From dairying around the world to safety around the farm, the 2013 PDPW Business Conference will bring timely and useful information to today's dairy producers and other industry professionals, March 12-13 at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison.
The conference theme "Recharge!" is fitting for this annual educational event, as it has become a place for dairy producers to reconnect with industry friends, rethink ways to handle on-farm tasks and business challenges, and plug in to industry issues that require dairy producer leadership.
"'Recharge' is our way of saying, 'Never tire of doing what is right – for the land, our animals, our employees and our customers,'" says Mark Diederichs, president of the PDPW board of directors. "When dairy producers come together for this conference each year, we draw strength from each other, build our professional networks, and recommit to PDPW's vision of leading the success of the dairy industry."
This year's keynote speaker line-up includes headliners that will broaden horizons beyond the farm gate.
"Dairying Around the World" features an international panel of dairy producers who will talk about milk pricing, cost of production, feed availability and other factors affecting their bottom line. Panelists include Andrew MacFarlane, New Zealand; Jane Dyson, England; and Jaime Suarez, Mexico.
In "No Place But Up!" Wisconsin veterinarian Lance Fox shares amazing photos and video of the fulfillment of his dream to climb Mount Everest.
In "Generations, Start Your Engines!" Seth Mattison will offer practical insights that help people from different generations rev up productivity without causing sparks to fly.
Former professional baseball player Jim Morris, inspiration for the Hollywood movie, "The Rookie," tells his real-life story in a way that can ignite passion for overcoming odds.
Frank Miles died in a hang gliding accident and lived to tell about it, thanks to emergency room doctors who revived him. He provides the comic relief at Tuesday evening's dinner in his high-energy presentation, "Laugh at Fear."
The entire conference is emceed by the knowledgeable and vivacious Dennis Frame, co-director of the University of Wisconsin Discovery Farms program.