MADISON — Understanding changing markets, regulations and food-tracking systems can make a world of difference when it comes to managing your business in unpredictable times. The PDPW Dairy Insights Summit, presented by the Professional Dairy Producers® (PDPW), will draw together innovative farmers, industry professionals and policymakers to understand and discuss the complex issues that impact topics from groundwater and food tracking to vertical integration.
The Summit will be held Thursday, Dec. 5, 2019, from 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., at the Sheraton Hotel in Madison, 706 John Nolen Drive, Madison, Wis.
A full slate of experts will present and lead discussions during the event. Phil Harris is a founder at ripe.io, a company deploying the “Blockchain of Food” that provides solutions to help answer what’s in food, where it’s been and what’s happened to it. Harris will break down this complex tracking system and discuss its potential impacts on dairy. Chad Vincent and Mike Edge, CEO and Regional Marketing Director, respectively, for Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, will talk about how Wisconsin cheese is retailed in the world-wide market.
Every Wisconsinite has a vested interest in protecting water, our most valuable resource. Breaking down groundwater issues and sharing practical solutions will be Todd Ambs, Assistant Deputy Secretary at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources; Sara Walling, Administrator for the Agricultural Resource Management Division at the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP); and Ken Bradbury, Director of the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey-UW-Madison Division of Extension.
Steve Maddox of Ruann Dairy in Burrel, California will share his family’s story of how reverse transfer – the human-to-animal transmission – changed his family’s dairy when they were dealing with tuberculosis (TB) and how the government and regulatory system responded. Darlene Konkle, DVM, state veterinarian at DATCP will give an update on how Wisconsin handles testing, tracking and quarantines of TB.
In addition, a poultry-industry expert will share critical lessons learned from working in a vertically integrated industry. Since the issues that affect the poultry industry often have a similar effect in dairy, attendees will glean critical insights on topics such as industrialization, consolidation, animal welfare, environmental issues and global economics.
Learn more about the PDPW Dairy Insights Summit by visiting www.pdpw.org or contacting PDPW at 800-947-7379. Follow along digitally in advance of and during the event by following @dairyPDPW and using #DairyInsights2019 and #mypdpw on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
The 2019 Dairy Insights Summit is an accredited training and offers up to 5.5 Dairy AdvanCE (continuing education (CE) credits. To learn more or secure credits, visit www.DairyAdvance.org.
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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