Week 6- 4-H and more farms

This week started off by helping with the annual 4-H conference held at MMPA's headquarters in Novi, MI. This conference has been an annual event for over 50 years and is an opportunity for many 4-H participants from around the state to gather and learn more about MMPA and the dairy industry. Not only are there presentations and speakers but also a tour of the Michigan Dairy plant in Livonia, MI. All the participants also have the opportunity to take a test at the end and qualify to go to the National Dairy Convention. While I was there I was able to learn more about MMPA and some facts about Michigan's dairy industry. For example, MMPA was formed in 1916 and has 2,300 members representing 1,500 farms and markets 3.8 BILLION pounds of milk annually. Michigan ranks 7th nationally for milk production and dairy is the top ranking segment of Michigan's number two industry: agriculture.

I didn't get to learn fun facts about the dairy industry and watch cheese and milk get processed the whole week though. I continued on my trek around the state to administer surveys to farms. This week I was in the Westphalia area, Webberville, Howard City, McBain, Falmouth, and Lake City. As I go to these different farms I'm seeing a continuous theme. All of these producers are very thankful for the service MMPA provides by evaluating their equipment on a regular basis. By doing this, they are able to detect small problems and fix them before they become major problems that could jeopardize the health of their cows and the quality of their milk. I am beginning to get a better understanding of and respect for the many things a farmer must monitor and keep track of in order to have a successful, productive farm.

Week 5-Off on my own

This week I went to the first nine dairy farms on which I administered my survey from the summer. These nine farms were everywhere from Westphalia, St. Johns, Litchfield, Conklin, to Pentwater. Some farms were only milking 30 cows and other others 330. One thing they all seemed to have in common was that they thought the Milking System Performance Assurance Program was very worthwhile and helpful. With field staff from MMPA coming out several times a year, there was an extra set of trained, skilled eyes that were able to detect problems with the milking equipment or cleaning system and could correct them before there were any negative effects seen in the cows' production or the quality of the milk. There has also been some constructive criticism which I'm sure will be very helpful to MMPA as they consider changes to this program in the future. Along the way to these various farms this week, I was allowed to be a "sightseer" in my own state with landmarks such as Michigan International Speedway, state historical landmarks, bicentennial farms, and some beautiful rural landscape.



There were also some meetings I went to throughout the week. MMPA is working with an animal behaviorist in Michigan State University's Animal Science Department to establish some general dairy cow welfare protocol. With this they hope to give producers some guidelines they can easily go through on their own and with their veterinarian and other specialists to easily assure all of their animals' welfare needs are being met. I also attended my second Be Aware Be Prepared meeting where the plans for an upcoming simulated Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak and containment exercise were finalized. I traveled down to Shipshewana, IN with MMPA, Michigan Department of Agriculture, and Michigan State University Extension for a meeting withe Indiana Department of Agriculture. They are working on establishing a program called Certified Livestock Producer Program which is similar to Michigan's MAEAP (Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program). MAEAP is a voluntary program farmers can participate in and become certified signifying they are engaging in cost-effective pollution prevention practices and complying with state and federal environmental regulations. Indiana's program will be similar to this but will also encompass animal well being, food safety, emergency planning, biosecurity, and being a good neighbor.

Week 4- A Little Bit of Everything

Wow I've seen and learned a lot this week! Not only have I had the most active part yet in a Milking System Performance Assurance Program (MSPAP) analysis but also toured a dairy plant and seen butter, non-fat dried milk, and condensed milk being made, visited several Amish farms in Indiana, and also been told next week I'll be starting my survey I've been getting ready for!

The MSPAP analysis I helped with at the beginning of the week was a very positive experience. It was the first time I got to operate a lot of the measuring equipment on my own and was able to analyze the numbers and determine the equipment was operating as it should. I also talked to the producer who was helping with the morning milking and learned that she had not grown up on a farm and just recently got into the dairy industry. And here I thought all of the farmers grew up on farms and had been doing it their whole life! Guess there's still hope for me wanting to be a large animal vet having not grown up on a farm (:

I had the opportunity to travel to Constantine, MI and take a complete tour of the processing plant there. At this plant they produce all the butter for the McDonald's around the country. They also produce condensed milk and non-fat dry milk. It was interesting to learn about all the safety and biosecurity protocols that are in effect and witness the massive amount of production that occurs there daily.

In the middle of the week I traveled down to several Amish farms in Indiana. My initial nervousness soon disappeared as I talked to the producers and they showed me their unique milking set-ups and introduced me to their many draft horses, and even was given a ride in a cart by a young girl pulled by the family's 3 feet tall miniature horse, Ginger! I learned a lot about the work ethic of this culture and also about the struggles they have to maintain clean equipment in a setting that doesn't have many of the leisures of vacuum lines and automated equipment cleaning.

By the end of this week I am feeling even more confident about setting out to meet with producers and administer the survey I have been preparing for so far this summer. I am looking forward to meeting even more new producers and seeing their facilities and listening to their opinions.

Week 3- Finally get to milk a cow!

By and far the highlight of my week was not milking just one cow but thirty! At a small farm where they were kind enough to feed us pizza afterwards, I was able to help with a herd test during an afternoon milking and collect samples from each cow. It was great! I was also able to be "in charge" of some farm inspections this week and work through each farm with the MMPA field representative and rank each farm according to how I thought they were doing in maintaining equipment, cow health, and overall cleanliness. Hopefully now when I go to farms as a veterinarian someday I will have a better idea of what I need to look for.

I went one day to Allendale, MI to the Leprino mozzarella cheese processing plant. Even though we weren't able to tour the plant, I now understand the different processes the milk haulers have to undergo during the loading and unloading of milk. I have definitely gained a tremendous amount of respect for the haulers and the responsibilities they have with thousands of pounds of milk at a time. The initial screening lab there also talked about the importance of detecting any milk loads that have antibiotics in them before the milk is pumped from the trunk. That same day we also stopped at a veal farm that was raising around 700 calves. At this farm they receive all the milk from the surrounding areas that can't be sold at the store anymore or served in schools (it's around 3 semi loads a week!). I never knew what to expect at a veal farm but was pleasantly surprised to see the calves with plenty of room and comfort in each of their stalls; all coming up to the front of the stall to see who we were and what we were up to.

The week wrapped up by attending the Agriculture Electrical Council meeting. This was a good opportunity to learn some about stray voltage and the ways it can potentially negatively affect a dairy producer and cows' production.

Week 2- Traveling all over the state

This week I have been all over the state (the west coast to the thumb and back to Central Lansing area) and seen 11 very different farms along the way. I am starting to understand the Milking System Performance Assurance Program a little better. Producers sign up to participate in this program and can have their vacuum lines/system, equipment washing and sanitizing system, and pulsator system (what causes the vacuum and relaxation during milking) analyzed. By doing this on a routine basis, health problems and a drop in production can often be prevented or caught. I am starting to look forward to going to the farms that participate in this program and administering the survey I am charge of. I hope I will get their honest, open opinions about the program and what they like and what can be improved.

I have also gone on more routine farm inspections. During these equipment, the facilities, and the health and cleanliness of the cows are evaluated. By commenting on things that need to be improved, producers can make these changes before state inspectors come who can then enforce violations and fines.

This week wrapped up by getting a taste of the environmental issues MMPA and dairy producers are currently facing or will face in the future. I rode around for the day with the MMPA employee that is responsible for these concerns including manure and waste water management. I learned more about the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP) and the steps dairy farmers are taking to meet the environmental standards established by that. The two pictures at the top show a bark filtration system and a future wetland biofilter system. These are designed to remove environmentally harmful substances from dairy farm wastewater before adding the clean water back to the groundwater. It will be interesting to see if more dairy farms adopt these systems in future years.

Week 1- And so it begins

This week has kept me busy starting off with an orientation at MMPA headquarters in Novi, MI. While there I was able to meet a lot of the employees and learn about their different, unique roles in MMPA. I also was able to tour the lab and learn about how hundreds of milk samples from around the state (and some from Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin) come in daily and are analyzed for different bacteria and cell counts as a measure of quality control.

I have also gone to my first Be Aware Be Prepared meeting. At these meetings representatives from Michigan Department of Agriculture, Michigan Farm Bureau, MSU extension specialists, and representatives from the industry discuss emergency plans for foreign animal disease control such as Foot and Mouth Disease.

After traveling with field representatives this week, I have learned about the services MMPA offers including routine inspections, well sampling, and equipment analysis. Before I know it terms such as herringbone or rotary parlors, pulsators, vacuum lines, receivers, and bulk tanks will be a regular part of my vocabulary! I'm just beginning to realize how many services MMPA offers to their members and the importance of each of them.

My summer fellowship with MMPA

This summer I have the privilege of working with Michigan Milk Producers Association through Michigan State University's College of Veterinary Medicine Summer Food Systems Fellowship. Through this opportunity, I will be able to build on my understanding of food animal medicine through a better perspective of the industry side of things. I will be learning everything about the dairy industry including farm inspections, equipment analysis, environmental concerns, animal husbandry and welfare, milk processing, and much more. My main project will be traveling to dairy farms around the state that participate in MMPA's program called the Milking System Performance Assurance Program and administering a survey that will allow MMPA to make the program even more helpful and beneficial for producers.