Calving Management Education Program for Dairy and Beef Workers and Producers

Abstract Text: Stillborn is defined as a calf born dead or death within 24 hours after calving. A stillbirth event is costly to a cattle producer because of the calf loss and the effects on the dam. Calving management education programs in English and Spanish were organized and delivered across Kansas with the objective to educate cattle producers and their workers. Furthermore, the program addressed other important areas; participants learned about management of cows during the pre- and postpartum period, and newborn calf care. A tool was designed and built to assist with the hands-on demonstration part of the educational program. Faculty from the Department of Animal Sciences and Industry collaborated with faculty and staff from the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Kansas State University, to build a tool to simulate a cow giving birth. A pelvic bone was placed inside a stainless steel box with a plexiglass side panel to allow participants to visualize a number of obstetrical procedures. A dead calf was used for the demonstrations and it was discarded at the end of each session. To date, there were 167 attendees in the educational program; it impacted approximately 15,000 dairy and 5,000 beef cows in the state. In 2 training sessions, attendees’ perception of the educational program was assessed using a survey, and pre- and post-test questions were used to evaluate participant’s knowledge. Audience response system clickers (Turning Point Technologies) were used to collect answers of the pre- and post-test questions. Among the participants that responded, 72% answered they never participated in any “calving school training” before. The survey found that knowledge of understanding calving management increased from 2.8 to 4.0 (scale 1-5) in the first session and 2.0 to 2.6 (scale 1-3) in the second training session. Eighty-six percent of the attendees answered that the information presented about calf presentation and in the hands-on assistance demonstration was new and useful information. In the training sessions, 16% of respondents reported that were very likely, 70% likely and 14% not likely to make management changes. The mean scores for the pre- and post-tests were 51% and 81%, respectively. The mean difference of 30% indicates that using an interactive slide lecture and hands-on demonstration was effective in teaching producers and workers about calving management.

Keywords:

Calving management

Producers and workers

Education