Corinne Blaser brought her dairy roots with her when she came to Lakeland College. Having grown up on a dairy operation south of Ottawa, Ont., she had a wide breadth of knowledge in the industry when she started in Lakeland College’s animal science technology program’s dairy major. She was looking to expand that knowledge, learn from others in the industry and bring that knowledge back home.

The opportunity to gain that knowledge in a hands-on way is what drew her to Lakeland.
“It was definitely the student-managed aspect of the farm that caught my eye, as well as the fact that Lakeland had a dairy-specific program,” Blaser says. “It’s pretty hard to find. I’ve also always wanted to come to Alberta and learn from other people across the country about dairy.”

Lakeland’s Dairy Learning Centre is different than what she’s used to, with access to different types of technology as well.

“It’s really cool learning from this new equipment,” she says. “This is a freestyle barn, and at home we have an older tie stall barn.”

The Dairy Learning Centre has two milking systems, a more traditional parlor and a robotic system that allows cows to milk on demand. An ear tag system tracks which cows are being milked and when, to track productivity. A Lely Vector automatic feeding system ensures cows are never without fresh feed. There are three indoor calf rooms, two of which house milk-fed calves using an automatic milk feeding system.

In her second year in the dairy program, Blaser and her classmates are charged with taking the reins of the Student-Managed Farm – Powered by New Holland (SMF)’s dairy unit. One of 14 students in the cohort, Blaser is the general manager of the unit this year. Under her management, her classmates fill roles in nutrition, production, finance, reproduction, animal health, data & records and communications among other units and public relations coordinators.

“It’s almost like you’re working and doing school at the same time, but it’s good for time management,” she says. “You definitely become closer with your peers through it. It’s been a really good experience.”

Leadership, however, comes with its own challenges. “There’s definitely more responsibility on me because I oversee the whole team and build how our team is going to perform,” she says. “On a regular dairy farm, you’re not going to have 14 people in charge. We needed to communicate with each other and ensure that everyone knew what was going on. I do think we’ve been really good at it.”

This close collaboration has helped build a sense of community.

“We have all our classes together and basically do everything together. It’s almost more of a family dynamic than friends,” she says. “That really helps us operate as a unit.”

Blaser also sees success in the productivity of the unit and the comfort-level of the cows.

“We have income all year round and are in production 24/7,” Blaser explains. “Our success is seen through our milk values—like how good our butterfat is, the protein and lactose percentages. That’s probably the best way to measure our success on the production side. Our fat percentage is at an all-time high, which is really good. It indicates that we’re feeding the cows properly, managing them properly and they aren’t stressed,” she says.

The challenges and opportunities Blaser has found in her role are leaving her both happy and prepared her for what comes next after graduation.

“We’re hoping to build a new barn back home, so I can take what I’m learning here and implement it there.”

 

Photos: Top - Corinne Blaser in the Dairy Learning Centre. Middle - The automatic milking parlour. Bottom - Corinne Blaser with the dairy herd.