Posted: February 6, 2012 at 7:58 pm
By News Editor
World Dairy Expo has been listed #12 by EXPO Magazine in their Top 25 Fast-Growing Shows of 2011.
This ranking concentrates on performance metrics, conferences and expos that implement new strategies, innovative ways of showcasing exhibitors, blockbuster growth, and use of new media and IT. Eight metrics are used to compare trade shows including square foot size, square foot growth, attendee size, attendee growth, exhibitor size, exhibitor growth, revenue growth and attendees per square foot.
Trade Show News Network (TSNN) had recently listed World Dairy Expo #30 in the 2010 TSSN Top 250 US Trade Show list and was honored at the 2011 TSNN Event Excellence Awards as one of the 20 fastest-growing shows by net square footage in the United States 2008-2010. Another professional industry group, Trade Show Executive publication ranked the Expo as #23 on Trade Show Executive’s Gold 100 Shows in 2010.
Last year World Dairy Expo drew over 68,000 attendees from 90 countries to the largest global dairy-focused event. The record number of people brought in $17.7M of direct spending in the Madison area during the 2011 event. This does not include the lingering economic benefit that the commercial and dairy cattle exhibitors often realize beyond the event. Last year, Expo had a record number of 810 exhibiting companies from 28 countries. The global networking opportunities that a show of this magnitude opens doors to long-term business relationships for sharing new products, genetics, innovative services and cutting edge research for the dairy industry.
Posted: January 23, 2012 at 7:30 pm
By News Editor
Outstanding dairy leaders from across the global dairy industry are being sought for World Dairy Expo’s annual recognition awards.
Nominations will be accepted through February 15, in the following four categories:
· Dairy Woman of the Year
· Dairyman of the Year
· Industry Person of the Year
· International Person of the Year
The Dairy Woman and Dairyman of the Year awards are presented to individuals who are active dairy producers and whose primary source of income is derived from their dairy operation. His/her farming operation needs to demonstrate and excel in the breeding of quality animals and efficient production. Progressive management practices, along with involvement in community, government activities, breed organizations and other aspects of the dairy industry will also be considered.
The Industry Person of the Year award is presented to an individual in recognition of excellence in research, development, education, marketing or other fields that are part of the dairy industry.
The International Person of the Year will be recognized for significantly contributing to international relations, business development, trade or cooperation in the dairy industry.
Individuals will be honored at the Dinner with the Stars at World Dairy Expo October 3, in Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
World Dairy Expo is pleased to announce the official judges for our 2012 cattle shows. The 2012 World Dairy Expo theme will be “Market Fresh”and it will be held October 2-6 at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisconsin.
The individuals who will be responsible for placing over 2,500 head of the finest dairy cattle in the United States and Canada during the five-day event are:
· International Ayrshire Show: Lynn Harbaugh, Marion, Wis.
· International Milking Shorthorn Show: Steve White, New Castle, Ind.
· Central National Jersey Show: Mark Rueth, Oxford, Wis.
· International Brown Swiss Show: Curtis Day, Burnsville, Minn.
· International Guernsey Show: Adam Liddle, Argyle, N.Y.
· Grand International Red & White Show: Justin Burdette, Mercersburg, Pa.
· International Holstein Show: Michael Heath, Westminster, Md.
Word Dairy Expo will unveil a new Trade Center at the 2012 show.
The Trade Center will provide dairy farmers additional indoor exhibits to discover the latest innovations, technologies and services for their home operation. The new space will offer 130 booths to accommodate the ever-growing demand for exhibit space from existing exhibitors and new companies currently unable to get a booth space at Expo.
The Trade Show has been at capacity for many years. “World Dairy Expo management is optimistic that the Alliant Energy Center will expand over time.” says Sales Manager, John Rozum. “The demand for indoor space has become so high that it was decided to take action and add a new temporary space for 2012.”
The 26,000 square foot Trade Center will be the largest new exhibit area at Expo since the Exhibition Hall was opened in 1995. The new area will be located in front of the Exhibition Hall, along Fairgrounds Drive and parallel to the Arena Building. Some of the Outdoor Trade Mall space will be utilized for this new area in order to expand exhibit area without sacrificing precious parking space.
Posted: December 6, 2011 at 4:37 pm
By News Editor
The annual “Friends of Expo” honored four outstanding World Dairy Expo volunteers. The 2011 honorees were Brenda Lee Turner, Betty Haag, Julie Ehrke and Maureen DeBruin.
Brenda Lee Turner was presented a Friend of Expo Award for her many years of service to the cattle show. A northern Wisconsin native, Brenda was active showing cattle through 4-H at the county and state level. As a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with a degree in agriculture journalism agriculture, she was active in the Badger Dairy Club. Her career path following graduation included working for a prominent breed publication and assisting with dairy cattle preparation and programming for some of the biggest Holstein sales in the world. After marrying her husband, Roger, Brenda now works for Semex in Canada. She is one of the organizers that sets up, manages and disassembles the Semex Walk of Fame live cattle display at World Dairy Expo. She continues to coordinate the grand opening of the World Classic sale with Tom Morris. She volunteers as the official announcer of the International Holstein and International Ayrshire Shows. She collaborates with other volunteers and World Dairy Expo staff on potential story ideas for the Daily Edition, Virtual Farm Tours and general promotion of the event to potential attendees from around the world.
Betty Haag was also honored for her passion as a volunteer for Expo. She grew up on a farm in Milton, Wisconsin and was an active 4-H member who loved farm animals and rural living. As a graduate of Whitewater State College she received her degree in education and taught elementary school in West Allis. Her desire to return to rural life lured her to earn a home economics degree at University of Wisconsin-Madison and then on to become a county agent in Green Lake. Later she moved to become the Home Economist in Jefferson County, working with community members, 4-H leaders and youth for over 32 years. During that time, Betty and her husband, Adolf, raised three children. World Dairy Expo has benefited from her volunteer services for many years. First, she assisted with the school tours to help educate future consumers. Later she added the role of volunteer in the Purple Cow Gift Shop. Now retired, this Friend of Expo remains busy as an active volunteer in her community while still helping for one week each year at World Dairy Expo.
Julie Ehrke of Badger Press was bestowed the Friends of Expo title as well. Julie also grew up on a Wisconsin dairy farm and was an eager dairy enthusiast at a young age. Having been a dairy cattle exhibitor through 4-H and Junior Holstein Association, she developed a devotion to the industry and those people of the dairy sector. As a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Julie was active in Badger Dairy Club, Association of Women in Agriculture and AGR Little Sisters. During those busy college years, she dedicated many hours behind the scenes at World Dairy Expo. After graduation she pursued a career in the print industry and now works for Badger Press of Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. Julie serves World Dairy Expo as the contact with that print vendor and provides regular project support on most print materials including the annual theme artwork. Julie has helped World Dairy Expo to meet quick turnaround project deadlines on numerous occasions. Julie and her husband, Steve and two children reside in Deerfield, Wisconsin.
Maureen DeBruin of Jefferson, Wisconsin, the fourth recipient of the 2011 Friends of Expo award has served as a volunteer in a variety of roles at World Dairy Expo for many years. Perhaps the biggest commitment is that of the International Post-Secondary Dairy Cattle Judging Contest manager. Maureen recruits and leads contest volunteers as well as promoting the contest to post-secondary institutions, students and industry sponsors. Maureen supervises in coordinating dairy cattle class selection to the scoring and tabulating of results for both the practical and traditional components of the Post-Secondary Contest. She also assists with logistical requirements for the event as well as the awards banquet. In addition, she is a key member of the Agri-Graphics cattle photography team that captures the ringside photos of each class winner. She also assists with the show string barn decorations as needed. Maureen has been a Classifier for Holstein USA for 26 years. She volunteers regularly in mentoring local youth with dairy cattle projects.
Posted: October 18, 2011 at 3:37 pm
By Cindy Zimmerman
According to World Dairy Expo officials, the 2011 World Dairy will go down in history as a record-setting success.
This year a record 2,587 head of dairy cattle were exhibited at the Dairy Cattle Show by 1,130 exhibitors from 37 states and seven Canadian provinces. The trade show set new participation levels with 810 companies from 28 countries, including 130 first time exhibitors.
Youth contests also set record levels of participation. Over 3,200 FFA members attended World Dairy Expo and many participated in the Central National FFA Events. A record 705 entries competed in the Championship Dairy Products Contest this year in hopes of using the title to promote their dairy product. The World Forage Analysis Superbowl entries also set a new record with a 43% increase in entries from 23 states.
Sunny skies and unusually warm weather helped to create a memorable event for all that participated in the 2011 World Dairy Expo. Total attendance for World Dairy Expo was 68,006 visitors, with 2,699 registered international guests from 90 countries. Visitors from Canada, Mexico, Ireland, China and Germany topped the list of international guests during the five-day event.
We have officially finished up our coverage from the 2011 World Dairy Expo and are already looking ahead to next year, October 2-6, 2012 as always at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisconsin. 2012 World Dairy Expo theme will be “Market Fresh”. Wonder what color the shavings will be?
“Just like we have right product, right acre with corn, soybeans and alfalfa, we have right bacteria, right crop,” says Alan Patterson, Dairy Specialist with Pioneer in Wisconsin. “Like our 11H50, we found specific lactic acid strains of bacteria that will drive that pH done very quickly on alfalfa.”
Pioneer has a number of incoluant offerings and they are continuing to do research to bring even more products to the marketplace. “We try to have something in every category,” Patterson says. “We have products for both haylage and corn products specifically. And then we’ve got our fiber technology line-up which includes 11CFT for corn silage, 11AFT for alfalfa haylage and 11GFT for grasses or cereal grains, so it’s not as simple as ‘here’s a bottle, put it on your forage’ anymore.”
And picking the right one can make a big difference. “If you look at the high feed costs and how we can impact that with our inoculants and helping dairymen make those right choices, particularly with the size of the dairies we’re dealing with, we’re talking tens of thousands of dollars to the bottom line,” he says.
Posted: October 14, 2011 at 8:54 am
By Cindy Zimmerman
The Dairy Checkoff has been promoting the advantages of getting social to dairy producers for a couple of years now and one of the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board members found out just how important that is recently.
I talked to Brad Scott, a fourth generation family dairy farmer from Southern California, during the Talk Session at World Dairy Expo last week and he told me about why he finally caught the Twitter bug. “Just recently my state contacted me because they were having 13 “mommy bloggers” come out,” Brad said. “They got to see us, have dinner with us and have lunch with us for two days and I got to know them and got to understand what their concerns are.”
Not only did these “mommy bloggers” from urban areas get to learn about animal care, milk testing, and environmental stewardship on a working dairy farm, they also taught Brad a thing or two. “They got me on Twitter, so now I have a Twitter account and all these mommmy bloggers are following me!” he said, which gave him the opportunity to follow them and find out what they were saying to their followers about their experience on his farm. “Everything was positive. They were very excited about telling their followers our story and the great things we do on the dairy.”
Membership services at Accelerated Genetics is a job that Jim Iverson has held for 35 years. That means he has worked for the organization for half of its existence since Accelerated is celebrating 70 years this year. Quite an achievement and that really says something about what has contributed to their success, the team.
Jim says they “have a passion for the industry and pride in servicing their customers.” The team is so very important because as he puts it “if you’re the best salesman in the world, if you don’t have the genetic people behind you getting the quality sires, the barn crew taking care of healthy bulls, a good communications department, management people making good management decisions,” then you won’t be as successful as you could be. You will hear real pride in Jim’s voice in my interview with him just prior to their International Reception and Dinner at this year’s World Dairy Expo.
Posted: October 13, 2011 at 7:40 pm
By News Editor
World Dairy Expo may be over for another year, but to get us through the next few weeks is the release of the 2012 theme! Want to see themes from the past? Click here.
Posted: October 12, 2011 at 2:45 pm
By Cindy Zimmerman
One of the dignitaries who attends the World Dairy Expo as part of her job is Alice in Dairyland and it is always a pleasure to meet the latest young lady chosen to represent Wisconsin’s dairy industry and all of the state’s agriculture.
The 64th Alice in Dairyland is Katie Wirkus, who grew up on her family’s dairy and swine operation near Athens, Wisconsin and she started on the year long job on June 1. “We had Wisconsin State Fair and lots of community events and June Dairy Month of course was very busy,” she said.
Katie says that little girls always want to know if she’s a princess. “I’m not a princess, but I do get to wear the tiara to stand out and be visual for the industry,” she said.
World Wide Sires, LTD. teamed up with Accelerated Genetics to host a World Dairy Expo International Reception and Dinner. Here’s John Schouten, World Wide Sires CEO (center) with some of the guests. The organization is owned by Accelerated Genetics and Select Sires.
World Wide Sires, Ltd. is the world’s leading cattle genetics marketing organization representing the majority of the U.S. Artificial Insemination Cooperatives. In an atmosphere of trust and cooperation, World Wide Sires brings together suppliers and customers to promote efficient global livestock production. Quality genetics, high integrity, personal contact and superior customer service are the cornerstones for ensuring continued market leadership.
I talked with John before the evening’s activities got underway. He says World Wide Sires is celebrating forty years and he’s been with the company for twenty five of them. He does a little bit of travel as the territory they serve has grown. “Traditionally, our key markets have been located in western Europe as the company got started but today we have new and exciting markets in places like China, India and Russia.” He’s proud to represent the best genetics in the world to their customers. He’s very optimistic about growth in trade even in countries where we currently have marketing challenges. I asked him the thing he’d like his customers to think of when they think of World Wide Sires. He says, “Service with a smile.”
Posted: October 11, 2011 at 12:51 pm
By Cindy Zimmerman
His motto is “Have Cheese, Will Travel” but Cheese Chef John Esser doesn’t have to travel very far to showcase his culinary skills at World Dairy Expo each year, since he is based right there in Madison, Wisconsin.
John has been an independent consultant to cheese manufacturers and dairy industry organizations, including the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, for the last 18 years and he really knows his cheese! He is especially talented when it comes to pairing the distinctive flavors of various cheeses with other foods that make your taste buds do the tango.
At the expo Talk Session for the media this year, John grilled up some cheese and turkey sandwiches, featuring Big Ed’s Gouda from Saxony Creamery. He also torched a Gruyère-topped crouton and added that to a French onion soup.
Watch Chef John demonstrate his recipes and show off some of the cheese pairings on display. For great cheese recipes, check out www.eatwisconsincheese.com.
During World Dairy Expo at the Alltech reception I ran into Steve Maddox again. Steve is a dairy farmer from California and Alltech customer.
Alltech’s theme for Expo is “Who cares about production in your dairy herd? Alltech DOES!” Steve says they accomplish that by “taking a total approach socially and otherwise on the way they’re approaching it.” He encourages dairy farmers to visit Alltech because they’re putting out “top quality products.” Steve says that Alltech’s commitment to sustainability ties right in to what he’s trying to do as a farmer and working with Dairy Management, Inc. on the U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards program. Steve mentions several Alltech products that have worked for him including Yea-Sacc and he’s trying out the new Alltech DEMP, Dietary Escape Microbial Protein.
It’s a tradition for the selection of the grand champion Brown Swiss at World Dairy Expo to be accompanied by classical Swiss music and dress, complete with yodeling, alphorn blowing, and cowbell ringing. Pictured in the foreground here is Dublin-Hills Treats owned by Peter Vail and Ken Main of Copake, NY walking in front of the New Glarus Jodlerklub just before being named the 2011 Grand Champion.
After we saw some of the performance by the 80-year-old yodel club that hails from New Glarus, Wisconsin, we happened to catch up with a couple of the members walking around the expo ringing their gigantic cow bells, which they say came from Switzerland where they were worn by lead cows as they were moved from one pasture to another.
Watch the Jodlerklub in action and enjoy a very impromptu interview with yodelers Ernie Jaggi, Roberly Williamson and Dwight Truttman.
Charleston|Orwig was very busy during this year’s World Dairy Expo. The strategic communications agency was working with almost a dozen companies during the show. I caught up with Brittany Unterweger, pictured left with Cassie Mueller, in the Arm & Hammer Animal Nutrition booth. Brittany is an account supervisor. I asked her how things were going for the agency since Cindy spoke with Mark Gale last year.
Brittany says the agency focus goes beyond the dairy industry into overall food systems, “from farm to plate, from producer to consumer.” She says there has been an internal shift within the agency to move beyond just agriculture in an effort to bridge the gap between consumers and where their food comes from. They’ve also further developed their blog, Field Assignment.
One of the international visitors to World Dairy Expo was Dr. Gonzalo Maldonado, Tri-State S.A.S, Colombia. I met him at the Accelerated Genetics and World Wide Sires International Reception and Dinner. Dr. Maldonado has been working with them for 43 years!
Dr. Maldonado says that when he got started the idea of artificial insemination was a tough sell. He basically had to conduct training sessions and educate dairy farmers about the benefits of improved genetics. Since then he says production has increased. He’s optimistic for the outlook for even more improved production in Colombia. Training and specialized advice is still very needed though.
Posted: October 9, 2011 at 6:52 pm
By Cindy Zimmerman
The highlight of the World Dairy Expo is always the naming of the Supreme Champion on Saturday night, but some two-legged winners were honored at the annual “Dinner with the Stars” banquet on Wednesday.
The Dairymen of the Year award for 2011 went to John, David, Jim and Al Koepke of Koepke Farms, Inc. in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. (photo credit: World Dairy Expo, Nina Linton) The Koepke Farm is a 330 head milking dairy of registered Holsteins with nearly 1000 acres of cropland. David, Jim and Al are brothers and John (holding the plaque) is Jim’s son. During an interview at the expo Talk Session, John said they learned growing up to take care of the land. “And we’ve also learned that the better we take care of our land and the better we take care of our livestock, the better they both take care of our pocketbook,” he said, adding that producing their own feed and fertilizer has helped them deal with higher prices. “Getting our manure over every last acre has kept our production costs very low because we have a built-in organic fertilizer supply that’s never depleted!”
Listen to my interview with John here: John Koepke
Dairy Woman of the Year for 2011 is Donna Myers of Windsor Manor Farm in New Windsor, Maryland which is home to 55 milking registered Holsteins. “We’re a small family farm business that has enjoyed the agricultural way of life,” Donna says. They enjoy hosting farm tours to show people that way of life. “It’s good to keep that in people’s minds, how important that is,” she said.
Listen to my interview with Donna here: Donna Myers
Industry Person of the Year is Dr. Duane Norman, who has been with the USDA-ARS Animal Improvement Programs Laboratory since 1970. Dr. Norman is known throughout the world for his leadership in the genetic evaluation for traits of economic importance for the U.S. dairy industry. “When I was hired there they asked me to do a new genetic evaluation for milk and fat,” he said. “That was a perfect opportunity for a new geneticist to do a national evaluation, so I was the luckiest guy there was!” Dr. Norman notes that the genetic improvements in dairy cattle over the past 40-50 years have resulted in less cows producing more milk than ever before.
Finally, the International Person of the Year is Anne Perchard, La Ferme Ltd. (The Ansom Jersey Herd) of Great Britain. Anne actually comes from the tiny British Island of Jersey, where the Jersey breed of cattle originated. “Of course we’re very proud of her,” Anne said of the Jersey breed. She is the patron of the World Jersey Cattle Bureau and in 2001 was recognized for her services to the Jersey Breed worldwide. She’s proud to have been the first and only woman director of the Jersey Milk Marketing Board “which is quite something with all these men,” she laughed.
Listen to my interview with Anne here: Anne Perchard
An outstanding group of winners this year, as always, who represent the best of the best in the dairy industry.
The Grand Champion Holstein, Eastside Lewisdale Gold Missy, paraded across the colored shavings to win the Supreme Champion honors, along with $1,500 Cash Award from BouMatic, a royal blanket courtesy of Agpro, Inc., Paris, Texas and a director’s chair sponsored by Royal Brand Embroidery, Ellsworth, Wisconsin. Missy is owned by Morsan, Van Ruinen Dairy, M. Butz and G. Andreasen.
Watch the World Dairy Expo video of the announcement here:
The Reserve Champion title was earned by the Grand Champion Jersey, Pine Haven SSM Marmie, owned by Nic, Jeni, Ben and Andy Sauder of Tremont, Illinois. Meanwhile, Ben Sauder took home the Junior Supreme Champion award for the third year in a row with a Jersey Junior 3-year-old cow, South Mountain Voltage Spice-ET sired by Golden Elliott Voltage. Britney Hill of Bristol, Vermont won the Reserve Supreme Champion of the Junior Show with her Red & White 4-year-old cow, Ainger Advent Jessa-Red sired by KHW Kite Advent-Red.
It is the final day of World Dairy Expo 2011. The ZimmComm team had to return home but that doesn’t mean we won’t have more stories for you.
Cindy and I have quite a few interviews to share during the next week so keep your eye on us as we bring you more from this year’s show.
In the meantime, feel free to check out our photos. The colorful fall leaves made a beautiful scene outside between buildings this year and the weather stay just about perfect too.
World Dairy Expo has been listed #12 by EXPO Magazine in their Top 25 Fast-Growing Shows of 2011. 
Sunny skies and unusually warm weather helped to create a memorable event for all that participated in the 2011 World Dairy Expo. Total attendance for World Dairy Expo was 68,006 visitors, with 2,699 registered international guests from 90 countries. Visitors from Canada, Mexico, Ireland, China and Germany topped the list of international guests during the five-day event.
When it comes to 
Pioneer has a number of incoluant offerings and they are continuing to do research to bring even more products to the marketplace. “We try to have something in every category,” Patterson says. “We have products for both haylage and corn products specifically. And then we’ve got our fiber technology line-up which includes 11CFT for corn silage, 11AFT for alfalfa haylage and 11GFT for grasses or cereal grains, so it’s not as simple as ‘here’s a bottle, put it on your forage’ anymore.”
I talked to Brad Scott, a fourth generation family dairy farmer from Southern California, during the Talk Session at World Dairy Expo last week and he told me about why he finally caught the Twitter bug. “Just recently my state contacted me because they were having 13 “mommy bloggers” come out,” Brad said. “They got to see us, have dinner with us and have lunch with us for two days and I got to know them and got to understand what their concerns are.”
One of the dignitaries who attends the World Dairy Expo as part of her job is Alice in Dairyland and it is always a pleasure to meet the latest young lady chosen to represent Wisconsin’s dairy industry and all of the state’s agriculture.
His motto is “Have Cheese, Will Travel” but Cheese 
It’s a tradition for the selection of the grand champion Brown Swiss at World Dairy Expo to be accompanied by classical Swiss music and dress, complete with yodeling, alphorn blowing, and cowbell ringing. Pictured in the foreground here is 
The Dairymen of the Year award for 2011 went to John, David, Jim and Al Koepke of Koepke Farms, Inc. in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. (photo credit: World Dairy Expo, Nina Linton) The Koepke Farm is a 330 head milking dairy of registered Holsteins with nearly 1000 acres of cropland. David, Jim and Al are brothers and John (holding the plaque) is Jim’s son. During an interview at the expo Talk Session, John said they learned growing up to take care of the land. “And we’ve also learned that the better we take care of our land and the better we take care of our livestock, the better they both take care of our pocketbook,” he said, adding that producing their own feed and fertilizer has helped them deal with higher prices. “Getting our manure over every last acre has kept our production costs very low because we have a built-in organic fertilizer supply that’s never depleted!”
Dairy Woman of the Year for 2011 is Donna Myers of Windsor Manor Farm in New Windsor, Maryland which is home to 55 milking registered Holsteins. “We’re a small family farm business that has enjoyed the agricultural way of life,” Donna says. They enjoy hosting farm tours to show people that way of life. “It’s good to keep that in people’s minds, how important that is,” she said. 
Industry Person of the Year is Dr. Duane Norman, who has been with the USDA-ARS Animal Improvement Programs Laboratory since 1970. Dr. Norman is known throughout the world for his leadership in the genetic evaluation for traits of economic importance for the U.S. dairy industry. “When I was hired there they asked me to do a new genetic evaluation for milk and fat,” he said. “That was a perfect opportunity for a new geneticist to do a national evaluation, so I was the luckiest guy there was!” Dr. Norman notes that the genetic improvements in dairy cattle over the past 40-50 years have resulted in less cows producing more milk than ever before.
The 