Tidy not just a drop in the bucket

SHREVE, Ohio – For Paul J. and Savannah Miller of Shreve, good feed and good genetics have been wrapped in one tidy package.

Homebred animal.

A homebred cow named Jon-Mar Bell Noel Tidy is an April 1985 daughter of Carlin-M Ivanhoe Bell out of Jon-Mar Moneymaker Spice Noel.

Bred by Miller’s parents, John J.C. and Mary Miller, Tidy is classified Good Plus at 83 points.

From a distance, Tidy looks like just another cow in Miller’s herd of 46 cows, averaging 20,810 pounds of milk, 777 pounds of fat and 651 pounds of protein.

But up close, Tidy, who probably tips the scale at 1300 pounds and maybe stands 63 inches tall at the withers, is something special.

Puts it in the pail.

“She is a small cow, she doesn’t have to use much for body maintenance, so she puts it in the pail,” Miller said. “She gives lots of milk for a long period of time, and she hasn’t worn out.

“We keep cows until there is something wrong with them and there is nothing wrong with Tidy.”

Miller also attributes her production to her sire, as Bell daughters have been good milk cows. Her dam left the herd during her first lactation due to a severe teat injury.

Currently, Tidy has one daughter in milk in Miller’s herd. Moo-Moo Acres Juror Special, scored Good Plus at 83 points, and currently in her second lactation, has had four months with over 100 pounds of milk on test day. Miller added that “Special” could possibly do as well as her dam.

Record-breaking.

Tidy has two 305-day records with over 30,000 pounds of milk, including her 12-6 record of 34,530 pounds of milk, 1,123 pounds of fat and 990 pounds of protein.

During that lactation, she racked up her best 365-day record with 40,000 pounds of milk, 1,283 pounds of fat and 1,154 pounds of protein.

She also has two other 365-day records over 30,000 pounds of milk, including 35,790 pounds of milk, 1,128 pounds of fat and 1,049 pounds of protein at 10-2 and 30,560 pounds of milk, 997 pounds of fat and 913 pounds of protein at 14-3.

Her 305-day record at 14-3 was 26,310 pounds of milk, 863 pounds of fat and 788 pounds of protein.

Lifetime achievements.

During the course of her lifetime, she has produced 328,120 pounds of milk, 10,955 pounds of fat and 10,103 pounds of protein.

Over 10 lactations, this averages out to about 32,812 pounds of milk, 1,095.5 pounds of fat and 1,010.3 pounds of protein and roughly 25 times her body weight in milk.

This also makes her the high active lifetime producer in Holmes County for 2000, according to Dean Slates, agricultural agent with OSU Extension.

“Each year we recognized a high lifetime producer,” Slates said. “Tidy is a fantastic cow in her own right. You don’t find too many 300,000 pound cows out there. Our DHI committee liked the idea of recognizing her.”

Tidy has it covered.

In addition to the usual trophy, Tidy’s picture is also gracing the cover of this year’s banquet program. Slates added that this was a logical choice because they needed a picture for the cover.

Tidy is currently the only high volume “teenager” in the Miller herd. Jon-Mar King Mitzie Puzzle, an excellent 90 point May 1983 daughter of Country Home Astro King, left the herd in October 2000 after producing seven heifers, six bulls and 258,100 pounds of milk, 9,712 pounds of fat and 8,765 pounds of protein during her lifetime.

Miller said Tidy is no different from any other cow in the herd. She, along with the rest of the herd, is housed in a free stall barn and milked in a double four herringbone parlor.

Herd’s daily diet.

The cows are fed in one group, receiving dry hay and a TMR balanced for around 80 pounds of milk per cow per day at the bunk.

Each cow consumes about five pounds of hay per day and a TMR ration of 40 pounds of corn silage, 25 pounds of haylege and 20 pounds of grain. High producing cows also receive additional grain from a computer feeder.

“We think that it is good for their health to have long steam hay,” Miller said. “We feed hay before we feed the TMR, it is good for their rumen activity.”

Family business.

Miller credits his parents for their help in getting started in the dairy business. He added that they had been in partnership together before his parents retired.

“My father always tried to raise good crops and good feed and take good rare of the cows,” Miller said. “He used to say if anything was worth doing, it was worth doing well.”