For the approximately 50 students who attend the U.S. Dairy Education and Training Consortium (USDETC) in Clovis, New Mexico, each year, reasons for attending the program often involve a desire to expand their knowledge of the dairy industry, an interest in the management practices of large dairy herds or an aspiration to study dairy science – an opportunity available within only a limited number of land-grant universities today.

Age: 26 Location: Watertown, Wisconsin History of your dairy, in a nutshell: Lloyd and Daphne Holterman started farming with Lloyd’s parents in 1981. Then, after a two-year stint of farming on their own, they returned to the family farm in 1989. They purchased the cattle and equipment that year, then bought farmland in 1995.

Age: 49 Location: Rickland Holsteins is located an hour north of Madison, Wisconsin. Your agricultural background, in a nutshell: Eldor Rickert, my grandpa, purchased the farm in 1936. Later in the 1950s, my father, Don, took over the responsibilities and introduced registered Holsteins into the herd, and by 1976 the herd had increased to 100 cows.

School’s back in session, but this summer the next generation of veterinarians, nutritionists and dairy farmers honed their dairy skills through on-farm summer internships.

Age: 55 Location: Clarksville, Iowa Your agricultural background, in a nutshell: I have been the co-owner of Beaver Creek Farm for more than 35 years, working in the dairy business with my husband, Dave. I bought my first Holstein in fifth grade, and some of the animals in the herd yet today trace back to “Milly.”

Modern intensive research is usually carried out in highly specialized research stations, but for West Virginia University, moving their research work to a commercial dairy farm has brought numerous benefits to both the researchers and the host dairyman.

The improved cow comfort, production and health benefits of sand-bedded barns have resulted in many dairymen converting existing facilities to sand-based systems. For Troy Sellen, a dairyman from Oconto Falls, Wisconsin, installing the correct type of sand-bedding retainer was a key factor in achieving the benefits of sand bedding in his retrofit 330-cow freestall barn.