DAIRY NEWS – Attendees of the 2023 Herdsperson Workshops presented by Professional Dairy Producers® (PDPW) will get the best of both worlds in the one-day training sessions set for Oct. 11 and Oct. 12. Leading researchers in critical topics of reproduction, transition cow care and nutrition will present hands-on workshops in the morning, while each afternoon will feature a farm tour to see the latest technologies and management practices at work.
“The 2023 Herdsperson Workshops will give English and Spanish speaking herdspersons, dairy managers, nutritionists and veterinarians new insights and ideas to improve their operations,” said Cassandra Strupp, PDPW program manager. “In addition to workshops and tours, there is tremendous value in bringing together forward-thinking dairy producers and industry professionals to learn from each other and share experiences on topics important to everyone’s success.”
Two repeating one-day sessions of Herdsperson Workshop are scheduled from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 11, and Thursday, Oct. 12, with simultaneous translation into Spanish for the entire program.
Each day’s morning session will feature hands-on workshops led by leading researchers, including:
- “Unlock high fertility” presented by Megan Lauber, PhD candidate at University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Dr. Paul Fricke, PhD, professor of dairy science and extension specialist in dairy cattle reproduction at UW-Madison Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences.
- “Make the most of cow side care” presented by Dr. Jerry Gaska, DVM, veterinarian and consultant.
- “Optimize liver metabolism and production” presented by Dr. Usman Arshad, PhD, post-doctoral research associate at UW-Madison, and Dr. Heather White, professor at UW-Madison in dairy cattle nutrition and physiology.
The Oct. 11 program will be held at Arlington Research Station in Arlington, Wis., with the afternoon farm tour at Maier Farms, and the Oct. 12 program will be held at Mid-State Technical College in Marshfield, Wis., with the afternoon farm tour at Norm-E-Lane Farm. The on-farm tours will highlight how producers leverage technology and other tools on their dairy to optimize cow health, reproductive progress and cow comfort while maintaining a strong, functional team.
On Oct. 11, the tour to Maier Farms will showcase this multi-generational dairy farm’s commitment to producing high quality milk. They have invested in their animals, facilities and people and have recently expanded to capture efficiencies in the dairy business and strengthen the positive impact of agriculture in the surrounding communities.
The Oct. 12 tour will feature Norm-E-Lane Farm, which consists of 2,400 milk cows and more than 2,100 head of dairy replacement heifers. Cows are milked three times a day and housed in open free-stall barns built for maximum cow comfort. The dairy’s totally computerized milking system records weight and quality to ensure cow health and milk quality.
Learn more about the Herdsperson Workshop and register your team by visiting www.pdpw.org or contacting PDPW at 800-947-7379.
Herdsperson Workshop is an accredited training and offers up to 4.0 Dairy AdvanCE continuing education units (CEUs) for each day. To learn more or secure credits, visit www.DairyAdvance.org. Up to 4.0 CEU credits are also available through American Registry of Professional Scientists (ARPAS).
Follow along digitally in advance of and during the event by following @dairyPDPW and using #mypdpw on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Professional Dairy Producers® (PDPW) is the nation’s largest dairy producer-led organization of its kind, focusing on producer professionalism, stakeholder engagement and unified outreach to share ideas, solutions, resources and experiences that help dairy producers succeed.
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