At the beginning of the Alltech Global 500 I participated in a presentation on social media and I’ve been overhearing farmers talking about how to use it for their farm. During a discussion dinner last night I met a dairy farmer who has been using it to drive business on his farm. He’s a great example for all farmers. He’s … Read More
Alltech Dinners Stimulate Discussion
One of the features of the Alltech Global 500 are a series of discussion dinners. Attendees can choose a topic of they are most interested in. During the dinners a moderator will stimulate conversation with everyone providing input. It’s a great opportunity to interact with other dairy and beef producers from around the world and hear their perspectives on these … Read More
Dairy Farm Sustainability
I’m borrowing from the Alltech blog, Innovations, here. They produced a short video to answer a question very important to dairy farmers. How would you answer the question? What is the most important thing for a dairy farmer to consider with regard to economic sustainability? Sustainability means many things to many people. Geoff Frank is CEO of Improcrop, an Alltech … Read More
Meeting People From Around The World With Alltech
I think the comment I’ve heard most often at the Alltech Global 500 is how important and rewarding the interaction with other dairy and beef producers from around the world is. We’ve got 29 countries represented here. One of our international visitors that I met today was George Strang, Scotland. George is a dairy farmer with 250 cows and it’s … Read More
Precision Feeding
At the Alltech Global 500 feeding efficiency was the subject of a presentation by Mike Hutjens, University of Illinois. He says that to survive we’re going to have to become more feed efficient and since feed can make up half the cost of producing milk it’s very important. He says that with corn getting to $6/bushel we’re going to have … Read More
Social Media Vital To Industry
This year’s Alltech Global 500 includes a full program for beef producers. As we’ve said many times before, if you’re in the dairy business, you’re in the beef business. So, I spoke with one of the beef farmers here, Charles Miller. He’s a Kentucky cattleman so he didn’t have as far to go as many who are here from 29 … Read More
Alltech Global 500 Video Welcome
This video is what set the stage for the Alltech Global 500. We’re talking innovation, sustainability, risk management, feeding efficiency and much more. Alltech Global 500 Photo Album
Looking At The Future For Dairy
A forward looking panel of experts spoke to the Alltech Global 500 today. Their topic, “Forecast 2025: A vision for the future.” Now that’s not an easy task! I spoke with one of the panelists, Mandi McLeod, Dunvegan Farms, Ltd, New Zealand. Mandi says the future is about doing what you do well and focusing on the resources you have, … Read More
Working With Your Local Community
The first dairy breakout session at the Alltech Global 500 focused on “Value Added Dairying: The Future of Sustainability.” Our presenter was Jim Ostrom, Rosendale Dairy, USA. I missed the opportunity to interview Jim but spoke with session moderator, Steve Elliott, Alltech. Steve is the global director for the company’s organic minerals division. He says that Jim addressed sustainability in … Read More
Social Media Important To Dairy Farmers
Let’s just say that social media has been very, very good to ZimmComm New Media, publishers of World Dairy Diary. It is also the hottest topic in agricultural communications of the last year. At the Alltech Global 500 it was also a key topic during our morning general session. I joined Alltech’s, Billy Frey, on stage to present what social … Read More