Indiana and Kentucky dairy producers will tour a series of north-central Indiana dairy operations when Purdue Extension and University of Kentucky Extension host the 2013 Kentuckiana Dairy Exchange July 30-31.
The annual event, which includes tours of six farms, this year will focus on ways technology can improve dairy operations. It also is an opportunity for dairy producers, farm employees and anyone interested in learning more about the dairy industry to meet with other industry and Extension professionals.
“The goal of the Kentuckiana Dairy Exchange is to actually provide a format where dairy producers can interact, have an opportunity to see other operations and hopefully get ideas that they can then bring back to their own farms,” said Tamilee Nennich, Purdue Extension dairy specialist and one of the event’s organizers.
Farms on the tour range in size from 140 cows to more than 3,000. Participants will see a variety of milking practices, as well as an organic grazing operation. They will tour three farms a day and presenters from the University of Kentucky will give a presentation on dairy technologies at a July 30 dinner.
“One of the things that we’ve tried to do this year with the dairy tours is to give a really big cross section of the dairy industry so people can be exposed to a lot of different types of dairying,” Nennich said.
Registration is $40 per person for members of the Indiana Dairy Producers or $100 for non-members. The event is sponsored by Indiana Dairy Producers and other industry organizations.
A block of rooms has been reserved until July 16 at the LaPorte Best Western, 444 Pine Lake Ave. A tour bus will leave from the hotel at noon on July 30, and tour registration will begin at 1 p.m. at Argos Holstein Farms.
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