Cooperative Real Education in Agricultural Management (CREAM) is a year-long, student-led, 4 credit course that gives students unlimited livestock and agricultural management experience.
Throughout the duration of this course, students are responsible for managing the registered Holstein CREAM herd at the UNH Fairchild Dairy Research and Teaching Center. This includes completing daily barn chores, making financial decisions for the barn, and paying special attention to your own personally assigned cow.
Working closely with Dr. Pete Erickson (a renowned dairy nutritionist), Dr. Brock (a large animal veterinarian), Jon Whitehouse (the Fairchild Dairy farm manager) and Dr. Conroy (an agricultural management expert), students get to explore all facets of agriculture and animal welfare. An experience unlike any other, students typically leave this class with more than 300 hours of large-animal handling experience and a new perspective on the commitment of agricultural management.
Explore the Program
- Learn to comfortably handle dairy cattle, including calves, heifers, and cows.
- Apply knowledge gained from other classes to the management of a dairy herd.
- Enhance leadership and teamwork skills by collaboratively working with classmates to improve the herd’s financial status, genetics, production and facilities.
- Gain practical experience in operating a small-scale dairy farm business.
- Take charge of your learning by planning class lectures, activities and schedules.
Each CREAM student is expected to dedicate approximately 8-10 hours per week to the course. This commitment includes attending weekly business meetings on Tuesdays, participating in committee work, completing chores and engaging in other related activities.
While students have the flexibility to decide their level of involvement, they often discover that the more they contribute, the more rewarding their experience. Although the commitment may seem daunting, effective time management and teamwork ensure a smooth and fulfilling experience.
Students meet with their committees and present their work at every Tuesday business meeting, spending approximately 6-7 weeks on each committee. The committees include:
- Breeding: Select sires for cows using genomic data to enhance their genetics and reproductive performance.
- Finance: Maintain financial records and manage all of CREAM’s income and expenses.
- Education and Planning: Organize lectures, events, service activities, and schedule assignments.
- Production Management: Monitor the production, health, and reproductive status of the CREAM herd.
- Farm Facilities and Maintenance: Ensure that CREAM facilities are well-maintained and clean.
Students are required to complete 3-5 chore shifts throughout the week, categorized into four types: early morning (4:15 AM), mid-morning (5:30 AM), early afternoon (3:15 PM) and mid-afternoon (4:30 PM).
Early Shifts: During these shifts, students perform tasks such as tying, feeding, or milking the cows. Tying involves unclipping the cows, scraping dirty bedding, rebedding, cleaning water bowls and reclipping after milking. For feeding, students use a Jaylor to mix carefully formulated diets created by fellow students and dairy nutritionists. Milking follows a routine of “spray,” “strip/wipe,” and “attach” to efficiently milk all the cows.
Mid Shifts: Morning mid-shifts involve one student feeding heifers in the heifer barn with the CREAM Jaylor, while the other two handle the calf room or the super hutches and maternity pens. In the afternoon mid-shifts, three students are assigned to each area—calf room, super hutches and maternity pens—accelerating the workflow. Tasks in the calf room include cleaning stalls, rebedding, distributing milk, feeding calf starter grain and cleaning/refilling water buckets. Students may also bottle-feed newborn calves if born during their shift. The final task involves scraping, rebedding, and cleaning/refilling water for juveniles in the super hutches.
CREAM stands out from other courses primarily due to its unique grading approach. Instead of traditional assignments and exams, students are evaluated by their peers and barn staff. This evaluation focuses on their proficiency in chores, participation in business meetings, involvement in committees, attentiveness during Thursday education sessions and overall initiative and teamwork. Receiving feedback from peers is incredibly beneficial as it helps students identify areas for improvement and recognize their strengths, enhancing their learning experience.
Like any other class, the more effort students put into CREAM, the more they gain from it. Therefore, our guiding principle is "initiative." Showing great initiative, whether by covering shifts for other students, implementing improvements in the dairy barn, or leading a subcommittee, can significantly enhance the well-being of the cows and the smooth operation of the class. Participating in CREAM is likely to be one of your most memorable experiences at UNH!
Advice from current CREAMers!
"You really get out of the class what you put into it. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or try new things! This is your time to experiment as a student, and you'll never have this specific learning environment again, so take full advantage of it. Don’t worry about sounding silly—everyone is here to learn and gain a better understanding of bovine care. As someone who entered CREAM with no previous dairy experience, I've found it crucial to ask classmates with more experience for help. Whether I’m unsure about how to operate equipment or simply need help moving a cow, my classmates are always there, ready to lend a hand!" - Kristina, CREAM '25
“The best advice I could give to a future CREAMer is to be confident in yourself and your abilities. Being president, I sometimes second guess what I’m doing and if I’m making the right decision. At the end of the day though, the best thing I can do is be confident that I made that decision for the right reasons and stand by it. That goes for chores and other leadership roles as well. Acknowledging how capable you are of doing something really helps improve your mindset and execution of certain tasks” - Abby CREAM '25
How to Apply
This year's application opens 2/17 and closes 3/23. After receiving your application, you will shadow a barn shift with a current CREAMer and then interview with one of our advisors.
Apply to be a CREAMER
Good luck and we look forward to seeing your application! If you have any questions, please reach out to kristina.mileski@unh.edu or alexandra.ferreri@unh.edu.
