To help dairy farmers prepare for the growing season, the 2025 Organic Dairy Days will feature presentations on ruminant nutrition and high-quality pasture and stored forages.

These interactive workshops will be offered at three locations in March and cost $25 per person, which includes lunch. Registrations will be accepted online at go.uvm.edu/2025organicdairy or by contacting ̽̽ (̽̽) Non-Credit Registration Office at (802) 656-8407 or noncredit@uvm.edu. The deadline to register is three days prior to the event.

The workshops are sponsored by ̽̽ Extension’s Northwest Crops and Soils program and will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dates and locations are:

  • March 5 — The Eastside Restaurant, 47 Landing St., Newport
  • March 6 — Hotel Coolidge, 39 South Main St., White River Junction
  • March 20 — Vergennes American Legion, 100 Armory Ln., Vergennes

Dairy producers will hear from Kurt Cotanch, a Vermont dairy nutritionist, on rumen biochemistry and function. Cotanch will discuss how a cow’s rumen works from a biochemical perspective and connect that functionality to meeting the nutritional needs of grass-fed cows.

They will also hear about analytical, visual and sensory forage quality assessments with a “walk through” of a forage lab analysis. Through hands-on activities using visual and sensory analyses producers will learn how to discern forages of different qualities.

Sarah Flack, a Vermont independent grazing consultant, will talk about managing pasture and hay for quality. Participants then will have an opportunity to use nutritional modeling to better understand how the feeding of various qualities of forages impacts maintenance and production potential.

In addition, Jen Miller, Farmer Services Director with the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont, will discuss how forage quality can impact cost of production, including the economic impacts of various forage quality scenarios.

Anyone requiring a disability-related accommodation to participate should contact ̽̽ Student Accessibility Services at access@uvm.edu or (802) 656-7753 at least three weeks prior to the workshop. For questions about the program, contact Susan Brouillette at (802) 656-7611 or susan.brouillette@uvm.edu.