Dairy Production Management Program Offered at Karen Technical Training Institute for the Deaf

By enrolling into this Dairy Production Management you will gain a broad and comprehensive understanding of all aspects of dairy management such as genetics, nutrition, reproduction, animal health, farm economics, and sustainability of dairy production systems. There's something here for everyone whether you are just looking for the basics or have years of experience in the dairy industry.

Students who complete this certificate will be able to apply scientific and management principles to running a dairy operation, including developing new solutions to fit demands and challenges, working creatively to make effective decisions and develop plans for future advances, and communicating effective management of dairy farm operations. They will also gain specialized knowledge and management plans for reproduction, nutrition, herd health, evaluation, and genetics of a dairy operation.

If anything, today’s dairy farmers are entrepreneurs. A farmer’s farm is his life, but at the end of the day, what matters most is being commercially viable and therefore sustainable. This means setting objectives, implementing, monitoring and evaluating activities, and adjusting where necessary. In our certificate programme Dairy Farm Management, Economics and Housing of Dairy Cattle, you will learn how to manage a farm like an entrepreneur and turn it into a profitable agricultural company.

Why this programme?

• Gain a better understanding about what it means to be a manager of a dairy farm and being an entrepreneur.
• Learn everything about farm management, economics and key performance indicators to assess financial and technical dairy farms.
• Study at a university of applied sciences with a long history of agriculture and specialization in agrifood and entrepreneurship.
• Our lecturers work in close collaboration with organizations and experts in the field.

Orientation and Dairy Genetics

In the Dairy Genetics module, you will learn about the different breeds of dairy cattle, their popularity and how performance varies from one breed to the next. We will consider the many different traits that are evaluated by farmers and breeders during genetic planning.

Forage Production and Pasture Management

You will learn about what forages are, why they are important and the multiple roles they play on the dairy farm. We will also review some of the basic management considerations that are involved in the establishment, production and harvesting of pasture.

Feeds, Hay and Silage Making, and Feed Processing

You will learn about feeds commonly fed to dairy cows and feed processing. We will first discuss the feeding characteristics of forages such as corn silage, alfalfa haylage, grass and small grain silages, will then move to concentrate feeds.

Nutrition Basics, Requirements, and Feeding of Lactating Cows

You will be introduced to the principles of animal nutrition, basic nutrients and their metabolism, sources for these nutrients in a dairy diet, the anatomy of the digestive tract of a ruminant animal, the wonderful world of the rumen microbes, and many more.

Calf and Heifer Nutrition and Feeding of Dry Cows

Calf health, growth, and productivity rely heavily on nutrition and management practices. Every heifer calf born on a dairy farm represents an opportunity to maintain or increase herd size, to improve the herd genetically, or to improve economic returns to the farm.

Dairy Reproduction

You will learn basic concepts related to reproduction on dairy farms. We will start with a discussion of the life cycle of the dairy cow and how to adequately prepare a heifer for her fist calving. 

Animal Health and Milk Quality

You will learn about disease concerns of dairy cows and calves and management practices addressing diagnosis and prevention. Our discussions will progress from first establishing disease prevention concepts of biosecurity and evolution of diseases.

Farm Economics and Environment

You will learn about the basics of dairy farm management and identify some key aspects of farm level economics that impact farm productivity and profitability. From crops to cows to cash, the dairy farm is an economic engine.

Karen Technical Training Institute for the Deaf is a Public Tertiary Institution under the state Department of Science and Technology that started in 1990 to offer Technical Training to the Deaf Youth in Kenya.

The Institute trains Students mainly at the level of Artisan, Craft and a few in Diploma courses; ... read more