World Dairy Diary

Dairy Conference Gets Technical

Things are getting “technical” at the 2010 Great Lakes Regional Dairy Conference in Frankenmuth, MI. The first session kicked off with a survey with clickers. Producers were asked about their operations, their primary breed of dairy cattle and even their favorite ice cream flavor (mine is mint chocolate chip, by the way!)

In addition to the clickers, Twitter users are tweeting the highlights of the conference as it happens. You can follow my tweets @AmandaNolz and check out the tweets of others from the convention by searching #glrdc2010.

Right now, I’m sitting in on the Partner’s Program where we are learning more about social networking and how to use it to share the positive story of the American dairy producer. More on that later.

Automatic Milking: How Effective Is It?

Here is an interesting look at automatic milking and its effectiveness. Charolotte Johnston with TheCattleSite evaluates the benefits of automatic milkers through four different interviews with producers Tim Gibson, Doug Heintz, John Wolf and Max Warren. This is an interesting look at dairy technology and equipment. Titled, Automatic Milking: How Effective Is It? this article is an interesting read that addresses any concerns producers and consumers might have about these machines. Read on to learn more…

A common myth regarding automatic milking machines is that they disengage the herdsman from the animals, and so neglect herd health.

If this were true, the new Lely Astronaut A3 Next would not have won the 2009 Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers’ Livestock and Machinery Award at this year’s Dairy Event. The award was presented on the grounds of economics, the welfare and close management of milking animals, the reduction of drudgery for family and employed staff, flexibility since it applies to family run and larger units, and the longer-term needs of the dairy industry.

*Photo Courtesy of TheDairySite.

Adminstration Officials to Visit Crave Brothers Dairy

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley, and Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle will tour Crave Brothers Farm and Dairy Operation in Waterloo, Wisconsin Friday to see bioenergy in action.

Crave Brothers is an example of a successful modern dairy, using green energy sources to power the farm, cheese factory and 120 area homes. Crave Brothers Dairy Farm and its cheesemaking enterprise, Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese, have a sophisticated, computer-controlled anaerobic digestion system that generates electricity that runs on organic waste from their 750 pampered and productive Holsteins.

The Administration and State officials will discuss the opportunities for rural America to embrace science and lead efforts to create clean energy jobs, achieve energy independence, mitigate climate change, and transition to a clean energy economy.

New Technologies Hold Promise For Dairy Farms

The final panel discussion at the Global Dairy 500 Conference focused on future technologies in the dairy industry. Presenting were Matthew Smith, Alltech and Dr. Karl Dawson, Alltech.

I spoke with Dr. Dawson immediately following his remarks. He says some of the technologies in methane recovery offer a new cost saving line for the farmer by producing bioenergy. Feed management technologies offer a lot as they change, especially in nitrogen management. He says their goal was to bring these to the attention of the dairy farmer so they will consider them as they make future plans.

You can listen to my interview with Dr. Dawson below:

2009 Global Dairy 500 Conference Photo Album

World Dairy Diary coverage of the Global Dairy 500 Conference is sponsored by .

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