Local elected officials, community leaders, conservation officials and dairy producers are invited to an On-the-Farm Twilight Meeting where important issues can be openly discussed with dairy producers and all attendees can learn from each other.

Growers of high quality forages will be rewarded with cash prizes in the 2012 World Ag Expo Forage Challenge, presented by Mycogen Seeds. The competition challenges farmers and ranchers in 11 western states to enter their best alfalfa hay, standard corn silage or brown midrib (BMR) corn silage to honor those who produce the highest-quality forages in the West. The deadline to enter is Dec. 15.

The deadline for the world’s longest-running forage contest featuring the biggest cash payout is around the corner. Only a few days remain to enter the World Forage Analysis Superbowl contest for a chance at more than $22,000 in cash prizes. Silage entries for standard and brown midrib corn silage categories must be received by AgSource Laboratories by Aug. 18. All other forage samples, including dairy hay, haylage, commercial baleage, commercial hay, and the new grass hay category, must be submitted by Sept. 7. Click here for rules, entry form and further details of the contest.

The Southern Great Plains Dairy Consortium (SGPDC) program held in Clovis, New Mexico, recently concluded the fourth year of its summer program. SGPDC was established in the summer of 2008 to address the need to improve the availability of dairy science education at universities in the Southwest. Participating students spend six weeks engaging in classroom instruction and trips to dairies where they obtain practical instruction of materials covered in the classroom. Topics covered during the six weeks of the program include herd management, dairy facilities, reproduction, nutrition and human resource development.

Dairy producers along the I-29 corridor are invited to a Forum on National Dairy Policy and Immigration Reform to learn more about dairy pricing policy proposals and immigration issues that may impact their operations. The forum will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 30, at the Ramkota Inn in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The free forum will include lunch and is hosted by members of the I-29 Dairy Consortium. Reservations are requested by Aug. 25 to sddairyproducers@gmail.com or (605) 692-1775.

The 2011 Michigan Dairy Expo got off to an exciting start last month when the Supreme Champion Dairy animal, exhibited by Parker Hardy of Tipton, Michigan, topped the Michigan Livestock Expo Sale-abration with an impressive bid of $21,000. The buyer of the first dairy lot of the livestock sale was a strong contingency of dairy industry supporters who pooled their money to purchase the winning lot. In total $33,000 was bid on four dairy lots: Supreme Champion; Reserve Junior Champion exhibited by Sarah Michalek, Deckerville, Michigan; Supreme Dairy Showman Brittany Westendorp of Nashville, Michigan; and the Grand Champion Cheese exhibited by the Michigan State University Dairy Plant. The money raised through the selling of the dairy lots goes back into the statewide dairy youth fund of the Michigan Youth Livestock Scholarship Fund. The 4-H members exhibiting the winning animal receive $1,000 each.

Novus International Inc. hosted its second annual Novus University Day, focused on Fostering Welfare in Livestock Production, on July 26 in St. Louis, Missouri. The day-long event, attended by Novus employees from around the world, industry experts and Novus affiliates, friends and families, provided a neutral forum for six nationally recognized experts to discuss the innovative solutions being developed by academia and industry to address the issues and public perceptions about the handling and treatment of livestock by today’s producers.

The Professional Dairy Managers of Pennsylvania will host its next Issues Forum on Thursday, Aug. 4, in Galena, Maryland. In keeping with their programming focused on managing risks and maximizing profits, PDMP will cover all aspects of dry matter management at the forum.

Reminder to all cattle farmers, ranchers and importers: All beef checkoff meetings are open to every person who pays the checkoff. During the upcoming 2012 Cattle Industry Summer Conference in Orlando, Florida, these meetings include meetings of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB); Federation of State Beef Councils (Federation) and joint checkoff program/policy committee meetings. We've made it easy for those interested to participate.