MN Dairy Health Conference Workshops

Who

• Dairy practitioners
• Dairy industry personnel
• Animal scientists
• Dairy farmers/farm managers
• Nutritionists

When
Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Where
College of Veterinary Medicine facilities
St. Paul Campus
University of Minnesota

Secure online registration

Workshop Options

This hands-on workshop will provide an opportunity to conduct the vacuum and airflow measurements described in the NMC Procedures for Evaluating Vacuum Levels and Air Flow in Milking Systems (revised edition, 2004). This workshop will be conducted at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine’s Milking Equipment Teaching Lab. The Teaching Lab equipment allows participants to conduct “experiments” in vacuum and air flow measurements leading to a better understanding of the NMC procedures.

During this workshop, participants will be able to gain experience in all three areas of the NMC procedures: 1) diagnostic dry test of vacuum and airflow; 2) dry test of pulsators; and 3) milking-time tests.  The goal of this workshop is to teach the proper techniques to evaluate milking equipment using the NMC procedures.

A basic understanding of milking equipment function is recommended.  All necessary testing equipment will be provided, but participants are welcome to bring their own testing equipment.  Due to the nature of this workshop, registrations will be limited to 12 participants. 

Applied Nutrition with AminoCow
David Byers, Amy Duffield, and John Fetrow
8:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Pomeroy Learning Center, Room 213
$200 includes lunch, 3.5 CE

Dr. Byers will present this three-hour seminar on practical dairy nutrition. As part of the seminar, each participant will receive a free copy of the new, advanced AminoCow ration balancing software. We will install the software on your laptop (which means everyone needs to bring their laptop!) at the beginning of the seminar, so you should plan to arrive at least ½ hour before the official starting time. **For those of you running Windows Vista, please note that you must download and install this "fix" [WinHlp32.exe] in order for AminoCow to function properly.

Using AminoCow and other materials, Dr. Byers will discuss and demonstrate his practical approach to developing and evaluating rations on dairies while you learn hands-on while working on rations with the program. The goal is for each participant to leave with a practical, but sophisticated tool for ration work and a greater depth of expertise in feeding dairy cows.

Dr. Byers is a veterinarian specializing in dairy production medicine in his practice in Virginia.  He is nationally known for his expertise in dairy nutrition.  He will be assisted in the seminar by Dr. Amy Duffield of Degussa and Dr. John Fetrow of the College of Veterinary Medicine. Degussa has generously contributed support and free copies of their software, making this seminar possible.

Feed Additives and Feeding Yeast
Mike Hutjens and Peter Robinson
1:00 – 4:30 p.m.
Pomeroy Learning Center, Room 213
$150, 3.5 CE

• Use of the seven "R" approach in evaluations
• Economic selection of additives and approaches
• Look at type I and type II error analysis
• Yeast products improve productivity of dairy cows
• There is little difference among yeast products
• Predictability of extent of benefits is poor

New Techniques for Sore Feet
Chuck Guard
1:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Pomeroy Learning Center, Room 215
$150, 4 CE

Demonstration and practice with on-farm surgical strategies for dealing with various severe septic conditions of the digit. Easy claw amputation, arthrodesis for septic arthritis, debridement for retroarticular abscesses, and tendon resection for tendonitis all will be mastered by the end of the session. Hands on practice with cadaver feet and all questions answered. Come to learn and have fun; take home ready to use techniques for severe lameness problems.

Bovine Necropsy
Jeremy Schefers
1:30 – 3:30 p.m.
University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Lab
$125, 2 CE

• Examination of injection sites seven and 14 days post-injection.
• Necropsy exam of dairy steers with chronic disease.

Update on Dairy Reproductive Concepts
Paul Fricke
3:30 – 5:30 p.m.
Pomeroy Learning Center, Room 215
$75, 2 CE

• Update on new reproduction research
• New information on timed-AI protocols for first AI
• New results on resynch strategies

This seminar will update the dairy practitioner on the latest ideas and new applications for improving dairy reproduction. Dr. Fricke is well-known for his ability to translate recent research findings into practical applications for immediate use.  There will be time allocated for discussion, so come with your questions.

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