Russell Pate, president of the University of Illinois Dairy Focus Team, explains the mission of the team at extension events, Illinois Farm Bureau activities and alumni gatherings. Photo credit: Russel Pate.

“Working on the farm side by side with farmers has shown me just how hard they work,” says Dairy Focus Team member Ashley Vahling. “You will not see a family work together and get a job done like a dairy farm family.” Photo credit: Ashley Anderson.

“I didn’t know much about extension before my experience at the University of Illinois,” admits Dairy Focus Team member Ashley Vahling, pictured at the campus dairy. “But now I realize how important it is to the industry.” Photo credit: Ashley Anderson.

Pictured left to right are Katie Haerr, Saige Sulzberger, Cassandra Skenandore and Sarah Morrison. They assembled data for the youngstock recommendations. Photo credit: Phil Cardoso.

Dairy Focus Team members Diego Velasco, Cassandra Skenandore and Ines Rivelli perform ultrasound and follicular aspiration at the University of Illinois research farm. Photo credit: Cassandra Skenandore.

Dairy Focus Team members, left to right, Katie Raver, Sarah Morrison and Cassandra Skenandore preparing to evaluate an Illinois dairy farm. Photo credit: Cassandra Skenandore.

Dr. Phil Cardoso trains University of Illinois dairy students to take their classroom knowledge onto farms, tackling real-world problems. Photo credit: University of Illinois.

Dairy Focus Team members Kelly Ryan and Russell Pate review the Dairy Focus Somatic Cell Count Calculator, which allows producers to analyze their test day milk numbers and take appropriate action. Photo credit: Phil Cardoso. View a related article.

Dr. Phil Cardoso’s Dairy Focus Team is organized on a business model addressing the key areas of nutrition, reproduction, youngstock and management. Photo credit: University of Illinois.

The University of Illinois Dairy Focus Team is developing new strategies to serve farms like Kilgus Jerseys in Fairbury, Illinois. Photo credit: University of Illinois Dairy Focus Team.

From on-site data collection to YouTube videos, the Dairy Focus Team is transforming dairy extension in Illinois by working directly with farms. The Kilgus family milks 160 registered Jerseys on their Illinois dairy. Photo credit: University of Illinois Dairy Focus Team.

Dr. Phil Cardoso thought it was really important to get out and see what would help farms like Koester Dairy most. The Koesters milk 300 registered Holsteins on their Dakota, Illinois, farm. Photo credit: University of Illinois Dairy Focus Team.

University of Illinois Dairy Focus Team members like Saige Sulzberger went to extreme measures to assemble on-farm data. Photo credit: Phil Cardoso.

Saige Sulzberger taking air movement data on a dairy. Photo credit: Phil Cardoso.

“My goal has always been to apply what I am working on back to my roots of dairy farming,” shares Sarah Morrison. The University of Illinois Dairy Focus Team member grew up on her family’s Jersey farm in Vermont. Photo credit: University of Illinois. Click here to see the feature story.