Register now for the DRF Symposium
Click the image to go to the Registration page
Click the image to open the program
Back face to face – Tuesday 15th November and Wednesday 16th November
We invite you to attend the Dairy Research Foundation 2022 Symposium in Forster, NSW on Tuesday 15th and Wednesday 16th November,
This year the DRF Symposium, “Unlocking Potential”, will be held over two days providing the opportunity to hear the latest from Dairy UP and hot industry topics from a range of industry professionals, researchers and emerging scientists.
Program
Day 1 – Tuesday 15 November – 8:30am to 4:30pm – Club Forster.
Opening session with Jane Sherborne – DRF President, The Honourable Niall Blair – Chair Dairy UP Board; and Prof Yani Garcia, DRF Director and Dairy UP Lead.
Session 1: Lifting dairy productivity and profitability through farm intensification.
This session focusses on Intensification, without doubt one of the hottest topics in the Australian dairy industry today! We bring directly from USA, Courtney Halbach, a top expert in Free-Stall and Compost barn design with cow comfort and farm profitability as key goals. Courtney comes from the University of Wisconsin and will join, in person, Dairy UP researchers and farmers who have taken – or are taking – the path of intensification to understand the real pros and cons, and costs of intensification!
Guest farmers include: Colin Thompson, Cowra and Simon Scowen, Wingham, along with Ian Lean (Scibus), Karen Romano (Dairy Australia) and Sheena Carter (NSW DPI).
Session 2: Managing people and climatic adversity to de-risk dairying.
Here we tackle two of the biggest risks the dairy industry is facing into the future: skilled farm labour and climatic adversity. We hear from a panel of young ag graduates about what motivated them to choose a dairy career, elements of the job and conditions they value and what would tempt them to move on.
We find out how some dairy farmers manage to, not only overcome extreme climate events, but also grow in the process. Dairy consultant Neil Moss (Scibus) facilitates a discussion with dairy farmers Trevor Middlebrook (Taree) and Sam Nicholson (Taree).
Session 3: Better milk and dairy beef markets coping with price volatility: can farmers change from price ‘takers’ to price ‘makers’ for dairy and beef products..?
Dairy and beef farmers are largely price takers. As such, there is little they can do to change that reality – or is there? 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. We bring experts in these areas like Cameron Renshaw and Tim Jude (StoneX) to explain to us what can be done and what is in it for Australian dairy farmers.
Symposium Dinner 6:30pm to 10:30pm – Club Forster.
Enjoy dinner and drinks while mingling with the area’s dairy farmers and industry leaders. Smart Casual Theme – with a touch of black and white.
Ticket includes – three course meal, beer and wine. Please include your dietary requirements in the ticket purchase.
Day 2 – Wednesday 16th November – 8:30am to 1:30pm at Manning Valley Dairy
Come along for a field trip with lovely food at Manning Valley Dairy to hear from emerging scientists and farmers across 3 stations. A bus will be leaving from Club Forster at 7:30am. You may wish to drive your car to the farm, however, access may be impacted if there has been a lot of rain.
Station 1: Dairy UP’s P1 – Remote management of grazing and feeding
Station 2: Exploring the MVD’s dairy beef wagyu system
Station 3: Manning Valley Dairy: intensification planning
Morning tea and lunch to also be provided as part of the field trip to Manning Valley Dairy.
Emerging scientists’ competition
Young dairy scientists are encouraged to enter the Emerging Scientists competition which is held in conjunction with the Dairy Research Foundation Annual Symposium.
The competition showcases the next generation of dairy researchers, giving them an opportunity to present their project, it’s relevance to the Australian dairy industry and how the findings may be implemented on farm.
Each scientist has five minutes to deliver their presentation followed by some time for questions and discussion.
About Dairy UP
Dairy UP is a collaborative research, development and extension program for the NSW dairy industry. It aims to unlock the potential of pastures, cows, water and milk to increase productivity and profitability, and de-risk the industry and develop new markets.