On-Farm Facility Consultation
An on-farm facility planning or troubleshooting consultation is for producers considering plans for a new or remodeled facility that would like to meet in-person with one of our veterinarians on their dairy to examine existing buildings, work out facility needs, and discuss potential solutions. Producers are strongly encouraged to invite their builder and veterinarian, as well as any other parties that may play a role in the building process and management of the facility to the meeting.
On-farm consultations typically begin with a walk-through of existing facilities and the proposed building site. We then systematically evaluate your facility needs and review or help create layout plans to ensure that the facility will meet requirements for cow (or calf or heifer) comfort, health, performance, and ease of management. Top areas of concern can be discussed face-to-face, and potential solutions are proposed and considered together. The discussion points of our meeting are summarized in a detailed report with potential solutions for reconsideration before going ahead with the project, which is then sent to all meeting participants.
Cost for this service is dependent on time spent in consultation (~3 to 4 hours) and report preparation (~4 to 6 hours) as well as travel cost. For most herds within ~4 hours of Madison, total cost typically ranges from ~$1000 to $1500 USD. For farms located further from Madison, please contact us to discuss feasibility and cost.
Please contact Chris Eisele by email at chris.eisele@wisc.edu or by phone at (608) 263-7896 to set up an appointment with one of our team members to visit your dairy. The following pieces of information would be extremely useful for us to have ahead of the visit to prepare and conduct an efficient and effective consultation:
- Current goals for the project (what is the purpose of putting up this building?)
- Current and future herd size
- Farm layout indicating the location of the proposed building or addition
- If available, barn plans with all dimensions, either in paper or electronic (PDF) format
- Parlor design and size
- For plans involving transition cows, how will cows be managed and moved around the time of calving?
- For plans involving nursing calves, how will calves be managed and moved from birth through weaning?
- Bedding type to be used
- Recent backup of Dairy Comp 305 or PC Dart records, or DHI herd and release codes
- Building site address
- Farm name, contact person, phone number, and billing address
- Veterinarian’s name, phone number, and email address
In-House Facility Planning Consultations
An in-house facility planning consultation is for producers considering plans for a new or remodeled facility that would like to meet in-person with our team of veterinarians at the UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM) to examine their plans and discuss options. Producers are strongly encouraged to bring along their builder and veterinarian, as well as any other parties that may play a role in the building process and management of the facility.
During an in-house consultation, we systematically evaluate your facility needs and review your plans to ensure that they meet requirements for cow (or calf or heifer) comfort, health, performance, and ease of management. Top areas of concern can be discussed face-to-face, and potential solutions can be proposed and considered together. The discussion points of our meeting are summarized in a detailed report with potential solutions for reconsideration, which is then sent to all meeting participants. Cost for this service is dependent on time spent in consultation (~2 to 3 hours) and report preparation (~4 hours), and typically totals ~$750 to $900 USD.
Please contact Chris Eisele by email at chris.eisele@wisc.edu or by phone at (608) 263-7896 to schedule an appointment for your team to come to the SVM to discuss your facility plans. The following pieces of information will be required for the meeting, and are extremely useful for us to have ahead of the visit to prepare and conduct an efficient and effective consultation:
- Current goals for the project (what is the purpose of putting up this building?)
- Current and future herd size
- Farm layout indicating the location of the proposed building or addition
- If available, barn plans with all dimensions, either in paper or electronic (PDF) format
- Parlor design and size
- For plans involving transition cows, how will cows be managed and moved around the time of calving?
- For plans involving nursing calves, how will calves be managed and moved from birth through weaning?
- Bedding type to be used
- Recent backup of Dairy Comp 305 or PC Dart records, or DHI herd and release codes
- Building site address
- Farm name, contact person, phone number, and billing address
- Veterinarian’s name, phone number, and email address