This year’s Dairy Research Foundation Symposium returns to face-to-face format combining a series of guest speakers with on-farm sessions.
The symposium will be held on July 19 and 20 at the Forster Club and visiting Manning Valley Dairy at Taree.
With the theme of Unlocking the Potential, the program tackles issues such as ways to reduce income volatility, thriving after adversity, what young employees want and learnings from the first year of Dairy UP research projects.
A variety of panel discussions bring perspectives from farmers, leading researchers, advisers and the industry’s next generation.
On day one, July 19, DRF director and Dairy UP lead Professor Yani Garcia will speak.
The pros, cons, dollars and sense of lifting dairy productivity and profitability through farm intensification will be debated, with guest farmers including Colin Thompson, from Cowra and Simon Scowen, from Taree, along with Ian Lean (Scibus), Karen Romano (Dairy Australia) and Sheena Carter (NSW DPI).
The first day will also look at managing people and climatic adversity to de-risk dairying.
A panel of young Ag graduates will share what motivated them to choose a dairy career, elements of the job and conditions they value and what would tempt them to move on.
Dairy consultant Neil Moss (Scibus) will speak, with Taree dairy farmers Trevor Middlebrook and Sam Nicholson also contributing.
The last topic for the first day will address better milk and dairy beef markets coping with price volatility.
A new range of market options, such as future markets and supply-chain agreements, commonly used in other industries, are now becoming available for dairy and beef products.
Cameron Renshaw (Calflink), Tim Jude (StoneX) and Scott Briggs (AMPI) will explain what is in it for Australian dairy farmers.
Topics on day two, July 20, will include remote management of grazing and feeding, intensification planning and emerging scientists competition.
For more information or to register, phone Kirsty Jaensch on (02) 4601 8823, go to https://bit.ly/3HjlGBv or email kirsty.jaensch@sydney.edu.au