Source: DAIRY GRAZING APPRENTICESHIP, INC. submitted to
DAIRY GRAZING APPRENTICESHIP: BUILDING CAPACITY, CURRICULUM, AND PARTNERSHIPS FOR NATIONWIDE WORK-BASED TRAINING OF BEGINNING DAIRY FARMERS
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1013053
Grant No.
2017-70017-26854
Cumulative Award Amt.
$596,625.00
Proposal No.
2017-01731
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Aug 15, 2017
Project End Date
Aug 14, 2020
Grant Year
2017
Program Code
[BFRDB]- Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, Enhancement
Recipient Organization
DAIRY GRAZING APPRENTICESHIP, INC.
7234 GAD RD
MEDFORD,WI 54451
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship (DGA) is National Apprenticeship under the U.S. Department of Labor. The first formal Apprenticeship for farming in the nation, the two-year 4000 hour program combines paid on-farm training with related instruction to facilitate the transfer of knowledge, skills, and farms to the next generation. This BFRDP-EET project aims to establish DGA as a standard career pathway for economically and environmentally sustainable commodity-scale dairy producers.Originating in Wisconsin in 2010, DGA has steadily expanded in response to significant interest from dairy farmers, as well as universities and community based organizations. The project will allow DGA and its partners to strengthen the program and improve capacity to deliver high quality comprehensive work-based training by meeting the following objectives:1) Providing training and support to DGA Masters (train the trainer) to improve Apprentice learning experience. 2) Provide continuing training and resources to DGA graduates to facilitate their transition to farm ownership. 3) Develop and receive accreditation for DGA's own related instruction curriculum that is more fully integrated with the experiential learning aspects of the Apprenticeship, ensuring consistent quality and access nationwide.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
9033410106080%
9023410106020%
Knowledge Area
902 - Administration of Projects and Programs; 903 - Communication, Education, and Information Delivery;

Subject Of Investigation
3410 - Dairy cattle, live animal;

Field Of Science
1060 - Biology (whole systems);
Goals / Objectives
The long-term goal of this project, "Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship: Building Capacity, Curriculum, and Partnerships for Nationwide Work-Based Training of Beginning Dairy Farmers," is to establish Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship (DGA) as the standard career path for entry into the dairy farming profession in the United States and to create a new generation of farmers who are independent owners of commodity scale, managed-grazing dairy farms.Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship is a two-year, paid, on-the-job training program in which aspiring dairy farmers gain skills by working alongside experienced dairy farmers (Master Dairy Graziers) on privately owned and operated farms. Since its inception in 2010, Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship has received significant interest from community based organizations and university programs, as well as individual current and aspiring farmers from around the nation. Today DGA and its partners have 91 approved Masters in nine states: Iowa, Maine, Missouri, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont as well as Wisconsin. The Apprenticeship program has 33 active Master-Apprentice pairs, 11 Journey Dairy Graziers (graduates of the program), and135 candidates seeking to be hired. This project will allow DGA to work with existing and new partners to identify and fill gaps to facilitate delivery of a consistent, high quality program in any state where there is an interest and a need.Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship was initially created by dairy farmers in Wisconsin to stem the loss of family scale dairy farms by training skilled people for the dairy industry. Across the nation, dairy farm numbers have declined by more than 40% in the last 15 years, with the most significant declines occurring in traditional dairy states in New England, the Great Lakes States and the Midwest (referred to here as "the Great Lakes Dairy Belt"). To address barriers to entry and provide comprehensive training for aspiring dairy farmers, a formal Apprenticeship program--the first of its kind in the nation--was developed by GrassWorks, Inc. (a WI-based farmer organization), in partnership with the WI Department of Workforce Development-Bureau of Apprenticeship Standards, and the WI Technical College System, with funding support from USDA-NIFA's Beginning Farming and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP, 2010 and 2011). Industry stakeholders, including GrassWorks members and other dairy farmers, Ag business leaders, Ag educators, and agency representatives worked with Worldwide Instructional Design Systems (WIDS) to identify the core competencies required to own and operate a managed-grazing dairy operation. Using a formal DACUM process, a curriculum based on those competencies was developed. This comprehensive 4000-hour program provides 3712 hours of work-based training as well as 288 hours of related classroom instruction in managed-grazing dairy production.In February of 2015, in response to interest from dairy farmers in other parts of the country and with the support of a 2014 BFRDP Standard Grant, DGA became a registered National Apprenticeship under the U.S. Department of Labor-Employment and Training Administration (DOL-ETA) with the capacity to be adopted by any state in the United States.In preparation for expansion, DGA developed its National Standards and DGA Work Process Schedule and invested in a robust scalable website/database to facilitate Master-Apprentice pairing and track participant progress. DGA has since entered into partnerships with Cornell University and South Central New York Regional Extension, the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture, the University of Missouri and MU-Extension, and Wolfe's Neck Farm in Maine to deliver the program in those states. These partners are well-networked in the farming communities that they serve as well as with other institutions and community-based organizations in their states/regions. This rapid geographic expansion has revealed strengths and weaknesses of what was initially a Wisconsin-based program. Of the 4000 hours required for the Apprenticeship, the majority (3,712 hours) is on-farm employment and mentoring under an approved Master Dairy Grazier. DGA's core curriculum, the DGA Training Manual, was designed to be adaptable to a variety of types of dairies, providing an outline of the fundamental competencies needed to own and operate a managed-grazing dairy farm. In addition to the core curriculum and related instruction coursework, DGA provides facilitation by a local Education Coordinator (EC) and opportunities for networking, group education, and peer-to-peer learning. DGA and partners have identified gaps in all of these elements that this project will address.1) Train our Trainers. DGA is a quintessential farmer-to-farmer training program and it has attracted many skilled dairy farmers interested in sharing their knowledge with the next generation. However, most of our participating farmers rely primarily on family labor; few have ever hired a full-time employee, let alone done the kind of teaching required by this comprehensive curriculum. Having knowledge and being able to successfully teach it to another are very different types of skills. DGA and partners will develop high quality resources to train our trainers (Master Dairy Graziers) in the skills they need to become good teachers and mentors.2) Provide continuing training and resources to DGA graduates or Journey Dairy Graziers (JDGs) to facilitate a successful transition to farm ownership. DGA has identified the need to provide additional support for Apprentices once they graduate and embark on their dairy farming careers. Apprentices come out of the program with good management training and sometimes equity in the form of cattle, but whether they are transitioning onto their Master's farm, renting a start-up operation, or participating in a share-milking agreement, additional advice, peer-support, and other resources can make the difference between success and failure in the first few years of their career.3) Improve related instruction coursework. Related instruction coursework (288 hours of instruction) has proven difficult to deliver consistently outside Wisconsin. Skilled trade Apprenticeships, such as brick-laying or carpentry traditionally rely on local community or technical colleges to provide required classroom instruction. DGA was able to work with the WI Technical College system to create the needed coursework, but partners in other states have not found similar dairy science expertise or coursework available locally. DGA will seek accreditation as an educational institution to enable delivery of consistent, high quality related instruction classes.
Project Methods
1) Provide training and support to DGA Masters (train the trainer) to improve the Apprentice learning experience. The DGA training manual provides an outline of what needs to be taught, but not how to teach it. The physical work of managing a dairy farm, such as milking, feeding cattle, setting up paddocks, are tasks that are relatively easy to teach and usually mastered by the Apprentice within the first year. Managing a dairy farm business is much more than physical labor. Providing opportunities to grow into decision-making roles on the farm is important as the Apprentice advances through the program. In addition to training on soft skills, this project will develop guidelines, modules, and templates for building management skills. Examples include turning over a segment of the operation for the Apprentice to manage such as calf-raising or rotating pastures or having them take responsibility for breeding record keeping or feed management for a season or a year. These "learning modules" will serve as supplements to the DGA Training Guidelines.DGA and partners will use the structure of our Master Discussion Groups to gather information from current and prospective DGA Masters on what tools and resources they need to become more effective mentors and trainers. Initial Master Discussion Groups have already identified a need for communication and mentoring training, as well as the need for more in-depth learning modules to assist Masters in teaching various skills. Many farmers have existing tools they use that DGA can adapt and share throughout our Master network. An example from one of our Masters is a simple milk income over feed cost spreadsheet that allows the Apprentice to track profitability over the course of a season or a year, giving the Apprentice exposure to how decisions on feed quality and cost affect milk production and income. Additional Master discussion will further pinpoint specific areas to focus on and generate ideas for effective methods of skill building. These discussions will be completed prior to the start of the grant period in August 2017.Initial topics will include the soft skills: mentoring, communication best practices, adult learning styles, conflict management, and constructive criticism. These materials will be made available on the FarmAnswers website. Work will also begin on learning modules to accompany the DGA Training Guidelines. At least one learning module will be created for each of the seven primary skills categories. These include managing cattle appropriately, managing milking operations, assessing dairy nutritional needs and requirements, optimizing pasture production, and managing soil and water resources, evaluating information for effective decision-making, and managing farm business operations profitably.For each topic, the team will develop a mini-curriculum with background information on the topic as well as workbooks, spreadsheets and other record-keeping tools to aid in learning. For example, the DGA Training Guidelines requires training on estimating pasture production and volume, including the criteria: "Measures the amount of forage in the paddocks", "Develops a grazing wedge based on a pasture ranking system" and "Applies the wedge." This project will create materials identifying various ways of measuring pasture forage, a spreadsheet to record forage mass in each paddock and a template for creating the grazing wedge that will guide the grazing rotation through paddocks based on pasture yield and adequate rest periods. Many experienced farmers used such tools when they learned to manage their farms. This project will make the tools readily available to a new generation of dairy farmers.2) Provide ongoing training and resources to DGA Journey Dairy Graziers (JDGs) to facilitate their transition to farm ownership. In our experience with current graduates, we have found that mentoring and peer support as the Apprentice sets out on their own following graduation are critically important to successful outcomes. To date, all but one JDG has entered the dairy profession following graduation, with several working toward transitioning into farm ownership on their Master's farm, some starting their own farm, and others entering into a management role or share-milking situation. DGA provides financial advising for Masters and Apprentices during the training period and we have provided some financial advising support for JDGs in Wisconsin, but they have expressed a need for more and different types of services and we currently do not have the capacity to offer any of these services through our new state partners. Types of services needed may include financial and business planning advice, grazing or facilities planning, a linking service to assist JDGs in finding a farm to buy or rent, on-going mentoring by Master and other DGA participants, on-going networking opportunities, assistance with applying for loans, and advanced related instruction classes or leadership training. Availability of these resources can make the difference between success and failure in the first few years of their career.3) Develop and receive accreditation for DGA's own related instruction curriculum that is more fully integrated with the unique experiential learning aspects of the apprenticeship, ensuring consistent quality and access nationwide. A foundational component of the DGA curriculum are five classroom based courses in herd health, dairy nutrition, milk quality, pasture management, and soil science. The U.S DOL-ETA, which approves and monitors formal Apprenticeships in the United States, requires that all formal classes that are part of an Apprenticeship curriculum be taught by an accredited education provider. DGA was fortunate to be able to work with several Wisconsin-based institutions to provide this critical instruction.DGA has several goals in bringing this related instruction component "in house." Firstly, comparable instruction is simply not available in many states where DGA is currently operating. Wisconsin is one of just a few states that have technical college faculty and programs in dairy science and DGA has struggled to provide adequate delivery of the required classes to partner states through online formats. In addition, the current courses are taught be instructors who may not have experience in grazing-based dairy systems. Developing our own coursework would allow DGA to offer science-based information that is readily usable in grazing based systems. Currently classes are offered by three different institutions, at varying times of the year, for different lengths of time, and in several different formats. Accreditation will allow DGA to control the content and delivery of related instruction, ensuring that quality, content, timing, registration and fees are consistent across all required classes.

Progress 08/15/17 to 08/14/20

Outputs
Target Audience:The primary target audience for this projectis aspiring dairy producers, individuals who are seeking a career in dairy farming as a manger or dairy farm business owner. During the course of this project DGA provided on-farm training and related instruction hours for more than 80 individuals, and 22 who enrolled as Apprentices in the past year. DGA currently has 44 active Apprenticeships and 6 active Internships. In addition, we have 164 Apprentice Candidates as an audience for our online classes, which will count toward the Apprenticeship if they are hired by a Master. DGA has more than 200 Master Dairy Graziers approved to conduct training. Overall, there are more than 7,000 grazing dairy farmers in the region and one of our goals is to reach out to more of these farmers and engage them in training the next generation. A third target audience is the partner organizations and their staff with whom we work. One of the goals of this project is to provide training and support for them to work effectively with their Masters and Apprentices in their service areas. Changes/Problems:The need for social distancing owing to the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the cancellation of some spring activities and in changes to program oversight by Education Coordinators, who normally conduct in-person farm visits and switched to Zoom calls to provide educational support for Apprentices and Masters. Over the summer, Education Coordinators partnered with Masters to deliver virtual events livestreamed on FaceBook and conducted some socially distant in-person events. The delivery of related instruction for Apprentices, already online, was uninterrupted. The Virtual Roundtables, once experimental, have now become a staple in DGA programming. Because DGA participants have always been spread across a large geographic area, we were more prepared than many to adapt to more virtual delivery. While the economic crisis precipitated by the pandemic has been challenging for many farmers, milk prices have actually risen and many consumers are seeking out high quality organic, grass-based and value added dairy products, which has benefited both current and aspiring dairy graziers. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?DGA staff and partner Education Coordinator training • DGA staff conduct training and information sharing with partners through monthly video conferences attended by our 12 Education Coordinators. In addition, a monthly "open discussion" video conference is made available for Education Coordinators for peer-to-peer sharing and learning. A total of 24 hours of training was provided via this mechanism. • An annual Training Retreat is held each Fall. This is a three-day, face-to-face meeting that allows DGA and its partners to conduct in-depth training as well as information sharing and brainstorming for the future. The 2019 retreat was hosted by DGA partner Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture on October 9-11. Topics included review and discussion of new resources and website features, presentations from partners on DGA in their service areas, and veteran's outreach and support services. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?DGA uses several means of sharing information among its communities. At the national level, DGA participates in a network of apprenticeship and internship programs through the New Entry Ag Apprenticeship Learning Network (AgALN). This network shares information via its website (https://nesfp.org/agapprenticeship) as well as via monthly partner conference calls. DGA will be co-presented three workshops at the network's annual conference in November 2019. DGA also shares information with its partners and participants via a monthly newsletter, periodic email communication and monthly video conference calls. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1. Train our Trainers During the first two years of the grant, DGA developed a slate of train the trainers resources for Masters Dairy Graziers that include a series of webinars (Finding the Right Apprentice, Your Apprentice's First Week, Care and Feeding of Your Adult Learner, and Good Communication for a Good Apprenticeship Experience); a series of 13 Tip Sheets; instructional videos on using the DGA website/ database effectively for finding and hiring an Apprentice and monitoring Apprentice progress; six new learning modules to enhance on-farm training of Apprentice; and in-person conducted Master Discussion Groups as well as Virtual Roundtables. The result has been a growing cohesiveness and sense of community among DGA Masters. Even before the COVD-19 crisis that began in March, the Virtual Roundtables were becoming increasingly popular. The relevant topics as well as the opportunity to engage with peers across 15 states has drawn not only Masters but also Journey Dairy Graziers and Apprentices. Initially the events were not recorded for privacy. In response to requests from our farmers, in 2020 DGA began recording Virtual Roundtables so that all participants could access them on the DGA website and recorded participants numbers and poll responses. 2019 Virtual Roundtables (since previous report) Stockpiling Pasture Optimum DM intake Activity Monitors and Grazing Low Cost Outwintering 2020 Virtual Roundtables *Note that Zoom webinar platform does not provide access to count/ poll for call-in attendees 1/6/2020 - Pasture Renovation - 12 participants; 11 ranked very good or great 2/3/2020 - Cross Breeding - 15 participants; 15 ranked very good or great 3/2/2020 - Winter Housing - 12 participants; 12 ranked very good or great 4/6/2020 - Role of Rumen Development - 24 participants; 24 ranked very good or great 5/4/2020 - To cut or not to cut? - 17 participants; 16 ranked very good or great 6/1/2020 - Fencing and Managed Grazing - 8 participants; 8 ranked very good or great 7/6/2020 - Pasture Water Systems - 11 participants; 10 ranked very good or great Outcomes 38 new Master Dairy Graziers were approved as trainers since last report, bringing total to 216 across DGA's 15 state network. 23 Apprentices were hired and eight Journey Dairy Graziers became certified. Objective 2. Provide continuing training and resources to DGA graduates The Participant Resources page now contains educational and financial resources, recordings of Virtual Roundtables, information on FSA loan guidelines, and a dynamic and current list of employment and partnership opportunities for Journey Dairy Graziers that are submitted to DGA on a regular basis. Journey Dairy Graziers are assigned an Education Coordinator in their area and are enaged in the DGA network through the DGA newsletter, group education events where they are often presenting or hosting, virtual roundtables, and a new FaceBook discussion page for Apprentice and graduates that is moderated by a Journey Dairy Grazier. In addition the new Farm Business Management class that is required for all Apprentices to graduate was approved by Farm Service Agency and DGA is now a national vendor for FSA'sborrower training program required for its beginning farmer loan agreements. Outcomes: Since the previous report, three Journey Dairy Graziers entered into farm equity earning agreements to transition into farm ownership (of Master or other dairy farm) and five were hired into management or herdsperson positions on progressive grazing dairy farms with multiple employee. Objective 3. Improve related instruction coursework. DGA finalized its six core courses required for the Apprenticeship and stand-alone Managed Grazing Dairy Certificate offered through its Managed Grazing Innovation Center (MGIC). Fall Semester 2019 MGIC was opened to Apprentice Candidates who had applied on the DGA website as well as to current Apprentices. Spring Semester 2020 MGIC the MGIC landing page and registration process went live and classes were offered to the general public. All classes during Spring and Fall are 12 weeks (36 hours; 1 credit); Summer Session provides condensed 6 week versions of Milk Quality and Dairy Nutrition as well as the Holistic Management course to provide extra flexibility for Apprentices with busy spring schedules. Outcomes: Summer 2020 Enrollments Dairy Cattle Nutrition, Feeds, and Feeding - 11 Milk Quality - 10 Holistic Farming and Systems Approach - 9 Fall 2019 Enrollments Managed Grazing Systems for Dairy Cattle - 15 Dairy Cattle Health and Wellness - 13 Soil and Water Resources Management - 11 Farm Business Management - 5 Spring 2020 Enrollments Dairy Cattle Nutrition, Feeds, and Feeding - 13 Milk Quality - 10 Farm Business Management - 13 Summer 2020 Enrollments Dairy Cattle Nutrition, Feeds, and Feeding - 9 Milk Quality - 11 Holistic Farming and Systems Approach - 12 Couse evaluations reveal that, across all classes, 88% of students rated their previous knowledge as Low or Average and after the class 84% rated their knowledge as High or Very High. 100% of students rated both the presentation of information and the amount of time required as Just Right. DGA is working to integrate more interactive and synchronous activities into the classes but, in general, busy Apprentices who are employed and learning on working dairy farms appreciate and value the flexibility, accessibility, and practical content of classes offered through the online Managed Grazing Innovation Center.

Publications

  • Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: https://www.dga-national.org/mgic


Progress 08/15/18 to 08/14/19

Outputs
Target Audience:There are several target audiences for this project. First and foremost are aspiring dairy farmers, individuals who are seeking a career in dairy farming. DGA currently has 43 Apprentices being trained, up from 38 in 2018. In addition, we have added Apprentice candidates (currently numbering 79) as an audience for our online classes. DGA has over 175 Master Dairy Graziers approved to conduct training, up from 150 in 2018. Overall, there are more than 7,000 grazing dairy farmers in the region and one of our goals is to reach out to more of these farmers and engage them in training the next generation. A third target audience is the partner organizations and their staff with whom we work. One of the goals of this project is to provide training and support for them to work effectively with their Masters and Apprentices in their service areas. Changes/Problems:The ongoing economic crisis in the dairy industry continues to be DGA's biggest challenge. The price dairy farmers receive for their milk has been hovering around the breakeven point for more than four years. Wisconsin alone lost 691 dairy farms in 2018, and has lost more than 500 to date in 2019. While it remains difficult for Masters to commit to hiring a paid, full-time employee/Apprentice for two years when their income is so uncertain, DGA continues to receive applications from farmers interested in being approved as Masters and the number of Apprentices being trained is up from 38 last year to 44 currently. We graduated twelve Apprentices since our 2018 report. This grant, which is focused on developing and providing program support for our 175+ Masters (Objective 1), our Journeyworkers (Objective 2) and our Apprentices (Objective 3) has allowed us to offer a peer-support community, free financial advising, and multiple means of engaging in the program through group education activities. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?DGA staff and partner Education Coordinator training DGA staff conduct training and information sharing with partners through monthly video conferences attended by our 13 Education Coordinators. In addition, a monthly "open discussion" video conference is made available for Education Coordinators for peer-to-peer sharing and learning. A total of 24 hours of training was provided via this mechanism. An annual Training Retreat is held each Fall. This is a three-day, face-to-face meeting that allows DGA and its partners to conduct in-depth training as well as information sharing and brainstorming for the future. This year's retreat will be hosted by DGA partner Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture on October 9-11, 2019. Other training opportunities DGA participates in the Tufts New Entry Agricultural Apprenticeship Network (AgALN), providing staff with the opportunity to share our knowledge and experience with other work-based training programs across the country as well as gaining knowledge from other partners. DGA provided one webinar on developing and managing beginning farmer training for livestock farmers. DGA co-presented two workshops at the October 2018 AgALN conference in Albuquerque. Topics included Farming with Veterans & Accessing VA Benefits (with Quivira Coalition and Vilicus Farm), and Mentoring a Successor: What's different? (with Land For Good). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?DGA uses several means of sharing information among its communities. At the national level, DGA participates in a network of apprenticeship and internship programs through the New Entry Ag Apprenticeship Learning Network (AgALN). This network shares information via its website (https://nesfp.org/agapprenticeship) as well as via monthly partner conference calls. DGA will be co-presenting three workshops at the network's annual conference in November. DGA also shares information with its partners and participants via a monthly newsletter (to 426 recipients), periodic email communication and monthly video conference calls. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Objective 1: Train our Trainers. Continue development of "soft skills" materials for Masters. Add to Master Resource page on DGA website and FarmAnswers website. Work with Education Coordinators (ECs) and partner organizations to continue developing learning modules to accompany training guidelines for on-farm training. Plan and carry out annual face-to-face Education Coordinator training to train ECs on new materials. Objective 2: Provide continuing training and resources to DGA graduates (Journeyworkers) Continue surveying DGA Apprentices and Journey Dairy Graziers (JDGs) to clarify their ongoing needs. Work with partners to refine resource list for JDGs. Each partner will complete identification of local resources for financial advising, beginning farmer loans, on-going professional development opportunities for JDGs in their territory, making note of resources that are unavailable. Complete compilation of resources for JDGs in each state. Develop a JDG resource webpage and tool kit listing these resources for each state. Begin working with partners to develop approaches to filling the gaps identified in their local resources. Objective 3: Improve related instruction coursework. Continue working with web developer to adapt to online format. Continue working with accreditation agency to meet accreditation requirements. Complete development of online courses and launch final courses. Provide training on new online class system registration and interface with ECs who will provide support for Apprentices. Review evaluation results as they are collected and modify as needed. Update DGA's Department of Labor National Standards, Work Process Schedule, and education providers to reflect DGA status as accredited education provider for Apprenticeship related instruction.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1. Train our Trainers. In year two, a series of four webinars on mentoring topics were created and delivered. Each 1-hour webinar included a power point presentation summarizing one or more of DGA's Master tip sheets as well as one or more farmer-trainers sharing their experience on the topic and a question and answer period. All webinars were recorded and posted on the DGA website. DGA continued face-to-face Master Roundtables as well. Since our last report, 10 roundtables were held with a total of 103 attendees. DGA launched a monthly virtual roundtable activity for participants averaging 10 to 15 participants. Using a video conference format, we have conducted 5 discussions on a variety of farming topics. They are facilitated by DGA staff, but are led by DGA Masters who have expertise on a particular topic. DGA conducted 2 workshops at the 2019 GrassWorks grazing conference in Wisconsin (total of 57 attendees). Topics included "Scaling Up Your Operation: Working with Employees" and "Getting started in a tough dairy economy". DGA developed six learning modules that can be used either in related instruction classes or for Masters and other farmer-trainers to use as a teaching aid to supplement the on-the-job training curriculum. These included exercises related to: Body Condition Scoring, Calf Feeding Protocol, Locomotion Scoring, Milking Protocol, a Mock Dairy Inspection, and Vaccination Protocols. Outcomes DGA graduated nine Apprentices to Journeyworker status in 2019 and currently has 44 Apprentices being trained. An additional 27 Masters were approved, bringing the total of 177 farmer-trainers. A total of 103 Masters gained mentoring and teaching skills as a result of exposure to new DGA training materials through Master roundtables and an additional 55 participated in DGA's professional development webinar series. An online evaluation was conducted in early winter 2018. A total of 15 of 38 Apprentices participated. The results of questions evaluating the performance of DGA's farmer trainers and Education Coordinators suggest that, overall, they are doing well and highlight areas where we can focus further efforts. Please rate the effectiveness of your DGA Education Coordinator in the following areas. Scale of 1 = low to 5 = high Knowledge of dairy farming and grazing: 4.8 Knowledge of the DGA program: 4.53 Guidance and support for on-farm training: 4.47 Guidance and support for classes: 4.47 Guidance and support for informal education: 4.53 Responsiveness and accessibility: 4.53 Average: 4.56 What are the most important qualities in a Master? And please rate your Master on these qualities (scale of 1 = low to 5 = high) Importance of qualities/My Master rating Interest in and willingness to teach: 5.0/ Cares about me and supports my goals: 4.93/4.33 Good communication skills: 4.8/4.2 Willingness to transfer some responsibility: 4.6/4.13 Compatible personality: 4.6/4.27 Good organization of dairy operation: 4.53/4/07 Knowledge/skills in grazing and dairy: 4.4/4/67 Years of experience in dairy farming: 3.53/4.6 Average: 4.55/4.32 Objective 2. Provide continuing training and resources to DGA graduates DGA Apprentices and Journeyworkers (graduates) shared their interests and needs through surveys, exit interviews and a panel discussion at DGA's Education Coordinator Training on September 17-19, 2018. Results allowed us to develop the following preliminary list of activities and resources to explore and potentially implement in the final year of the project: Transfer Journeyworker to Ed Coordinator in their new area (if there is one) so they can stay engaged in group education activities. Maintain Journeyworkers on DGA newsletter list for updates and other announcements. Develop resource page(s) on website with links to lenders, technical assistance providers, land-link pages, etc. Potential ongoing offerings Financial advising Technical advising on grazing management, etc. Assign them a Master mentor Develop a list of Masters willing to do share-milking with Journeyworkers, with DGA providing guidance on how to build equity, experience, and finding an appropriate farming scenario. Objective 3. Improve related instruction coursework. During the second year, DGA continued development process: a) creating new custom courses for its two-year Apprenticeship and b) further developing its own independent educational institution to deliver those courses. Managed Grazing Innovation Center (MGIC), DGA's new online school, was approved by the WI Educational Approval Program in April 2018 and launched its first pilot class that fall. While not yet eligible for full accreditation for two years, MGIC is now able to deliver custom courses to Apprentices and other students. Seven online classes have been launched and there have been 94 enrollments to date. Accomplishments during the funding period include: Fall Integrated registration and enrollment in MGIC/Moodle LMS with the DGA website database, which is used to track participant progress through the Apprenticeship. Launched MGIC pilot class: "Soil and Water Resources Management" (12 weeks) Retained adjunct instructor to deliver class during Fall Semester. Enrolled a group who had taken previous required classes through partners to take new MGIC course and provided feedback on content and delivery. Collected recommendations from instructor and students on how to improve online registration, instruction, and evaluation process. Conducted search for permanent fulltime School Director and hired Jamie Washburn, a former Extension Agent with University of Illinois with a Master's degree in Ruminant Nutrition and a Bachelor's in Animal Science, to be MGIC Director in October 2018. Developed classes for Spring 2019 Semester. Spring Added a summer session to adapt to differences in busy times on dairy farms across our service area. Spring (12 weeks): Dairy Nutrition, Milk Quality, Farm Business Management Summer Session (6 weeks): Dairy Nutrition, Milk Quality, Holistic Management Fall (12 weeks): Resources Management, Dairy Cattle Health Pasture Management, Farm Business Management Opened MGIC registration to all Apprentices for Spring 2019 Semester. Delivered instruction to 17 Apprentices. Summer Developed condensed version of Spring classes for Summer Session 2019 Developed custom online version of Holistic Management. Delivered instruction to 18 Apprentices. Completed annual renewal for Educational Approval Program with relevant updates. DGA established evaluation procedures embedded in each course. Initial results are available for summer session courses. Rating scale is 1 = low to 5 = high. Dairy Cattle Nutrition (4 responses): students rated their knowledge prior to the class at 1.5 and after the class at 3.75. Responses to the statement "This course was useful in moving me toward my future goals" averaged 4.75. Milk Quality (3 responses), students rated their knowledge prior to the class at 1.67 and after the class at 3.67. Responses to the statement "This course was useful in moving me toward my future goals" averaged 3.67. Holistic Management 6 responses), students rated their knowledge of the subject prior to the class at 2.33 and after the class at 4.33. Responses to the statement "I will use what I learned in this class" averaged 4.0. Asked something they would do differently as a result of the class, responses included: "become the person I want to be," "Bring in my family a little earlier in the decision process. Share with my children how to balance wealth and quality of life," "This has truly helped me think and balance all pieces of a decision better. I will use this for both farming, as well as all other aspects of my life."

Publications


    Progress 08/15/17 to 08/14/18

    Outputs
    Target Audience:There are several target audiences for this project. First and foremost are aspiring dairy farmers, individuals who are seeking a career in dairy farming. DGA currently has 38 Apprentices being trained and over 300 candidates who have applied through our website. The second target audience is existing grazing dairy farmers in the eleven states where DGA operates. DGA has over 150 Master Dairy Graziers approved to conduct training. Overall, there are more than 7,000 grazing dairy farmers in the region and one of our goals is to reach out to more of these farmers and engage them in training the next generation. A third target audience is the partner organizations and their staff with whom we work. One of the goals of this project is to provide training and support for them to work effectively with their Masters and Apprentices in their service areas. Changes/Problems:The biggest challenge DGA is facing currently is the ongoing economic crisis in the dairy industry. The price dairy farmers receive for their milk has been hovering around the breakeven point for more than three years. Wisconsin alone lost over 500 dairy farms in 2017--more than one a day. The oversupply of milk that is causing this is also affecting the organic dairy market, which has also softened, leading to significant decreases in the premiums our organic participants receive. Thus, it is difficult for Masters to commit to employing an Apprentice for two years when their income is so uncertain. As a result, our growth has slowed, both in terms of new Masters applying and Masters taking on Apprentices. While DGA is not positioned to directly assist its farmer-trainers, we are responding to this situation by offering a peer-support community, free financial advising, and alternative means of engaging in the program through group education activities. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? DGA staff conduct training and information sharing with partners through monthly video conferences attended by our 10 Education Coordinators. In addition, a monthly "open discussion" video conference is made available for Education Coordinators for peer-to-peer sharing and learning. An annual Training Retreat is held each September. This is a three-day, face-to-face meeting that allows DGA and its partners to conduct indepth training as well as information sharing and brainstorming for the future. This year's retreat was hosted by DGA partner Wolfe's Neck Center on September 10-12, 2018. Other training opportunities DGA participates in the Tufts New Entry Agricultural Apprenticeship Network (AgALN), providing staff with the opportunity to share our knowledge and experience with other work-based training programs across the country as well as gaining knowledge from other partners. DGA provided two webinars on formal Apprenticeship and adult learning styles. DGA co-presented a workshop at the December 2017 AgALN conference and will be co-presenting two workshop sessions at the upcoming Ag Apprenticeship Network conference in Albuquerque on October 29-30, 2018. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?DGA uses several means of sharing information among its communities. At the national level, DGA participates in a network of apprenticeship and internship programs through the New Entry Ag Apprenticeship Learning Network (AgALN). This network shares information via its website (https://nesfp.org/agapprenticeship) as well as via monthly partner conference calls. DGA will be co-presenting two workshops at the network's annual conference in October. DGA also shares information with its partners and participants via a monthly newsletter, periodic email communication and monthly video conference calls. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Objective 1: Train our Trainers. Continue development of "soft skills" materials for Masters. Add to Master Resource page on DGA website and FarmAnswers website. Schedule and conduct a series of soft-skills webinars for DGA Masters. Work with Education Coordinators (ECs) and partner organizations to begin developing learning modules to accompany training guidelines for on-farm training. Plan and carry out annual face-to-face Education Coordinator training to train ECs on new materials. Objective 2: Provide continuing training and resources to DGA graduates (Journeyworkers) Continue surveying DGA Apprentices and Journey Dairy Graziers (JDGs) to clarify their ongoing needs. Work with partners to identify resources needed for JDGs. Working with previously developed resource list, each partner will identify local resources for financial advising, beginning farmer loans, on-going professional development opportunities for JDGs in their territory, making note of resources that are unavailable. Complete compilation of resources for JDGs in each state. Develop a JDG resource webpage listing these resources for each state. Begin working with partners to develop approaches to filling the gaps identified in their local resources. Objective 3: Improve related instruction coursework. Complete new related instruction curriculum. Continue working with web developer to adapt to online format. Continue working with accreditation agency to meet accreditation requirements. Complete development of online courses. Provide training on new online class system registration and interface with ECs who will provide support for Apprentices. Test with several selected Apprentices. Modify as needed. Update DGA National Standards, Work Process Schedule, and education providers in RAPIDS system to reflect DGA status as accredited education provider for Apprenticeship related instruction. Launch online courses.

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? OBJECTIVES AND OUTCOMES Objective 1. Train our Trainers. This objective involves development and delivery of high quality resources to build mentoring and teaching skills among our farmer-trainers. The materials developed include a series of 13 Tip Sheets including employee hiring topics (e.g. Employee Handbook template, sample employment agreement, finding the right apprentice, interviewing Apprentice candidates). Materials also include 4 tip sheets on mentoring/adult learning topics and 3 on onboarding. These will be uploaded into the FarmAnswers website. DGA delivers farmer-trainer learning via Master Roundtables, informal, small group gatherings that foster peer learning and sharing of mentoring practices. Each Education Coordinator (EC) conducts periodic Master Roundtables using the Master Roundtable guide, including 12 activities that ECs can use individually or mix and match 3 or 4 modules, depending needs and interests and the amount of time available. In 2018, 5 roundtables were held: 2 in WI (11 participants), 2 in MN (6), and 1 in NY (10). A nationally broadcast webinar was presented on formal registered Apprenticeship and adult learning styles (30 attendees) and is archived on the Ag Apprenticeship Learning Network website (https://nesfp.org/resources/apprenticeship/webinar-dairy-grazing-apprenticeship-61918). DGA conducted 3 workshops at the 2018 GrassWorks grazing conference (total of 90 attendees). Topics included an introduction to DGA for prospective Apprentices and Masters, a session on land transfer/farm transition, and a panel of early career dairy producers. A total of 90 attendees participated in the sessions. Outcomes An additional 60+ Masters have been approved, bringing the total of over 150 farmer-trainers. A total of 27 Masters gained mentoring and teaching skills as a result of exposure to new DGA training materials through Master roundtables. A survey was conducted at some sites (n=9). When asked to rate the value of the discussion, responses averaged 4 on a scale of 1=low to 5=high. When asked to rate their increase in knowledge, responses averaged 2.5 on the same scale. When asked what they learned that they could use, comments included: Love worksheets, Sharing with other Masters is most important, Use provided worksheets/learn how to interview effectively, Hearing about others' experience with choosing apprentices, We are teachers, not just employers, Communication with employee/Apprentice. A survey of 6 recent DGA graduates provided the following assessment of DGA programming: Value of current DGA Apprentice support and resources (scale of 1 = low to 5 = high) On-farm mentoring 4.16 DGA staff support 4.67 DGA Education Coordinator 4.67 Financial advising 4.0 Group education/peer networking 4.5 The survey also assessed the quality of on-farm training by DGA Masters. When asked to rate the value of their on-farm learning experience in the six categories of skill building, they rated their percent increase in knowledge as follows: Manage cattle appropriately (23%), Manage milking systems (19%), Assess dairy nutritional needs (29%), Optimize pasture production (49%), Manage soil and water resources (36%), Manage farm business operations (26%) Objective 2. Provide continuing training and resources to DGA graduates Two activities were planned for information gathering prior to development of resources. DGA conducted in-depth exit interview surveys of 6 recent graduates of the program, and an Apprentice panel focus group is planned for September 2018. Exit interview results are summarized below. The Apprentice panel will include 5 current Apprentices and one Journeyworker, who will share career goals and needs with DGA Education Coordinators and staff. ECs and staff will summarize the results of both the survey and the focus group and develop a plan for gathering and delivering Journeyworker services and resources. Exit Interview results Career goals of Journeyworkers (# of responses for 2 year/5 year plans) Become a dairy farm manager (4/3) Build equity in cattle (3/3) Enter into a milk share partnership (1/1) Enter into a farm transfer agreement (3/3) Establish my own new dairy farm (1/3) Become a Master and hire an Apprentice (0/2) Other: Work as a positive influence in the dairy industry, helping farmers succeed; stay active in the dairy industry (2/2) Resources DGA can provide to support Journeyworker goals (# of respondents) Peer networking (6) Online buy-sell, networking (6) FSA beginning farmer loan access (5) Other low cost loans (5) Financial advising (4) Continuing education classes (4) Continued Education Coordinator visits (2) Education farm for ongoing learning (2) In the remaining two years of the grant, DGA and partners will begin developing resources and programming to help meet these needs identified by Journeyworkers and Apprenticeship. Objective 3. Improve related instruction coursework. Although the exit interviews of recent graduates show significant increases in knowledge resulting from current externally provided classes, DGA has received other feedback suggesting that bringing the related instruction classes inhouse will significantly increase the quality and relevance of the classroom information to the on-farm experience. During the first year, DGA made significant progress toward a) creating custom courses for its Apprenticeship in managed grazing dairy production and b) developing its own independent educational institution to deliver those courses. In consultation with Worldwide Instructional Design Systems (WIDS), DGA accomplished the following: 1. Laid out a process and timeline, based on WIDS research and recommendation, for creating a new online school, Managed Grazing Innovation Center, as separate entity under DGA. a. Approval by Wisconsin Educational Approval Program (EAP) b. Acceptance into Registered Apprenticeship College Consortium (RACC) c. Accreditation is not required by the DOL but remains a goal beyond grant. 2. Hired an Instructor to work with staff in revising related instruction curriculum, individual course objectives, and assessments strategies for greater focus on issues relevant to managed grazing dairy production systems. 3. Built a structure for online course delivery in Moodle, a cloud-based Learning Management System, and created a pilot course in Soil and Water Resource Management. 4. Received EAP approval in April 2018 after submitting materials required by the state of Wisconsin for evaluating and approving private trade, technical, career, distance learning, and degree-granting schools. a. School Catalog with policies regarding admissions, advanced standing, attendance, tuition and refunds as well as course descriptions. b. Institutional planning documentation, including a mission and vision statement, 3 and 5-year plan, SWOT analysis, and governing structure. c. Marketing plan and sample outreach materials 5. Submitted revised Work Process Schedule with new classes taught by Managed Grazing Innovation Center and hours-distribution to the DOL-ETA in June of 2018.

    Publications