USA - World Dairy Expo is Oct. 3-7 in Madison, Wisconsin
Published:September 29, 2006
Source :World Dairy Expo
World Dairy Expo 2006 will be Oct. 3-7 at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison.
The theme for the show is "Dairy Central."
Things get under way with the Central National Ayrshire Show on Tuesday and culminate with the parade of champions and selection of the 2006 supreme champion on Saturday. Among this year's judges is Larry Tande of Medford, Minn. Tande will judge the Central National Brown Swiss Show.
In addition to some of the best purebred dairy cattle in the world and a trade show that features the newest technology and dairy-related items from throughout the world, there are many other opportunities to learn about the industry.
CowParade Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board will share a sample of the 101 cow statues during World Dairy Expo. The statues will be in various locations around the grounds. The rest of the herd may be found scattered around Madison.
About 50 of the painted cows will be sold at a live auction on Nov. 10 at the Alliant Energy Center. The remaining cows will be sold online Nov. 11 to Nov. 25. All proceeds will benefit the American Family Children's Hospital and designated charities.
The World's Forage Analysis Superbowl offers growers from across the United States and Canada an opportunity to showcase their high quality forage production and the chance to win prizes from.
Award-winning forages will be on display in the Arena Building, and final scores will be posted so visitors can compare how their forages stack up to the top-notch contest samples.
Staff from the AgSource Soil and Forage Laboratory will be on hand each day of the show to answer forage-related questions.
In addition, the World's Forage Analysis Superbowl will offer mini-seminars presented by experts who also will answer questions.
Experts from the USDA-Agricultural Research Services, U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center, University of Wisconsin and other research centers will update you on the latest findings in forage research.
Some of the most efficient dairy operations from coast to coast will be featured in World Dairy Expo's 2006 Virtual Farm Tour program.
Attendees can take advantage of touring operations from Wisconsin, Kansas, Minnesota, California, Michigan and Manitoba, Canada without leaving the Expo grounds.
The tours will be presented Tuesday through Saturday in the Exhibition Hall meeting rooms.
Among this year's featured farms is Barka Dairy of Litchfield, Minn. Their tour will be at noon Oct. 5.
In 2005, Josh and Dan Barka moved most of their 275 cow herd from a 1970s free-stall barn to a new, curtain-sided, compost bedded barn.
They continue to expand the herd, housing first calf heifers in the original freestall barn.
Fellow producers and industry experts will share different ways to make dairy operations more profitable as part of World Dairy Expo's 2006 Education Seminars.
Topics address careers in agriculture, media relations with agriculture, high forage diets, value-added marketing, management, distillers grain, hiring employees, ideal body conditions for cows, milk urea nitrogen and hypocalcemia. There will be two seminars each day, Tuesday through Saturday. Seminars are structured with a half-hour presentation and time for discussion. Monsanto Dairy Business, Organic Valley, Cargill Animal Health, Merial and West Central are sponsors of this year's seminars. Following is a brief synopsis of the material that will be covered in each presentation.
