Dairy Management Seminar, Jan. 3

The 25th Annual Green County Area Dairy Management Seminar is slated Thursday, Jan. 3.

Sponsored by the Green County Milk Quality Council, in cooperation with UW-Extension, the seminar will run from 11:00 am-3:00 pm and will be held in the Multi-purpose room of the Green County Justice Center, 2841 6th St, Monroe.

The featured speakers for this year's program will include Dr. David Kammel, who is the UW ag engineer. Dr. Kammel has worked with farmers across Wisconsin and will share designs and talk about low-cost conversions of tie stall operations into new remodeled parlors and dairy housing.

Kammel will share many documented case family dairy farms that expanded while increasing cow comfort and reducing labor through well-designed and retrofitted milking parlors and dairy barns. Mike North, the sr. risk management advisor with First Capitol Ag will be on this year's program. North will examine the risks and opportunities prevalent in the 2013 milk market. He will also discuss strategies for managing milk price in such an environment.

Mark Mayer, UW-Extension agriculture agent, will also demonstrate some of the tools that UW-Extension has developed to determine feed values and which feeds are currently a good buy as dairy farmers struggle with high priced and limited availability of feeds after the drought of 2012.

Due to sponsorships by many local businesses the advance registration fee is only $5 and includes lunch. Registrations are due to the Green County UW-Extension Office by Dec. 27. An additional $2 late fee will be charged for registrations received after this date. Enrollment is limited to the first 60 participants who register.

Registration brochures are available at most Green County area dairy supply and service businesses, can be obtained via the internet at green.uwex.edu or by contacting Mayer at 608-328-9440.