Fox Valley Technical College, Clintonville, will present a three-day series of informational and educational events during “Cow College 2011”. Some of those events, scheduled for Jan. 4, Jan. 11 and Jan. 18, are as follows:
? Tuesday, Jan. 4, 1 p.m.: “Dairy Market Update, Outlook & More” with Dr. Mark Stephenson, UW-Extension Dairy Market /Policy Specialist and Director of the Center for Dairy Profitability at UW-Madison
Dr. Stephenson returned to Wisconsin last summer after a long and stellar career at Cornel University in New York where he established himself as one of the leading dairy market/policy specialist in the country. He will kick off our Cow College series this year with an update/outlook on dairy prices for the coming months/year ahead, as well as the latest developments on dairy market policy proposals for the 2012 Farm Bill.
Katie Behnke, Shawano County UW-Extension Agriculture Agent, will also share her recent research work at UW-Madison exploring the impact of ethanol markets on local corn prices. Greg Blonde, Waupaca County UW-Extension Agriculture Agent, will then show a new resource available to all dairy farms with the latest information and recommendations from the UW-Vet School on dairy cattle housing design and management called the “Dairyland Initiative”.
? Tuesday, Jan. 11, 1 p.m.: “Dairy Cattle Feeding Update” with Dr. Randy Shaver, Extension Dairy Nutrition and Feeding Specialist, UW-Madison
Dr. Shaver will lead a discussion on strategies to deal with higher feed costs and lower dairy farm margins, including an update on the latest dairy cattle nutrition research at UW-Madison. Feed is the single largest expense for most dairy farms and Dr. Shaver is widely recognized as one of the leading dairy nutrition scientists in the world today. His research and recommendations have helped countless dairy nutritionists and their customers improve production and/or reduce feed costs.
Zen Miller, Outagamie County UW-Extension Dairy and Livestock Agent will discuss his recent work with several area farms to improve feed/labor efficiency and dairy cow performance by installing ceramic tile in the feed manager. Learn how these farms did it themselves and the results they found.
? Tuesday, Jan. 18: Farm Tour/Dairy Nutrition Panel; 10 a.m. – 1st tour – Cliff and Jim Flanagan Farm – N7464 Beech Rd, Bear Creek; 2nd tour – Neil Christianson Farm – N575 Hwy 187, Shiocton. Dairy Nutrition Panel to include Dave Strebe, Kevin Buttles, Tom Kiefer, Ken Schmidt.
For more information and to register for Cow College 2011, contact the Waupaca County UWEX, Courthouse, 811 Harding St., Waupaca or call 715-258-6230.