I-29 Dairy Conference

Released January 5, 2009

ST. PAUL, Minn. —— The fourth annual “I-29 Dairy Conference” will be held in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on Jan. 29, 2009.

The conference begins with registration at 9:30 a.m. at the Best Western Ramkota Inn & Conference Center, 3200 W. Maple St. It costs $20 per person and includes materials and lunch. Lodging discounts are available to those who register before Jan. 8. Pre-registration by Jan. 22 is encouraged.

A registration form is available at this link: http://dairysci.sdstate.edu/News/2009-I-29%20Dairy%20Conf%20Brochure-ver8.pdf. Or mail contact information and registration payment to Valerie Denison, SDSU Dairy Science Box 2104, Dairy Microbiology Building, Room 109, Brookings SD, 57007.

The 2009 conference is titled “Going Green in a Black & White World: Understanding Sustainability and the Opportunities for Our Dairy Farms and Industry” and features numerous expert speakers including Charlie Arnot, Center for Food Integrity; Rick Naczi, American Dairy Association; Donna Moenning, Midwest Dairy Association; Alvaro Garcia, SDSU Extension; Jim Salfer and Jim Paulson, University of Minnesota Extension. The program also features a Dairy Producer Panel including Dennis Haubenschild, Jason Brockshus and Dennis Johnson.

The University Extensions of South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota, along with the Southwest Minnesota Dairy Profit Group, are coordinating the conference, with support from local and national industry sponsors. Sessions during the conference include the following:

Balancing ethics, science, and economics in the process of building sustainable systems
Panel discussion on what’s being done and what needs to be done by dairy producers
Dairy sustainability: Creating value and profitability from cow to consumer
Breakout sessions on “What do we do now?” exploring options for economic, scientific, and social practices and resources.
Contact Chris Mondak, Iowa State Extension, (712) 737-4230, cmondak@iastate.edu, or Alvaro Garcia, South Dakota Cooperative Extension Service, (605) 688-5488, alvaro.garcia@sdstate.edu, for more information.

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http://www.extension.umn.edu/extensionnews/2008/dairy-conf-jan29.html