DAIRY NEWS – Managing people is a different ball game than managing dairy calves and cows, and it is just as important to successful dairying. Dairy Managers Institute®, presented by Professional Dairy Producers® (PDP), is a management and leadership program designed to build on the core communications skills critical to those who are or will be managing others.
Developed for dairy producers and industry professionals alike, the program will be held Dec. 16-17, 2025, at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College in Green Bay, Wis. The three-tiered program will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Tues., Dec. 16, and conclude at 4:00 p.m. on Wed., Dec. 17. Tiers focus successively on leadership styles, coaching techniques, business financials and negotiations. While not strictly necessary, attendees are encouraged to register for the program’s tiers in succession. All three tiers will be simultaneously translated into Spanish.
Upon registration, participants select one of three training tiers to complete:
Tier One: “Lead and manage with insight”
Led by Dr. Becky Stewart-Gross, PhD, president and founder of Building Bridges Seminars. Participants will learn strategies to:
- Distinguish between the four categories of leaders
- Identify one’s leadership and managerial strengths and weaknesses
- Recognize the differences between the skills of a manager and those of a leader, and when to use each
- Implement change more effectively
- Understand how changes affect each team member, including oneself, and better assist others through change
Tier Two: “Master the Art of Coaching”
Led by Michael Hoffman, founder and owner of Igniting Performance, Inc. Hoffman will provide tools and strategies to help attendees:
- Create strategic approaches for management-coaching conversations to address the end of a project, upcoming change, setting expectations and more
- Identify personal and practical needs within a coaching interaction
- Effectively coach others with attention to self-esteem, listening skills, empathizing and recognizing the importance of involvement
- Generate buy-in and build commitment to an action plan
- Understand and deliver meaningful feedback
- Recognize one’s role in influencing those he/she manages
Tier Two: “Nail the Financials and Negotiations”
Led by Dr. Kevin Bernhardt, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Platteville agribusiness professor and UW-Extension farm & management specialist, and Linda Swindling, author and founder of Journey On! They will help attendees:
- Discover their dairy’s break-even mark and understand how to calculate a cost benefit
- Explore the principal elements of debt and how it works
- Experiment with different negotiation styles and learn to leverage them in discussions
- Recognize when to walk away and when to compromise
- Understand the value of renegotiating
- Identify perspectives from both sides of a discussion
- Learn the varying options and strategies to employ in negotiations
Registration is now open; registration fee includes materials and meals during sessions. For more details and lodging information visit www.pdpw.org or contact PDP at 800-947-7379. Each tier of Dairy Managers Institute is accredited for up to 14 Dairy AdvanCE continuing education credits.
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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