When your job duties depend on training the next generation of professional A.I. technicians, as well as continuing education with a well-established team across the country, travel restrictions due to a global pandemic could mean school’s out for summer. Thankfully, that’s not the case when learning from Select Sires Inc. Western U.S. Manager of Technical Services, King Smith!
All West/Select Sires has had to adapt to change rapidly since the outbreak of Coronavirus, as all of you have on your dairies and ranches, as well. We continue to make the health and safety of our team members, customers, and their families our top priority, but at the end of the day getting your livestock bred is also our number one goal! To get that job done takes a great amount of education and training, which are also two great priorities here at All West. This is why our professional A.I. technician team participates in regular training on a variety of topics instructed by King Smith.
Geneva McCall, All West/Select Sires Manager of Technician Development and Support shared, “I have the privilege to work with the most talented team of relief technicians in California. To prepare our team for success on farm, All West has established a training program that includes both classroom and behind the cow instruction. Our goal is to provide all of our relief techs with all the information and guidance they will need to take the next step on their career path here at All West.”
Faced with the new challenge of social distancing, our team quickly transitioned to the world of virtual learning! Just like students across the country are doing with their teachers, our technician team has been attending sessions online.
King has been hosting classes on a variety of topics including cattle anatomy and physiology, the estrus cycle, synchronization protocols and more. Participants also learned how to evaluate conception rates and dairy reproductive performance using DairyComp 305, and how to interpret and use the reports produced by RePRO ReVIEW. Our team even tuned in to a session on professionalism as a helpful reminder to stay tidy, organized, and responsible for the benefit of our member-owners.
The training doesn’t end when the computers are shut down. King plans to venture to All West Territory as soon as travel restrictions are lifted in order to host on-the-job training of these technical skills in the field. “They seem to be engaged and asking questions during our online sessions. I also ask questions during the training to see if they’re actually understanding the material. However, the most beneficial training comes when I get to work with each team member one-on-one behind cows,” said King.
Not only does this continuous training provide our technicians with valuable knowledge, it also allows them to gain confidence in their work, which translates to more pregnancies in your herd!
“I truly believe in training. We need to keep our team up-to-date on new findings in the industry and be sure to always take the opportunity to work with our people who are developing in the field to become better at their job. I think it’s truly important that we stay in front of our technicians and let them know the importance of obtaining the knowledge that’s necessary to do the best job possible,” said King.
Thank you to King Smith for his time and dedication working with our team!
We hope to see you in All West Territory very soon where these trainings will continue!
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