Congratulations to Joe Coburn, Craig Walter and Nik Sutter for being elected to serve three-year terms on World Dairy Expo’s Commercial Exhibitors’ Committee. World Dairy Expo 2011 will take place Tuesday through Saturday, October 4 – 8 at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisconsin.
Commercial Exhibitors’ Committee members act as an advisory council, drafting policies and assisting fellow exhibitors during the show. Coburn will serve as a livestock supplies/services representative, Walter will fill an at-large position and Sutter will serve as a dairy producer representative on the 23-member committee.
Coburn is an owner and head of sales and marketing for The Coburn Company, Inc., a family-run business established in 1925. Based in Whitewater, Wisconsin, the company developed the first mass-produced electric fencer in the United States. Today, they manufacturer and distribute a wide array of livestock supplies and milking equipment. Coburn Company products can be found in dairy equipment and farm supply stores in every state as well as over sixty countries throughout the world. The Coburn Company has been an exhibitor at World Dairy Expo for over 30 years. Coburn has witnessed significant growth in the tradeshow during that time, and looks forward to examining ways to improve the industry’s premier trade show.
Walter grew up on a small family dairy in southern Wisconsin. With a degree in Ag Economics and Dairy Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he worked for five years at Wisconsin Dairy Herd Improvement Cooperative (now AgSource) developing hand-held solutions for milk testers in the field and related on-farm computer software. During the next three years AgSource and Valley Ag Software forged a relationship and Walter became responsible for the support and sales of Valley Ag Software products. When the partnership was dissolved in 1997, Walter became a regional representative for Tulare, California-based Valley Ag Software. Walter began exhibiting at World Dairy Expo in 1994 and hasn’t missed a show since.
Sutter is a partner in Fertile-Ridge Dairy LLC, a 680-cow dairy farm in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he spent eight years in the financial services industry, worked as a marketing specialist for Novus International, and was a marketing executive with Filament Marketing prior to returning to the home dairy operation. His involvement in World Dairy Expo has been diverse. He has coordinated commercial exhibits, fitted cattle for the shows, attended producer seminars, hosted farm tours for international visitors, participated in the National 4-H Dairy Judging Contest and served grilled cheese sandwiches for the Badger Dairy Club.
Source: World Dairy Expo