CLOVIS, NEW MEXICO — Eighteen students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences participated in the 2011 Southern Great Plains Dairy Consortium Teaching program this summer earning hands-on dairy large herd management experience.
For the fourth year, the six-week long intensive dairy teaching program was held in Clovis, New Mexico, May 16 – June 24, 2011, and has seen a steady increase in the number of student participants. In 2011, 52 students from 13 different universities and two companies were welcomed to the program, nearly triple that of the inaugural year’s enrollment in 2008.
The 2010 consortium class included nine students from Texas A&M, and this year that number doubled. Enrolled from Texas A&M were Ashley Barker, Carina Cedillo, Ike Damstra, Nathan Dudley, Sarah Genzer, Jaelan Gilbreath, Nicole Hoff, Robert Johnson, Andrew Krenek, Enrique Mendiola, Andres Ward and Tiffany Yarborough, animal science; Kristin Catron and Shay McDonald, dairy science; Stacy Negron and Victoria Wolverton, wildlife and fisheries; Megan Sima, biomedical sciences; and Blake Wolf, agribusiness.
Dr. Michael Tomaszewski, professor emeritus of dairy science in the Department of Animal Science and coordinator of the teaching consortium, said, “The continued growth in the program is an indication of the need for such a program in the southwest. At Texas A&M, we have seen an interest and enthusiasm for a dairy program continue to increase among our students, due to the opportunity that the consortium offers.”
The SGPDCT was created specifically to address the need of dairy science education at universities in the southwest and to ensure an educated, qualified pool of employees for the growing dairy industry. The program allows students to receive dairy training in large herd management while still enrolled at a university and covers topics such as herd evaluation, reproduction, nutrition, genetics, facilities and mastitis.
The 2012 SGPDCT program is scheduled for May 14-June 23, 2012 and application are now being accepted. Go to http://sgpdct.tamu.edu to apply or for more information on the program.
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