The Evidence-Based Dairy Management Program: A New Tool for Optimizing Management Decisions

By Barry Bradford and Alisson Santos et.al

The Evidence-Based Dairy Management Program (EBDM) is a collaborative program designed to support Michigan dairy farms using the experience of graduate students working with Michigan State University Extension specialist Barry Bradford. This initiative connects dairy producers with support to ask and answer questions on their own operation, addressing challenges in dairy management. Graduate students work directly with participating farms to assist with studies, analyze data and develop practical solutions that enhance productivity and efficiency. By fostering a strong relationship between academia and commercial dairy farms, the program ensures that research is both innovative and applicable, ultimately benefiting farmers and the dairy industry long-term.  

What does evidence-based management mean? 

Evidence-based management refers to using data to support informed decision-making. Traditionally, this evidence has mostly come from university studies, and we believe that university research remains essential to management decisions. However, not all relevant questions are amenable to university research. We hope that this program will make it more feasible for dairy farms to dig into important questions of their own, in the setting where the answers are most applicable. This sort of on-site research is now common in the integrated swine, poultry and feedlot industries, and we see potential for these efforts to drive improved decision-making for dairy farms, too.  

What is the purpose of this program? 

The purpose of the EBDM program is to provide dairies with resources and advice to enable the best possible data to be collected to answer a question of interest to farm managers. The purpose is not to generate more scientific research from the university, although some work may be worth publishing. The main point is to help dairy producers answer the questions they have about optimal management.  

What kinds of questions can MSU help farms answer?  

The types of questions that may emerge are nearly endless, and it is not our goal to limit the creativity of our collaborators. However, there are three general approaches that we expect to take to help farms answer questions. 

• Retrospective analysis utilizes existing historical data from the farm to look for links between different events over time.  

• Prospective analysis is similar to retrospective analysis, but it involves starting collection of new data moving forward. After a specified period of time, the prospective data set is analyzed to evaluate relationships. 

• Controlled study involves randomization into treatment and control groups. Although controlled studies provide the strongest assessment of a management change, they also require more coordination and may not be feasible for all questions of interest. 

What is the cost of this program? 

Thanks to the generous support of the Michigan dairy industry for the Clint Meadows Endowment, this program is free for Michigan dairy producers for the time being.  

How can you get involved? 

The EBDM team has created a project initiation form to efficiently collect initial information. If you are interested, please take 5 minutes to complete the form here: https://forms.office.com/r/e3DmGtET4E