Milk producers in the most highly concentrated dairy area in the U.S. are invited to attend a free one-day workshop on genomics in Tulare, Calif. The workshop will be held April 30 from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the U.C. Davis Veterinary Medicine Teaching and Research Center (VMTRC), just south of the International AgriCenter. A complementary lunch will be provided.
The program is a joint effort between extension specialists at the University of California, Washington State University, the University of Idaho, and the University of Florida. Previous workshops were held in 2014 in Idaho, Washington, Texas and Florida and are part of a five-year, $3 million grant from USDA aimed at helping reverse the downward trend in the fertility rate of U.S. dairy cows.
The workshop program is geared specifically for dairy producers and will concentrate on how they can apply genomic strategies to help increase the rate of genetic progress and profitability on their farms. Presentations will be:
- "Introduction to genomics and fertility" by Joe Dalton, University of Idaho, and Dale Moore, Washington State University.
- "Research updates on genomics and fertility" by Dalton and Klibs Galvao, University of Florida.
- "Case studies using genomic testing in dairy cattle" by representatives from Zoetis and Neogen Corp.
- "Economics of genomics" by Karun Kaniyamattam, University of Florida.
The author has served large Western dairy readers for the past 38 years and manages Hoard's WEST, a publication written specifically for Western herds. He is a graduate of Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, majored in journalism and is known as a Western dairying specialist.
