DAIRY NEWS – Today’s dairy teams are diverse and forward-thinking, making it a challenge to find training opportunities to meet everyone’s needs. The 2024 Business Conference presented by the Professional Dairy Producers® (PDP) is a perfect fit for the entire team with a total of 54 learning sessions in the form of hands-on, breakout and specialty sessions, research previews, panel discussions and time for networking and building connections with peers and suppliers. Simultaneous translation ensures team members who prefer to learn in Spanish can get the most of their conference experience. Even 15 to 18-year-olds will find sessions designed specifically for their age group.
The 2024 PDP Business Conference will be held March 13-14, 2024, at the Kalahari Resorts in Wisconsin Dells, Wis. With two days of programming focused on “Driving Innovation”, dairy’s premier educational event also includes the Hall of Ideas Equipment and Trade Show, Preview Stage, and the Nexus® stage.
“People learn in all different ways and PDP’s Business Conference allows people to learn in whatever mode works best for them,” said Corey Hodorff, Eden, Wis., dairy producer and PDP board secretary. “No matter the learning style, this conference will have something for everyone.”
Examples of learning opportunities include:
- General sessions gather all conference attendees in one place to learn, celebrate and be inspired collectively. Michael Hoffman will take the stage first as the business conference emcee. Opening speaker Brent Gleeson and closing speaker Bruce Vincent will bookend the event with inspirational messages to challenge attendees. A producer panel will highlight opportunities in sustainability and Jacob Shapiro will identify geopolitical trends that will impact agriculture over the next five years.
- Breakout and specialty sessions feature dozens of leading experts for 75- and 60-minute sessions to share the latest research and practices in animal care, food safety, business, financial, and people management, business transition, and topics about protecting dairy’s social license.
- Hands-on Hub sessions will provide interactive opportunities for attendees to improve their skills in newborn calf care and pain management. The 75-minute sessions will be presented twice each day of the conference. A special session on Wednesday only will provide an opportunity to practice crisis communications skills for on-farm and industry-wide situations.
- Several producer panels bring together forward-thinking dairy owners, operators and managers from across the country to share their experiences on issues regarding sustainability, managing multi-site dairies, reducing feed costs and more.
- Eight Learning Lounge sessions provide 30-minute focused discussions on timely topics including energy assessment, breeding goals, data analysis, 2023 corn silage quality and more. Attendees will take away valuable insights to put to work on their dairies right away.
- The Preview Stage located inside the Hall of Ideas will give attendees a sneak peek at research presently happening at universities and through the Dairy Innovation Hub. Attendees will hear directly from the faculty members and graduate students conducting the research.
Throughout the conference, opportunities abound to connect and network with fellow dairy producers, industry leaders and vendors in the Hall of Ideas trade and equipment show and more.
Register today by visiting the 2024 Business Conference website. Also available are the English-language flier, the Spanish-language flier, information on exhibiting, and details on lodging. A discounted rate at Kalahari Resorts is available if booked through PDP by Feb. 19.
The 2024 PDP Business Conference offers accredited training through such providers as Dairy AdvanCE (DACE) American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists (ARPAS) and Certified Crop Advisor (CCA).
Professional Dairy Producers (PDP) is the nation’s largest dairy producer-led organization of its kind, focusing on producer professionalism, stakeholder engagement and unified outreach to share ideas, solutions, resources and experiences that help dairy producers succeed.
Comments