By Sherry Bunting, opinion / analysis

While the nation’s largest dairy farms may have economies of scale, smaller dairies have traditionally had a level playing field in tools available for herd management and husbandry. 

This is changing as the dairy industry continues to evolve and bifurcate.

All sizes of dairies are essential, especially in Pennsylvania, where the average herd size is 94 cows, and the number of dairy farms was 4,940 in 2023, according to USDA — down 67% in the past decade.

To survive and thrive today means honing management and diversifying income. Smaller herds also benefit from a supportive community to be less isolated as part of a collective ‘milk-presence.’

From timely breeding and a focus on longevity to minimize the cost of raising replacement heifers, to the beef-on-dairy trend for income from more valuable calf sales, reproductive efficiency is critical. It is no wonder small dairy farms are looking to keep up in this evolving area of husbandry.

But here’s the problem: The nation’s largest dairies have the ability to employ vet techs, including those placed as employees on large farms by veterinary practices, as well as those training under a farm owner or manager, or who attend a multi-day husbandry school to learn. 

Many articles in dairy trade journals over the past decade tout the increasingly available tool of ultrasound technology in the hands of ‘regulars’ who are on the farm daily, or often, to breed cows and/or manage repro — not only from an economic standpoint to breed timely and avoid wasting semen, costly mistakes, and unnecessary culling decisions, but also to positively impact herd management. In group discussions, herd owners even talk about what tools will improve the ultrasounding capabilities of their employees or provide a more comfortable experience for them.

The recent 30-day incarcerations of NoBull Solutions’ founders Rusty Herr of Christiana and Ethan Wentworth of Airville, Pennsylvania brought to light the bifurcation in how portions of the Pennsylvania Vet Practice Act are interpreted, and how interpretations may impact smaller farms inequitably.

The Department of State’s (DOS) Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs (BPOA) explained in an April Farmshine interview that the State Veterinary Board adjudications clarify the law with the authority granted them by the legislature, and the legislature is the body to consult for the Section 32 exceptions.

A debate now brews not just on how ultrasounding in conjunction with breeding service is being interpreted as veterinary practice, but also on the Section 32 exemptions. Where is the middle ground?

Robert Barnes, Esq. of Barnes Law LLP and the 1776 Law Center told farmers at a meeting on June 13 that not only were Rusty and Ethan never named party to a case, but their arrests were also unconstitutional, violated state and federal laws, and the state agencies and Commonwealth Court did not have jurisdiction in the first place.

Beyond that, the legal team wants the law clarified in the courts as Rusty and Ethan are back to work, providing breeding services to owners of dairy cows and horses, largely in the Amish Community.

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