Our History
From handwritten barnsheets to modern dairy decision tools.
For more than 65 years, DRMS has evolved alongside the dairy industry — growing from handwritten barnsheets and manual records processing into a trusted provider of dairy information, herd management software and decision tools.
1957
DRMS began as “Dairy Records” in 1957 when DHIA Extension Specialists from six states — North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Mississippi and Kentucky — decided to collaborate on providing DHI records to dairy producers. North Carolina State University provided office space, and NCSU Extension Specialist Marvin Singer played an instrumental role in helping establish and operate the center.
There were no computer programs in the early years — just collaboration focused on education, records processing and service to dairy farms.
DHIA testers weighed milk in buckets and recorded pounds of milk, status changes and other herd information by hand on paper barnsheets. Those records were mailed to Dairy Records, where a staff of keypunch operators manually entered the information onto punch cards. The cards were edited and punched again to help ensure accuracy before data was loaded onto reel tapes.
The mailing section ensured processed reports were mailed back to farms along with invoices generated by the accounting section. By 1975, the total cost of a test on 38 cows was $16.
1982
Bringing Computerized Herd Management to the Farm
In 1982, DRMS introduced DART — “Direct Access to Records by Telephone.” Herds used computer terminals to connect directly to the mainframe, input data and print reports electronically using phone modems operating at 300 to 1200 baud.
At a time when most dairy records were still managed manually, DART helped pioneer computerized herd management tools for dairy farms and established DRMS as an early innovator in dairy data technology.
Expanding Technology and Industry Reach
By 1984, Raleigh had grown to support 600,000 cows across 6,000 herds, primarily throughout the southern United States.
Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, DRMS continued expanding its technology and processing capabilities through tools designed to improve herd data collection, reporting and accessibility for dairy producers and DHI technicians.
TPE-Plus allowed DHI technicians to download data, input status changes and milk weights, upload information and print reports more efficiently in the field. PCDart, released in 1986, eventually expanded to support more than 1.1 million cows.
In 1991, PocketDairy and PocketMeter were introduced to provide faster access to herd information and data entry tools directly on the farm. Today, DHI technicians use RFID wands and modern digital tools to collect and manage herd data more efficiently than ever before.
600,000
cows supported
6,000
herds supported
1.1 million cows
using PCDart
1996
In 1996, a merger between Raleigh and Mid-States Processing Center in Iowa formed DRMS, strengthening national collaboration and expanding support for dairy producers, DHIA service affiliates and industry partners across the country.
From its beginnings processing records for 131,995 cows in mostly southern states, DRMS has grown to support more than 1.8 million cows and 8,400 herds nationwide. While many regional processing centers once existed across the country, DRMS remains one of only four DHI processing centers operating today.
Continuing to Evolve
Today, DRMS continues to support dairy producers, DHIA service affiliates, consultants, partners and universities through standardized data, herd management software and modern decision tools.
In 2023, the HerdHQ platform was introduced to provide dashboards, alerts, grids and cow-level visuals designed to help dairy producers and consultants analyze trends, compare performance and support informed decision-making.
From the proven Dart platform to modern mobile and cloud-based tools, DRMS continues to evolve alongside the dairy industry while remaining grounded in the same commitment that started it all — serving dairy, data backed.
“The future is as inscrutable to us as it was to our founders over 65 years ago. The qualities that have made DRMS successful in serving dairy producers are those of flexibility, adaptability, cooperation, realism, and eagerness to evolve to meet change. We will carry this foundation and these qualities with us into the future.”
Asha Miles, PhD
DRMS Director
The People Behind DRMS
