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NALMA Workshop - Tech Tips - Comments
Minneapolis, Minnesota - September 2007
Anaheim, California - September 2006Lansing, Michigan - March 2005
NALMA WORKSHOPMinutes of theLaboratory Advisory Committee MeetingJune 19, 2003The fifth meeting of the Laboratory Advisory Committee was held in conjunction with the NALMA Workshop at the Crowne Plaza in Madison, WI.Jere High chaired the meeting and at least 42 persons attended as participants or observers. An attendance list is included with these Minutes.Michael Rector reviewed the Canadian DHI presentation at the FSAC pertaining to robotic milking systems, stating that the field service providers had approved a recommendation that samples be analyzed individually and combined mathematically with their corresponding milk weights to provide a weighted average. Paul Sauve reviewed concerns noted during on-site laboratory audits including:
Paul noted that templates for equipment maintenance logs, pre-calibration check records, calibration checks and adjustments, and daily instrument logs should provide adequate documentation.Paul stated that he would be requiring more complete maintenance records and better resolution of deficiencies from previous audits before recommending future certification renewals and in some cases, may require follow-up from recent audits before recommending certification renewal.Paul reviewed the Sample Unknowns analysis and noted the following concerns:1. There are about three data entry errors reported per month as the result of using the website calculator to determine the 12-sample total,2. Unknowns samples are not being handled using routine laboratory procedures and are therefore, not representative of normal herd samples,3. Problem samples are not being reported and therefore, are not identifiable to the auditor, and4. There are 10-12 laboratories calling each month to verify their In / Out status.The Committee approved a recommendation to have Paul Sauve, Michael Rector, and Jere High draft a revision pertaining to the Auditing of Calibration Check and Maintenance Documentation section of the CDCB laboratory manual that would clarify the documentation and response time requirements and email it to the LAC members for comments.Paul presented and reviewed a series of spreadsheet templates developed in conjunction with NALMA and California DHIA designed to help laboratories meet the QC requirements and recommended that laboratories begin using them routinely.The Committee re-elected Jere High to a two-year term as LAC Chairman.Paul reviewed the issue of MUN tolerances and presented a recommendation to establish multiple levels of certification based on accuracy. The Committee tabled the recommendation until later in the meeting.During the NALMA portion of the meeting, the following topics were presented:1. Jennifer Garrett spoke regarding communication, dealing with changes, and motivation,2. Representatives from Bentley, Delta Instruments, and Foss provided reports from laboratory equipment manufacturers,3. Representatives from various laboratories and suppliers reviewed laboratory analysis options for Johne’s, forage, and Mycoplasm testing.Jere High led a discussion regarding the consolidation of the NALMA, LAC, NADMA, and FSAC meetings with the National DHIA Annual Meeting in March. The consensus of the Committee was to pursue this course of action for a 2004 meeting in Anaheim, CA with the laboratory meetings on Wednesday, the field service meetings on Thursday, tours on Friday, and the NDHIA meetings on Saturday.John Rhoads shared the results of a Sample Unknowns shipping trial held in 2002 and noted that laboratories have choice of shippers.John also reviewed the Sample Unknowns results for 2002-2003 and confirmed that overall, laboratory results have been very close to reference sample results. The Committee suggested that John submit his findings to magazines for publication.The issue of MUN certification was re-visited and the Committee acknowledged that this was not a CDCB issue and therefore, no recommendation was made to include it in the CDCB manuals. The consensus of the Committee was to have National DHIA list D-value archs at 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 on the MUN summary graph to provide better comparison markers.Jere High reported that NALMA will begin working on a laboratory handbook in the near future.Respectfully Submitted,Michael RectorQCSAttendance ListLaboratory Advisory Committee MeetingJune 19, 2003AgSource Cooperative / CRI................................. Eric Helms, Joel Amdall, Tom DeMuthArizona DHIA....................................................... Kim Layne, Neil HoffmanCalifornia DHIA.................................................... Bill VerBoortCanadian Lab Services.......................................... Paul Sauve, Carol CampbellCentral Valley Dairy Lab....................................... Harry ThompsonColorado DHIA.................................................... John KennedyDairy Lab Services................................................ Dawn FunkDairy One............................................................. Dixie BurrisDHI-Provo............................................................ Ken CrandallEastern Wisconsin DHIA............................... Glenn Schmahl, Dona Winter, Jamie MeyerFoss North America.............................................. Jeff BoedigheimerFox Valley DHIA.................................................. Carol Decker, Joe DrexlerGreat Lakes DHIA................................................ John MikelHeart of America DHIA........................................ Erin FerdinandHolstein USA........................................................ Dan MeihakLancaster DHIA.................................................... Jere High, Jay MylinMid-South Dairy Records...................................... Mark WitherspoonMinnesota DHIA................................................... Bruce DokkebakkenMinnesota DHIA – Zumbrota Lab......................... Muril NiebuhrNational DHIA...................................................... Diane Ross, Greg Marrs, Dave SelnerQuality Certification Services................................. Michael Rector, David YoungmanQuebec DHIA....................................................... Brian CorriganRainbow Test........................................................ Per JensenRocky Mountain DHIA........................................ Brent Clark, Kim Hatch, Teresa MaughanSouthern Counties DHIA....................................... Rick BealerTexas DHIA.......................................................... Debie Van AlstyneUniversal Lab Services.......................................... Paul ProffittVermont DHIA..................................................... Mildred NaultWashington DHIA................................................. Tim ThomasFor a printable form of the minutes click here.For a printable form of Jennifer L. Garrets PHD, Presentation click here.For a printable form of Paul Sauvé CLS, NALMA MUN Presentation click here.For a printable form of Paul Sauvé CLS, QC Presentation click here.
NALMA Summer Meeting 2002July 25-26, 2002Bloomington, MNThursday July 25, Tours to FOSS and Bentley InstrumentsThe group took a tour bus and went to Bentley Instruments or FOSS. They went to the other company if they wanted to after lunch. I have pictures attached in the event page if you want to see pictures from Bentley Instruments.Friday July 26, NALMA workshopNALMA committee member present were Rick Bealer, president, Jere High, secretary/ treasure, Tim Thomas and Steve Frank.8 AM Rick Bealer had the introductions- Rick recapped how the agenda items were selected and how the NALMA committee worked- Rick also went over the previous day at the manufacturers buildings8:15 Paul Sauve` of Canadian Lab Services presented Principles and Calibration/Validation- You can email him for a copy of the presentation psauve@sunapse.net- The objective was to help the lab managers understand the key concepts of analytical chemistry- Paul spent some time explaining theory and concepts- Paul defined the basics of what we need to accurately analyze our data- Described the Science of the Infrared Spectrum- He described the formulas of how electronic machines compute the results of the milk test we run- Described in length the slope and bias adjustments we make on our equipment- Paul went into detail, using a spreadsheet, on how to detect outlier samples- Described Quality Assurance and Quality Control- Explained the importance of hourly, daily and weekly Q.C checks10 AM Break10:20 Paul Sauve` resumed his presentation with an overview of the previous two hours and a question and answer period- The presentation overall was helpful for many to learn the importance of precision and accuracy10:45 Dr. Sandra Godden from the University of Minnesota presented Issues of Johne’s Testing- Dr. Godden reviewed the history and how Johne’s was discovered- She covered the recent studies that show approximately 41% of all U.S herds are infected to some levelDr. Sandra Godden from the University of Minnesota presented Issues of Johne’s Testing cont’d- She described how the transmission of Johne’s is commonly transmitted thru manure and early stage lactation milk- Manure is the highest transmission of the disease- She explained in depth the prevention programs available- The biggest is simple management of your calves and infected animals- Not feeding early stage milk and raising heifers as far away as possible from mature cows- To lower current crisis of Johne’s will take 3-5 years before producers begin to see lower levels in the adult herd and 5-10 years before a significant reduction in prevalence is observed.- There are several testing methods available- Manure- gold standard, Blood – recognized as a tool, and newly is milk- being sought after for ease of use and lower cost- Lastly Dr. Godden explained how she saw the role of DHIA’s across the country11:45 Brian Corrigan of PATLQ (Canada) presented Disaster Recovery- He explained how at PATLQ they came up with their current Disaster Recovery program- Brian went over the need for short term and long term solutions- The overall scope of the need based on Financial, Operational, Credibility to customers, Employee responsibilities and Legal requirements, if any- He described the process they went thru to get an operational plan and also tested it for authenticity12:15 NALMA Business meeting- Rick Scheele stepped down as Lab Manager at Heart Of America DHIA (currently Field Tech in his home area). He served two years of his three year term on the NALMA committee.- Steve Frank decided to take a breather after many years of service to NALMA. We are thankful for his efforts on our behalf- Elections were held; John Rhoads of Eastern Lab Service was elected to a 3-year term, Brian Corrigan of PATLQ was elected to finish the 1-year term of Rick Scheele.- The NALMA Meeting for 2003 is set for Anaheim California in June (date forthcoming)Meeting Adjourned- NALMA committee met briefly and elected officers- Jere High was elected president, John Rhoads Vice-President and Tim Thomas secretary/ treasureRespectfully Submitted,Jere HighClick here to print in Abobe Accrobat Reader
Tech TipMany of the chemicals used for milk analysis are mixed at the lab using either distilled or DI water. It's worth reviewing your water source from time to time to make sure the quality required is being maintained. We recently experienced a problem with our water source. The filters inside the DI tank were deteriorating, leaving small particles of the filter in the water. These small particles were clogging up the flow system on our analyzers. The needles on the Bentley Somatic Cell counters were the most susceptible. This problem was not easily detected because the particles were quite small and not easily seen. It was hard to find since it started out slowly and got progressively worse. Replacing the tanks solved the problem.
CommentsI would like to take this opportunity to invite anyone that is planning a meeting or seminar that would be of interest or benefit to Lab Managers, to send me the information and I will post it on this web site. Jere High
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