4650 Lindle Road
Harrisburg, PA 17111
Center for Dairy Excellence
There’s no foolproof way to navigate the ever-changing dairy markets, but what dairy producers can do is strive to be future-proof. At this year’s Dairy Financial and Risk Management Conference, learn how dairy producers can future-proof their farms, their mindsets, and their risk management strategies to embrace emerging trends, ever-changing markets, and evolving technology.
Join us on Wednesday, September 11, 2024 for the 15th annual Dairy Financial & Risk Management Conference.
Registration Cost:
- Standard Rate for Non-Ally registrants – $260
- Allies for Advancement & EITC participant rate – $210
- Dairy Producer Rate – $130
Sessions and Speakers:
Expecting the Unexpected: 2024 Dairy Supply and Market Impacts With Danny Munch
No one could have predicted the Baltimore Bridge collapse this spring and the ripple effects it caused on one of the nation’s busiest ports and our overall supply chain. Danny Munch will discuss some of the unexpected impacts of recent regional events and offer his perspective on dairy markets and supply/demand factors.
Danny Munch works as an Economist within American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF)’s public affairs department with a profile that covers issues including dairy markets and policy, transportation & infrastructure, natural disasters, aquaculture, endangered and invasive species, public lands, and specialty crop markets. In 2020, Danny graduated from Cornell University with a Master of Science in Agricultural and Food Economics after completing his thesis: Assessing the Value of Agricultural Cooperative Membership: A Case of Dairy Marketing in the United States. Throughout his graduate career, Danny was heavily involved with providing valuable strategy insights to farmer-owned cooperatives and agribusinesses, including hands-on projects with Ocean Spray, Palabana Fisheries (a tilapia producer in Zambia, Africa), and with Farm Credit East. Prior to joining the American Farm Bureau Federation, Danny worked as a protein market commodity analyst for Urner Barry, focusing on protein crop markets.
Calculating Where PA Stands: Annual Dairy Performance Indicators with Rob Goodling and LeeAnn McLaughlin
Where does Pennsylvania dairy stand? As part of an annual joint project between Horizon Farm Credit, Penn State Extension, and the Center for Dairy Excellence, you’ll hear the 2024 takeaways and data points that have been identified through 17 key benchmarks calculated from Pennsylvania dairy farm data. These annual benchmarks compare individual dairy operations to how the top dairies in the data set are performing financially from year to year.
Rob Goodling is an agricultural business consultant with Horizon Farm Credit in the Lewisburg office. Rob has over twenty years of experience helping producers understand their farm business records and analyses to grow their operations. His specialties include financial business analysis, cost of production analysis, cash flow planning and budgeting, QuickBooks consultation and troubleshooting, dairy record evaluation, and team facilitation.
Smoothing the Road for the Future: Succession Planning and Business Continuity with Mike Hosterman and Jennifer Wetzel
As we strive to future-proof our farms, smoothing the road for future generations to ensure business continuity is one of the most important parts of succession planning. During this session, Mike Hosterman and Jennifer Wentzel will dive into some of the family dynamics they encounter when working with dairy farm families and strategies for achieving business continuity and stability when working with multiple generations.
Jennifer Wetzel, an advocate dedicated to serving Pennsylvania’s farm and agri-business community, has spent the past fifteen years providing legal counsel to various agricultural businesses across the state. Her knowledge spans a wide spectrum of legal issues, with a focus on business succession planning, real estate, and asset preservation within the agricultural law framework. Jennifer is recognized for her profound understanding of agricultural matters and has shared her insights through presentations for esteemed organizations such as the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Pennsylvania Farm Link, and Pennsylvania Bankers Association. Her commitment to the agricultural sector extends to her role as a Succession Coordinator for the International Farm Transition Network and the Pennsylvania Center for Dairy Excellence.
Mike Hosterman has been with Horizon Farm Credit and its predecessor organization for 33 years. In his role, Mike works with farm operations to conduct all types of strategic planning, business planning, transition/succession planning, budgeting, benchmarking, and efficiency reviews. During his 33 years at Farm Credit, Mike has worked with various ag operations and businesses in 6 states and has primarily worked with dairy clients to benchmark their operations and make profitable business decisions. Mike has served on the Horizon Farm Credit Dairy Team as one of the founding members, and as a contributor to their dairy outlook.
Highlighting Innovation in Dairy Farming With Alan Waybright (Mount Rock Dairy), Ben Peckman (Slate Ridge Farm) and Matt Brake (Oakleigh Farms)
How is technology shaping the future of dairy farming? During this panel discussion, three dairy producers will share their perspective on the technology of the future and what emerging technology they are looking at and currently using. From robotics to automated cropping tools, these producers will share their honest outlook on how technology impacts efficiency, innovation and profitability.
Alan Waybright is owner of Mount Rock Dairy in Cumberland County, PA. He has been in dairy farming for the past 40 years, spending the first 35 years working in his family’s multi-family partnership in Gettysburg before becoming a sole owner of Mount Rock Dairy in 2019. The farm is currently undergoing an expansion from 650 cows to 1,000 cows.
Ben Peckman and his wife operate Slate Ridge Dairy in Franklin County, PA. They milk approximately 150 cows and raise all of their replacement heifers. They have diversified the dairy operation through cash crops, raising and finishing their bull calves, grazing a group of native beef steers on some of their cover crops, and selling grain to local farms and feed mills. Ben utilizes several innovative planting and cropping strategies on his operation, including highly diverse cover crop mixes, a green planting approach, a seed-buying group with neighboring farms, and more.
Matt Brake (pictured on the left) of Oakleigh Farm in Franklin County, PA manages the farm in partnership with his father Glenn and other family members. Together, they milk 120 cows and farm 400 acres. They also raise their own heifers and calves, and their herd of Holstein cows is 100 percent registered. A devastating barn fire in 2019 forced the family to decide whether they were going to rebuild or leave the dairy industry altogether. Matt’s family ultimately decided to invest in innovative technology, including a vector feeding system, robotic milkers, automated curtains and fans, and discovery manure collectors.