JUNEAU, Wis. — In Wisconsin, the dairy industry has over 1.3 million cows on nearly 8,000 dairy farms, with each dairy cow generating over $38,000 in local economic activity, annually. With such rapid change, it is crucial that the dairy industry intentionally and proactively recruits the next generation of dairy’s best and brightest leaders, managers, and workforce.
The 2019 PDPW Mentor Program, brought to you by Professional Dairy Producers® (PDPW), connects college students from four-year universities, technical schools and the UW-Madison Short Course with active, progressive dairy farmers for a one-day job shadow and on-going mentor/mentee experience.
Since 1996, PDPW has worked to pair college students with vetted PDPW dairy farm members who volunteer to give students a boots-on-the-ground, first-hand insight into dairy farming. The experience grows students’ professional network, cultivates new ideas, and enhances hands-on learning in modern business, financial, animal care and genetics, environmental, and other human resource management practices on farm.
The formal PDPW Mentor Program concludes with a Breakfast Reception on Wed., Mar. 18 at the PDPW Business Conference, located at the Alliant Energy Center Exhibition Hall in Madison, Wis. Following the reception, attendees are invited to participate in the 2020 PDPW Business Conference to further their connection and the student’s breadth of understanding in the dairy industry.
To become a part of the PDPW Mentor Program, students must complete the application process by November 17, 2019. PDPW will then connect students with their host farm by November 25.
An online application is available, or for a downloadable file or more information, visit www.pdpw.org, contact PDPW at 1-800-947-7379.
Professional Dairy Producers (PDPW) is the nation’s largest dairy producer-led organization of its kind, focusing on producer professionalism, stakeholder engagement and unified outreach to share ideas, solutions, resources and experiences that help dairy producers succeed.
— PDPW
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