Members of the National Association of Farm Broadcasters posed for a photo at World Dairy Expo. This is in the room sponsored by the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board for their 2008 Talk Session.
Basically, WMMB invites in a number of people who are available for interviews. I got several which will be featured in our Milking Parlor Podcast on World Dairy Diary later today. We used this opportunity for the photo since so many of these folks were working there already.
At last year’s World Dairy Expo we heard about the announcement of the National Dairy Animal Well-Being Initiative. This morning they released the official principles and guidelines. The facilitator for the Initiative is Charlie Arnot. He described the process that got us to this point and says that now it’s time for the Initiative to move to the next step. He used a chart that he calls the “Continuous Improvement Cycle” to show each of them. Next in the cycle after today for example is “Apply Principles & Guidelines to on-farm well-being programs.”
The National Dairy Animal Well-Being Initiative is a producer-led Coalition that includes members from every sector of the dairy industry. On October 2, 2008 at World Dairy Expo, the Coalition introduced the broad Principles and Guidelines — a uniform umbrella of assurance that the industry is meeting its ethical obligation for dairy animal well-being. Our goal is to protect consumer trust and confidence in the dairy industry by demonstrating dairy producers’ commitment to animal well-being.
Also on the program today was Pennsylvania dairy producer Logan Bower. He talked about how they’re already beginning to use the Initiative’s principles and guidelines in their state. Here’s an example of some talking points provided to producers by the Initiative.
Dairy Producer Talking Points
Developed by the National Dairy Checkoff
* As a dairy farmer, caring for my animals is my No. 1 priority so that I can provide the public with safe and wholesome dairy products. I work hard every day ensuring the comfort and safety of my animals and providing them a nutritious diet.
* Farmers in my community oppose/are outraged by the inhumane treatment of animals, whether on or off the farm. Farmers support government investigations into any allegations of animal abuse, including those that occur at meat processing facilities.
* Dairy farmers support government regulations that prohibit non-ambulatory, or “downer,” cattle from entering the food supply.
You can listen to the presentation with Charlie and Logan here: wdx-08-well-being.mp3
Where do farm broadcasters go in Madison, WI after the World Dairy Expo is over for the day?
Essen Haus. Where the boot is not allowed to touch the table. If you haven’t been to Essen Haus and don’t know what that means then you’ll have to ask one of these people.
All farm broadcasters are invited to the media room at 11:30 this morning for a photo that we can put in e-Chats.
This is a World Dairy Expo edition of “Guess Whose Boot.” Not boots, but boot.
It works like this. Guess by making a comment and the first person who gets it right will get an AgWired t-shirt.
So, guess away. It’s an easy one.
The University of Wisconsin Madison Badger Club is a grilled cheese sandwich making machine at World Dairy Expo. I would like to try one again this year but the line is too long and never seems to go down.
With 139 members, Badger Dairy Club (BDC) creates opportunities for the membership to engage in activities and experiences within the college, community and the ever progressing dairy industry.
Purpose of the Badger Dairy Club
1. To provide opportunities for fellowship, friendship, service and to grow socially
2. To provide an opportunity to enhance the educational experience
3. To promote dairy cattle, products and the dairy industry
4. To learn of occupation opportunities
5. To make available the opportunity to make professional connections
The first two people I got to know at World Dairy Expo were John Rozum (sales) and Lisa Behnke (media). In fact, World Dairy Diary grew out of an idea that John had several years ago now.
I spoke to them this morning and the main message is “larger,” meaning more people and more exhibitors. Some of the numbers they mention include 717 exhibitors this year and 216 media representatives. Wow. Opening day attendance was up according to Lisa.
You can listen to my interview with John and Lisa as part of our Milking Parlor Podcast: milking-parlor-31.mp3
I am now comfortably located in cool and brisk Madison, WI at World Dairy Expo. The media room is active and a number of us attended a breakfast time press conference given by WestfaliaSurge, now part of GEA Farm Technologies.
The CEO and President of GEA Farm Technologies is Vern Foster. He gave us a comprehensive presentation this morning (media and dealers) to explain the reasons behind the change and what that means for the company and its customers.
He says, “It’s to pull all of the organizations that are part of GEA Farm Technologies, Houle, Norbco, WestfaliaSurge, pull it under a common brand so it makes sense for the marketplace, makes sense for our investors, makes sense for our customers and our dealer distribution.” The GEA stands for Global Engineering Alliance, a 5.3 billion Euro company that operates in 50 countries. Vern says, “It helps us really re-focus under one umbrella as we continue to grow and create additional organizations and innovate into the field of agriculture.”
Since Houle, Norbco and WestfaliaSurge have separate sales forces he says they’ve been in discussion together to “offer a more total solutions package to a producer.”
He says you’ll start seeing the new GEA Farm Technologies brand at trade show and in their advertising. In fact, his business cards already show the new logo!
You can listen to Vern’s full presentation here: wdx-08-foster-presentation.mp3
You can also download the full presentation using this link (mp3 file).
You can also listen to an interview I did with Vern afterward as part of our Milking Parlor Podcast: milking-parlor-30.mp3
To subscribe to the Milking Parlor podcast, here are some instructions.
Here’s something you won’t see on the evening tv news. Soldier farmers helping rebuild the ag economy in Afghanistan. We’ve already seen this type of work being done in Iraq thanks to Paul McKellips. It looks like soldiers from several states are doing something similar to this in Afghanistan.
Despite recent progress, Afghanistan remains a poor country. Its agriculture industry, which employs 80 percent of all working Afghanis, hasn’t changed much in centuries. It is a nation that can’t feed itself without foreign aid.
To help change this, a pilot program called the Agribusiness Development Team (ADT) has been created. The effort is being led by Missouri National Guard members, many of whom are graduates of the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources.
The ADT effort is jointly coordinated by the U.S. Army, the Army National Guard, the Missouri National Guard, the University of Missouri, Lincoln University, the College of the Ozarks and the Missouri Farm Bureau. Soldiers in the field work directly with farmers while agriculture experts back in Missouri provide technical and research support.
“The Agribusiness Development Team is a novel partnership between the Missouri National Guard, retired military, farmers and universities to facilitate and educate Afghanis in the rebuilding of their agriculture economy,” said Maj. Gen. King Sidwell, adjutant general of the Missouri National Guard. “Missouri is the leader for this concept, which, if successful, will serve as a model for partnerships in other states.”
Here’s links to some more on this:
* National Guard to Help Afghan Agriculture
* Few good farmers’ heading to Afghanistan (PDF | 176 KB | See p. 8.)
* Soldiers Working with Afghan Farmers to Grow Wheat
Via the NAL Blog.
Harry Siemens – The Manitoba Chamber of Commerce warns the province’s proposed ban on swine industry development in eastern Manitoba will discourage the adoption of new technologies designed to make hog farming more environmentally friendly.
Bill 17, the Manitoba Environment Amendment Act, which bans swine barn construction or expansion in most of eastern Manitoba, passed the Manitoba Legislature on Wednesday, September 24 by a margin of 36 for and 19 against.
