Note: All forage seminars will be held in the seminar center at the intersection of S Street and Expo Lane.

“In an instant, our 100-plus-year-old family farm became part of the re-branding of agriculture by activist groups. We lost our milk market and our reputation was tarnished.” —Gary Conklin, Conklin Dairy Cattle Sales LLC. In May of 2010, a video from his farm depicting abuse was released by Mercy for Animals. Preparing for emergencies and managing crises was a main focus of the Dairy Strong conference, Jan. 13-15, in Madison, Wisconsin, facilitated by the Dairy Business Association of Wisconsin and its partners. I’m a member of the organization, but this was my first time attending one of their conferences.

Dec. 9-11, 2014, marked the 20th annual Vita Plus Dairy Summit. More than 200 producers and industry professionals were in attendance. The event, held in Red Wing, Minnesota, kicked off with farm tours to Clay View Dairy, Fetzer Farms and Son-Bow Inc. At each stop, attendees were able to tour the operation, ask questions and learn about practices and innovations the owners of each dairy used on their operation and why.