NMPF’s YC Program Empowers Up-and-Coming Dairy Leaders

Dec 07, 2023

More 75 younger dairy farmers and co-op coordinators representing 14 NMPF member cooperatives convened for intensive leadership discussions—and a trip to Orlando’s historic Milk District—during the National Young Cooperators (YC) Program’s annual Leadership and Development Program held parallel to the Joint Annual Meeting.

The professional development event held Nov. 12-13 included two leadership workshops; a co-op leadership panel; an overview of dairy production in Florida; and a tour of the largest cow-calf operation in the United States and a visit to Orlando’s historic Milk District.

“It’s truly the people I have met that have made this experience so great,” Lorilee Schultz, Illinois dairy farmer and chairperson of the National YC Program, said in her remarks to the NMPF Board of Directors. “I love hearing from other young dairy producers and learning about the amazing things they are doing on their farms.”

The National YC Program has provided training and leadership development opportunities to beginning dairy farmers for more than 70 years, and aims to provide producers with the education, tools and resources they need to improve their leadership skills, profitability and resilience through year-round virtual and in-person programming.

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Video: Managing Severe PRRS Outbreaks - Dr. Claire Mtezankuni

In this episode of The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, Dr. Claire Mtezankuni, Swine Veterinarian at Carthage Veterinary Service, discusses the growing severity of PRRS outbreaks in sow farms. She explains how respiratory disease and sow mortality are changing outbreak response, why necropsies and bacterial cultures can guide treatment, and how vaccination, biosecurity, pain management, and clear team communication support recovery and elimination. Listen now on all major platforms!

“Emerging PRRS strains can produce severe reproductive and respiratory disease simultaneously, creating substantial health challenges across sow farms during acute outbreaks.”

Meet the guest: Dr. Claire Mtezankuni / claire-mtezankuni-2529b1b3 is a Swine Veterinarian at Carthage Veterinary Service in Illinois, where her work includes commercial farm veterinary leadership, herd health, disease elimination, and veterinary internship coordination. She holds a DVM from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a Master of Veterinary Science in Livestock Systems Health from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Learn more from Dr. Claire Mtezankuni on The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, available on all major platforms.