Greetings from Africa. I have been assigned to South Sudan for six months. I will be working in the three Equatoria states in South Sudan November 2011 through mid-May 2012. I am assigned to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), currently one of the largest U.S. government development efforts in Africa. I am here as part of the Civilian Response Corps as an active member.

The seventh annual I-29 Dairy Conference will be held in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on Feb. 8-9. The conference begins with registration from 3:30 to 9 p.m. on Feb. 8 at the Best Western Ramkota Inn & Conference Center, 3200 W. Maple St.

The Missouri Dairy Forum and Trade Show is returning to Springfield Jan. 27-28 after a record crowd of dairy farmers and allied industry attended in 2011. The Forum will kick off at the University Plaza Hotel starting at 9:25 a.m. on Jan. 27.

For 30 years, the Western Canadian Dairy Seminar has been presenting some of the world’s leading experts to inform and challenge those in the dairy industry to take a leading role in the development of the industry through the adoption of the latest technologies and information and to discuss current issues challenging the dairy industry. Plans are underway to do just that once again from March 6-9 at the Capri Hotel (soon to be Sheraton Red Deer) in Red Deer, Alberta. The 30th annual Western Canadian Dairy Seminar will kick-off with a pre-conference symposium, pre-conference tours and producer workshops.

GHD, Inc., the U.S. leader in anaerobic digestion and designer of nearly half of all American dairy biogas systems, announced it will now export its technology to Asia, Europe and South America. To prepare for this international expansion, GHD, Inc. also announced that the company has changed its name to DVO, Inc.

The Jersey All American and Reserve All American winners of 2011 have been announced by the American Jersey Cattle Association, Reynoldsburg, Ohio. The awards were presented Nov. 7 during The 59th All American Jersey Show, viewed by a large ringside and broadcast worldwide on streaming Internet video from Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. Imprinted certificates were presented to 26 owners or partnerships from 12 states.

Minnesota Milk Producers Association holds its annual business meeting each year during the Midwest Dairy Expo to hold election of directors, approve resolutions, review the auditor’s report, clean up old business and to address new business.

Many studies and research articles have been conducted and all have drawn the same conclusion: There is no physical way to remove horns on dairy animals without creating a task no human wants to do – causing pain to an animal – and thus creating an image the general public cannot understand.