Dairy Herdsman

• A dairy herdsman is an employee who works with the cows every day to:
  
  • Maintain cow health.
  • Ensure cows get feed and water.
  • Milk the cows (some larger dairies have people who ONLY milk the cows, in those situations a dairy herdsman may not milk)
  • Keep record of the cows’ health.
    • Today our record keeping is aided by technology, like special tags that record when cows go to the feeder or when they go into the robotic milker.
• May also: treat minor injuries, give vaccination shots, trim hooves, or help with calving.
• These people work with the cows the most, as they see them every day.

Veterinarian

• Like a doctor for the animals, you might have taken your dog or cat to a vet with your parents before
• Responsible for giving the animals regular medical care:
  
  • Treat illnesses.
  • Prescribe medicine.
  • Perform surgery.
  • Provide regular health checks.
• These people may work with one farm or many farms within an area. They may also specialize in large animals (beef and dairy cows, horses, etc.) or they may work with large and small animals (dogs, cats, etc.)

Nutritionist

• They make different feeding programs for each stage of the dairy cow’s life by working with the herdsmen at the dairy to determine the cows' nutritional needs.
  
  • Point out to students that just like how adults eat differently than they do, adult cattle eat differently than calves.
  • They must know all about different kinds of feed and how different breeds of cattle will respond to those types of feed.
    • Point out that we have Holsteins and Jerseys and how each breed has different nutrient requirements due to size, milk production rates, etc.
• These people do not have to work as closely with the cows as Veterinarians or Herdsmen. Their primary role is observing how the cows perform when fed the rations they created. Some of this observation may even be done by the herdsmen so the nutritionist doesn’t have to work directly with the cows.

Equipment Service Technician

• It is their job to maintain, upgrade and fix equipment used in the dairy industry. This includes:
  • Cleaning internal parts of machines
  • Repairing milkers
  • Checking to make sure the equipment is running like it should.
  • Helping to install new equipment or upgrade what is already there.
• Rarely do these people work with the cows directly, it is their job to make sure equipment is taken care of, not that the cows are.

Public Relations Manager

• People who work in public relations manage social media accounts (like Facebook or Instagram), work with people who visit the dairy, and sometimes they even help with planning the best ways to sell products.
• Their job is to promote the dairy and encourage people to visit or buy products from the dairy.
• These people don’t work with the cows, instead they work with the people who work with the cows.