TREASURE ISLAND RESORT & CASINO | WELCH, MN
MN Milk partners with MFA, UMDIA for annual conference
Collaboration to benet many sectors of industry By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
BUFFALO, Minn. – Minnesota’s dairy and forage industries will convene in a few weeks for a conference unlike any other event of its kind. Minnesota Milk Producers Association is hosting their annual dairy conference and expo in collaboration with Midwest Forage Association and the Upper Midwest Dairy Industry Association. The event is set for Dec. 3-4 at Treasure Island Resort and Casino in Welch. “The purpose of the expo is to connect the farmer side of the industry with people in the industry,” said Jenna Davis, MMPA Education Director. “Each organization has a niche part of the industry that can benet from this partnership.” The conference will function similarly to events in the past but with educational sessions also catering to forage producers, eld representatives and
Minnesota Department of Agriculture inspectors. During this event, both MMPA and UMDIA will host their annual meetings, while MFA will use the conference as the second leg in their Tour de Forage educational series. “We have a great lineup of speakers for the forage track,” said Chelsea Russell, MFA local council director. “Our speakers are not necessarily dairy specic, but will focus on forage production for dairy, beef and forage producers.” MFA’s educational sessions will be solely Wednesday, Dec. 4, with their line-up of speakers similar to the Tour de Forage events that same week in central and northeast Minnesota. Each educational session will be catered towards special interests; however, the keynote speakers should create a crossover between the three organizations, said Russell. On the rst day of the conference, Tuesday, Dec. 3, speaker and author Jack Uldrich will lead the discussion with his presentation, “The Big AHA: How to Embrace Today’s Trends to Create Tomorrow’s Opportunities.” Then, the following day, Dr. Dan Undersander will take the stage as the keynote speaker on behalf of the Tour de Forage program. The University of Wisconsin professor emeritus will present,
KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR
Mark Enninga, dairy territory manager for Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health, talks with Gary and Karissa Wingert on Nov. 27 at the Minnesota Milk Dairy Conference and Expo in Welch, Minn. The Wingerts dairy farm near Dover, Minn. “New Ideas for Your Alfalfa Management.” “There’s really going to be something for everybody,” Russell said.
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In 2018, roughly 500 farmers and vendors convened for MMPA’s annual conference at the casino. Turn to PARTNERS | Page 2