Dairy Curriculum Team
Rick Kersbergen | Dairy Module Lead Author
Rick Kersbergen is an Extension Professor with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension and a Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) with the Agronomy Society of America. His focus for teaching and research has been on forage crops, including pasture, hay and summer annuals. Rick works closely with the Maine Grass Farmers Network, the Northeast Pasture Consortium, and serves as an instructor in the NRCS Pasture Ecology II class. Most recently, Rick has received several grants investigating reduced tillage and cover cropping strategies in corn silage systems.
Carl Majewski | Dairy Team
Carl Majewski has been with UNH Cooperative Extension since 2002. His particular interests include nutrient management, soil conservation, and the use of such practices as crop rotation and the sowing of cover crops to protect and enhance soil quality. Previously, he was involved in projects evaluating double-cropping cereal grains after silage corn as a way to protect the soil without sacrificing feed yields. More recently, Carl has been involved with a campaign to increase acreage under cover crops in NH, and with efforts to evaluate cover crop mixes developed for conditions across the state.
Steve Morrison | Dairy Team
Steve Morrison runs Clovercrest organic dairy farm in central Maine which produces milk for Organic Valley. Steve graduated from Wesleyan University with a degree in Earth and Environmental Science in 1988 then moved to Florida to pursue a graduate degree and work in the ground water industry. In 1995 Steve returned to his family’s farm to take over operation from his parents who were preparing to retire. Steve and his first wife, Mia were certified organic in 1998 and initially shipped milk to The Organic Cow of Vermont. They ran the farm together for 12 years until their divorce. Now Steve and his partner Sonja are working and raising their kids on the farm. They transitioned the cows to once a day milking in 2016.
Kitty O’Neil | Dairy Team
Dr. Kitty O’Neil is a Regional Crop and Soil Specialist and Team Leader with Cornell Cooperative Extension deployed across Northern NY. Along with her team, she works toward a profitable, healthy and sustainable agricultural economy in the North Country if New York State and the Northeast. Through extension research projects and outreach programs, she provides field crop producers, consultants and industry representatives with the knowledge and resources needed to assess and improve crop production, evaluate management alternatives and implement changes to enhance the farm profitability and resilience, minimize environmental impact, adapt to climate instability and sustain the growth of ag industries across Northern New York’s 6 counties. She studied animal sciences and agricultural economics at Cornell University and completed her PhD at Michigan State in Crop and Soil Sciences in 2013. She currently serves on the Certified Crop Advisers - Northeast Region Board, as an Associate Editor for the American Society of Agronomy’s Agronomy Journal, on the Colton Township Internet Committee and on the St. Lawrence County Planning Board.