ISU Extension and Outreach training videos are available in both English and Spanish
AMES, Iowa – Having properly trained employees is critical for the health, growth and development of dairy calves and for the profitability and sustainability of a dairy farm. A new series of resources is available through Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to provide training in calf management including; newborn calf care, colostrum management, calf nutrition, animal handling, automatic calf feeder management and hygiene and sanitation. Each of the videos are less than 3 minutes in length, utilizing video demonstration of on farm practices to emphasize key calf management practices.
“Employees who manage calves should thoroughly understand why and how to test colostrum, importance of low stress handling and proper nutrition from birth, and hygiene for health and future animal performance” says Jennifer Bentley, ISU Extension & Outreach Dairy Field Specialist. “Long-term, these training resources will provide better training and understanding of calf care, increased employee engagement and retention, better calf performance and increased farm profitability,” Bentley noted.
Each video is available in both English and Spanish and are available as DVDs or on flashdrives. To request a copy, go to this link
or contact Jennifer Bentley at jbentley@iastate.edu, 563-382-2949 or Kim Clark at kimclark@unl.edu, 402-472-6065.
Funding for this project was provided by the North Central Risk Management Education Center, the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture under Award Number 2015-49200-24226