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Cowsignal training in the barn

Do your people see, what the cow tells and what do they do then?

We train your employees to see the cow’s signals. Your employees will take on more responsibility when they will know exactly what to do.

We have combined CowSignals® training with Lean into a fixed system. It makes your employees experts in seeing, hearing, smelling and feeling the cow’s signs – and in responding to make improvements in production.

Lean Farming course: See-Think-Act
CowSignal training and workshop

How we do it

We do 4 days of training on your farm with your staff. We start with a preparatory meeting with you and your manager, so that the course is adapted to what you need.

You can invite colleagues, but a maximum of 12 participants in total

We suggest training on the same weekday for 4 weeks straight

Period from 10am – 4pm. This can change according to your work schedule.

You make meeting rooms available and catering (coffee, water, lunch)

The course is approved for VEU-subsidy and this means that you can receive compensation for lost earnings of DKK 2265 for all participants who meet the criteria. The grant can be applied to all employees – also foreigners. However, they must not have a long-term education or be students with an education agreement.

We have learned to read the herd

We think we knew a lot about cows beforehand, but now we have learned to read the herd and individual animals and seen that there are things we can improve. It can make a positive contribution to the farm. – It’s nice that I as the owner and my employees have learned the same thing – now we know both what we need to change, why we need to change things, and how with the help of Lean. – The course, where we switch between theory at the whiteboard and exercises in the stable, is super good but also exhausting next to the work at home. Therefore, I could have spent 14 days between the course days. – Martijn Damsteegt, milk producer quoted in Bovilogisk, Jan 2021 in an article written by journalist Anette Eckholdt

Educational to be on a course with our employees

– Although I am an experienced milk producer, I learned a lot about reading the cow, and I learned a lot about how the employees look at things. – As an owner, I think it has been very educational and fun to be on a course with our employees and experience that despite differences in culture, age and gender, we are passionate about the same. – Everyone showed great commitment, and it was incredibly interesting to be with the neighboring farms, which we do not usually see in everyday life. Now, owners and employees have suddenly become friends on Facebook and greet each other at the grocery store. I can only recommend that you go along with the neighboring farms to hold courses. – Ingrid van den Hengel, milk producer quoted in Bovilogisk, Jan 2021 in an article written by journalist Anette Eckholdt

The course has given us tools to act on what we see

– The course has taught both owners and employees what to look for in the barn and given us tools to act on what we see. We have already started to adapt our procedures in the barn. – The language has been a challenge for some of the participants, but the written teaching material in different languages is super good, and then it is good that the teachers both have a practical approach and are at eye level with the participants – it gives respect. – Personally, I have enjoyed the collaboration with my farmer colleagues and we would also like to have visited them in the teaching process. We must do so afterward. – Jan David, milk producer quoted in Bovilogisk, Jan 2021 in an article written by journalist Anette Eckholdt
We train with CowSignal-LeanFarming

Program

DAY 1
CowSignals® basic principles – The diamond with the six important areas: feed, water, light, air, rest and space – Scorecards to help you see the differences Workshop: Participants train CowSignals® basic principles among the cows
DAY 2
CowSignals® basic principles
  • Checklist as you walk through the barn
  • What do you see? Daily and at your team stables?
Workshop: Participants train in the stable and get a review in the meeting room
DAY 3
Standard for communication about CowSignals®
  • What do you do in the specific cases?
  • Who does what and when?
  • SOP for communication about the animals
  • What boards do you need?
Workshop: You make your own standards that fit your herd
DAY 4
Handling what CowSignals® you see in the barn 1. Focus area 2. Current situation 3. Goals 4. Analysis of root causes 5. Possible solutions and suggestions for improvement 6. Measuring your efforts 7. Action Plan 8. Follow-up Workshop: Exercises at the board

We are two Lean experts and CowSignal Master Coaches who jointly offer this course

Susanne Pejstrup from Lean Farming in Denmark - Lean expert in agriculture
Susanne Pejstrup

My name is Susanne Pejstrup and I have run the consulting company Lean Farming® for 10 years.

I am an graduated in animal science and have worked as a teacher and consultant in agriculture my entire career. The starting point was milk production, but today I work in all branches of agriculture.

My field of work is the connection between people, animals and production facilities. I work with production planning, work planning, management, leadership and of course have the Lean mindset and tools with me all the time.

  • Cow Signal® Licensed Master
  • Certified in E-stimate Int. Personal Profile Analyses
  • Toyota Kata Masterclass
  • Lean Master – Black Belt
  • Certified Coach
Stieneke Ijdema from Fruerlund Farm Management
Stieneke Ijdema

My name is Stieneke Ijdema and I live at Fruerlund near Kjellerup, where my husband and I have a milk production with 600 cows milked with 9 Lely robots. On our farm we look at CowSignals® and think Lean.

I am an educated teacher, but have worked in our farm for the past 25 years.

In 2020, I founded Fruerlund Farm Management, where I train and teach farmers in CowSignals® and Lean. I work with dairy herds where I, together with the employees, look at the signals the cows show and make improvements by using Lean.

  • Lean Manager + transformation Black Belt certification
  • Cow Signal® Licensed Master
  • People Signals
  • Young Stock Signals
  • Feeding signals
  • Stress Free Stockmanship
  • From dry to fresh
  • Hoof signals