Two additional universities, Colorado State University and the University of Florida, have joined the eight original consortium member (Abilene Christian University, University of Arizona, New Mexico State University, Oklahoma State University, Tarleton State University, Texas A&M University, Texas Tech University and West Texas A&M University) of the Southern Great Plains Dairy Consortium – Teaching (SGPDC-T).
The 10-member consortium is the first dairy teaching program of its kind that pools university resources that enable dairy science students to receive university credits for large-herd dairy management courses that are not available on their home campus.
The second annual session will begin May 18, 2009 and run for six weeks at Clovis Community College in New Mexico. According to SGPDC-T chair Michael Tomaszewski, this year’s faculty will include Mike Hutjens, University of Illinois; John Smith and Joe Harner, Kansas State University; Larry Fox, Washington State University; Todd Bilby, Texas A&M University; Chad Dechow, Pennsylvania State University; Matt Lucy, University of Missouri; Jason Osterstock, Texas A&M University; Bob Collier, University of Arizona; and Robert Hagevoort, New Mexico State University.
The six weekly modules will focus on herd health and genetics, mastitis and milk quality, herd evaluation, reproduction, facilities and transition diets. Each day’s schedule includes classroom instruction and actual hands-on access at a dairy located within a 20-mile radius of Clovis.
Clovis was selected as the site to conduct the classes since it is in the middle of the third largest milk shed in the United States and in close proximity to dairies with all possible management levels, housing styles for cattle and parlor designs, explains vice-chair Robert Hagevoort. Classes are open initially to consortium members and then other universities that do not have advanced dairy programs.