Nominations are now being accepted for the title of the Innovative Dairy Farmer of the Year, an annual award co-sponsored by International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) and Dairy Today magazine. The deadline for nominations is October 3, 2008, and there is no entry fee.
The nominations for active U.S. dairy farms that are improving on-farm efficiency through progressive management practices, production technologies and/or marketing approaches. Nominees will be judged on current methods as well as their positioning to meet future economic and business challenges.
The award recipient will be chosen through a formal judging process that will include agriculture economists, former award winners and Dairy Today editorial staff. The winner will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to the 2009 Dairy Forum to attend a special presentation ceremony held during the program. Dairy Forum is widely recognized as the most important processor/producer conference of the year for the U.S. dairy industry.
In addition, the winning operation will be highlighted in a feature story in the January 2009 issue of Dairy Today.
This call for nominations begins the 11th annual competition for the award. The 2008 winner was KBC Farms of Purdy, Missouri. Previous winners were Mason Dixon Farms, Gettysburg, Pa.; Clauss Dairy Farms, Hilmar, Calif.; Baldwin Dairy/Emerald Dairy, Emerald, Wis.; Si-Ellen Farms, Jerome, Idaho; Pagel’s Ponderosa Dairy, Kewaunee, Wis.; C Bar M Dairy, Jerome, Idaho; North Florida Holsteins of Bell, Fla.; KF Dairy of El Centro, Calif; and Joseph Gallo Farms of Atwater, Calif.