SWAPPING CLASSROOMS FOR COW BARNS

UNH CREAM program offers dairy management training — and so much more

When it comes to unique courses at the University of New Hampshire, Cooperative for Real Education in Agricultural Management (CREAM) might top the list.

In the student-led, two-semester course, students gain hands-on experience managing every aspect of the dairy business, from feeding, cleaning and changing the bedding of 25 black-and-white Holsteins to managing herd health and milk production to tracking all associated business expenses. But it doesn’t end there.

“CREAM teaches so many life skills about communication, about conflict resolution, about responsibility — like realizing that nobody is going to be there to milk the cows unless you get up at 4 in the morning,” says Liz Brock ’01, DVM, clinical assistant professor in the department of agriculture, nutrition and food systems and CREAM alumna. “You also gain a real respect for animals and the role that they play in our lives.”

Drew Conroy, coordinator of the applied animal science program and a professor in the department of agriculture, nutrition and food systems, has a word he likes to use, especially when describing CREAM students: initiative. The word is printed on a hat he wears and is carved into a wood cutout that he keeps in his office. He says it’s the number one character trait that he wants CREAM students to develop.

“I want them to take risks and responsibility and step up when things need to be done or fixed — and they do,” he says. “That is why, over the years, CREAM has earned this reputation as a program that really sets graduates apart.”

To read more and watch a short video, scan the QR code or use the link below.

https://bit.ly/UNHCREAM