The 56th edition of Cow College is scheduled to take place in the city of Clintonville and Shawano County next month.
The UW-Extension program will take place on Jan. 9, 16, and the 23–those are all Tuesdays. The First two sessions will be held at the FVTC Regional Center on HWY 22/54 just south of Clintonville.
The first session will run from 1-3 and will feature Dr. Kent Weigel and Dr. Victor Cabrera, both UW-Extension specialists from the Dairy Science Department at UW-Madison. Dr. Weigel will discuss what has been learned about using genomic (DNA) analysis as a tool to improve health and productivity of commercial dairy herds. Dr. Cabrera will then discuss the economics of cross-breeding low producing dairy cows and heifers with less genetic potential to beef bulls with superior carcass traits as an option for increasing dairy farm income.
The Jan. 16 program also begins at 1:00 PM featuring Dr. Randy Shaver and Dr. John Goeser, both with the Dairy Science Department at UW-Madison. They will review lab results from the 2017 forage and grain harvest with feeding strategies for dairy producers to consider in the coming months.
The final program will include farm tours in Shawano County. The first stop (10:00 AM) north of Cecil at Wagner Farms (N6928 Co Rd BB, Oconto Falls), followed by Green Valley Dairy calf facility (11:30 AM) (W3171 Lodge Rd, Cecil) near White Clay Lake just east of Cecil, WI.
The sessions will feature experts thoughts on improving health and productivity of dairy herds as well as analyzing recent studies on grain harvest and feeding strategies.
The UW-Wisconsin calls Cow College “a valuable local Extension program that continues to connect dairy farmers and industry representatives in Northeast and East Central WI with resources from the UW system and beyond sharing the latest research and information affecting our dairy industry today. All dairy producers and industry professionals are welcome to attend. Cost is only $5 per session, or $10 for all three sessions (including the tour).”
More information can be found at Waupaca County’s UW-Extension’s website.
