“I must say it was the hardest I’ve ever worked for free, but somehow I really didn’t mind. I knew that the knowledge I gained was priceless.” Those are the words of Mike Tomandl who recently completed a dairy farm internship in New Zealand. He and fellow intern Joe Heimerl went to New Zealand in July [...more]

Despite volatile milk prices, hundreds of new farmers get started in dairying each year. Compared to other types of livestock farming, dairying can provide a higher income per animal, monthly paychecks, and, in many areas, more markets. [...more]

New dairy farmers often face high start-up costs for land, equipment and facilities. Volatile milk prices, long hours and hard work reduce the appeal of a career in dairy farming. To better understand the start-up strategies used by beginning dairy farmers, a research team surveyed 321 beginning dairy farmers in 1996. They [...more]

You don’t need to take over a family farm, or even grow up on a farm, to be a successful dairy farmer in Wisconsin. You can milk 50 or 150 cows, and you can own or rent land. But you do need to identify how well your experience, financial resources, and farming support networks can [...more]

Learn about grass-based dairying from the comfort of your home with the Wisconsin School for Beginning Dairy Farmers CD set! You can view the Grass-Based Dairy Seminar sessions taught by grass farmers, UW and Extension faculty, and other professionals right on your home computer. This seminar is designed to familiarize you with the principles and practices [...more]

In a sharemilking agreement, a young farmer operates a farm on behalf of the farm owner for an agreed share of farm income and expenses. The arrangement offers young farmers a way to build assets and dairy management skills without requiring a large amount of capital input at the beginning of their careers. A long-standing New [...more]

Dairy farming is a solid career choice, offering good status and pay, a high quality of life, and well-defined training and career paths. That’s the message to New Zealand high school students from technical schools, the national dairy apprentice program, and the dairy industry. And dairy training and career opportunities there not only open the [...more]

The experiences of New Zealand’s dairy farmers may help their colleagues in Wisconsin boost the state’s dairy industry. That’s the conclusion of a study on dairy farmer career paths sponsored by the Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems (CIAS). New Zealand historically has attracted young people into farming through dairy industry leadership efforts and the creation [...more]