% had flatbarns, 3.3% had sideopening parlors, and 1.6% had trigon parlors. Weigh jars were present on 6.6% and meters on 16.4% of the farms. Other features included wash pens in 18.0% of the dairies. rapid exit stalls in 9.8%, automatic take-offs in 41.0%, automated milk recording in 6.6%, sprinkler systems at feed bunks in 36.5%, and foot baths in 55.7%. The average total investment per cow, including facilities, land, and cows was $4696 47). Values (range $1500 to $10,500; n <$1500 were deleted from the analysis. The cash cost per 45.45 kg of milk reported by producers averaged $8.54 (range $3.55 to $13.60; n = 47). Variation in the reported values is great. Some producers may have reported only feed costs, which, however, is impossible to discern from the responses given. When producers were asked to rate several factors on a five-point scale (1 = maximum motivation to 5 = no motivation), increased profitability and lower costs or higher returns ranked 1.11 and 1.38. respectively. Thus, profitability was the primary motivator for producers to increase production per cow. Personal satisfaction, averaging 2.04, was less important (P < .03), and the sale of breeding stock, rating 3.04 (P < .001), was the least important. Responses on the sale of breeding stock were distributed across all possible choices (1 = 11; 2 =9; 3 = 12; 4 = 11; and 5 = 11); no producer responded to any of the other three categories with a 5. When orthogonal contrasts (22) were used. veterinarians were the most frequent source of information for managers of these high producing herds (P < .01). Farm magazines

=

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JORDAN AND FOURDRAINE

were used as a source of infonnation by more producers than all other sources except veterinarians (P < .(01). Other dairy producers, private consultants, university researchers, extension staff, industry representatives, and DHI supervisors did not differ in their ratings (P > .05; Table 8). This similarity is in contrast with the survey of DHIA herds producing >9090 kg of milk conducted by G. T. Lane and R. L. Ricketts (1983, personal communication), in which the DHI supervisor and farm magazines were most frequently ranked number I, extension staff and industry representatives were ranked 2, university researchers were ranked 4, and private consultants were ranked 6. The DHI supervisors appear to have lost favor with 15 producers, who indicated that they would never use the DHI supervisor. As extension professionals design programs, they must evaluate their targeted audience and identify which educational delivery methods are preferred by their clientele. The managers of the high producing herds preferred to receive infonnation in farm publications, by farm visits and demonstrations, through printed fact sheets, videotapes, group meetings, and farm field days. Computer programs, home-study courses, radio programs, and satellite programs were not as well accepted. Computer programs may not be as acceptable because only 44.1 % of the producers in this survey currently have computers. Although this percentage is greater than the 15% reported by Lazarus and Smith (12), computer programs to deliver information to the producer's resource personnel may presently be more appropriate than programs

designed for the producer as the end user. Satellite delivery of educational programs has been used by institutions for higher education (15), farm organizations (17), and extension services (3); however, in this survey of top producers, satellite delivery was the least acceptable (P < .(01) delivery method examined, which is similar to the unsolicited testimonials from Washington (3). Because producers find videotape but not satellite, delivery of educational material acceptable, funds may be better allocated to produce videotape educational programs than to pay for the uplink required by satellite programming. Producers were also asked to rate industry concerns on a five-point scale (1 a major concern to 5 = a minor concern). Although the category of low milk prices was rated as being of the most concern, all of the concerns rated >3 and were not statistically different (fable 9). The dairy producers in this survey were concerned about the socioeconomic factors that influence their industry in the future. In the future, 37.7% of the producers plan to expand their herds by an average of 41.6% (range 10 to 100%), 54.1% plan to maintain their current herd size, 3.3% are preparing to reduce herd size by 15% (range 10 to 20%), and 6.6% plan to sell out. Some of the producers planning to sell out their herds were going to alter herd size prior to selling out; therefore, multiple answers were included. The vast majority of the producers (90%) plan to increase their average production by 866 kg (range 113 to 2273), indicating that, although the producers have already attained high production, they do not think that production is maximal.

TABLE 8. Ranking of various sources of dairy infonnation according to their influence on management.

TABLE 9. Producer ratings of industry concerns.

=

Rating l

Concern Rank l

Source

Veterinarian Farm magazine Other dairy producer Private consultant University researcher EXlension Industry representative DHIA Supervisor \1

X

(n)

1.73 2.03 2.35 2.56 2.78 2.94 3.11 3.53

55 56 54 56 53 54 52

= Frequently to 5 = never.

Journal of Dairy Science Vol. 76, No. 10, 1993

54

Low milk prices Environmental regulations Milk marketing order policies Animal welfare and rights Government conservation regulations Erosion of consumer trust Government nutrition labeling and regulations Foreign competition

It

= Major concern

to 5

X

(n)

l.S2 1.66 1.83 2.21 2.36 2.40

61 58 58 57 56 57

2.58 2.61

59 56

= minor concern.

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SYMPOSIUM: 30,000 POUNDS OF MILK TABLE 10. Percentage of producers (n adoption.

=61) indicating that they will adopt new technology and the estimated time to Adopting

Technology

Adoption time

(%)

Robotic milkers bST Cloned embryos Pedometers Milk weight recording Body weight recording Milk temperature recording Electronic identification

9.8 44.3 27.9 27.9 32.8 9.8 19.7 14.8

The producers surveyed in this study are willing to adopt some of the available technological advances (Table 10). Within 5 mo of availability, 44.3% of the producers expect to adopt the use of bST. As indicated previously, 6.7% have already adopted milk weight recording, and 32.8% indicated that they would adopt this management aid within 12 mo. As one producer indicated, adoption of many of the new technologies depends on the cost and the return on investment. CONCLUSIONS

The top producers in the country, as defined in this survey, are adopting a large percentage of the management techniques that researchers have determined to be beneficial in enhancing production efficiency. These producers want to increase profitability. Although producers may experience some problems, as indicated by the incidence of metabolic and reproductive disorders in herds, they have been able to overcome these obstacles to production by management of details. The techniques adopted by these producers in their search for increased productivity and improved profitability should enable prediction of practices to be adopted by other producers for the same goals. Extension professionals must be cognizant of the information sources used by these producers if they are to continue to link the Land-Grant universities and the producers for dissemination of information. Educational experiences to enhance the abilities of veterinarians and other dairy industry consultants will be necessary to ensure the accurate transfer of current technological advances. New relation-

(n)

(mo.)

X

SD

22.8 5.0 7.0 6.2 12.1 10.0 23.6 12.2

21.8 6.9 6.6 4.8 13.8 9.5 23.7 8.3

4 24 14 13 14 3 9 6

ships may need to be formed among professionals from extension services and mass media and these consultants to fulfill the LandGrant mission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

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