It didn't take long for Erin Reynoldson to realize that her flip-flops were not suited for a proper tour of Prairieland Dairy. Luckily, Prairieland Dairy co-owner, Dan Rice, and Jeff Keown, Extension Dairy Specialist from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, who lined up the trip, had plenty of plastic, knee-high foot coverings handy.

Finding a solution for working with sand bedding was the focus of McLanahan’s Sand Solutions Conference this November. More that 120 people attended the event held in Wisconsin. These dairy producers, engineers and consultants not only hailed from the Northeast and Midwest, but also from Canada, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

The Southern Regional Dairy Challenge was held November 18-20 at Mississippi State University in Tupelo, Mississippi. MSU hosted 70 students from 15 universities.

Two of the most internationally respected experts on dairy cattle hoof health — Dr. Jan Shearer of Iowa State University and Dr. Sarel Van Amstel of the University of Tennessee — led 12 dairy producers and one professional hoof trimmer in a three-day educational session on proper hoof care during Tennessee Farmers Cooperative’s Hoof School Nov. 3-5.

The 2010 Nittany Lion Fall Classic Sale was held Saturday, November 13 in University Park, Pennsylvania. The sale averaged $2,341 and featured a total of 86 lots. Co-managed by the Penn State Dairy Science Club and the Pennsylvania Holstein Association, this annual consignment sale is one of the club's main events.

The 41st annual Dairy Practices Council Conference was held November 3-5, 2010, in Columbus, Ohio. The three-day event featured more than 15 speakers who led discussions about industry hot topics such as animal welfare, somatic cell count regulations and new technology.

Recently, the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) held its annual meeting in Reno, Nev. The key message from NMPF was the importance of unity amongst the industry as we go into the next Congress with hopes of making significant reforms to dairy policy. Its proposed reforms, known as the “Foundation for the Future” (www.futurefordairy.com) is a collection of proposals aimed at reforming several different government policies surrounding our industry. Many are well aware of the efforts of myself, MPC and other groups around the country in promoting the Costa-Sanders Bill (a.k.a. the “Dairy Price Stabilization Act,” or H.R. 5288/S. 3531). These bills are the results of several years of work in crafting an effective production management program that will allow our industry to continue growing to meet new demand, while at the same time sending real-time signals to dairy farmers to better manage future milk production growth.

The 2010 Northeast Regional Dairy Challenge was held in Batavia, New York, October 28-30. More than 110 students from 14 colleges and universities participated in the three-day event. During the Regional Dairy Challenge events, students are broken up into comingled-university teams of four or five. These teams, named after the sponsors of Dairy Challenge, are assigned an anonymous farm. Students assess all aspects of the farm, including feeding programs, facilities and equipment, financials and milking protocols. They then prepare a 20-minute presentation to give to a panel of judges and the host farm families. View "114 attend Northeast Regional Dairy Challenge" for more photos and results of the event.