Attendees Will Learn About Technology, Value-Added Investments, Current Issues and More
To reignite excitement about the dairy industry and help dairy professionals discover innovative ways to remain profitable in a changing industry, the 2020 Pennsylvania Dairy Summit will include 12 breakout sessions to foster meaningful discussion and collaboration. Breakout themes will feature conversations about emerging technology, value-added investments, cow-side topics, and current industry issues.
Hosted by the Professional Dairy Managers of Pennsylvania and Center for Dairy Excellence, the 2020 Pennsylvania Dairy Summit is taking place on February 5 and 6 at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center in State College, Pa.
“Our goal with the breakout sessions is to provide dairy producers and allied-industry professionals with the knowledge and insight they need to embrace change and maintain profitability,” said Caroline Zimmerman, the 2020 Pennsylvania Dairy Summit chair and a dairy farmer from Blair County. “With experts from all facets of the industry, the breakout sessions will leave attendees feeling energized and invigorated about dairy.”
Learn more about the breakout sessions for the 2020 Dairy Summit:
- Technology: Enriching Soil Health with Enhanced Technology with Eric Sauder. This session will focus on effective ways producers can use emerging technology to enrich soil health and enhance their dairy operation.
- Value-Added: Finding Opportunity in Value-Added Dairies with Sue Miller, Jessica Kennedy and Kathy Myers. This interactive panel discussion will focus on tactics each panelist used to bring added value and new opportunities to their dairies.
- Cow-Side: Calf & Heifer: Looking at Traditional Benchmarks with a Critical Eye with Alyssa Dietrich. This session will challenge the standard protocols for monitoring young animal performance and push producers to consider how identifying and prioritizing the correct goals can impact their entire business. Approved for 1.0 CEU RACE Medical Vet Credit
- Current Issues: Pathways for Managing Your Cost of Production with Tim Beck, Mike Hosterman and Greg Squires.
- Technology: Revolutionizing Your Dairy with Robotic Milking with Jeff Pessig. This session will focus on the successful integration of robotics in Wisconsin and discuss the statistics and economic considerations for robotic milking.
- Value-Added: Finding Value Through Feasibility Analysis with Ginger Fenton, Sarah Cornelisse and Charlie Gardner. This session will focus on the critical components of a successful feasibility analysis and the value it can add to dairies of all sizes.
- Cow-Side: Understanding How By-Products Can Impact Cow Diets with Tom Bass and Robert Fry. This session will focus on how farms have used by-products and highlight the impacts these by-products have had on cow diets. Approved for 1.0 CEU RACE Medical Vet Credit
- Current Issues: The State of the Industry: Understanding H2-A with Ricky Palladino. This session will focus on the year-round labor requirements of dairy farms and how the H2-A program can eliminate inefficiencies with hiring local and foreign workers.
- Technology: The Inside Scoop: Monitoring Calf Activity Through Rumen Technology with Jeff Bewley. This session will focus on the current and emerging technology pertaining to cow health monitoring and various devices that can be implanted to monitor temperature, rumination, and other health indicators. Approved for 1.0 CEU RACE Medical Vet Credit
- Value-Added: Navigating the Regulatory Environment and Understanding Food Safety with Kerry Kaylegian and Ginger Fenton. This session will focus on channels for navigating the regulatory environment to help producers remain proactive about food safety.
- Cow-Side: Maximizing Value in Beef with Dr. Tiffany Lee of the North American Meat Institute. This session will focus on animal health and welfare issues in packing plants and regulatory issues that surround unfit animals in slaughter facilities.
- Current Issues: Finding Employees Who Care: Workforce Onboarding with Rich Stup. This session will focus on establishing a farm culture that is safe, productive and engaging to increase employee organizational commitment and reduce turnover. Approved for 1.0 CEU RACE Non-Medical Vet Credit
Registration is now open for the 2020 Pennsylvania Dairy Summit. Visit padairysummit.org to register and to view highlights from the 2019 Pennsylvania Dairy Summit.
Contact the Pennsylvania Dairy Summit Business Office with questions at 814-355-2467 or email info@padairysummit.org.
