The QCS Board of Directors meeting was held at the Clarion Hotel in Cleveland, Ohio on March 18, 2001.

Greg Marrs, Chairman, called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm. The directors present included:

Dennis Funk, NAAB Representative participated by teleconference for the entire meeting. Other persons in attendance at the meeting included:

The Minutes of the March 15, 2001 meeting were approved as written. The Minutes of the June 29, 2001 conference call were amended to note that Ken Crandall had not participated and were approved as amended.

Michael Rector reviewed the findings of his investigation into the complaint that the Central Valley Dairy Laboratory (CVDL) had not complied with the CDCB conversion of crude protein to true protein analysis on May 1, 2000. He reported that the findings were not disputed but that an appropriate resolution had not been reached.

Having failed to resolve the complaint, Michael referred the issue to the QCS Board as stated in the QCS policy manual. The QCS Board discussed the situation and issued the following recommendations:

1. That CVDL reimburse QCS $100 per half day spent + expenses for investigating this complaint.

2. That an on-site audit of the CVDL be performed prior to October 20 to confirm that the protein testing instruments are calibrated to measure true protein and that the required calibration change records are being maintained. The cost of this audit shall be paid by CVDL.
3. That the laboratory manager of CVDL be required to attend all QCS and NALMA laboratory meetings for the next three years.

4. That CVDL send a letter to all affected herds explaining that there was a procedural error with the protein analysis between May 1, 2000 and February 19, 2001 and that the protein values submitted by CVDL during this period were crude protein rather than true protein and therefore, were slightly higher than they should have been.

5. That CVDL send a letter to each certified field service provider and dairy records processing center informing them that there was a procedural error in CVDL protein analysis between May 1, 2000 and February 19, 2001 and that protein values submitted were crude protein rather than true protein during this period.

The Board instructed Michael to forward this recommended resolution in writing to CVDL and California DHIA, recognizing that a final appeal may be made to the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding if either party finds this remedy to be unacceptable.

Michael reviewed the current status of the QCS audits and the meeting was recessed for an executive session. After the meeting resumed, the Board announced the following decisions reached during the executive session:

1. A resolution was moved and seconded that Michael contact the manager of each field service that has not yet received a final report for their audit for year 2000 and request that the preliminary report for year 2000 be considered a final report of that audit. This resolution passed.

2. A resolution was moved and seconded that field service audits that have been conducted to-date in year 2001 be completed with a report delivered to the manager by August 15. All deficiencies are to be noted in the report with serious deficiencies to be remedied before certification is extended and minor deficiencies to be remedied before the next audit. This resolution passed.

3. A resolution was moved and seconded that a report of the findings of all future audits be left with the manager at the conclusion of the on-site audit, that customer billing occur when the report is delivered, and that serious deficiencies identified in the report be addressed before certification is extended or within 30 days after receiving the audit report. This resolution passed.

A preliminary budget and dues structure was developed based upon current staff and expense levels and included a modified fee structure. Michael was instructed to distribute copies for review by the board within one week.

Respectfully submitted,
Paul Miller
Secretary

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