The mission of the Tri-State Extension Dairy Team is to unite Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont in advancing dairy management through collaborative educational programs, addressing shared industry challenges, and fostering innovation across northern New England. Since January 2025, the team has been hosting live monthly webinars on the last Wednesday of each month from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM. Sessions have focused on current dairy research and program updates, including interviews, presentations, and roundtable discussions. All recorded sessions are available to watch on the UVM Extension Northwest Crops & Soils YouTube Channel.
On-Farm Assessments & Audits for Dairy Operations
In November, the Tri-State Dairy Extension Team hosted a webinar focusing on on-farm assessment and audit programs available in the Northeast. The session featured Dr. Clem Nash of NOVUS International and Dr. Bill Stone of Diamond V. The presenters walked through the assessment and audit programs their teams offer to dairy producers and showed how the insights from these tools can drive better management, boost productivity, and improve overall profitability on the farm.
NOVUS C.O.W.S Program
The NOVUS C.O.W.S.® Program helps dairy producers assess herd behavior and make informed management decisions. Created with the University of British Columbia’s Animal Welfare Program, this national benchmarking effort highlights ways to improve cow comfort, support herd well-being, and strengthen sustainability in the dairy sector. Comfortable cows perform better—driving productivity and long-term success.
Producers interested in having their operation assessed should work with their nutrition consultant to schedule a full assessment with the NOVUS team. The assessment includes a management interview; an evaluation of facilities; locomotion and hock scoring; collection of cow time-budget data using wearable loggers; measurement of stocking density; and monitoring of temperature and airflow conditions. Quantitative and qualitative data collected during the assessment are analyzed and organized into a customized report, which is then delivered to the dairy. NOVUS works with the dairy’s management team to provide recommendations that align with existing management practices and support improved research based cow comfort and production performance.
Diamon V TMR Audit
The Diamond V TMR Audit system is designed to evaluate and enhance the cattle feeding process, ensuring the ration each animal consumes is both consistent and uniform. The program examines feed storage practices, ingredient preparation and proportioning, TMR mixing procedures, and how the final ration is delivered and utilized. Components of the system can also be applied to supplemental feeding in grazing herds to support optimal rumen function, feed efficiency, and overall animal performance.
To learn more about both of these programs and to access the full recording of this webinar and all other webinars in this series, click here. View the webinar series flyer for more details by clicking here.
2026 Tri-State Dairy Exchange: Advancing Dairy Systems Through Technology
Join the team of Dairy Extension Professionals from UMaine, UNH, and UVM for live monthly webinars on the last Wednesday of each month from 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. In 2026, webinars will focus on a different topic each quarter. Learn about innovative technology in the dairy sector, Extension and industry research, and programs happening in the tri-state region. Enjoy interviews, panels, presentations, discussions, and more! The first three sessions will highlight wearable animal health monitoring technology and the discussion will kick off with industry representatives from smaXtec Inc. and Merk Animal Health. View the webinar event flyer here and register now for January 28th, 2026.