UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State’s Extension Dairy Team is offering a series of free webinars aimed to Spanish-speaking individuals working on dairy farms. Each of the four webinars will last one hour, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., and will be presented in Spanish, with the opportunity for participants to ask questions and join in the discussion.
The first webinar will be Aug. 20 and will feature a discussion of Ketosis, a metabolic disease that can affect up to 40 percent of fresh cows in dairy farms. Participants will learn more about this condition and how to diagnose it correctly by using a variety of on-farm easy-to-use tools.
Presenters at each of the seminars will be Mauricio Rosales, Dairy Extension Educator in Lancaster County, and Adrian Barragan, DVM, M.S., Ph.D, Assistant Clinical Professor and Extension Veterinarian, both of whom are native Spanish speakers.
Subsequent webinars and topics are:
- Nov. 12: Metritis: The Importance of an Accurate Diagnostic
- Jan. 14, 2019: Best Milking Practices
- March 11, 2019: Detection and Management of Mastitis with Emphasis on Staff Training
The webinars are designed to help Spanish-speaking dairy employees gain more knowledge to improve their performance and increase animal welfare and profitability of the farm.
“In Pennsylvania there are a large number of Hispanic employees working on dairy farms,” Rosales said. “Dr. Barragan and I designed these seminars with the idea to provide a training option to this particular group of dairy employees that may not have access to other resources. We encourage dairy producers to take advantage of this learning opportunity.”
He said that while there have been best milking practices programs offered in Spanish, this is the first time that Penn State Extension offers webinars with a variety of topics related to dairy management for Spanish speakers.
There is no charge for the webinars, and registration is open until the start of the programs. To register, visit the Penn State Extension website https://extension.psu.edu/animals-and-livestock/dairy/health-and-care/shopby/webinars.
It is also possible to simply click on https://psu.zoom.us/j/423792931 and listen to the presentations.
— Penn State Extension Dairy Team
