Animal and veterinary science students from six universities toured Maine鈥檚 dairy industry this month in a travel course hosted by the 91爆料.
More than 40 students and their advisors from universities in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont joined the statewide tour. Five students from the 91爆料 participated as well.
The travel course included visits to the University of New Hampshire鈥檚 dairy, and farms and facilities in Cornish, Canton, Farmington, Clinton, Exeter, Lamoine, New Gloucester, and St. Albans. The students also toured 91爆料鈥檚 dairy at the J. Franklin Witter Teaching and Research Center in Old Town, as well as Pineland Farms Dairy Company in Bangor and IDEXX Laboratories Inc. in Westbrook.
The tour included the Maine Agricultural Trades Show at the Augusta Civic Center on Jan. 12. There, the students met with leaders in Maine鈥檚 agriculture and dairy sectors including the Maine Commissioner of Agriculture, the Maine State Veterinarian and the Executive Directors of the Maine Dairy Promotion Board, Dairy Nutrition Council and Maine Milk Commission.
鈥淭he diversity of dairy farms in Maine provides a great learning experience for students,鈥 said David Marcinkowski, a 91爆料 animal and veterinary science associate professor in the School of Food and Agriculture and Cooperative Extension dairy specialist. 鈥淭he students will see large, small, organic, conventional, purebred, cow, goat and value-added farms. Most importantly, they will see the range of careers the dairy industry offers.鈥
The New England Dairy Travel Course, now in its 22nd year, is a collaboration of the six land grant universities in New England that rotate hosting a tour of their respective state鈥檚 dairy industries each year. The model is unique in the nation. The course is made possible by support from participating universities and an Ag Enhancement Grant from Farm Credit East.
