Weather forced a delay of the Southwest Dairy Day, but it has been rescheduled to Nov. 11 at the T&K Dairy near Snyder. The event is being hosted by the Will Collier family and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.
The new hours for the event will be from 1-4 p.m. with tours and speakers. Booth setup will be from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. for exhibitors.
Admission is free. The dairy is located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 84 East and County Road 1673 east of Snyder.
“We are so thankful to Will and Lauren who have agreed to let us reschedule the event, and continue to tour their facilities, in spite of all the weather issues,” said Juan Piñeiro, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension dairy specialist, Amarillo. “Many people are excited to hear about their experiences with the new robotic technology.”
The Colliers are third-generation dairy producers. T&K dairy started in 1982 as a traditional dry-lot dairy with a parallel milking parlor. This past August, they expanded to start milking select cows in a new barn equipped with 18 stationary milking robots. The expansion will allow them to increase their herd size from 2,000 cows to almost 3,000 cows.
Their automatic milking systems will be the main highlight of this year’s tours, Piñeiro said, as they are the first conventional dairy operation with this technology in Texas.
Jennifer Spencer, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension dairy specialist, Stephenville, said, “We still want dairy producers to come see the latest technologies they can adopt and use on their farms, and we invite the local community to come learn more about dairy farming.”
The new event schedule is as follows:
1-2:45 p.m. – General Tours, two dairy outreach program area, or DOPA, continuing education credits available for taking the tour.
– Automatic Milking Systems and RFID Identification tags, Tami Tollenaar, Lely regional sales specialist.
– Rumination collars, robotic feed pushers and water beds, Barbara Jones, Ph.D., director of the Southwest Regional Dairy Center, Tarleton State University, Stephenville.
– Irrigating with lagoon effluents, Dana Porter, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension agricultural engineer – water management, Lubbock.
1:30-2 p.m. – Dairy Producer Tour, nutrient management, Will Collier, dairy owner/operator.
3-4 p.m. – Presentations inside the tent.
– Opening Remarks/T&K Farm Overview, Will and Lauren Collier Family.
– Use of Beef Semen on Dairy Cows, Jason Smith, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension beef specialist, Amarillo.
– Manure Management, Zong Liu, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension Specialist, Texas A&M Biological and Agricultural Engineering, College Station.
For more information, visit Texas Dairy Matters or contact Pineiro at juan.pineiro@ag.tamu.edu or Spencer at jennifer.spencer@ag.tamu.edu.
-30-
Ongoing project through Under Our Wings incorporates sewing skills with military appreciation Texas 4-H… Read More
Inaugural program includes leaders from across Texas A&M AgriLife A new Texas A&M AgriLife program,… Read More
Jorge Arreola Vargas inspires students with hands-on learning At Texas A&M University, Jorge Arreola Vargas,… Read More
Agribusiness graduate Meredith Neely ’02 chairs council committed to supporting the College and students In… Read More
Texas 4-H program director shares the positive impact of volunteers Throughout National Volunteer Month, the… Read More
Awareness week focuses on importance of forest and water stewardship in Texas The Texas Soil… Read More