PDP Hoof Management Workshop Offers On-Farm, Hands-On Training

Spanish translation provided at one-day event set for June 20 at Maier Farms, LLC, Waunakee, Wis.

There’s still time to register for the 2024 Hoof Management Workshop presented by Professional Dairy Producers® (PDP). The one-day workshop, designed for hoof trimmers, herdspersons, nutritionists, and veterinarians, will offer access to world-class experts, hands-on training opportunities and simultaneous Spanish translation.

The workshop will be held on Thursday, June 20, at Maier Farms LLC, 7085 Schumacher Rd., Waunakee Wis. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. with the program concluding at 3:30 p.m. The 2024 Hoof Management Workshop is sponsored by Zinpro.

“The Hoof Management Workshop is a must-attend event for team members who are working with dairy cattle every day, providing opportunities to practice key animal handling skills and better understand how to prevent and manage lameness in the herd,” said Paul Lippert, Pittsville, Wis., dairy producer and PDP vice president. “Register your team today – and encourage your veterinarian, nutritionist, and other consulting team members to attend so everyone is on the same page on this critical topic.”

The host dairy farm will serve as an interactive case study for all workshop participants. The program will begin with a general session covering the fundamentals of stockmanship, featuring skills that are imperative for the safety of both animals and team members. Attendees will have practical, hands-on opportunities to practice stockmanship skills and animal handling skills in pens with dairy cattle.

In breakout sessions, participants will work with facilitators in smaller groups to explore the technical essentials of the footbath, identify treatment options and protocols for chronically challenged cows, and discuss practices that create continuous improvements in hoof health to reduce the strain lameness places on cows and team members.

The workshop will be facilitated by three hoof health experts: Karl Burgi, founder of the Save Cows^® Network, hoof-care provider and consultant; Ashlynn Kirk, program manager for the Humane Handling Institute, University of Wisconsin-River Falls; and Dr. Laura Solano, DVM, PhD, assistant professor of Food Animal Production at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine.

This program is accredited for up to 4 Dairy AdvanCE continuing education credits and up to 4 ARPAS continuing education credits.

Learn more about the 2024 PDP Dairy Wellbeing Workshop, including speaker information and additional program content, and register your team today by visiting www.pdpw.org or calling 800-947-7379. Follow along digitally in advance of and during the event by following @dairyPDPW and using #mypdpw on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Professional Dairy Producers (PDP) is the nation’s largest dairy producer-led organization of its kind, focusing on producer professionalism, stakeholder engagement and unified outreach to share ideas, solutions, resources and experiences that help dairy producers succeed.