Reynoldsburg, Ohio, May 9, 2017—The latest on national dairy policy issues and a new, easy-to-use tool for auditing on-farm energy use and greenhouse gas emissions will be the focus of presentations by two invited speakers for the AJCA-NAJ Annual Meetings in Gettysburg, Penn.
The big four ag topics in Washington, D.C.—immigration, trade, tax reform and the Farm Bill—will be discussed by Charlie Garrison, founder and president of The Garrison Group LLC, during the fifty-ninth annual meeting of National All-Jersey Inc. on Friday, June 23.
Founded in 1997, The Garrison Group is a Washington, D.C.-based public affairs firm specializing in food, agriculture and energy policy and communications. Garrison provides regular briefings on legislative affairs to the NAJ Board of Directors and coordinated the three Congressional fly-ins organized for NAJ and AJCA members since 2014.
Garrison was raised on a central Indiana dairy and row crop farm and earned a B.S. in Animal Science from Purdue University. After 10 years as a partner in the family farm, he accepted a staff position in Chicago with the Beef Industry Council, the checkoff funded promotion and research arm of the beef industry that is now part of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. While in Chicago he studied at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. In 1992, Garrison moved to Washington, D.C. to create the position of Director of Industry Relations for the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board. He remained in that role during and after the merger of the National Dairy Board staff and programs into Dairy Management Inc. (DMI).
The third component of the National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) program will be one of the two seminar presentations slated for Wednesday, June 21.
Released in mid-February, the FARM Environmental Stewardship module uses a limited set of questions to provide comprehensive estimates of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy use per pound of milk produced on dairy farms. Program manager Ryan Bennett, Senior Director of Industry and Environmental Affairs at the National Milk Producers Federation, will explain how the FARM ES audit can track gains in production efficiency, increase sustainability, and reduce cost of production.
Bennett was Director of Government Relations for NMPF during the 2014 Farm Bill and played a key role enlarging the organization’s focus on conservation policy. Prior to this position, he held the position of Director of Public Policy Relations at the National Grain and Feed Association. Ryan has a Master of Agribusiness degree from Kansas State University where he also received his undergraduate education.
The first seminar on Wednesday’s program will be on the 2017 updates to Jersey Performance Index, presented by AJCA staff.
Registration is now open for the 2017 Annual Meetings at the Wyndham Gateway Gettysburg, Hotel. Early-bird registration fees and special hotel rates are offered through Friday, May 26. Details are posted at usjerseyannualmeeting.com.
The American Jersey Cattle Association, organized in 1868, compiles and maintains animal identification and performance data on Jersey cattle and provides services that support genetic improvement and greater profitability through increasing the value of and demand for Registered Jersey™ cattle and genetics, and Jersey milk and milk products. For more information on the association’s complete line of services for dairy business owners, visit the website at USJersey.com or connect on Facebook at US Jersey.
Source: AJCA