The 2013 World Dairy Expo welcomed more than 70,000 people to Madison, Wisconsin. The Progressive Dairyman team was one of more than 840 companies that exhibited at the show. On the shavings, the Holstein Grand Champion Bonaccueil Maya Goldwyn, exhibited by Ty-D Holsteins, Drolet & Fils, Ferne Jacobs, A.&R. Boulet Inc. of Cap-Sante, Quebec, Canada, took home the Supreme Champion title.

In a history-making Red & White show, Grand Champion went to KHW Regiment Apple-3-Red-ETN, which is a clone to the cow named Reserve Grand Champion, KHW Regiment Apple-Red-ET. The clone, exhibited by Westcoast Holsteins of British Columbia, went on to be Reserve Supreme Champion.

Read on to learn about additional World Dairy Expo activity from the perspective of our team of editors and staff members in the booth.

PHOTO : World Dairy Expo attendees usually come prepared for all weather conditions. In this case, the week started off with sunny 70°F temperatures but cooled off toward the end of the event with fall showers. Photos and graphic by PD's Ray Merritt

Walt Cooley
Editor, based in Idaho
8th year attending Expo

When I asked technical experts what they or their companies would be focusing on in 2014, I was a bit surprised to hear many of them say animal well-being and stockmanship. A couple pharmaceutical companies have been training on that topic in the past two years. (Learn more about Merck's efforts on stockmanship .)

More people will be jumping on that bandwagon. I couldn't tell if they were just playing follow the leader or if they really feel like that is something dairy producers truly don't have enough of. I tend to believe it's the former, not the latter.

We are all still awaiting the results of the FDA's scrutiny of antibiotic residues in milk. At first that report was due at the beginning of the year, then it was this summer and then it couldn't be out later than September. Well, it's still not available. Of course, with the government shutdown, it could be awhile before it's released.

Several booths at the show reminded visitors that the government was shuttered.

I heard several cool stories about how dairymen are using new technologies to gather, measure and respond to herd metrics. Rumination monitoring, one-minute moisture testing of feed and real-time margin calculators were among the most impressive.

We'll be covering more of those topics in upcoming magazine issues.

Photos of empty booths due to the government shutdown by PD Editor Walt Cooley.

Karen Lee
Editor, based in Wisconsin
24th year attending Expo, 5th year with PD

World Dairy Expo is well known for its extraordinary cattle show. Thousands of people look forward to watching some of the best cows in the world parade across the colored shavings each year, but for me, I've always enjoyed the trade show side of the event.

Whether walking the exhibits with my parents before I was old enough to attend school, collecting whatever freebies I could find as an FFA member, or working at booths for random companies through the University of Wisconsin – Madison chapter of the National Agri-Marketing Association, I have seen many different sides of World Dairy Expo’s trade show. Yet, every year I am in awe of the amount of business that takes place during those five days in Madison.

These days I find myself doing laps from the Arena building to the Coliseum to the Exhibition Hall, around the Outdoor Trade Mall and in the New Holland Trade Center, all to meet with various companies about what is new and exciting for the coming year.

I met with milking equipment companies and many of them are excited about the in-roads robotic milking equipment is making in the U.S. One company in particular shared information on some exciting new products for robots and milking parlors that will be released in the coming year. As with any new technologies, we’ll be sure to let you know about them as they are released to the industry.

In talking with representatives with the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, they informed me that their sustainability work is advancing. Unbeknownst to many dairy producers, the work of this organization is making significant headway with key purchasers of dairy products. Tools are being created to measure and report on sustainability indicators that demonstrate how the dairy supply chain is continuously improving and using practices that protect the environment.

Talking with the people who work behind the scenes to produce new technologies or share the good work of dairy producers is just one more reason for me to enjoy spending time at World Dairy Expo’s tradeshow.

Emily Caldwell
Editor, based in Pennsylvania
5th year attending Expo, 4th year with PD

World Dairy Expo week seems to pass more quickly each year I attend. The week was jam-packed with media events to learn about new products and meetings with industry contacts to brainstorm editorial ideas in 2014.

A common theme in our meetings was taking the next steps in on-farm protocols. Many dairy owners and workers can tell you what it is they’re supposed to be doing, but there aren’t always checks and balances in place to make sure those protocols are being followed. Be sure to watch your mailboxes next year to learn ideas for taking your management to the next level.

One organization not shying away from taking things to the next level is the “ Drive to Feed ” movement. Spokesman Bill Goldberg has an in-your-face approach for bringing awareness about world hunger and food production through a “Chew on This” bus tour. The tour, an effort of Nutra Blend and Elanco, features two tractor-trailers painted bright red with large images of Goldberg.

One trailer serves as a movie theater for viewing a 15-minute piece that dispels food myths. The other trailer acts as a traveling kitchen for serving free food to those who watch the “Chew on This” video. The tour is targeting colleges and universities as well as large-scale public events such as state fairs.

“I’m loud, I’m boisterous,” Goldberg said during a media event at Expo. “If your industry needs a voice, I’m happy to be that voice.”

It’s encouraging for me to see companies like Elanco and Nutra Blend taking the lead on a project like this and inviting other agricultural companies to get involved. The more our industry can collaborate and work together, the more successful we’ll be in accomplishing those goals to feed the world and increase consumer support.

Booth activity
Our tagline for the 2013 World Dairy Expo was, “We're as unique as a $2 bill.” Since the magazine was founded in 1987, the Progressive Dairyman team has striven to provide you, the readers, with unique content, applicable advertisements and great customer service. The $2 bill was first introduced in 1862 and re-issued in 1976 after being discontinued in 1966.

Today, $2 bills make up just 1 percent of all U.S. bills in circulation*. As we all also know, farmers make up just 1 percent of the U.S. population. Unique coincidence, no?

As we enter into 2014 with an exciting circulation change – the announcement of our quarterly issues that will be delivered to all herds – we wanted to celebrate our uniqueness at World Dairy Expo.

Readers who stopped by one of our booths at Expo were encouraged to renew their subscriptions or get signed up for the first time. We gave them a button to wear to proclaim that they were a reader of Progressive Dairyman or Progressive Forage Grower .

If a member of our staff saw them wearing the button around the show, we awarded them with a $2 bill. We then posted these photos to Twitter using the hashtag #2bucksricher. View an album of these #2bucksricher photos on our Facebook page .

If you weren’t able to visit us at Expo, click here to renew your subscription or sign up. Find out why we’re as unique as a $2 bill. PD

Photo of new subscriber with a $2 bill taken by PD Editor Emily Caldwell.

* Figure according to a 2012 MSN Money article