Dairy Herdsman Program brings students to USU
Students all over the United States have come to Utah State University to participate in a program offered by the department of animal, dairy and veterinary sciences. This program is the Dairy Herdsman Program.
The Dairy Herdsman Program is a two-semester certificate program giving students practical dairy knowledge and hands on experience to work as dairy herdsman, according to the USU Web site.
They participate in lectures and tests, take a practical math course for their field of study and are required to work part time on a dairy, said Lois Cobia, staff assistant for the animal, dairy and veterinary sciences department.
The students also attend labs to teach them how to balance rations for the nutrition of the animals and visit feed mills and dairies in central Utah and Idaho, she said.
Students attend this program from all over the country. The program does not base itself on the very technical aspects of learning. It helps teach students the basics of how to work in a dairy, Cobia said.
“Most of them come from dairy backgrounds. They know a lot from living on dairies,” she said.
Students’ previous knowledge allows them to learn the basics in a short period of time. The program is not as in-depth as a four-year program, Cobia said.
This program helps them improve their employment opportunities. Aside from being in class about three hours per day, they also gain hands-on knowledge of what it is like to work on several types of dairy farms, she said.
“It’s mostly kids out of high school that want to train for one year and return to work on a dairy farm,” said Marc Healey, animal, dairy and veterinary sciences department head.