Industry Capability Building

The success of the industry is largely dependent upon the capability of its human resources. Specific dairy education and skill sets are needed for on-farm employees, support-industry future workforce and scientific research professionals. CDRF sponsors projects that provide important skills to dairy farmers and industry-support representatives that are not otherwise available via free market channels or are key to maintain research expertise within California institutions. Projects such as the California Dairy Feed Fellowship seek to fill the lack of on-farm, in-person application that many well-educated industry employee candidates miss during their years in college. These programs screen for highly-motivated candidates whose primary interest beyond the program is obtaining meaningful industry work in the California dairy community.

Fellows have historically gained important networking contacts including technical consultants, salesmen, nutritionists and dairymen and have a solid understanding of how a feed mill works and what it takes to manufacture and market a feed premix; for dairymen, nutrition consultants will have a better understanding of dairy nutrient systems to improve recommendations to improve crop management, feed management and reduce nutrient impacts to the environment. The Fellowship program is headquartered at the UC Davis Veterinary Medicine Teaching and Research Center in Tulare, CA.