The Center for Dairy Excellence and Penn Vet’s New Bolton Center signed a Memorandum of Understanding to formally recognize their partnership to help the state’s dairy industry increase profitability.
The memorandum was signed by John Frey, executive director of the Center for Dairy Excellence, and Joan Hendricks, the Gilbert S. Kahn Dean of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, on September 11 at the New Bolton Center campus in Kennett Square, Pa.
The Center for Dairy Excellence and New Bolton Center have worked together for many years and collaborated on a detailed analysis of the dairy industry published last year. The “Pennsylvania Dairy Futures Analysis” recommends a plan of action to improve the profitability of the state dairy industry through 2020.
The memorandum states that Penn Vet and the Center for Dairy Excellence will:
· Partner and collaborate at new levels to the benefit of the broader Pennsylvania dairy industry.
· Provide leadership to identify and coordinate the direction, goals, and resources necessary to ensure a competitive, sustainable, and profitable Pennsylvania dairy industry.
· Develop and implement cooperative partner resources that focus on improving dairy family business profitability and viability. An example of this would be Penn Vet’s Dairy Analyzer Program that would compare dairy herd production and business performance to industry benchmarks.
· Engage in cooperative research projects that would introduce diverse dairy business models to provide information that will assist Pennsylvania dairy producers in increasing business viability and profitability.
Source: Center for Dairy Excellence