DAIRY NEWS – The dairy community showed its support for education, outreach and programs to support the next generation of dairy leaders at the 2025 Professional Dairy Producers® (PDP) Business Conference, held March 12-13 in Madison, Wis. Dairy’s Foundation hosted a silent auction and live auction during the conference, raising a total of $50,000.
The live auction raised $23,875 and featured the following contributions: one seat on the February 2026 PDP international trip to New Zealand with a second seat held in reserve, a June 2024 Holstein top-GTPI heifer donated by Rick and Marleen Adams of Sugar Creek Dairy, a calf cart scale from Topcon and 40 individually wrapped eight-ounce blocks of Mullins’ 5-Year Cheddar Cheese.
Bringing in $26,175, silent auction items included tickets to the Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee Brewers, Wisconsin Badgers basketball, and Madison Mallards; travel experiences to a variety of popular Wisconsin getaway destinations, a South Dakota hunting expedition, a 60-minute airplane ride for two, several packages for golf courses across the state, a wide array of gift baskets featuring Wisconsin cheese, wine and beef; tours to various creameries, wineries, distilleries and dairy-retail stores; a diamond necklace, collectible art pieces, dairy farm supplies, farm toy and kids’ gift packages, farm wearables, tools and more.
“This year’s auction once again brought dairy supporters together for a great cause,” said Caitlin Roy, Dairy’s Foundation auction chairperson. “We were thrilled with the variety and quantity of contributions; and the ability to bid online in advance and offsite extended the silent auction opportunity for everyone to get involved.”
Dairy’s Foundation is the only public-held national foundation supporting dairy education and initiatives across the entire dairy industry food chain. It provides financial support for programs that nurture the next generation of dairy leaders, develop the skills of current dairy farmers and strengthen the bond of trust between consumers and producers.
Dairy’s Foundation supports dairy’s future by providing funding for programs such as Dairy Managers Institute®, Cornerstone Dairy Academy®, Stride® Youth Leadership Conference, Financial Literacy for Dairy®, PDP Mentor Program and more. The foundation also awards grants of up to $5,000 twice yearly for initiatives across the country that fulfill one or more of the foundation’s focus areas. For more information on grant opportunities and other programs, visit www.dairyfoundation.org.
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