For the fourth year in a row, leaders in the dairy industry will gather in Lexington, Kentucky from Dec. 6-8, for Alltech’s Global Dairy 500. In 2011, the Global 500 will move into uncharted territory, venturing into a world of opportunities and challenges, and exploring the dairy industries' future landscape.

The final session of a three-part webinar series titled “What’s ahead for dairy in 2012” will be held on Monday, Nov. 28, from noon to 1 p.m. CDT. Registration for the webinar, hosted by the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin (PDPW), is required by Nov. 21.

Click here to download a pdf of the 2012 World Ag Expo preview presented by International Agri-Center.

What other industries and businesses have reaped the rewards of excellent management, and how can dairy farm businesses learn from them? That’s what dairy producers and other executives will examine at Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin’s 2012 Managers Academy, “Executing Excellence,” Jan. 17-19, Atlanta, Georgia.

The University of Wisconsin – Madison’s Farm and Industry Short Course invites prospective students and their parents to campus on Nov. 30 or Dec. 1 to preview what the program has to offer. High school juniors and seniors are encouraged to attend. The UW-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) offers the one- or two-year short course program to high school graduates interested in farming or one of Wisconsin’s many other agricultural industries. The program runs from November to April and has an average enrollment of 135 students. The program’s instructional goals emphasize a combination of cutting edge knowledge and hands-on experience, taught by faculty and staff, many of whom also teach in the four-year undergraduate program.

Enjoy a live concert by four-time Grammy nominee, five-time ACM and CMT award winner, Trace Adkins. Adkins will perform at the International Agri-Center's Concerts for a Cause on Feb. 14, during World Ag Expo in Tulare, California. Proceeds from the concert will benefit agricultural education at a local, state and national level.

Badgerland Financial, Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation and UW Cooperative Extension have announced an expanded conference agenda for their second annual Wisconsin Ag Women’s Summit, to be held April 27-28, 2012, at the Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells. The agenda includes not only one – but two – keynote presenters, including Kevin Hall and Paul Wesselmann. Hall, an acclaimed business consultant, coach and bestselling author of Aspire, will present “Transform Your Life through the Power of Words” and help attendees discover the inherent power of key words that function as passwords for unlocking purpose and potential. Wesselmann, aka The Ripples Guy, will explore actions to get more out of work, school, family and life through his presentation “GREAT Expectations: Five Awesome Actions for Success in Work & Life.” His weekly inspirational email RIPPLES is read by more than 27,000 subscribers around the world.

ABS Global, Inc. recently wrapped up a successful week of World Dairy Expo festivities, including facility tours, farm tours, and progeny success in the dairy cattle shows. More than 600 guests from 15 different states and countries took advantage of facility tours held Monday through Friday at the ABS headquarters in DeForest, Wisconsin. On Monday, ABS had the opportunity to host the National 4-H Conference group and more than 200 youth and chaperones at ABS Dekorra, just outside of Poynette, Wisconsin.

DeLaval recently wrapped up its 2011 Profound Productivity Tour schedule with the VMS Freedom to Choose Tour and the World Dairy Expo Tour. The company hosted a total of more than 70 visitors at dairy farms in the U.S. and Canada and showcased a wide variety of DeLaval milking solutions where herd sizes ranged from 60 to 8,000 cows. Both tours also included a day at some of the industry’s largest tradeshows in North America.