Arizona dairy producers' toolbox of resources and expertise has become tremendously bigger with the announcement that Dr. John Smith has been hired as the new University of Arizona Extension Dairy Specialist. It is a major coup for the state.

A production management expert whose focus is on practical, effective solutions to daily challenges faced by milk producers, Smith is already well known throughout Arizona and the Southwest. He served as New Mexico Extension Dairy Specialist from 1989 to 1995, where he was mentored by longtime Arizona Extension Dairy Specialist Dennis Armstrong. It's a close, productive collaboration and friendship that continues today and over the years has produced numerous advances in dairy design and expansion, parlor throughput efficiency, special needs facilities, and cow cooling in particular.

He left New Mexico in 1995 to take over as Extension Dairy Specialist at Kansas State University, where he dramatically raised the profile of that school's dairy Extension program and won several awards for his education leadership. He also co-founded the Western Large Herd Dairy Management Conference and the High Plains Dairy Management Conference.

Smith will be officially introduced at Arizona Dairy Dairy April 8 at Shamrock Dairy in Stanfield.