This educational pilot program is being implemented to providetraining and education about care and management of dairy calves in English and Spanish.The language barrier among dairy owners, managers and employees limitsthe transfer of knowledge and training; this program seeks to bridge the gap and educate a sector of the dairy workforce to successfully raise dairy replacements. This is a collaborative effort between dairy extension specialists from Iowa State University and the University of Nebraska. Two dairy farms in Iowa and one in Nebraska served as pilot sites for a workshop addressing management practices and educating Hispanic dairy employees on topics such as importance of colostrum and its quality, proper use of esophageal feeders, and animal handling. Through these workshops, it was found that most employees had little to no experience handling calves prior to their current employment.In addition, many employees had limited training on proper proceduresincluding hygiene protocols, colostrum quality assessment and animal handling. Long term goals of this program include an on-line repository of educational and training material available in English and Spanish.

This educational program guided decision-making process to assist small, beginning, traditional commercial producers to determine best management practices in their transition cow program. Focused topic areas included facilities, nutrition, health, records, financial and production variables. Twenty-five risk management surveys, 7 on-farm workshops, 3 on-farm demonstrations of transition cow monitoring tools, 3on-line learning modules, and 60 individual visits were used to increase awareness, understanding, and decision-making ability. Following the educational programming along with numerous articles published in national dairy magazines, 48 producers have begun to develop or implement change to their transition cow program best suited for their management, labor, and financial structure. Long term application of these management changes includes changes in reduced stress, reduced fresh cow problems, and improved milk production through a better start of the cow’s lactation.