Computing sustainable dairy systems Just toting around the Sustain- able Dairy Systems Training Manual will take some training- weight training. The tenth draft, which has expanded from five chapters in the original proposal to twelve chapters, now weighs about eight pounds. No one yet knows the approximate weigh- in of the completed version scheduled for release in autumn 1996, but there is good reason for the heftiness. The manual supports a user-friendly computer program that will allow an Extension agent or producer to design dairy systems with the click of a mouse. Clark Garland of the University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service and Steve Isaacs of the University of Kentucky are coordinat- ing the landmark interdisciplinary, multi-state training program. A model of cooperation, the project utilized 25 trainers and more than 100 farmers, Extension agents and other agricultural. leaders to produce the ultimate guide to developing customized sustainable dairy systems. Using a computer in the agent's office or a laptop at the producer's kitchen table, the agent and farmer can answer questions about the current dairy operation and the desired changes. The program will automati- cally configure the economic and other data in the new system as it is being designed. In fact, the software is so sophisticated that if a change is later made in something, such as the number of stalls in a barn, it will recalculate the entire system. Topics include forage systems, milking centers, farmstead planning, financial management, labor recommendations, feeding, manure management and other variables. The material for both the software and the manual is being developed and refined during actual pilot teaching sessions. To date, the cooperators have introduced the manual and software to 450 dairy farm families. They also are developing intensive farm management plans and financial plans with at least 110 farm families in Kentucky and Tennessee. Lee : I of we who owns a w born. If cow dairy and also raises , .- . and - .. on.. res, is shown at a I I sion Area " not a erd to a w herd," T sze of your barn, was included in Joe Mckenzie, Extension Leader for Rutherford County, TN, was dubious about giving up three days of work to attend one of the sessions. "After 26 years in the business, I don't get excited about much any- more," he recalls. "But that three-day training is the best compilation of materials I have seen in a long time. It will be useful for younger agents who don't have a large bank of experiences to draw upon. It will also be useful for evaluating manure management and grazing management systems. had existed would ... '- .': ' out." ; ,; b < able when , it e invoalu- lenders, to S need to make a S' ave to base it or nbiased advice, not advice rom a salesman," he enderss want and costs out. what an ' South how to get out of it for least ook at me most "In my career, this is the first time I recall a joint effort of this magnitude between two states. I really appreci- ated it, and I heard other agents saying the same thing." When completed, one copy of the software and the manual will be sent to each dairy county in Tennessee and Kentucky and to 1890 and 1862 land- grant universities in the Southern Region. For more information request the report on Project LST94-4. Common Ground I 1( Page 4 Spring 1996