College of Veterinary Medicine
Veterinary Extension

The Ohio Dairy Health and Management Certificate Program

(Description of Modules and Dates)

Module 1: Dairy Reproduction and Record Interpretation (February 5-7, 2009)

• Overview of the estrus cycle and its control
• Dairy records interpretation and trouble-shooting
• Evaluating and monitoring reproductive performance
• Ultrasonography and uterine structures
• Agenda-Module 1  

Module 2: Advanced Dairy Reproduction (May 7-9, 2009)

• Strategies to improve fertility in dairy herds
• Designing and implementing protocols
• Breeding soundness evaluation (BSE)
• Replacement heifer management
• Agenda-Module 2    

Module 3: Dairy Cattle Nutrition (August 27-29, 2009)

• Basic and applied principles
• Feed components, analysis, and interpretation
• Metabolic changes of transition cows
• Agenda-Module 3   

Module 4: Advanced Dairy Cattle Nutrition (December 10-12, 2009)

• Ration formulation through lactation cycle
• Monitoring feeding programs
• Prevention, management, and control of nutritional pathologies
• Calf feeding programs
• Agenda-Module 4   

Module 5: Economics of Dairy Business (February 4-5, 2010)

• Understanding basic concepts
• Setting production and economical benchmarks
• Factors affecting business decisions
• Agenda-Module 5   

Module 6: Dairy Farm Economics (April 29-30, 2010)

• Production, costs, and profitability 
• Business plan and cash flow
• Dairy herd expansion
• Agenda-Module 6   

Module 7: Milk Quality Program and Monitoring (August 26-28, 2010)

• Milk systems, equipments, and parlor efficiency
• Monitoring milk routine and milk quality assurance
• Udder health and mastitis control programs
• Bacteriology, sampling, and diagnostics
• Agenda-Module 7   

Module 8: Preventive Medicine and Animal Welfare (December 2-4, 2010)

• Dairy facility and cow comfort
• Production medicine, diseases, and diagnostic testing
• Implementing SOPs
• Manure management
• Agenda-Module 8   

Module 9: Calf Care and Replacement Heifer Management (March 3-4, 2011)

• Neonatal health management
• Facilities, biosecurity, and barnyard epidemiology
• Reproductive programs
• Agenda-Module 9   

Module 10: Leadership and Personal Effectiveness (May 5-7, 2011)

• Working with Hispanic labor
• Personal effectiveness and programming
• Team problem-solving
• Record keeping systems
• Agenda-Module 10   

Module 11: Dairy Grazing Systems and Economics (July 28-29, 2011)

• Understanding grazing systems
• Designing and implementing grazing strategies
• Management  and monitoring
• Economics of rotational grazing
• Agenda-Module 11   

International Educational Trip: (Sept 30-Oct 10, 2011)

• Gain awareness and a competitive advantage on how dairy production is accomplished in other regions and countries
• Opportunity to visit public universities; research and extension units; and exchange experiences with colleagues, dairy farmers, and researchers
• Understanding global trends on dairy production
• Agenda-Argentina