Once again there are four locations for the New England Dairy Conferences scheduled in March, 2014. Cooperative Extensions in New England and the Dairy Practices Committee are working jointly to organize these conferences. Each location will have its own local program and trade show, along with a featured speaker.
This year's featured speaker will be Thomas Herremans, an Udder Health Management Consultant with IBA, Ravenna, MI who works in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio.
Tom was raised in West Michigan on a dairy farm. He graduated from Michigan State University with a BS in Dairy Science, and then taught Vocational Agriculture for 10 years.
Tom worked for Michigan Milk Producers' Association (a Dairy Coop) for 31 years, where he developed the MMPA Milker Training Schools, which have been attended by over 4,000 people over the last 17 years. For over 20 tears Tom has worked with dairy producers to help them lower their somatic cell count (SCC). The 1,400 member Coop has enjoyed an average SCC of under 200,000 for the last three years. He also developed a diagnostic equipment evaluation program and trained the specialists who do the evaluations.
Tom believes that milking routines should be a good experience for the cow and never compromise milk quality. Tom also believes that SCC reduction strategies that focus heavily on prevention are the only practical, long term management approach for profitable dairy farms.
Tom has served on the Boards of Directors of the Dairy Practices Council and the National Mastitis Council. He has delivered presentations and taught short courses that focus on milking routines, equipment evaluation and reducing SCC at National Mastitis Council meetings, Dairy Practices Council meetings, State Industry Dairy Conferences, and University Dairy and Vet Medicine classes.
At this Dairy Management Conference, Tom will discuss myths and misconceptions about SCC, new economic analysis of udder infection; the path and secrets to SCC below 100,000; establishing an udder prep routine that works and never changes; prevention strategies that address the teat end of every cow, every day; and how to effectively deal with subclinical infections.
The conference will be held in four different locations. These dates and locations include:
- Monday, March 10: UCONN, Storrs, Connecticut Bishop Center for Continuing Education
- Tuesday, March 11: Waterville, Maine The Elks Club
- Wednesday, March 12: Whitefield, New Hampshire Mountain View Grand Resort
- Thursday, March 13: Concord, New Hampshire Holiday Inn
For more information contact UNH Extension Specialist, Michal Lunak at (603)787-6944.
1.17.2014