Short Courses

 

All times listed are CENTRAL TIME.

Course 1: Basics of Cleaning (CIP) a Milking System

Date and time: Monday, January 29, 1:00-4:00 p.m.
Class size limit: 24
This course is full.
Fee: $200

Level: Novice, Intermediate and Advanced

Intended audience: Milking equipment professionals

Instructors: Roger Thomson, MQ-IQ Consulting and Michigan State University, David Reid, Rocky Ridge Dairy Consulting, Andy Johnson, retired veterinarian and milking systems consultant

This course, which includes the hands-on Teaching Parlor, will teach how a milking system is cleaned internally. Students will learn the steps to perform a CIP (clean-in-place) evaluation, including a slug analysis. Information will be provided about standard plate counts (SPC), preliminary incubation counts (PI), lab pasteurized counts (LPC) and coliform counts, and include the goals for each of these milk quality measurements, their definitions and how to troubleshoot elevated counts. Other topics will include the importance of water quality and water temperature, as well as the “Four Square” method of analyzing the wash protocol for a milking system. Additionally, participants will learn how to perform the standard chemical analysis of each wash cycle. Case Studies will be used to increase attendees’ understanding and retention.

Course 2: Why and How to Perform a Milking System Analysis

Date and time: Monday, January 29, 6:00-9:00 p.m.
Class size limit: 24
This course is full.
Fee: $200
Level: Advanced
Intended audience: Anyone interested in learning how to analyze and evaluate milking systems

Instructors: Roger Thomson, MQ-IQ Consulting and Michigan State University, David Reid, Rocky Ridge Dairy Consulting, and Andy Johnson, retired veterinarian and milking systems consultant

This course will teach the when, how and why you should perform an ISO/NMC airflow analysis on a milking system by two of the pioneers who helped draft the foundations of modern milking system analysis. It will trace the early days of milking system analysis through current testing protocols for all size parlors. It will explain each section of the “Procedures for Evaluating Vacuum Levels and Air Flow in Milking Systems” and why they are important. Participants will be assigned to small groups based on their experience level and with a coach. Participants will learn how to use testing equipment and interpret the data collected with hands-on experiences provided by The Teaching Parlor milking system simulator.

Course 3: Staph. aureus is back?!?

Date and time: Monday, January 29, 6:00-9:00 p.m.
Class size limit: 30
18 of 30 spots filled
Fee: $150
Level: Intermediate

Intended audience: Veterinarians, laboratory personnel, milk quality consultants/professionals and academia

Instructors: Justine and Allan Britten, Udder Health Systems

Staphylococcus aureus has been a notorious contagious mastitis pathogen that has plagued the dairy industry for more than 50 years. Overall prevalence has been reduced significantly, but it continues to be a threat to nearly every dairy herd and, in some instances, has resumed its place as the biggest threat to milk quality at the bulk tank level. In large herds, especially, this pathogen may fly under the radar for several years before the impacts are noticeable in the bulk tank, at which point the outbreak is already established and it is difficult to regain control.

This course will focus on several aspects of Staph. aureus mastitis:

  • Cow and herd level characteristics
  • Laboratory protocols and diagnostics
  • Herd level management protocols
  • Outbreaks
  • Case study

Participants will take away key points regarding the impact and importance of Staph. aureus mastitis on individual cows and bulk tank milk quality, laboratory diagnostic role and herd management decisions.

Course 4: Managing Milk Quality in Robotic Milking Systems

Date and time: Monday, January 29, 6:00-9:00 p.m.
Class size limit: 25
This course is full. 
Fee: $150
Level: Beginner

Intended audience: Milk quality professionals with an interest in robotic milking

Instructors: Brandon Treichler, Treichler Consulting Services, and Steve Jones, DeLaval

With adoption of robotic milking comes a set of new and unique challenges and risks that need to be managed to consistently make high-quality milk. This course will cover strategies for managing herd changeover to robotic milking, ways to integrate new animals into robotically milked herds, managing new intramammary infection risk, managing pathogen transmission and how robotic milking systems impact contagious mastitis management strategies.

 

Course 5:Teat Health, Chemicals and Milk Quality: How Do the Pieces Fit Together?

Date and time: Monday, January 29, 6:00-9:00 p.m.
Class size limit: 30
This course if full.
Fee: $150
Level: Beginner

Intended audience: Dairy consultants, milk quality specialists, veterinarians, producers and dairy plant field representatives

Instructors: Keith Engel, GEA, Daniela Bruno, University of California-Davis, and Marianna Gentilini, DeLaval

In this course, the instructors will address the basics of pre- and post-milk harvest chemicals. They will discuss different types of pre- and post-teat milking sanitizers for conventional and robotic systems, and how they affect teat health and milk quality. We will discuss different types of chemicals used for CIP and focus specifically on strategies for optimizing milk quality. Attendants will learn the validation process of chemicals, from product ideas to shelf availability.

Course 6: Milk Quality Metrics: The Physical Exam of the Dairy Operation

Date and time: Tuesday, January 30, 8:00 -11:00 a.m.
Class size limit: 30
This course is full.
Fee: $150
Level: Intermediate
Intended audience: Milk quality professionals

Instructors: Mark Kirkpatrick and Joel Franks, Zoetis

Dairy cattle can provide a wealth of information about a dairy operation’s milk quality status. We can detect change early and develop strategies to target the affected populations; we just need to know where to look and how to interpret. This short course will focus on the evaluation of DHIA-sourced herd milk somatic cell count (SCC) data, recorded mastitis health protocols and imported culture results. The short course will focus on the DC305 record keeping system provided by Valley Ag Software (VAS). Quality and Quantity Count!

Course 7: Managing Milk Quality Outside of the Parlor

Date and time: Tuesday, January 30, 8:00-11:00 a.m.
Class size limit: 30
This course is full.
Fee: $150
Level: Beginner
Intended audience: Anyone interested in improving their observational skills to offer milk quality advice to dairy producers

Instructors: David Reid, Rocky Ridge Dairy Consulting, and Scott Hughes, Full Range Consulting & Trading Co.

The instructors will lead discussions about how to bring clean, calm cows to the milking parlor. They will guide participants through a “what do you see” presentation, which includes pictures showing procedures and protocols from low somatic cell count dairy herds. Learn how to implement procedures and protocols to achieve excellent milk quality.

Course 8: Should We Treat Her or Should We Eat Her? How to Make Economically Sound Mastitis Treatment Decisions

Date and time: Tuesday, January 30, 8:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Class size limit: 25
This course is full.
Fee: $150
Level: Intermediate
Intended audience: Veterinarians, producers and dairy professionals who work with mastitis and mastitis treatments

Instructors: Pamela Ruegg and Zelmar Rodriguez, Michigan State University, Juliano Goncalves, Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory Michigan State University, Quinn Kolar, Cornell University

Most cases of clinical mastitis are non-severe when detected and are treated with intramammary antibiotics following standard protocols. Mastitis is caused by a variety of bacteria, some of which benefit from antibiotic therapy and some which do not. Determining success of treatments is difficult because most milk returns to normal within about five days, even if bacteriological cure has not occurred and many longer-term outcomes are hard to monitor. Many cows that are treated for clinical mastitis are culled and that ability to determine effectiveness of treatment is limited. The goal of this interactive, case-based course is to review bacterial causes of mastitis, define measurable outcomes after mastitis therapy, and provide guidance on how to manage clinical cases in a cost-effective manner.

Course 9: Mastitis Prevention: Where are We at with Nutrition and Genomics?

Date and time: Tuesday, January 30, 8:00-11:00 a.m.
Class size limit:30
12 of 30 spots filled
Fee: $150
Level: Beginner

Intended audience: Dairy producers, veterinarians, herd health consultants, dairy processor field staff

Instructors: Gina Pighetti, Pighetti Farms & Consulting, and Turner Swartz, South Dakota State University

This course provides an overview of the current knowledge and best practices regarding genomics and nutrition relative to improving cow immunity and mastitis prevention. For genomics, instructors will review the process of genomic predictions, key traits and genes currently available to minimize mastitis risk, and epigenetic changes that can influence mastitis risk. For nutrition, instructors will review key aspects to feed additives, ration formulation, metabolism and their influence on mastitis risk. Special emphasis will be placed on practical strategies and future for both genomics and nutrition.

Course 10: Perform a Complete NMC Airflow Analysis

Date and time: Tuesday, January 30, 12:30-3:30 p.m.
Class size limit: 14
This course is full.
Fee: $200
Level: Intermediate
Intended audience: NMC members who desire a deeper understanding of how a milking system functions and how to measure its performance

Instructors: Roger Thomson, MQ-IQ Consulting and Michigan State University, David Reid, Rocky Ridge Dairy Consulting, Andy Johnson, retired veterinarian and milking systems consultant

This course will be divided into two sections. During the first half, participants will work in pairs and perform each step of the ISO/NMC airflow analysis using your own testing equipment. The Teaching Parlor milking system simulator will be the parlor you evaluate. Participants will be given a blank copy of the “Milking System Evaluation Form” to complete. The instructors will be available to answer questions and offer training. During a mid-session break period, attendees will be asked to leave the room while The Teaching Parlor settings are changed by the instructors. During the second half, each attendee will work independently to complete a new “Milking System Evaluation Form.” This form will be graded by the instructors. Achieving a score >75% will earn the attendee a Certificate of Successful Completion for this NMC short course.

Course 11:​ How to Implement LEAN Thinking to Motivate Employees Using Parlor Data

Date and time: Tuesday, January 30, 12:30-3:30 p.m.
12 of 20 spots filled
Fee: $195 (includes the book “LEAN in Agriculture – Create More Value with Less Work on the Farm”)
Level: Intermediate
Intended audience: Dairy farmers, consultants and other professionals working with milking parlor training

Instructors: Vibeke Faldkjaer and Michael Farre, SEGES Innovation

Training employees and maintaining routines on dairy farms are essential parts of everyday life for many dairy farmers and consultants. A survey of 33% of Denmark’s dairy farms showed that only 13% had a training plan for new employees. Furthermore, the same dairy farms lacked plans for maintaining new routines implemented at the farms. There is much to learn as a new employee and our brain has difficulty handling too much information. As humans, we have a rational capacity; we can only incorporate new knowledge a few hours a day. We use our routines the rest of the time and we are left to our knowledge, experiences, habits, feelings and instincts. Therefore, employee trainers must ensure a promising and efficient start-up of new farm employees, especially with many employees being unskilled. During this short course, instructors will introduce participants to three methods of rapid training to perform the tasks uniformly – aiming at people where culture and language can be a barrier.

Instructors will integrate on-farm data from milking – helping identify key points that trainers need to address during training and motivation. The instructors will demonstrate through three methods: Standard Operating Procedures, Roadmap, and Training Within Industry. Implementing this will help employees to a rapid start and motivate them to achieve results in the milking parlor.

Course 12: Change Management: Basic Components of How to Embrace and Implement Change

Date and time: Tuesday, January 30, 12:30-3:30 p.m.
Class size limit: 30
This course is full.
Fee:
$150
Level: Beginner
Intended audience: Anyone who consults with dairy producers and veterinarians, regarding milk quality

Instructor: Tom Fuhrmann, DairyWorks International, and Bruce Tonkin, United Dairymen of Arizona

Often, milk quality consultants are asked by clients/customers to improve milk quality. Improvement means CHANGE; change may be difficult to implement. Change Management is a concept that creates a plan to navigate change. By conclusion of this short course, attendees will understand the need to develop a plan (change management) when providing professional service to their clients or customers. Also, they will learn to re-evaluate their role, responsibility and opportunity to facilitate change, discuss tips and ideas to become a change agent, and experience real-life examples of change management dealing with milk quality examples.

 

Course 13: Real World Milk Quality: A Case Study Based Approach Looking at Regional Differences

Date and time: Tuesday, January 30, 12:30-3:30 p.m.
Class size limit: 30
22 of 30 spots filled
Fee: $150
Level: Intermediate

Intended audience: Veterinarians, dairy equipment dealers, dairy owners, dairy managers and others who work with cattle health and milk quality

Instructors: Blaine Melody, Lander Veterinary Clinic Inc., Andrew Lefeld, Maria Stein Animal Clinic Inc., and Paul Virkler, Quality Milk Production Services

This course will use the expertise of three veterinarians with years of experience in milk quality across the West, Midwest and Northeast, United States. Each veterinarian will share regional case studies highlighting common areas of opportunity in a herd’s milk quality program, despite apparent differences in dairy systems. These case presentations are intended to spark group discussion. Plenty of time will be dedicated to answering any questions from course participants.

Course 14: CIP/Slug Analysis of a Milking System

Date and time: Wednesday, January 31, 6:30-9:30 p.m.
Class size limit: 24
23 of 24 spots filled
Fee:
$200
Level: Beginner
Intended audience: Milking system professionals, veterinarians, dairy processor field reps

Instructors: Roger Thomson, MQ-IQ Consulting and Michigan State University, David Reid, Rocky Ridge Dairy Consulting, Andy Johnson, retired veterinarian and milking systems consultant

This course will focus on the mechanical cleaning of a milking system. Uniform water distribution, air leaks, slug measurements, vacuum levels and slug analysis will be the centerpieces of this session. The Teaching Parlor will be used to produce slugs by the hour, allowing unlimited adjustments to be made to produce excellent and completely ineffective slugs. Attendees will be allowed to make any changes they want or have seen in real world experiences to change slug formation. Case Studies will be used to increase attendees’ understanding and retention.

Course 15: Cleaning and Wash Analysis on AMS systems

Date and time: Wednesday, January 31, 6:30-9:30 p.m.
Class size limit: 24
15 of 24 spots filled
Fee:
$150
Level: Novice, Intermediate and Advanced
Intended audience: Milking system professionals, veterinarians, dairy processor field reps

Instructors: Matt Gogh, DeLaval, Steve Kraft, Lely, and Anthony Ambrosio, GEA

Learn about the ways Lely, GEA and DeLaval clean their robots – keeping milk quality a high priority and tools of prevention of contagious mastitis. Lely, GEA and DeLaval will describe their ways of cleaning their robots and inform the audience of tools or added features that fight contagious bacteria that cause mastitis. This interactive workshop will have Lely, GEA and DeLaval representatives show the common attributes and what differentiates each other with the common goal of milk quality and prevention of mastitis.

Course 16: Smart Solutions for Dealing with Data from Smart Dairy Technologies

Date and time: Wednesday, January 31, 6:30-9:30 p.m.
Class size limit: 30
14 of 30 spots filled
Fee:
$150
Level: Beginner
Intended audience: Anyone interested in dairy data and “smart” technologies

Instructors: Jeffrey Bewley, Holstein Association USA and Nicky Tsai, DeLaval

In this course, the instructors will discuss the latest in technologies for mastitis detection and control. They will use real-world case studies as examples. Additionally, they will cover strategies for dealing with data from these technologies.