Page 46 - BCHNews-WCDN1224-Web

46 WC DAIRY NEWS  CHRISTMAS 2024
Another Successful Dairy Dynamics Workshop!
Shannon Cartwright,
Technical Education and Extension Specialist,
Holstein Canada
Recently, Holstein Canada, in partnership
with BC Dairy and Lactanet, hosted the
second Dairy Dynamics Workshop at
Southern Irrigation in Chilliwack, British
Columbia. There was a great turnout of
58 local dairy producers and industry
partners in attendance, including Toby
Kleinsasser, Jill Nelson, and Shannon
Cartwright from Holstein Canada, Tony
Meyer and Bob Reck from Lactanet,
and Morgan Sangster from BC Dairy.
Featured speakers were Dr. Gordon
Atkins, highly respected veterinarian and
professor from the University of Calgary,
and panel participants Alan Hessels
(Hesdon Holsteins), Grant Bouwman
(Mardelen Holsteins), and Mike Duncan
(Bonnie Doone Dairy). The main goal
of the workshop was to educate and
inform producers on how the services
and tools offered by Holstein Canada,
Lactanet, and genetics companies
work together to promote longevity and
increased performance in dairy herds.
By providing producers with different
management tools and strategies,
stronger decision-making will make gains
in herd performance more achievable.
Morgan Sangster, Producer Support
Manager from BC Dairy, provided the
opening remarks, introducing the morning
speakers beginning with Tony Meyer,
Lactanet’s British Columbia Regional
Manager. Tony’s presentation focused
on the value of Lactanet’s services,
particularly how milk recording services
work with other services offered by
Holstein Canada. He also highlighted the
value of Lactanet’s mobile application and
the new website they recently launched.
He touched on some specific issues that
British Columbia producers are currently
facing and how Lactanet’s tools can help
with managing these.
Shannon Cartwright, Holstein Canada’s
Technical Education and Extension
Specialist, spoke of various tools and
services offered by Holstein Canada and
other industry partners. She explained
how these tools can help to increase
the reliability of your on-farm data to
make more accurate decisions, as well
as how they can aid in the management
of things like inbreeding and recessives,
maximizing economic return from your
mating strategies. Additionally, she
highlighted how these tools can help
to improve longevity and performance
in dairy herds and provided specific
examples related to classification.
Dr. Gordon Atkins emphasized the
scientific and bio-mechanical reasons
why classification is important. He
highlighted how genetics and scoring
of conformation traits have created
the Holstein cow we see today, and
provided images and explanations of why
the various traits in Holstein Canada’s
classification system are important for
high milk production and producing an
animal that will last in your herd.
Toby Kleinsasser, Holstein Canada’s
Western Field Service representative,
introduced the producer panelists
and moderator Jill Nelson, Holstein
Canada Classifier. There was some great
discussion among our panelists and with
the audience about the value they see in
the services offered by industry partners
and how they have aided in improving
performance on their farms. The panel
provided unique perspectives by having a
second generation producer that heavily
uses most of the services, a producer that
was impacted greatly by BC flooding, and
a producer that has started classifying in
the last few years.
Overall, the workshop was a huge success,
producing positive feedback from those in
attendance. There was lots of informative
discussion and valuable networking
opportunities with industry partners and
many producers indicated interest in
implementing the strategies discussed. A
big thank you goes out to the sponsors of
this event - Southern Irrigation, WestGen,
BC Holstein Branch, Blondin Sires and
Corals Cows.
A wealth of knowledge was shared by (L-R): Toby Kleinsasser (Holstein
Canada), Tony Meyer (Lactanet), Alan Hessels (Hesdon Holsteins),
Dr. Gordon Atkins (U of C), Mike Duncan (Bonnie Doone Dairy), Grant
Bouwman (Mardelen Holsteins), Shannon Cartwright (Holstein Canada),
Morgan Sangster (BC Dairy).
SEASONS
Greetings Greetings
s G r e e t i n
S e a s o n ’
g
s
A full house of participants for the second Dairy Dynamics workshop!
ATD’S 2-STEP MANURE MANAGEMENT ATD’S 2-STEP MANURE MANAGEMENT
SYSTEM IS READY FOR YOUR FARM SYSTEM IS READY FOR YOUR FARM
GOAL 1: GOAL 1: INCREASE SOLIDS-FREE WATER
STORAGE CAPACITY ON THE FARM.
HOW? HOW? CONVERT YOUR LAGOON
TO A RESERVOIR.
GOAL 2: GOAL 2: CREATE SOLIDS-FREE WATER RESERVE
ON-SITE AT CURRENT USAGE.
HOW? HOW? RECYCLE MANURE LIQUIDS AND SAVE
REDUCTION IN THE RESERVOIR.
GOAL 3: GOAL 3: REDUCE OPERATING COSTS AND GHG’S.
4” DEEP
HOW? HOW? REDUCE WEIGHT AND VOLUME OF
MANURE NUTRIENTS.
Melanie Lantz V.P. – BC Agriculture 604-217-2572
Michele Anderson Lower Mainland 778-986-2109
Grace Browne Lower Mainland 604-799-2437
Lauren Klade Lower Mainland 604-217-3950
Parm Kooner Lower Mainland 604-360-1740
Quincy North Lower Mainland 604-621-6795
Steve Saccomano Lower Mainland 604-703-5161
Teresa McKinley Vancouver Island 250-618-4316
Alecia Karapita BC Interior 250-318-8142
ATD MANURE SYSTEMS ATD MANURE SYSTEMSINC. INC.
604-736-4474 604-736-4474
VICTOR VAN SLYKE | vicatd@telus.net
www.dairymanure.com