Development of Dairy Farm Management Groups in Vermont and New Hampshire

Development of Dairy Farm Management Groups in Vermont and New Hampshire

Summary

Summary
This project successfully established eight, New Zealand-style, dairy farm discussion groups, involving approximately 150 dairy farmers in Vermont and New Hampshire. These groups are an efficient and effective method to bring new knowledge to producers, and to enhance active learning from one another. Four original collaborators learned the model from New Zealand agricultural professionals and farmers. The format and content of monthly meetings range from open discussions between group members on production practices or the latest facility designs to member selected topics presented by “outside” speakers. The subjects discussed included stress management, personnel management, lameness, calf raising, nutrition, teat skin evaluations, bunk management, extended calving intervals, personality evaluations with employer and employees, mastitis control, farm safety, waste management and large farm permit requirements. The discussion group model will continue to be successful because the group determines the subject matter. Ownership of the group is shared by all participants. The primary responsibility of the facilitator is to secure information on specific topics and to obtain resources to support group activities.

Objectives
1. Train two Sustainable Agriculture Agents, one from UVM and one from UNH, in New Zealand-style farm discussion groups for farmer education.
2. Train one Vermont and one New Hampshire farmer in the farm discussion groups for farmer education.
3. Develop five discussion groups in Vermont and New Hampshire.
4. Provide facilitators for three group meetings in five locations on the topics of on-farm communication skills, increasing community support of agriculture, and whole farm planning.

Activities:
Jean Conklin, UNH Regional Specialist, Dairy and Louise Calderwood, UVM Regional Specialist, Dairy spent 30 days in New Zealand observing 11 Livestock Advisory Consulting Officers (CO’s) conduct 18 dairy farmer discussion groups (DG’s). Dairy farmers Vernon Hurd, Newport Center, VT and David Keith, Haverhill, NH accompanied the Extension Agents on the New Zealand trip and also observed the CO’s, providing a farmers perspective. David and Keith also interviewed their New Zealand counterparts to increase their understanding of DG facilitation.
The COs represented experience from 1 to over 15 years in leading DGs. They employed a variety of techniques in facilitating groups and encouraging farmer interaction. Conklin and Calderwood interviewed New Zealand farmers attending DGs regarding the benefits derived from DG’s; the most important function of DG’s; what constituted a successful DG; and why they felt farmers did or did not attend on a regular basis.
Conklin and Calderwood held additional meetings with management level employees of Livestock Improvement Corp. Advisory members to explore job expectations, professional improvement needs and administrative requirements of CO’s.
In February 1997, 30 farmers, Extension personnel and agri-business representatives
participated in a training session on DG’s. Presenter’s included Jean, Louise, David and Vern. The day was an enormous success and led to widespread understanding of the DG method.
A Farm Data Sheet developed by Jean Conklin has been well received by DG’s. The sheet has been widely distributed and is extremely useful in keeping groups focused and on track.
An article on DG’s written by Louise Calderwood appeared in the April 17, 1997 edition of HOARD’S DAIRYMAN. Mention was made of the article on Dairy-L and resulted in over 40 requests for reprints from across the US as well as Canada, Brazil and New Zealand. Surveys were mailed with the reprints and returned surveys indicated the information received would be put to use immediately in farmer education programs.
Louise Calderwood and Jean Conklin presented a poster on DG’s at the 1997 meeting of the National Association of County Agriculture Agents and Louise Calderwood submitted an abstract to the Northeastern Regional Meeting of the American Dairy Science Association in the summer of 1998. Rick LeVitre made the presentation at ADSA.
During the spring of 1998 five presentations were made to over 100 farmers outlining the value of DG’s. As a result a DG was started in the White River Junction area and attendance increased at the Newport area DG. Louise visited two established DG’s to demonstrate the New Zealand style of group facilitation.

The project exceeded original expectations in terms of the number of DGs launched as a result of the training. At least eight dairy farmer DGs are currently functioning. Colleen Helenek, UVM Ext., facilitates two DGs; one is in the Newport – St. Albans area and includes mostly “large farms”. Glenn Rogers, UVM Ext., assists with facilitation of this group. Colleen is also a facilitator for one of the first established (Calderwood) DGs in the Craftsbury area. Willie Gibson facilitates a “family farm” type group in the Connecticut River Valley. Bill Snow, UVM Ext., facilitates a DG in central Vermont around Randolph. Rick LeVitre, UVM Ext. manages two groups in southern Vermont around Brattleboro and Bennington and assists Woody Pankey, UVM Ext., with two groups in Addison County. The Addison county DGs are primarily larger herds (150-750) and one group is composed of the employees of these larger dairy operations.
Outside speakers were used to lead discussions in the spring of 1997 on farm family communications. Presentations were also made on the DG technique and how it could benefit them. Karen Schneider, UVM Ext., conducted meetings with different DGs on “stress management”. This has been a high priority issue for many groups. Phil Benedict and other VT Dept. of Agriculture personnel have met with different DGs to discuss farming/non-farming neighbor relations and requirements for “large farms permits”. In June 1999 approximately 70 dairy farms were represented at two, 2-day short courses on forage management & cow comfort. The majority of participants were from the discussion groups in Addison and Franklin counties. Extension personnel from Cornell conducted the courses and it was a tremendously successful event with the producers.

Recommendations
We would recommend that the discussion group model be given serious consideration for adoption in other areas of Extension. Programs where “clients” are active planners, organizers, participants and critics have a high success rate. Ownership is shared throughout the group, satisfaction is guaranteed.

Reported September 1999

Collaborators: