The Northeast Iowa Dairy Foundation, Iowa State Extension and Outreach and Northeast Iowa Community College will be hosting a series of applied workshops for dairy producers, employees and students. The workshops will be held at Iowa’s Dairy Center south of Calmar and will feature a mixture of classroom and hands-on learning on the dairy farm. Mark your calendar for the following dates and workshops:
April 5-6, 2018: Dairy Management Software
This course will cover the use of dairy management software, including Dairy Comp 305 and PC Dart, to successfully manage data on a dairy farm. Attendees will utilize software throughout the course to work through case studies to learn how to effectively interpret data and apply it to a working dairy farm.
April 18-19, 2018: Seven Habits of Highly Successful Feeders
Learn principles of nutrition and impacts of nutrition on milk production and composition. These principles will be put into practice to develop good habits of proper TMR mixing and feed management to ensure cows are being fed to reach optimal production. This hands-on course will teach nutritional management from the feed center to the feed bunk.
April 25-26, 2018: It’s Transition Time
The transition period is one of the most critical times in a dairy cow’s life. From barn layout to metabolic diseases, learn how to manage transition cows to ensure cow health, milk quality and reproduction.
May 1-2, 2018: Calmar Calf College
Help calves reach their full potential through various management practices. Students will gain hands-on experience with calf handling, nutrition, sanitation and colostrum management.
May 7-8, 2018: Master Hoof Care Workshop
The Master Hoof Care Program is a hands-on training program for instruction in hoof care and trimming. Trimming techniques are designed to correct claw horn overgrowth without over-trimming, balance weight bearing within and between the claws of each foot, and finally, create a stable weight bearing surface on all claws. The lab will consist of instruction on knife sharpening techniques, the treatment of lameness disorders including the proper application of foot blocks for relief of weight bearing in diseased or injured claws and practice trimming with knives and grinders.
May 9-11, 2018: Dairy Robotics
Dairy Robotics is an introduction to robotic technology. This course explores North American dairy robotic systems focusing on nutrition, freestall design and the management of dairy cows milked with robots. Additionally, this course will utilize the enormous amount of data gathered on each cow by the robots to develop strategies to enhance robot efficiency through milking speed, milk quality and reduced box time among other techniques.