Two one-day expert cow care workshops will provide dairy producers with the latest information and techniques related to caring more for the first ladies of the parlor. The first Herdsperson Training is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 14, in Wisconsin Rapids, with the second workshop set for Wednesday, Sept. 15, in Madison. Both training workshops are offered by PDPW—developed by dairy producers for dairy producers. Training is designed to update and challenge the person—even the most seasoned—in charge of caring for the cows.
 
Each “it’s all about caring for the cows” workshop will cover four key topics: animal well-being assessment, cow-side care, reproduction and cow handling and movement.
 
Trainer Keri Retallick from Validus will deliver the first session and detail elements of the FARM program so producers can conduct mock assessments on their dairies. Sessions two, three and four will be round robin sessions, with participants divided into small groups for extensive hands-on training. Trainers and topics include Dr. David Rhoda, UW School of Veterinary Medicine and UW-Madison Dairy Science Department, “Taking Care of the ‘Cash Cow’—Optimizing Cow-side Care; Dave Northey, University of Wisconsin research manager, Department of Animal Science, “Rev Up Your Herd’s Reproduction”; and Dr. Margaret Perala, expert animal handling instructor, “Cow Handling and Movement.”
 
The workshop will end with a 30-minute question-and-answer period with the trainers, so participants have all burning questions answered.
 
“If your job is taking care of the dairy cows, this is a must attend event,” states John Freitag, executive director, Wisconsin Beef Council, a co-sponsor of the workshop.
 
To learn more about Herdsperson Training or to register, please visit www.pdpw.org or call PDPW: 1-800-947-7379. Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin is a dairy-producer founded organization that provides educational programs and services to fellow dairy producers. PDPW’s mission is “to share ideas, solutions, resources, and experiences that help dairy producers succeed.”