World Dairy Diary

It’s Mooove In Days At Expo

I just spoke with Lisa Behnke, Marketing Manager for World Dairy Expo and the activity level in Madison is cranking. Just imagine 2,000 people checking into a hotel in about 3 days. Then imagine if those were cattle! That’s about how many animals are being brought to Expo this year and they’re driving in as we speak. They’ve all got to be checked in and put in their places. And of course, there is all the people who are bringing them in.

Besides that you’ve got about 1,500 exhibitors all moving in their booths and equipment at the same time. And of course the whole Expo staff has to move into the facilities from their regular office building.

I’m glad I’m traveling there on Sunday!

Learn About Qualisoy

In case you’re wondering what Qualisoy is, besides a sponsor of World Dairy Diary, now you can find out. I interviewed Qualisoy board member, Kent Gronlie, a soybean grower from North Dakota. Qualisoy is an “industry-wide” initiative that “creates added value and increased global competitiveness for the U.S. soybean industry through the development, commercialization and promotion of enhanced quality traits.”

Kent may not be able to attend Expo due to the harvest that’s going on right now on his farm but he says there will be information available to visitors to World Dairy Expo.

You can listen to my interview with Kent here: (1.9MB MP3 File)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

ADSA & Pioneer Forage Award Winner

Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., and the American Dairy Science Association (ADSA) are proud to announce Karen A. Beauchemin, Ph.D., senior scientist, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge Research Center, as the 2005 recipient of the Pioneer Forage Award. Along with the honor, Beauchemin also will receive a monetary award.

The Pioneer Forage Award recognizes outstanding research and/or educational contributions in forage production, processing, storage or utilization.

News Stories Growing About Expo

World Dairy Expo in the news:

Brownfield Network
Stackyard
Gainesville (Texas) Daily Register
PR Web

There will be more as we get to opening day!

Callicrate Bander Inventer Interview

You know that the Callicrate Bander is a sponsor of World Dairy Diary and now’s your chance to learn more about the company and the product. I interviewed Mike Callicrate, the inventer. He describes all the uses for his product and provides some history on its development and how the product has had tremendous growth and success, including on an international level.

You can listen to my interview with Mike here: (3.8MB MP3 File)

For more information on the Callicrate Bander you can contact them at: P.O. Box 748, St. Francis, KS 67756, Call 1-800-858-5974, or email.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Time Out To Golf

Just in time for all you golfing dairy folks who are in or heading to Wisconsin for the World Dairy Expo, is a story on CNN.com today about how great the golf is! The beginning of the story says,“Someone says, “Wisconsin.” What thoughts immediately come to mind? The Green Bay Packers? Dairy products? A TV show? (“Happy Days” for the middle-age crowd; “That ’70s Show” for the younger generation).

I got to play earlier this year near Milwaukee while attending a conference on ag media. Now this story’s got me wondering what my schedule will be like next week!

MyPyramid For Kids Includes Dairy

I don’t know if you’re even familiar with USDA’s MyPyramid, the new food guidelines strategy. Today they released news about a whole section of the guidelines targeting kids and including a video game they can play.

The information certainly does include information about “dairy” and it’ll be interesting to see how organizations start to fit this into their marketing strategies with consumers.

Here’s an example of one way they’ve included dairy. It’s on a page that has “Tips For Families.”

4. Get your calcium-rich foods. To build strong bones serve lowfat and fat-free milk and other milk products several times a day.

Dairy News Sites

How many places do you go online for dairy news? I’d be interested to know some of your favorites. I’m starting to learn about more of them and I’ll plan to post links to them from time to time. Just so you know I’m not playing favorites (yet), I’ll start with a few now and post more when time allows.

Agri-View
Brownfield Network (audio report)
DairyLine

More will be posted!!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Seeking Dairy Leader In China

It sounds like dairies in China are getting more organized. In a story I found today on China Daily, the Mengniu Dairy is looking for a president by doing an international search. Interested? If so the story says you’ll need to have “at least two of the following requirements: a master’s degree, 15-years work experience in the dairy industry, or a good understanding of the international market.” The deadline to apply is October 31. Apparently it’s very unusual for a China company like this to actively seek out a foreign person as it’s leader.

The story says the company has the goal of becoming one of the top 20 dairy companies in the world by the year 2010.

Expo Dates To 2016

It’s getting closer to showtime but it’s never too early to start thinking about next year, and the year after that, and . . . the dates are already set way out to 2016! How many of you plan that far out? Me, I’m just looking forward to packing for a week in Madison. I just found out about where I’ll be set up. I’m going to have my own little office with my own high speed internet access line and we’ll see how much information I can bring you during the coming several weeks.

How many of you use Google or Yahoo? Sometimes it’s interesting to see what comes up when you search for yourself. I just searched for “World Dairy Diary” and Google came up with 667 returns and Yahoo with 1,870. A few months ago there were none. I promise there will be a lot more by the end of the show!

Future Dates
2006, October 3-7
2007, October 2-6
2008, September 30-October 4
2009, September 29-October 3
2010, September 28-October 2
2011, October 4-8
2012, October 2-6
2013, October 1-5
2014, September 30-October 4
2015, September 29-October 3
2016, October 4-8

Holstein Association Members of the Day

Lynnette and Andy Buttles are the 2004 Distinguished Young Holstein Breeders and the first Holstein Association 2005 World Dairy Expo, “Members of the day.” You can read all about them on the Holstein Association website and meet them in person at the Association booth at Expo.

You can learn more about Holstein Association USA by listening to my interview with Lisa Perrin, Communications Manager. Lisa talks about the organization and what visitors will find when they visit at their booth at Expo.

You can listen to my interview with Lisa here: (2.6MB MP3 File)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

What Do You Want To See?

It’s the week before World Dairy Expo! Pretty soon thousands of people will be flocking to Madison to see the greatest dairy show in the world. I’ll be one of them and like many of you it will be my first trip. I’m hoping that I can be your eyes and ears over the next couple weeks as the show unfolds.

Some of the things you can look forward to will be lots of pictures and posts about the activities taking place each day. I’ll also be conducting interviews and providing other audio as it becomes available.

Please feel free to comment on what you see here or email me if you’ve got questions or ideas. What do you want to see on World Dairy Diary? I’ll try my best to get it for you.

Meet The Marketing Manager

Have you ever wondered how information about the World Dairy Expo gets out to the public? It’s all the work of Lisa Behnke, Marketing Manager (pictured to the right of yours truly). She’s hard at work now getting ready for all the media representatives who will be covering Expo. Of course she also does other things and I think you’ll be able to tell from my interview with her that she’s proud of World Dairy Expo and committed to making it even better.

You can listen to my interview with Lisa here: (MP3 File 5MB)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

New Holstein Association Classifiers

There are some new classifiers at the Holstein Association.

Holstein Association USA, Inc. welcomes two new employees to their Classification team.

“We are delighted to add classification staff with the background and ability that Jim and Brian bring to the team,” said Dan Meihak, Holstein Association USA, Inc. Executive Director, Herd Advancement Services.

Shop Till You Drop At The Purple Cow

Did I mention that there’s a gift shop at World Dairy Expo? Yep. So bring your shopping list.

The Purple Cow Gift Shop, World Dairy Expo’s one-and-only official gift shop, is seasonal and only open during the show. During the week of the show you’ll be able to shop and browse from the largest selection of cow related items that you’ll ever find. Whether shopping for yourself or the hard-to-buy for person on your gift list, the Purple Cow Gift Shop is sure to have something for all cow lovers from infants to grandparents. Also available only at the Purple Cow are the 2005 collector pins, milk bottles, mugs and hats.

Located on the north end of the Exhibition Hall lobby, the Purple Cow will be open from 9:00am – 6:00pm.

Auction At Expo

The Wisconsin Dairy Products Association just announced it’s World Dairy Expo Championship Dairy Products Contest Auction which will be held on October 4.

The World Dairy Expo Championship Dairy Product Contest will hold an auction of all first place winners on Tuesday, October 4, 2005, 5:00 pm, Alliant Energy Center, 1919 Alliant Energy Center Way, Madison, WI. There will be 23 first place contest entries up for bid, as follows:
Cheddar, Land O’Lakes, Kiel, WI
Aged Cheddar, Land O’Lakes, Kiel, WI
Colby Jack, Alto Dairy, Waupun, WI
LMPS Mozzarella, Alto Dairy, Waupun, WI
String Cheese, Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese, Waterloo, WI
Provolone, Dairy Farmers of America, Turlock, CA
Black River Blue Cheese, North Hendren Co-op Dairy, Willard, WI
Morel & Leek Jack, Meister Cheese, Muscoda, WI
Horseradish Flavor Cold Pack, Pine River Pre Pack, Newton, WI
PP Colored American Cheese, AMPI, Portage, WI
Cream Cheese, Swiss Valley Farms, Luana, IA
Braun Suisse Brick, Chalet Cheese/Deppeler Factory, Monroe, WI
Stravecchio Parmesan, The Antigo Cheese Co., Antigo, WI
Lemonweir Gold, Natural Valley Cheese, Hustler, WI
Cabot Salted Butter, Cabot Creamery Co-op, Montpelier, VT
Unsalted Butter, O-AT-KA Milk Products, Batavia, NY
Strawberry FOB Lowfat Yogurt, Dean Foods, Richland Center, WI
Blueberry Lowfat Yogurt, Swiss Valley Farms, Cedar Rapids, IA
Large Curd Cottage Cheese, Louis Trauth Dairy, Newport, KY
Vanilla Ice Cream, Gifford’s Ice Cream, Skowhegan, ME
Chocolate Ice Cream, Ashby’s Sterling Ice Cream, Shelby Two, MI

The October 4 event will begin at 5:00 pm with a reception featuring a cheese fondue and special foods and pastries created by the MATC Culinary School utilizing the 2nd & 3rd place (cheese and butter classes) winners of the World Dairy Expo Championship Dairy Product Contest. Free beer and a cash bar will also be offered. At 6:30pm the auction will commence with Mr. Doug Wilson, Cooperative Resources International, serving as the featured auctioneer. All successful bidders will receive the product they bid on, plus a commemorative keepsake for their participation. A portion of the proceeds from the auction will be donated to the Professional Dairy Producers of WI (PDPW) to support their efforts to assist current and beginning producers achieve success in dairy farming. The proceeds will also be used to help defray contest expenses.

Microgy Tour Being Offered

According to a story on Wisconsin Ag Connection, Microgy, an Environmental Power company, is offering a free tour to Expo visitors this year. They’ll take people on a bus to the Wild Rose Dairy Methane Digester in LeFarge. The tour will be on October 6. You need to RSVP before September 30. For more information, call 715-232-6243 ext. 16.

Welcome Qualisoy To World Dairy Diary

We’d like to welcome our newest supporter to the offical weblog of the World Dairy Expo. Qualisoy is helping make this online diary of information about the Expo possible. Qualisoy is “a collaborative effort among the soybean industry to develop healthier soybeans and soy oil, reduce environmental impacts of livestock production through improved soybean meal, and improve the global competitiveness of the U.S. soybean industry.”

We look forward to learning more about Qualisoy in the days ahead and seeing them at Expo!

SW Plains Dairy Directory Available

Are you looking for information on dairies in the southwest? Then you need one of these. You can go to Dairy Directory Publishers website or visit them at World Dairy Expo, booth 27TT in the Coliseum. They’ll be selling them there for the special Expo price of $25. Here’s how they describe it:

A first-of-its-kind directory covering the Southwest Plains with a focus on the dairy industry now is available. This glossy, 74-page directory features maps with dairy locations, pages with county-specific information, and a listing of companies and associations that provide services to the dairy industry in this area.

“Whether people are looking for a place to relocate or expand their dairies, or they’re already doing business in the Southwest Plains, they’ll find this directory an invaluable resource,” says Janet Claborn, director of economic development, Muleshoe, Texas. “The directory truly reflects the welcoming and supportive spirit that the growing dairy industry has found here in eastern New Mexico, and the Texas Panhandle and south Plains.”

Alto Cheese Award Winning

We posted the results of the recent 2005 World Dairy Expo Championship Dairy Product Contest and one of the winners has proudly proclaimed their winnings. I just received their release from my Google News Alert.

Alto’s Colby – Jack and Mozzarella cheeses placed first in their categories. Colby – Jack made at the Black Creek cheese plant earned 99.95 points out of a possible 100, while the Mozzarella entry from Waupun merited 99.10 out of 100 possible points. A block of cheddar cheese from Alto Dairy also placed second in its class.

Within the past three years Alto Dairy’s Mozzarella has won ten major cheese awards in national and state cheese competitions. “The ongoing commitment to produce high quality milk by Alto dairy member-producers combined with a promise to deliver on excellence by Alto employees is credited to the number of cheese awards Alto earns,” said Rich Scheuerman, Alto’s CEO. “Everyone involved should feel very proud of these outstanding accomplishments.”

Alto Dairy is a member-owned cooperative of dairy producers manufacturing more than 550,000 pounds of American and Italian-style cheese per day at the company’s Waupun and Black Creek, WI facilities from a daily intake of more than five million pounds of milk. For more information, visit www.altodairy.com.