“Unfortunately, the term risk management can be intimidating,” Krueger said. “It’s important to not get overwhelmed by trying to identify and eliminate every risk your organization faces. Initially, focus on what’s most important to your business while keeping in mind that, over the long term, successful businesses balance risk and reward.”
Read More
The DLG Center in Gross-Umstadt near Frankfurt, Germany, perform quality tests on agricultural machinery and farm inputs using a time-tested philosophy and method faithful to the trusted underlying principles of the internationally recognized DLG tests.
“We know that unbiased validation is important for dairy producers in the decision making process. With the DLG tests on elasticity, tread load, abrasion and slip resistance, DLG has confirmed what we’ve know from our nearly 20 years of history in barns around the world: DCC Waterbeds provide lasting, cow comfort for dairy cows,” said Dean Throndsen, President and CEO of Advanced Comfort Technology, the worldwide distributor of DCC Waterbeds.
“DCC Waterbeds are a popular bedding solution in Germany, The Netherlands and Belgium, so it was important to us to reaffirm to dairy producers that we are committed to meeting the highest cow comfort and product quality standards through being certified by a trusted third-party,” Throndsen added.
Based on test results, the DLG awarded the DLG-APPROVED for criteria that evaluate the comfort and durability properties of DCC Waterbeds for use as dairy bedding.
According to the report, “The DLG-APPROVED test for single value-determining criteria ‘Deformability/Elasticity, Permanent Tread Load, Abrasion, Slip resistance’ includes technical measurements on test stands of the DLG Test Center. The deformability and elasticity, the abrasion resistance, the slip resistance were measured and a permanent tread load was applied. The test was based on the DLG Testing Framework for elastic stable flooring, as of April 2010.”
To view the complete test report, visit www.DLG.org/dcc-waterbed.html
Since it was established 130 years ago, both the DLG organization and the contents of the DLG quality tests for agricultural machinery and farm inputs have gained an excellent reputation.
Over the years, the DLG has introduced many seals of approval in various forms, but they all have one thing in common: they deliver proof of outstanding product quality, based on independent, impartial assessment.
DCC Waterbeds is proud to have achieved certification and received the DLG APPROVED Seal.
For more information about DCC Waterbeds, contact Amy Throndsen at (608) 709-2693 or email support@advancedcomforttechnology.com. For more information about DLG testing, visit www.dlg.org.
Headquartered in Wisconsin, Advanced Comfort Technology, Inc., is a family-owned company that distributes DCC Waterbeds worldwide. ACT, Inc., has been improving dairy cow comfort by providing waterbeds for cows since 1999. For more information, visit www.DCCWaterbeds.com or www.advancedcomforttechnology.com.
# # #
Barn audits by milk processors or evaluations for certifications that you seek as a dairy producer are becoming more frequent and more intense as consumer demand is setting standards for dairy practices and herd health. More and more frequently, we hear from our customers who have recently been audited because they want to share their excellent audit experiences.
In December a dairyman in Montana reached out to tell us that their auditor, who was also a veterinarian and nutritionist, already knew that the herd would be exceptional based on her experience seeing DCC Waterbeds at other dairies. Only 15 of the dairy’s 180 cows, the older cows, had slight hair loss, compared to 20%+ when the cows were on mats. He recounted the struggles he had with open sores, hair loss, and lameness on his previous flat-mat bedding.
This producer is one of many who report zero hock sores and high levels of cow comfort.
“We are part of a specialty milk program, so we have to be inspected each year [by a third party]. One of their stipulations was we have to have at least four inches of bedding if you have mattresses, and we use none. So, we didn’t think we were going to pass,” said Larry Baer of Marshalville, Ohio. Baer has 500 DCC Waterbeds. “The inspector came the first year and had never heard about waterbeds. She showed up at the farm at 9:30 in the morning and didn’t leave until 4 p.m. She looked at the barn, the facilities, the schedule, and closely at the cows. When we got the report back, we had passed with flying colors. We scored very, very high.”
The same story came out of Michigan:
“In 2012 when we went through the Michigan Milk Producers Association verification of cow comfort, we had just one cow out of 140 with markings and bruising on her hocks, but her twin sister had the same problem so it might have been a genetic thing. The rest of our cows have no bruising on their hocks,” said Steve Foley of Millington, Michigan. Foley has 336 DCC Waterbeds for his milking herd and heifers. “Also, they found that 99 percent of the cows show a normal locomotion and were standing properly. A lot of our cows are lying down, which tells you that they’re comfortable out there.”
It is a testament to the comfort of DCC Waterbeds that these outside consultants and evaluators are coming in and supporting what we know to be true with the data to back it up.
We continue to work to share the benefits of DCC Waterbeds with auditors and other industry professionals, so we can continue to help connect the dots between cow comfort, hock health, and DCC Waterbeds.
(c) 2023 Advanced Comfort Technology Inc. and DCC Waterbeds joined the Promat family (Sept 1, 2023)
Promat contact details here.
