It’s dairy conference time again

It hardly seems like two years have passed, but the registration brochures circulating for the Ohio Dairy Management Conference confirm that they have.
The conferences are held every two years. Outstanding speakers, panelists, dairymen and industry types gather for a couple of days to visit and learn. In spite of my lobbying efforts on behalf of holding them somewhere in the northern part of the state, closer to the actual farms, the conference is, again, centered on Columbus. (I’ll keep lobbying!)
Head to the University Plaza Hotel for a Dec. 2, 10 a.m. conference kick-off with Ray Nebel of Virginia Tech.
Start the day right. Nothing like an intensive, two-hour session on reproductive management and heat detection management to start off the day! Following the general session, breakouts follow for the remainder of Thursday and Friday morning.
Sessions include:
Managing the lactation cycle – two sessions address the current questions surrounding length of dry periods and milking frequency in early lactation.
Managing the nutrition program – two sessions focus on quality control systems in forage management and the do’s and don’ts of forage management.
Management in larger herds – Modern milk marketing, minimizing the variability between formulated and consumed rations, transition cow management and lessons learned managing a large herd are the highlighted topics.
Take the plunge. While they will be discussed in the context of larger herd sizes, all herd sizes can benefit from the discussions. Going from 100 to 400+ cows – Thinking of taking the plunge? Learning from the panel of dairyman who already did is priceless.
Rounding out this session are factors driving expansion, profiles of successful dairies and a discussion about whether expansion is the key to becoming more competitive.
“Working with people” headlines the final general session on Friday after lunch. Carl Theinus from Tinedale Dairy in Wisconsin talks about working with family, and Sarah Fogleman, K-State, addresses communication across barriers