MSU Extension Ogemaw County

Phil Durst is a field-based Educator with Michigan State University Extension with more than 30 years of experience working with farmers. He works statewide focusing on dairy and beef cattle health and production. Durst and a colleague initiated a project to improve employee management on farms and have published two papers in Journal of Dairy Science based on the results. They also co-edited a section of Large Herd Dairy Management, 3^rd edition (2017) on employee management. Durst led the development of 20 articles focused on aspects of milker training for each issue in a year of Hoard’s Dairyman magazine, and then compiled a book of the collected articles called People and Parlors, available from Hoard’s. He is involved in projects to improve prevention of Bovine Leukemia Virus, Bovine Tuberculosis and mastitis and to examine antibiotic use on farms. He has spoken widely on agricultural topics including in Israel, China, Ukraine and Armenia. He has been recognized with numerous awards including the John Hannah Award for Extension Program Excellence and with the Michigan State University Distinguished Academic Staff Award.

Specific Areas of Interest:

• Dairy and beef cattle herd management
• Cattle health issues including: Bovine Tuberculosis (bTB), Bovine Leukemia Virus (BLV), Mastitis, Johne's Disease
• Employee management
• Being a farm employee of excellence
• Dairy cow comfort