University of Minnesota Extension and the Minnesota Dairy Initiative are hosting several virtual meetings on dairy management issues.

Zoom discussions will be held from 12:30 to 1 p.m. on the second and fourth Fridays. The next meeting will be Jan. 22 and the series concludes March 26.

Meetings are as follows:

Jan. 22. “Am I Ready for Robotic Milkers?

What's the craze with robotic milkers? Learn from dairy farmers Ashley Swenson and Jim Dieball about the reasons they installed robotic milkers and keys to making them successful.

Feb. 12. “Bessy’s Bottom Line: How much is that cow actually making you?”

Joleen Hadrich will discuss feed cost per cow and opportunity cost of labor and management. We will also touch on how profit isn’t just about input management, but revenue management as well. In light of government funding this year, we will talk about which profit we should use to make decisions --the one that includes government payments or not?

Feb. 26. “Finding (and keeping!) Farm Employees”

Dairy farms big and small sometimes struggle finding and keeping quality employees. In this discussion, U-MN Extension educators and Phil Durst, Michigan State University, will talk with a couple Minnesota farmers that have had success hiring employees.

March 12. “Best Practices for Productive Farm Meetings”

Whether you’re meeting with your farm employees or holding meetings with ag professionals to create strategies for your farm, it’s important that your meetings are effective. In this discussion, Jim Salfer and Jill Zieroth will discuss how to prepare for those meetings, how to engage everyone at the table, and how to ensure you’re accomplishing the goals you’ve set for the meeting.

March 26. “Pre-Weaned Calf Rearing Systems and Raising Healthy Dairy Calves”

Brad Heins and Karen Johnson will discuss options for raising healthy dairy calves with different rearing systems. Examples from several rearing systems will be shared, including automatic feeders, individual and pair-housing and raising calves with cows.

Registration is required by noon on the day before the event at https://z.umn.edu/SCMNdairyseries.

The educational discussions are free. All sessions will be recorded and emailed to participants to watch at their own convenience. An event brochure is available at https://z.umn.edu/WDSSouthCentral.

For more information, contact Adam Austing at [email protected], 320-249-5929; Karen Johnson at [email protected], 320-484-4303; or Jill Zieroth at [email protected], 952-240-9993.

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