A demonstration project of interdisciplinary dairy herd extension advising funded by industry and users. 1. Implementation and evaluation.

An interdisciplinary team of extension workers conducted a 2-yr demonstration project using 30 herds with the objectives of increasing production efficiency and profitability and gaining experience in integrated problem solving. After 1 yr, 88% of the participants thought that the monthly fee paid to extension was a profitable investment. At the end of the project, 70% of the participants thought that increases in milk yield per cow were due to a combination of improvements in two to four management areas rather than to changes in any single management discipline. Additional labor was necessary to implement recommendations. Two issues were key in successfully convincing dairy operators and families to accept management recommendations: 1) a coordinated team effort aimed at integrated problem solving, followed by written recommendations and regular dialogue with the producer, and 2) possession of effective social decision-making skill by the participant family. Most farms in the project depended primarily on family labor and social decision making to implement management changes. Only those families that could jointly agree to implement a new management decision fully benefited from professional advice. A demonstration project of interdisciplinary dairy advising was an effective method to gain problem-solving expertise and to build credibility for extension services.