Do you know an innovative dairy farmer? Then, nominate them for the Innovative Dairy Farmer of the Year, an annual award co-sponsored by the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) and Dairy Today magazine. The winner will be honored at the 2010 Dairy Forum, January 17-21 at the Arizona Biltmore and Spa in Phoenix. The deadline for nominations is October 2, 2009, and there is no entry fee. Complete award criteria and a nomination form are available here.
The call asks for nominations of 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. (Winner will be responsible for all tax liabilities.) Dairy Forum is widely recognized as the most important processor and producer conference of the year for the U.S. dairy industry.
In addition, the winning operation will be highlighted in the January 2010 issue of Dairy Today.
This call for nominations begins the 12th annual competition for the award. The 2009 winner was High Plains Dairy of Friona, Texas. Previous winners were was 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; Joseph Gallo Farms of Atwater, Calif.; and KBC Farms, Purdy, Mo.