New MSU dairy facility welcomes first continuing education event
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EmailThe dairy facility offers space for teaching, community engagement and networking.
One of the many benefits of the new MSU Dairy Cattle Teaching and Research Facility is the updated classroom spaces that offer an ideal place not only for teaching undergraduate students, but also for continuing education events for the broader dairy community in Michigan.
The first continuing education event held at the new dairy farm was a collaborative effort between the Animal Science department and the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Gordie Jones, DVM, an independent dairy consultant, veterinarian, dairy farm owner and MSU alumnus, was the keynote speaker and delivered two talks. Drawing from decades of experience, he provided practical advice on managing transition cows and improving dairy farm profitability. He advocated a “Goldilocks” program that focuses on getting nutrition, cow comfort and barn design just right for optimal milk yield and herd health.
Jones shared practical pearls of cow-centric wisdom that are not often found in veterinary medical textbooks, such as the ABC’s of cow comfort:
- Air quality and ventilation
- Bunk management
- Cow comfort
His talks were packed with easy-to-use metrics that vets could use to improve their clients’ herds during their Monday morning herd check. Even after the advent of multitudes of precision dairy technology, Jones continues to build the case that there will never be a replacement for good boots-on-the-ground stockmanship and that the cow should always be the star of the show.
Besides Jones, participants heard from several other MSU faculty members:
- Augusto Maduriera spoke about optimizing first service success using precision technology. This includes sensors to track movement, rumination and feeding time to successfully detect when a cow expresses estrus and what to do when she doesn’t.
- Angel Abuelo, DVM, discussed vaccine program design, including optimal timing, vaccine types, and how vaccination programs relate to the larger goal of disease control and prevention on dairy farms.
- Pamela Ruegg, DVM, spoke about the many interrelated factors that are necessary to produce quality milk on a dairy farm. She emphasized that robust data collection, analysis and veterinarian involvement are needed to detect and treat both subclinical and clinical mastitis effectively.
- Barry Bradford led a tour of the new Dairy Cattle Teaching and Research Facility and highlighted its many innovative features. As one of the largest university dairy farms, research is now possible on a scale that mirrors commercial dairy facilities.
Finally, 15 graduate students presented posters on their recent dairy research and discussed practical applications veterinarians can use in their practice.
To learn more about events taking place at the new dairy, as well as other dairy-related educational opportunities, follow the MSU Extension dairy events page.
