The Pennsylvania Dairy Summit has just packaged a producer and retail showcase and four breakout sessions into each of the two program days. This will allow producers to get away from the farm and gather valuable industry insight on hands-on information to bring back to their operations.
The Dairy Summit is scheduled for February 12-13th at the Penn Stater Conference Center in State College, PA. Come early for pre-conference activities, including a young entrepreneur’s reception and a special fluid milk symposium on on the 11th.
“Each year, the Summit planning committee works to find the right balance of big-picture industry discussions and meaningful hands-on production-focused topics,” said Jen Heltzel, a dairy producer from Martinsburg and chair of the 2014 Dairy Summit. “This year, we have worked to spread that balance evenly throughout the two days, with four breakouts and two business showcases on each day.”
If choosing between Wednesday or Thursday’s program, here is what you can expect each day:
– Wednesday’s session will kick off with a choice of three early-bird case study sessions focusing on resources available to individual dairy farms. Rick Herring from Giant Foods will open the Summit with a discussion on Giant Foods and its commitment to the local dairy industry. Jon Gilbert and Bill Morgan will share a showcase of their dairy, Scipio Springs near Auburn, NY, and the Cayuga Marketing Group. In the afternoon, Mary Kay Williams will discuss negotiations on and off the farm, followed by four breakouts focusing on calf care, double and triple cropping, dairy apps and technology, and transition cow management. An evening dinner and motivational address from former Penn State Cornerback Adam Taliaferro are also planned for Wednesday.
– Thursday’s session will open with an awards breakfast, at which the Pennsylvania Dairymen’s Association and Pacesetter Award winners will be honored. Jen Yuengling with the Yuengling Brewery Company will share a showcase of America’s oldest brewery and a family business that has grown and evolved across six generations. Four breakouts are planned for Thursday, addressing low-cost dairy modernization, heifer management, shredlage and nutrition models for high forage diets. A luncheon recognizing the Forage Analysis Competition winners and reviewing the results of the 2013 PDMP Corn Silage Trials will follow the breakouts, with a closing session featuring Tom, Rob and Abe Barley showcasing their farming operation, Star Rock Farms, in Conestoga, Lancaster County.
The advance registration deadline has passed, but walk-ins are welcomed. Registration information for the conference is available online at www.padairysummit.org. Producer registration for the two-day event is discounted, thanks to grants provided by the Professional Dairy Managers of Pennsylvania, Center for Dairy Excellence Foundation of Pennsylvania, and the Chester County Workforce Investment Board. One-day rates and group discounts are also available.