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Registration Open!

2026 Dairy Cattle Welfare Symposium

Don’t miss this opportunity to connect, learn, and contribute to the future of dairy cattle care—be part of the conversation on topics like welfare standards, cow–calf contact, pair raising, and social rearing. We look forward to welcoming you in Minneapolis!

Check out our speaker highlights on LinkedIn!

By joining us, you’ll be at the forefront of meaningful conversations alongside scientists, practitioners, industry professionals, technicians, and educators who are all dedicated to advancing dairy cattle health and welfare.

The annual symposium spans two days, with an additional third day devoted to practitioner engagement presented in Spanish. Through dynamic oral presentations, poster sessions, and panel discussions, the Dairy Cattle Welfare Council (DCWC) creates a collaborative space for the dairy community to share cutting-edge research, practical on-farm insights, and innovative approaches to animal welfare.

About Us

The DCWC was formally established in 2016 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization for educational and scientific purposes

Our Vision:

The purpose of the DCWC is to promote dairy cattle welfare by bringing together dairy farmers, veterinarians, consultants, universities, and the dairy community to develop best recommended practices with focus on animal well-being, management, husbandry, animal-people interaction, health, and productivity.

Our Mission:

Our mission is to advance the care and treatment of dairy cattle by bringing the dairy industry together to inform, educate, and support continuous improvement of animal well-being on dairy farms.


Sustaining Sponsor

 

 


Upcoming Webinars

SPANISH

Date / Fecha: 26 de marzo de 2026

Time / Hora: 10:30 am CT

Presentation title / Titulo: DCWC Webinar: Más allá del método: Cómo construir sistemas confiables de eutanasia

La Dra. Mariana Guerra Maupomé obtuvo su título de Médica Veterinaria Zootecnista en la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México y, posteriormente, completó un doctorado en Medicina Diagnóstica y Patobiología en Kansas State University.

Desde su incorporación a TELUS Agriculture en 2019, trabaja con distintos segmentos de la producción de leche y carne para impulsar mejoras en salud animal y desempeño productivo mediante la capacitación de empleados y el desarrollo de talento. Su trabajo de campo reveló brechas críticas en el manejo de ganado comprometido, desde recursos limitados para la toma de decisiones hasta el peso emocional de las decisiones de eutanasia. Estas experiencias originaron su colaboración con la academia y asociaciones de productores, integrando métodos cuantitativos y cualitativos para comprender cómo los comportamientos humanos influyen en el bienestar animal. Su labor conecta la ciencia con las barreras reales que enfrentan los productores al tomar decisiones difíciles.

La eutanasia en granjas lecheras es un problema de sistema disfrazado de un problema de método. Cuando los animales se deterioran sin una intervención oportuna, las granjas enfrentan riesgos de bienestar, exposición en auditorías y fatiga moral en el personal. A pesar de los estándares de AVMA, AABP y FARM, la brecha entre los protocolos y los resultados reales sigue siendo amplia.

Este seminario analiza por qué fallan los sistemas de eutanasia: criterios ambiguos, autoridad poco clara, baja confianza del operador y falta de rendición de cuentas. Los asistentes aprenderán a implementar árboles de decisión, ciclos de capacitación, listas de verificación y KPIs de mejora. Esta sesión, diseñada para veterinarios, auditores y gerentes, ofrece una hoja de ruta para alinear la operación con los estándares y la realidad.

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ENGLISH

Date: March 26, 2026

Time: 2:30 pm CT

Presentation title: DCWC Webinar: Beyond the Method: Building Reliable Euthanasia Systems on Dairy Farms

Dr. Mariana Guerra Maupomé, earned her DVM from Universidad Autónoma de México in Mexico City, followed by a PhD in Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology from Kansas State University.

Since joining TELUS Agriculture in 2019, where she works with different segments of cattle production on animal health and production improvements through employee training and talent development. This hands-on work revealed critical gaps in compromised cattle management—from limited on-farm decision-making resources to challenges around training, accountability, and the emotional weight of euthanasia decisions. These experiences sparked her current collaboration with academia, producer associations, and industry stakeholders, combining quantitative and qualitative methods to understand how people’s behaviors and attitudes shape cattle welfare outcomes. Her work bridges the science with the real-world barriers producers and stockpeople face in making difficult decisions about compromised cattle.

Beyond the Method: Building Reliable Euthanasia Systems on Dairy Farms

Dairy euthanasia is a systems problem disguised as a methods problem. When animals deteriorate without timely intervention, farms face welfare risk, audit exposure, and workforce moral injury. Despite robust standards from AVMA, AABP, FARM, and others, the gap between written protocols and actual outcomes remains wide—especially for neonatal calves and in high-pressure environments.

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SPANISH

April 16th, 12pm CT / 19 de febrero, 12:00 pm CT

Herramientas prácticas para tender puentes entre el idioma y la cultura en las lecherías

Speaker: Dra. Laura Solano


Este seminario web destaca aprendizajes obtenidos a partir de conversaciones con médicos veterinarios de lecherías, personal del rancho, encargados de hato y propietarios sobre los desafíos de comunicación y de la fuerza laboral que dan forma a las lecherías actuales. Exploraremos sus perspectivas sobre cómo la estructura del equipo, las dinámicas laborales y la cultura del rancho pueden influir tanto en el desempeño laboral como en el bienestar de las personas y de las vacas, e identificaremos oportunidades potenciales para mejorar los resultados en toda la operación.

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ENGLISH

April16th, 2pm CT

“Practical Tools for Bridging Language & Culture on the Dairy”

Speaker: Dr. Laura Solano


This webinar highlights insights from conversations with dairy veterinarians, farm staff, herd managers and owners about communication and workforce challenges shaping today’s dairy farms. We’ll explore their perspectives on how team structure, workplace dynamics, and farm culture can influence both work performance and wellbeing for people and cows alike, and identify the potential opportunities to improve outcomes across the entire operation.

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