New Advanced Reproduction Workshop For PA Dairy Producers, Employees

Pennsylvania dairy producers and employees can attend a new training program in advanced dairy reproductive management for free.

Penn State Cooperative Extension and Dairy Alliance are offering the new Advanced Reproductive Management Workshop for producers and experienced dairy herd employees. All Pennsylvania dairy producers and their employees who attend can receive a rebate of 100 percent of their workshop registration fee, making their attendance free of charge.

The Advanced Reproductive Management Workshop will help participants acquire more advanced knowledge related to reproductive management and the skills to identify problems and improve performance. Workshop participants will learn the economic implications of poor reproductive performance, the factors affecting heat detection rate and conception rate, and the benefits of systematic breeding programs. In addition, they will review methods for determining pregnancy status, learn how to apply breeding selection indexes and practices to meet breeding goals, and how to enhance their ability to evaluate records to identify causes of low pregnancy rate.

Instructors include Penn State Cooperative Extension educators Dr. Sandra Costello, Dr. Mike O'Connor, Robert Goodling, Dr. David Wolfgang and Amber Lemin. Workshop sponsors are Alta-Genetics, Lancaster Dairy Farm Automation, and Mid-Atlantic Farm Credit.

The two-day workshop will be offered Jan. 16 and 23, 2007, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., at the Franklin County Cooperative Extension Office Complex, 181 Franklin Farm Lane, Chambersburg, PA. Thanks to a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, all Pennsylvania dairy producers and their employees who attend are eligible to receive a 100 percent reimbursement of the $125 registration fee.

Advanced registration is required. To register, contact Dairy Alliance at 888-373-7232 or register online at http://dairyalliance.psu.edu/conferences/reproductive. The $125 registration fee is payable at the time of registration. Participants may apply for reimbursement of their registration fee at the conclusion of the workshop. Mastercard and VISA are accepted. Questions should be directed to the Dairy Alliance office. Dairy Alliance is a Penn State Cooperative Extension initiative.

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Penn State Dairy Alliance