Activities and Events
Exchange programs are one emphasized aspect of the Cornell Dairy Fellows program. Through Cornell Abroad, students can arrange to study for a semester or year in another American or international university; popular sites of study include New Zealand, Scotland, England, Spain and Australia.
One of the principal components of the Dairy Fellows courses and program are the in-depth farm analysis tours. On a typical in-depth farm analysis tour, students will visit a farm equipped with limited data about the farm production and management. They will have a few hours on the farm to interview the producer and agribusiness professionals that service the farm as well as to make on-farm observations, calculations and ultimately, recommendations to the dairy farmer regarding potential improvements or problem areas.
“We go to dairies where there is a trust established, whether it is because the farmers know the county extension agent, who set up the tour, or we know the owners,” Galton said. “There are dairies and businesses that we’ll go to that we don’t know but we feel more comfortable when we do know them so that we can ask more direct questions that yield more information for the students. There is also follow-up through county agents and/or Pro-Dairy specialists and some follow-up from faculty.”
Students discuss the farm they analyzed earlier in the day with the producer and agribusiness professionals that service the farm as they formulate their recommendations.
As for industry tours, every other year, the students visit California for a week of touring various agricultural production sites.
On the alternating years, Dairy Fellows students often join the Cornell University Dairy Science club on their international dairy industry tours. These trips take place in Italy, Spain or Germany. Cornell animal science faculty members Mike VanAmburgh, Thomas Overton and David Galton organize and oversee these tours.
Dairy Fellows also attend dairy industry conferences to keep abreast with current industry news and trends as well as the application of scientific studies in the dairy industry. Some of the conferences that Fellows attend include the Northeast Dairy Producer Association annual meeting in Syracuse, NY, the Cornell Nutrition Conference in Syracuse, NY, the Herd Health and Nutrition Conference in Auburn, NY, and the Western U.S. Dairy Herd Management Conference in Reno, NV.
“We encourage them to go to the conferences and will financially support their attendance through registration, lodging and meals,”