A virtual dairy herd as a tool to teach dairy production and management

The objective of this project was to develop and test a web-based virtual dairy herd to help students understand the structure and functioning of a dairy herd, and to promote active learning. At the beginning of the course, the instructor defines the profiles of herds to be assigned to students (e.g., herd size, production, diets, fertility). Each student has a unique herd and engages in decision-making for desired management practices in the herd. Modeled events are based on cow physiology and normal dairy herd management practices. Students' activities and decisions include heat detection, insemination, pregnancy diagnosis, dry-off, diet specifications, feeding groups, colostrum and milk-replacer feeding, weaning, treatment of diseases, and milk withdrawal from the tank if antibiotics are used, among others. The daily output provides information on technical indexes, economic performance, counters of incorrect decisions as feedback for students, and score. Time in class can be devoted to discussions of dairy management issues. Additional exercises based on students' own herds (e.g., calculating required space for cows, land for forage production, manure management) can also be implemented. Students' performance in the virtual dairy farm was monitored over 3 years. The average score (n = 326) was 87.8 ± 1.1 over 100 points, suggesting that self-learning with the virtual dairy farm was highly successful. At the end of each semester, students (n = 277) responded to a survey on the experience of working with the virtual dairy herd. Most students (>87%) agreed that the virtual dairy herd was more effective and motivating than traditional lectures and helped them understand dairy production better. In an unannounced test conducted at least 2 wk before the final exam, students (n = 207) were asked 14 questions on dairy cattle and 14 similar questions on other species taught in the same class through traditional lectures. A similar test on the same students (n = 142) was conducted in their fifth semester (2 years later). Results were better in dairy compared with other species questions in the first (9.6 vs. 3.7) and fifth (8.0 vs. 3.8) semesters. The virtual dairy herd is an effective tool for teaching introductory courses in dairy production. The program can be accessed at www.virtualdairyfarm.org, and a manual and videos with instructions for instructors and students are available online.