The Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Dairy Team is hosting a webinar at 1 p.m. ET June 19 to focus on mitigating heat stress for employees on the dairy farm.
Cody Volkmann will discuss how dairy producers can mitigate heat stress for their employees. He will define heat stress, how it is measured, and offer techniques to prevent heat stress.
Cody Volkmann is a Certified Safety Professional with 13 years of safety and health experience. He grew up on a family farm in northwest Iowa and received his B.S. from Iowa State University in Agriculture Systems Technology and Industrial Systems Technology and a Master of Business Administration. After graduation from ISU, he worked for an industrial service company providing services to ethanol, biodiesel, grain handling and other industrial facilities. He is currently an Occupational Safety Specialist with the College of Engineering and Environmental Health and Safety Department at ISU.
Dairy Girl Network’s Spanish on La Granja courses are virtual courses tailored to aiding in Spanish speaking on the dairy farm.
Registration is open for Level 1 and Level 2 summer courses beginning June 18.
For more information and to register, go to DairyGirlNetwork.com.
Join NMPF’s National Young Cooperators Program and the National Dairy FARM Program for a joint webinar addressing mental health in agriculture. The hour-long session will cover practical strategies for managing stress, offering actionable techniques tailored to the unique demands of dairy farming. Available resources and support will also be highlighted.
This session is open to dairy farmers, including FARM Program participants, cooperative staff, associate members affiliated with NMPF, and other individuals interested in the topic. NMPF reserves the right to prioritize participation for members and FARM Program participants.
Join the Dairy Cattle Welfare Council for an informative and interactive town-hall webinar focused on advancing dairy cow welfare through lameness prevention and management strategies. Led by renowned expert Dr. Jan Shearer from Iowa State University, this session promises invaluable insights into optimizing cow health and comfort within your dairy operation.
Throughout the webinar, participants will delve into the multifaceted aspects of dairy cow lameness, exploring its causes, impacts, and practical solutions. Dr. Shearer’s wealth of experience and expertise in this field will guide discussions on proactive measures to prevent lameness, ranging from proper hoof care protocols to facility design considerations.
Participants will have the opportunity to engage directly with Dr. Shearer during a dedicated Q&A session, where they can seek advice and clarification on specific challenges encountered in their dairy operations.
Whether you’re a dairy producer, farm manager, veterinarian, or industry professional, this webinar offers invaluable insights and practical strategies to enhance dairy cow welfare, optimize herd productivity, and promote sustainable farming practices. Don’t miss this opportunity to join Dr. Shearer and fellow stakeholders in advancing the well-being of dairy cows through proactive lameness prevention and management.
Register here: https://fass-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/7417147494519/WN_KMfznrG9QlaNhltdwJhBiQ#/registration
Note: This “Industry Event” is not hosted by the National Dairy FARM Program and inclusion on this events calendar does not necessarily mean the event has an official FARM Program endorsement.
The 2024 PDP Hoof Health Workshop is heading to Waunakee, Wisconsin on June 20. The hands-on workshop will begin at 9:30 a.m. and conclude at 3:30 p.m., with the host dairy serving as an interactive case study. Take the next step in hoof health management with a workshop designed for your management team in mind: your hoof trimmer, herdsperson, veterinarian and nutritionist need to attend.
Simultaneously translated into Spanish, the program will kick off with a general session covering the fundamentals of stockmanship. In breakout sessions, participants will separate into three smaller groups as each presenter leads an interactive discussion regarding a core concept essential to hoof health. Before the program wraps up, all attendees will gather once again for idea sharing and highlighting conversations that came up during the breakouts.
The I-29 Moo University 2024 Dairy Webinar Series continues Wednesday, April 17 from 12 noon to 1 p.m. CST. The webinar will feature a discussion on fly control with Dr. Phillip Jardon.
Discussion will cover the four main flies that are considered pests on dairies – house flies, stable flies, horn flies, and face flies.
“These flies all have some things in common but there are big differences in where they reproduce and where they eat that guide the control methods used for each,” according to Fred Hall, dairy specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. “Join us to learn how we can use facts about flies to limit their populations.”
Dr. Jardon graduated from the Iowa State College of Veterinary Medicine. He completed his Master of Preventive Veterinary Medicine (MPVM) and Dairy Production Medicine Residency at UC-Davis.
Jardon has been in private practice and industry for 35 years with particular interest in transition cow diseases – a passion he has had since working on milk fever on his parent’s dairy for his seventh-grade science fair project. Dr. Jardon worked as a Dairy Technical Consultant with Elanco Animal Health in California for the last eleven years and is currently a Dairy Extension Veterinarian at ISU.
There is no fee to participate in the webinar; however, registration is required at least one hour before the webinar. Register online at https://go.iastate.edu/FLYCONTROL24.
For more information, contact: in Iowa, Fred M. Hall, 712-737-4230; in Minnesota, Jim Salfer, 320-203-6093; or in South Dakota, Patricia Villamediana, 605-688-4116.
The one-hour, live online educational sessions hosted by the Dairy Cattle Welfare Council (DCWC) are available to attendees around the world. These live webinars are free of charge for all, but you must register to attend. Recordings are available to active members of the DCWC (closed captioning available in Spanish, French, and more).
Webinar: Let’s put our heads together: Practical Strategies for Successful Social Housing of Dairy Calves
In the United States and elsewhere, the industry standard practice is individual housing of dairy heifer calves. However, scientific evidence has been building on a range of potential benefits for social housing – that is, raising calves in pairs or groups. Interest in social housing is growing, and according to the 2023 DCWC survey, the top-ranked webinar topic related to dairy calves was individual versus social calf housing strategies. Drs. Van Os and Cantor will jointly present an interactive webinar session in which we will briefly review the literature on the welfare and developmental outcomes of social versus individual calf housing. Then, we will discuss common challenges to practical implementation of pair or group housing, as well as potential solutions. Participants will engage with case study examples to evaluate farms’ readiness to adapt social housing and review management strategies for successful calf health and behavioral outcomes.
By: Dr. Jennifer Van Os – University of Wisconsin-Madison
Facilitator Co-Speaker: Dr. Melissa Cantor – Pennsylvania State University
Note: This “Industry Event” is not hosted by the National Dairy FARM Program and inclusion on this events calendar does not necessarily mean the event has an official FARM Program endorsement.
The Cornell Cooperative Extension is hosting regional animal care trainings March 11-22. Trainings will feature stations with mostly hands-on activities and demonstrations. The course will be offered in both English and Spanish. Registration is $15 and includes lunch. See the workshop event flyer for the various regional locations and dates.
Who should attend
- Dairy farm owners or managers that want to learn more about the FARM Animal Care Program and receive continuing education credits.
- Dairy farm workers with animal care responsibilities that want to learn more, gain hands-on experience, and receive continuing education credits.
Topics covered
- FARM Animal Care Program Version 5.0 updates
- Physical exam and non-ambulatory cow management
- Dairy stockmanship (heifers)
- Pre-weaned calf care
- Euthanasia
- Fitness for transport
Dairy farmers and managers, along with their veterinarian, nutritionist and employee management teams, are invited to join Alltech Inc., Zoetis Animal Health and the National Dairy FARM Program for this lunch session. FARM staff will provide an overview of program priorities and answer questions. Jorge Delgado, Alltech, and other subject matter experts will cover employee management topics, including overcoming cultural and communication barriers and improving employee retention.
If interested in attending, email dairyfarm@nmpf.org for more information.
