NYS 4-H Youth Development
When/Where: Dairy Discovery is a hands-on workshop held annually here at Cornell in late March. It is a statewide program for youth ages 15-19 years old. Each year the youth will spend the 1 ½ days( Friday afternoon until Saturday late afternoon) here on campus learning about dairy careers and rotating through a series of hands-on stations which focus on a specific aspect of the dairy field each year. The focusing for the Dairy Discovery workshops changes each year but includes the following areas: Dairy Herd Health and Management, Calf and Heifer Production Management, Quality Milk and Milk Production, Whole Farm Management Planning, and Maximizing the Feed Management Program.
Who: Due to the hands on approach of the sessions, participation is limited to the first 60 individuals to enroll by deadline. Youth who are 15-19 years of age as of January 1, of the current year and have an interest in dairy cattle and production management are eligible and strongly encouraged to attend (with their parents or chaperones).
Why?: Participants will get to meet Cornell faculty and students, learn about different aspects of dairy production management, dairy industry related careers, interact and exchange information with professional producers, industry experts, and more! Hands-on workshops are planned for each focus area
How?: Please contact your county 4-H office for details and registration. Registration is handled through county 4-H offices. The cost of $45 per person is billed directly to Cornell county accounts to cover basic handout, materials, dinner and activities on Friday evening, and lunch on Saturday. Lodging in NOT included for this program but a group of hotel rooms are blocked prior to this event each year and detailed information for making lodging accommodations is sent to county 4-H offices. 4-H project members and FFA youth with a dairy interest or desire to learn about dairy are strongly encouraged to attend (with their parents or chaperones).
What?: Workshop presenters and topics are selected by a planning committee that looks at trends and current issues. Youth input on topics is also solicited through statewide advisory committees and educator feedback.
Rotating Program themes: Youth will understand, observe and participate in technical skill training related to such topics as the following:- Dairy Herd Health and Management- Dairy Herd Health and management are critical in determining the production potential of dairy enterprises. Management of the dairy herd includes: fresh cow monitoring and treatment, foot care, disease control and management, reproduction, genetics, nutrition and records. All these areas combines with cow comfort and animal handling make for good animal health stewards. Having a good herd health program and managing risk effectively leads directly to a healthier herd, both physically and financially.
- Calf and Heifer Production Management-
Replacements heifers are an investment in the future of a dairy. The heifer enterprise represents the second largest cost on a dairy farm second only to dairy feed. The average age at first calving for Holsteins in New York is 26 months with a body weight post calving of 1170 lbs. This extended age and low body weight increases the herd cost of production. For every month that the Age a\t First Calving is delayed beyond the 22-month target, the cost to producers is about $100 per animal, primarily because of lost milk production opportunity and a loss in the number of days in an animal’s productive life.
A quality dairy replacement system is a management system that consistently generates quality heifers. Calving practices and newborn calf care play a critical role in the management of a heifer-raising program. Technical and analytical skill development in the areas of: Calf delivery, newborn calf care, colostrum management, and monitoring growth are necessary for assessing and optimizing the heifer raising programs potential. - Quality Milk and Milk Production-
Milk quality and milk production represents the most critical enterprise of dairy production management. The tighter margins of today and the consumer concern about food quality make milk producers more aware than ever of the importance of milk quality.
Better milk means quality dairy products and more money. Dairy producer’s today are in the business of making food. The producer’s definition of quality milk is the level of quality, which provides the greatest value for your milk and provides the highest quality product for the consumer. The environment, nutrition, cow comfort, milking equipment and milking procedures all affect milk quality and milk production.
Milk quality has several defining factors:- Somatic cell counts
- Bacteria counts
- Drug residue
- Milk components
- And all are affected by or influence the level of mastitis in the herd. Production, profit, and quality can directly result from managing the milking enterprise.
- Whole Farm Management Planning-
Dairy producers in every state in the Northeast are being faced with increasing
Environmental issues and regulations. In recent rules, The U.S. Department of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Agency have made regulations in which producers will need to obtain CAFO permits (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation permits) and must develop comprehensive nutrient management plans. Manure management is the focus of these plans.
Dairy producers are approaching Agricultural Environmental Management by developing Whole Farm Management Plans. Good plans can be a means to manage farm businesses better with returning profits through targeted nutrients applications, better forage quality, less purchasing of concentrates and commercial fertilizers, and better land and environmental stewardship. Public policy and community issues are all part of the farm management plan. Included in whole farm plans are best management practices for cattle health assurance and increased milk production.
Cows, land, labor and business management are all part of your dairy business future and environmental management should be no different. Dairy producers are moving ahead with whole farm management planning which includes completing Agricultural Environmental Management worksheets and assessing areas of improvement to temper environmental impacts. - Maximizing the Feed Management Program- Nutrition management is a critical factor in determining the production potential of dairy enterprises. The feeding program can influence the prioritizing of expenses. In many cases, as the graph depicts, over 25% of the variable costs associated with operating a dairy are directly incorporated into the purchasing of feeds. Furthermore, harvesting techniques, feeding methods, housing strategies, and monitoring these areas can play key roles in the growth and milk production responses animals express to a particular nutrition program.
Cornell Maps
Map showing location of workshop
Places
of Interest
If you have any questions about the program, please contact Debbie Grusenmeyer at djc27@cornell.edu
