Now in its 11th year, the goal of the NDQA program is to honor dairy producers who successfully have placed high priority on producing milk of the highest quality. The NMC, along with Hoard's Dairyman, DTN Dairy, Fort Dodge Animal Health, WestfaliaSurge, Inc., Alcide Corporation, IBA, Inc. and QMI, sponsored the awards.

Dairy farms are nominated for the award by professionals in the dairy industry who work with producers, such as dairy plant field representatives, veterinarians, DHI supervisors, or extension personnel. Finalists from this year's program were judged by a panel of milk quality experts who looked at quality indicators such as somatic cell count, bacteria count and incidence of mastitis. The judges looked beyond just numbers however -- applications were also evaluated for milking routine, systems of monitoring udder health, protocols for detecting and treating clinical and subclinical cases, record keeping, and strategies for overall herd health and welfare. Silver, Gold and Platinum winners were designated from the group of finalists.

The top-rated Platinum award winners, honored during the NMC Annual Meeting, are pictured below.

Click here for a complete list of all Silver, Gold, and Platinum winners and nominators.

Click here to read the "round table discussion" article in the January 10, 2005 issue of Hoard's Dairyman, featuring the seven NDQA Platinum winners and their day-to-day strategies to produce high quality milk [file size 300 KB].

2004 NDQA Platinum Winners
	EMILY AND GLENN BELLER consider "attention to detail not a chore, but what's required to meet the basic needs of cows and produce a quality product," said nominator Mark Thomas, D.V.M. From use of sand in free stalls to keep cows clean and dry to the use of a Lactocorder to monitor individual milkings, this northern New York couple goes all out to stay ahead of mastitis. Their practices include checking heifers for mastitis three weeks before calving.
	HELEN AND GARY LISOWE are repeat Platinum winners. This Gillett, Wis., pair "make cow health and comfort their first priority," reported Jessica Pagenkopf, D.V.M., who nominated them. The Lisowes culture suspect cows and treat appropriately using a written protocol based on severity of the case. Treatments and the outcomes are recorded in a notebook to provide a permanent record. Milking equipment is checked monthly by a dealer representative.
	THE NATHES are repeat Platinum winners. From left: Virginia, John, Brenda (holding Payton) and Jeron Nathe, with milker, Andy Van Havermoot. Jeron Nathe credits his trip to last year's NMC annual meeting for sharpening his milk quality skills. Seven different people, including four nonfamily employees, have helped milk this 220-cow, Melrose, Minn., herd in the double-8 parallel. Last year, the Nathes began using on-farmculturing to speed up use of proper treatment whenthey find clinical cases. Cows are predipped twice aspart of the farm's meticulous milking routine.
	THE SELKES are shown in their new double-8 parallel. Bill Selke (right) and his wife, Sue, and Bill's father, Walter, switched cows in and out of their old stanchion barn during the 12 months of the competition. Overflows were housed on sand-free stalls and a bedded pack. They culture routinely to determine best choice of antibiotics. Treated cows are isolated from the rest of the herd, and the Selkes test treated cows for antibiotics before putting them back in the tank. Their DHI records provide a permanent record of treatments. All milking is done by family members.
	DEAN AND PATTI TOHL (right), shown with key employees Salvardor Estrada and Joanna Johnson, have a passion for caring for animals and producing quality milk. Their SCC averaged just 55,000 on 120 head of Holsteins and Jerseys. Nominator Richard Steel, V.M.D., cites the Tohls' commitment to humane treatment of all animals, sound nutrition, fastidious cleanliness, and careful record keeping as contributing to their long list of dairy quality awards, including being Platinum winners two years in a row.
	DOUG AND LOUISA WESTENDORP (dark shirts) have 95 Holsteins that produce nearly 30,000 pounds of milk and a SCC level of only 55,000. Nearly all milking is done by family members, including their children (from left) Troy, Brittany, Tina (top), Eric, Levi, and Carlyle. Only nine cows were culled last year, just one for mastitis. Besides excelling in quality milk production, the Westendorps host many open houses at their Nashville, Mich., farm to project a positive image of dairy farming to the public. The Westendorps are repeat Platinum winners.
	JACK (LEFT) AND JIM WINKEL, McBain, Mich., had clinical cases in the equivalent of just 10 percent of their cows. Yet, they culled less than 3 percent of their 715-cow herd for mastitis. Coliform mastitis had plagued the Winkels until they revamped their manure storage and switched to sand-bedded free stalls. There is a definite, written milking procedure for the 12 different people, both family and nonfamily, who milked at Winkel Dairy last year. Treated cows in milk are separated from the herd; dry cows wear leg bands for identification. Winkel Dairy is a repeat Platinum winner.

Applications for the 2005 NDQA program will be accepted this summer. Winners will be announced at the NMC 45th Annual Meeting to be held January 23-26, 2005 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Watch the NMC website for more information.