RANDOLPH CENTER, Vt. — Organic dairy farmers will learn about bedded and composted packs, high quality milk production, strategies for financial success and the latest organic dairy research at a day-long conference on March 15 in Randolph Center.
The 2018 Vermont Organic Dairy Producers Conference is organized by University of Vermont (UVM) Extension’s Northwest Crops and Soils Program and the Northeast Organic Farming Association. It will be held at Vermont Technical College’s Judd Hall from 9:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. with on-site registration beginning at 9 a.m.
The $25 per person fee covers lunch and all materials. Registrations, due by March 9, will be accepted online at www.regonline.com/organicdairy or by mail. Checks should be made payable to University of Vermont and mailed to UVM Extension, Attn: Organic Dairy Conference, 278 South Main St., Ste. 2, St. Albans, VT 05478.
The program opens with a talk by Andy Wood, an agricultural loan officer with the Vermont Economic Development Authority, on financial basics. He is joined by farmers Christine Brown, Randolph Center, and Rhonda Miller Goodrich, West Danville, who will share recordkeeping tips for financial success.
Producers also will hear from Amber Brown, the Northeast milk quality coordinator for Organic Valley, on ways to improve milk quality for higher milk checks. Farmers Karen Bathalon, North Troy, and Brendan Schreindorfer, Enosburg Falls, will describe what they do in the milkhouse and on their farms to produce high quality milk.
Brian Jerose, an agricultural consultant and president of Agrilab Technologies in Enosburg Falls, will give an overview of bedded and composted pack design and management basics. He is followed by UVM Associate Professor John Barlow and graduate student Tucker Andrews, who will discuss the impact of the bedded pack ecosystem on mastitis transmission pathways on organic dairy farms.
In addition, the conference will include a roundtable on UVM research including grass-fed milk, annual forages and supplemental feeding strategies with Heather Darby, UVM Extension agronomist; Sarah Flack, a grazing consultant from Fairfield; and Caleb Goossen, UVM plant and soil science graduate student.
If questions, contact Susan Brouillette at (802) 524-6501, ext. 432. To request a disability-related accommodation to participate in the conference, please call by March 5.
–UVM Extension
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