A product of the Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems and the Farm and Industry Short Course

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Sample Pasture-Based Dairy and Livestock Seminar Agenda

This is a typical schedule for the 15 weeks of classes. Of course the dates and the guest speakers will change with each passing year, but you can get a pretty good idea of how the course usually runs.

Term I: Business start-up

Date	Topic	Speakers
Week 1	Starting a dairy or livestock business Principles and environmental considerations of pasture-based farming	Jennifer Taylor, UW-Madison CIAS and former dairy grazier Richard Cates, UW-Madison CIAS/Dept. of Soil Science and beef grazier, Spring Green
Week 2	Setting realistic goals for your start-up farm business	Tom Cadwallader, UWEX-Lincoln and Marathon Counties and sheep grazier Joe Tomandl, dairy grazier, Medford
Week 3	Feeding the dairy cow on pasture	Dave Combs, Dept. of Dairy Science, UW-Madison Kevin and Taylor Paul, dairy graziers, Stetsonville
Week 4	Farm selection; grazing system layout and design	Brian Pillsbury, State Grazing Lands Specialist, NRCS Baraboo Patty Laskowski and Bill Morren, organic dairy graziers, Hillsboro
Week 5	Beef production and marketing strategies	Jeff Lehmkuhler, Extension Beef Specialist, UW-Madison Terry and Cody Quam, beef farmers, Lodi
Week 6	Goat dairying	Chris Duemler, DVM, Brodhead Veterinary Medical Center, Brodhead Larry Hedrich, goat dairy farmer, Chilton
To be determined	Introduction to financial planning and management software (FINPACK)	Richard Cates, UW-Madison CIAS

Term II: Developing a Business Plan

Date	Topic	Speakers
Week 1	Farm business start-ups: Lessons learned	Alex and Tricia Crawford, organic dairy graziers, Deerbrook Mike Krutza, CEO Lighthouse Leadership, formerly CEO FCS-Financial Services, Wausau
Week 2	A successful business start-up model Farmer-driven marketing strategies	Tom Weigand, co-founder and past CDO of Noodles and Company Restaurants Ralph and Sharon Bredl, dairy farmers and farmstead cheese operators, Stratford
A Saturday Early in the Term	Farm tours of WSBDF graduate and mentor dairy/livestock operations - 9:00AM to 5:00PM
Week 3	USDA FSA Beginning Farmer Loan opportunities; enterprise budgets and recordkeeping Two successful farm start-ups	Tony Bowers, farm loan officer, Sparta and Tomah FSA Rob and Gail Klinkner and Mike and Erin Klinkner, dairy graziers, Viroqua and Westby

Term III: Managing the Business

Date	Topic	Speakers
Week 1	Principles of organic dairying, herd health and marketing opportunities	Laura Paine, WI DATCP grazing specialist and direct market beef grazier, Columbus Dr. Guy Jodarski, DVM, Neillsville
Mid-February	Wisconsin Grazing Conference
Week 2	Low-cost milking parlor design; dairy/livestock wintering strategies	Dave Kammel, Dept. of Biological Systems Engineering, UW-Madison Karl and Sara Franson, dairy graziers, Amherst
Week 3	Farm business management and farmer-run cooperative development Farm management and environmental stewardship	Rich Toebe and Kim Cassano, sheep dairy graziers, Catawba Dave Vetrano, WI DNR, La Crosse
Week 4	Production and utilization of biomass for the electrical renewable energy market Avoiding stray voltage; renewable energy opportunities	Bill Johnson, Manager, Biofuels Development, Alliant Energy Susan Crane, Manager-Business Center, WE Energies
Early March	Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin Conference
Week 5	Bringing it all together: farmer perspectives on start-up dairy/livestock businesses	Altfrid Krusenbaum, organic dairy grazier, Elkhorn Vance Haugen, Crawford County UWEX and grass dairy farmer Gary Stankowski, dairy grazier, Mosinee
Middle of March	Week of Spring Break
Week 6	Presentation of student start-up farm business plans	A panel of farmers and agricultural lenders
Times to be determined	Madison class: Two business plan writing work sessions will be set up	Richard Cates, UW-Madison CIAS

"I really like the fact that we were exposed to ideas outside of the box"

Joe Sattler, Class of 1996