Dairy science

DAIRY EDUCATION

A.G. Morgan, in Encyclopedia of Dairy Sciences, 2002

Current Trends in Dairy Education Traditionally, specialist courses in dairy science emphasized the basic

sciences that underpin dairy product manufacture and dairy production management. They included specific

detail on the nature of dairy products, milk, cream, butter and related fat products, fermented milk products

such as cheese and yoghurt, dried and concentrated products, frozen products and dairy desserts, and the i

ndustrial technologies in manufacturing dairy foods and in managing production.

Basic science courses in dairy production programmes include chemistry, biochemistry,

animal biology, plant biology and microbiology, with specialist courses including dairy cattle evaluation, genetics and breeding,

physiology of reproduction, physiology of lactation, ruminant nutrition, ration formulation, forages and pastures, and dairy farm management.

In an attempt to set a benchmark for dairy curricula, to be used by both educational and industry bodies, a group sponsored

by the International Dairy Federation (IDF) in 2000 proposed typical training programmes for dairy operators and dairy

technologists (see Table 1). These programmes are indicative of current practice in many countries, although variations can be

expected as local industry and educational agendas are accommodated.