Experiences, attitudes, and perceptions of accredited advisors towards a voluntary producer training program for Canadian Quality Milk.

This study was conducted to understand the experiences, attitudes, and perceptions of advisors towards the voluntary producer training program offered in Ontario prior to the first Canadian Quality Milk validation. A survey was used to gather advisor opinions and was sent by e-mail to all advisors listed on the Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) website. ANOVA and Chi-Square analyses were utilized to identify significant differences among respondent groups (veterinarian, non-veterinarian, and unidentified), linear regression was used to evaluate associations with the number of producers an advisor trained, and logistic regression was performed to evaluate associations with advisor opinions. Advisors who trained more producers were more likely to provide both classroom and on-farm sessions, train producers with greater consistency in audit results, and remain in communication with producers they had trained. Advisor-suggested improvements for similar programs in the future were increased compensation, more use of interactive learning, and re-structured advisor training.