DAIRY NEWS – Being able to think on your feet and speak intelligently about practical subjects is one of life’s most important skills. The 2025 STRIDE™ Youth Leadership Conference, presented by Professional Dairy Producers® (PDP), will give high school students a unique opportunity to practice these skills in a positive, high-energy environment facilitated by a world-class trainer.
The 2025 STRIDE conference will be held Wednesday, November 12, at University of Wisconsin-River Falls. The full-day event features leadership and communications training along with a campus tour, a ‘career connections’ activity and hands-on calf diagnostics experience. The 2025 STRIDE conference also qualifies as an “above the chapter level” activity for FFA members.
The communications workshop will be led by Michael Hoffman, founder and owner of Igniting Performance, Inc. Students will learn to:
- Think on their feet while gaining self-assurance to respond to questions and situations – off the cuff
- Command the room by learning strategies to project an authoritative presence with clarity and influence
- Lead with confidence and build skills that last far beyond high school
Dr. Joe Sanford, PhD, serves as a UW-Platteville School of Agriculture assistant professor and faculty researcher for the Wisconsin Dairy Innovation Hub. Sanford facilitated one of the STRIDE hands-on labs in 2024.
“I believe programs like STRIDE Youth Leadership Conference open students’ eyes to the wide range of potential career pathways within the dairy industry,” Sanford said. “When we hosted (the program) on our campus, students had the chance to learn directly from faculty in areas such as manure management, animal science, food science and agribusiness. This kind of exposure is valuable because it highlights the many critical roles that contribute to the success of the dairy industry.”
Registration is due Sunday, November 2. Designed for students ages 15 to 18, the program fee includes training materials, meals and a STRIDE t-shirt. Upon registration, a health form and waiver will be sent to a parent/guardian for a signature. This signed waiver is required for each student. Students will be chaperoned at all times.
To learn more and to register, visit www.PDPW.org or contact PDP at 800-947-7379. Follow along digitally in advance of and during the event by following @dairyPDPW on Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn.
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.
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