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Growing up on an 80-cow dairy farm, Eliana Koehler has always loved cows. As a rising junior majoring in animal science at The Pennsylvania State University, she knew she wanted to take her experience a step further by completing an on-farm internship on a dairy farm with a completely different size and scale. She was paired with Walmoore Holsteins, a Pennsylvania dairy operation with 1,150 milking and dry cows.
“I was interested in this internship because I wanted to learn more about their management. Dairy farming on a small scale is much different, so it has been kind of crazy to see how much is actually done here,” Eliana shared.
Throughout the on-farm internship, her day-to-day responsibilities have included herd management and calf health, feeding and treating animals, and more. Gaining experience in so many areas of the business has helped Eliana pay attention to detail and learn to manage all the protocols that Walmoore Holstein has in place. With a passion for art, Eliana is also painting a mural for the farm with snapshots from their barns and sunflower fields.
“I’ve been feeding and treating calves, and then on the herd management side, I’ve been helping with herd checks, hauling, and giving treatments to some cows,” she added. “There are so many little things that go into it because it’s so big. It’s easy to forget some things, so I’ve had to learn how to manage all the little details.”
One of Eliana’s favorite memories has been getting hands-on experience with breeding cows on the farm. The internship has given her more confidence and independence with her breeding skills, and Eliana is passionate about using dairy genetics to control the future outcome – and longevity – of the herd.
“I took an AI breeding class, so I got certified for that. I have been breeding here a little bit and at home, so it has been nice to have that skill now. I like that you can use breeding to control the future of the herd and [find ways to] improve the herd,” Eliana said.
Walmoore Holsteins also uses various forms of technology to manage their herd, including ear tags and collars for heat and health detection. As part of her summer research project, Eliana analyzed and compared both pieces of technology to determine if one had a better success rate than the other. For example, based on data she found, the farm may explore the possibility of implementing the ear tags into their milking herd rather than just the heifers.
“I’ve been looking into the difference between the ear tags and collars for heat detection. I wanted to see the different things that each of them detect, how they can improve [the herd], and if one is better than the other. It has been cool to see how much [the technology] picks up,” she shared.
From technology and breeding to herd management and painting, Eliana says the hands-on experience has been the most memorable part of her internship.
“I thought I would be here for a week and not be able to do anything but just watch. By the third day, I was already doing something by myself. So, I think that’s a really good achievement,” she added.
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The Dairy Excellence Foundation, the Professional Dairy Managers of Pennsylvania, and the Pennsylvania Dairymen’s Association provide $3,000 grants to support these on-farm internships each summer.