Most leaders agree that people are the greatest asset of a business. But they can also present the greatest challenges.

The dairy industry is continually evolving, from the Surge Bucket Milker to rotary parlors and automated milking equipment, from pen and paper records to stall-side cow information. And now, with technology advancing further and more quickly, paired with the onset of artificial intelligence (AI), the industry is tasked with the lofty goal of keeping up.

What opportunities are available to create more value from dairy waste? For three individuals, creating more value lay in what was available to them and the relationships they were willing to build with neighbors and industry stakeholders.

There are few things more invigorating than gathering with like-minded individuals and hearing from industry experts to bring home new concepts and ideas to your business. That is what the Hoof Trimmers Association (HTA) will accomplish at their 20th Hoof Health Conference Aug. 21-23 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Dairy producers and industry professionals traveling to the Western Dairy Management Conference were greeted with a familiar sight – a snowy arrival into Reno, Nevada. Despite the weather’s early April Fools' joke, the networking opportunities and variety of presentation topics provided something for each of the more than 1,100 registered attendees to enjoy.

With a theme of “Dialing It In,” the 2025 Professional Dairy Producers (PDP) Business Conference drew inspiration from the steady movement of a sundial to encourage dairy producers to align their efforts with purpose and intention. In the opening session, three experts in the fields of geopolitics, markets and weather joined together to help dairy producers see the forces behind the unpredictable parts of agriculture.