As an agricultural consultant or a dairy producer you are most likely overwhelmed with information, numbers and data. The purpose of this course is to assist you in identifying the important data on Dairy Herd Improvement Association (DHIA) herd reports and provide guidance in evaluation and interpretation of the data to help you or your clients make management decisions to improve herd performance and ultimately, the profitability of their dairy businesses. We use the DHI-202 Herd Summary Report provided by DHIA in Raleigh, NC. However, we have had individuals using reports from other parts of the country or individual records that have taken the course and been able to use the information to better understand how to use their reports. We have had students from the US as well as international students successfully complete the course.

Dairy Record Analysis Training is a self paced course delivered via the Web. The course is made up of five separate lessons on the topics of production, reproduction, udder health, and, culling and replacements. Each lesson contains a series of instructional web pages and opportunities to test your knowledge of the material. We also provide opportunity for on-line chats with the instructors so you can ask questions and improve your understanding of the content. You will be able to download three different herd reports during this course---one to introduce you to the reports and their data, a second herd report that you will use to test your knowledge, and a final herd report you will use to create a final narrative assessment. Depending on your experience it should take 10 to 20 hours to complete the course.

What makes this course special is the opportunity to learn how to analyze data, and in addition, to transform that information into concrete recommendations that will improve herd performance and profitability. Through the process of creating a narrative analysis of a herd, and through the feedback offered by the instructors, you will gain valuable knowledge and experience that can be put to immediate use in the field.

Registration for the Fall 2009 session will be opening soon. The course is currently undergoing some revisions. The fall session will begin August 24, 2009 and will end December 12, 2009. You will have the freedom to travel through the course at your own pace during this time. If you would like to receive notification when Fall 2009 registration opens, please send an email to Karen Vines - kvines@psu.edu.