Half a century devoted to dairy
When Donald Susa started his career in DHI testing in 1974, a gallon of gas cost $0.53, cows averaged only 10,500 pounds of milk and 30-40 cows was the typical herd size. While many changes and advancements have happened over the past 50 years, Donald’s devotion and passion for the dairy industry are as strong as ever.
Often referred to as Don by fellow AgSource colleagues and farmers, he began his career in DHI testing in Colby, Wisconsin, working as a technician at Central Wisconsin DHIA, a small lab nestled along the highway. Don fondly recalls his early days, dropping off samples at that little lab and testing herds twice a day.
“There were times I’d test 64 or more milkings in a single month,” he remembers. As herds evolved and some transitioned to milking three times a day, Don adapted to meet their needs, spending entire days at farms and catching quick naps between milkings.
In those early years, Don relied on traditional testing methods like pails and scales for over half of his herds, while the other half used DHI meters. Over time, the meters grew larger to accommodate increasing milk production, evolving from 68 pounds to 102 pounds, and now to the 110-pound meters currently used at AgSource.
All DHI records were recorded by the technician on paper, and technologies we now rely on every day – like laptops and DairyComp – were not available when Don began his career.
“I still remember the very first herd I tested, just a few miles from my parents’ home. Testing there became one of my favorite parts of the job, even though they are no longer milking today,” he shares.
As Donald begins a new chapter in life, everyone at AgSource wishes him well in his retirement and thanks him for his 50 years of dedicated service to AgSource, the DHI industry and farmers throughout Wisconsin.
“On behalf of AgSource, I would like to thank Don for his time and dedication to the cooperative and his farmers over the last 50 years. In the few years I’ve known him, he has always been a joy to work with. He is self-sufficient, can always be counted on to get the job done and never missed an opportunity to go above and beyond.” says Mikhayla Westra, Northeast DHI manager.
“I think I can speak for many when I say I look up to Don and am truly inspired by his commitment to our company and the entire dairy industry.”
