On February 17, the first online meeting of the year took place as part of the collaboration between the Advisory Center of AMP and colleagues from the United States, Michigan State University. The initiative includes monthly webinars featuring top international experts. They will share their experience and best practices, which our experts will be able to effectively implement in the support of MTF.
It is worth noting that 2024 marked a new milestone in the fruitful collaboration with Michigan State University (East Lansing, USA).
The positive experience of the previous year has demonstrated the importance of international knowledge exchange in this format, as confirmed by consultants from the Advisory Center of AMP, veterinarians from Center of Veterinary Servise, and experts from Global Agro Finance (GAF).
Once again, with enthusiasm and a thirst for new knowledge, they welcomed Phil Durst, field-based Educator with Michigan State University Extension with more than 30 years of experience working with farmers, as well as Barry Bradford, a Professor in the Department of Animal Science at Michigan State University.
The meeting began with warm mutual greetings and heartfelt words of support. After that, participants moved on to discussing the main topic of the webinar—the transition period.
Barry Bradford, the keynote speaker of the webinar, provided a detailed overview of the prevention of milk fever after calving and the prevention of metabolic disorders post-calving.
Based on his practical experience, the speaker summarized key takeaways and shared essential recommendations for a successful transition period, as well as strategies for managing inflammation and low rumination levels.
The two-hour meeting proved to be too short, as participants had many questions, highlighting the high level of interest and relevance of the topic. Ukrainian experts also shared real-life cases from their practice, fostering lively discussions and mutual knowledge exchange.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Phil Durst expressed his gratitude for the productive discussion and suggested selecting several topics for future online webinars. This would allow for better preparation and the inclusion of experts specialized in each niche.
Dear Phil Durst and Barry Bradford, we are sincerely grateful for the opportunity to grow and adopt invaluable experience. Your contribution to the development of cattle farming is a model to follow and inspires us to achieve new milestones!
Phil Durst is a field-based Educator with Michigan State University Extension with more than 30 years of experience working with farmers. He works statewide focusing on dairy and beef cattle health and production. He is involved in projects to improve prevention of Bovine Leukemia Virus, Bovine Tuberculosis and mastitis and to examine antibiotic use on farms. He also works to with farmers help them grow as employers, leading their employees to better performance. He has spoken widely on agricultural topics including in Israel, China, Ukraine and Armenia. In 2022-2023, Durst served as President of the National Association of County Agricultural Agents, a professional improvement association with more than 3200 members nationwide.
Bradford completed his BS at Iowa State University and a PhD in animal nutrition at Michigan State University. He served on the faculty at Kansas State University from 2006 to 2019, and in 2020 he returned to Michigan State as the Clint Meadows Chair in Dairy Management. Bradford’s research focuses on dairy cattle nutrition and metabolism as well as dairy management. He also routinely works with dairy producers to find solutions to dairy management challenges in support of improved economic, environmental, and social sustainability for the industry.
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