Milkshed makeover is focus of July Dairy PROS

The Center for Dairy Excellence and the Penn State Extension Dairy Team will host the next series of Dairy PROS meetings in July, offering dairy industry professionals the opportunity to gather new ideas and shared insight to benefit their dairy farm customers. The July Dairy PROS Series will address a “Milkshed Makeover.”

“New products like Greek-style yogurt and dairy-based beverages are adding processing capacity to the Northeast dairy region. Higher milk quality requirements are also changing dairy customers’ expectations in the Northeast,” said John Frey, executive director of the Center for Dairy Excellence. “July’s Dairy PROS series will review this change and highlight how it will affect individual dairy farm operations in the next 5 – 10 years.”

Representatives from milk cooperatives and milk buyers will share their perspective on the evolution of the Northeast milkshed. The meetings will also give other participants the opportunity to share what they are seeing in their respective regions and to gather information from each other that they can take back to benefit their dairy farm customers and clients.

The “Take It to the Farm” section, a 30-minute segment of Dairy PROS when the Penn State Extension Dairy Team highlights strategies the dairy professionals can offer to their dairy clients, will address “Topping Off the Tank by Improving Cow Comfort.” Dan McFarland and John Tyson, Penn State Extension agricultural engineers, will discuss the correlation between cow comfort and improved milk production from a dairy facility standpoint.

Meeting dates and locations are listed below. All meetings will be from 8 – 9:30 a.m., with breakfast at 7:30 a.m.

• July 10, at the Farm and Home Center, 1383 Arcadia Road, Lancaster, Lancaster County.
• July 12, at the AgChoice Farm Credit office, 109 Farm Credit Drive, Chambersburg, Franklin County.
• July 17, at Celebration Hall, 2280 Commercial Blvd., State College, Centre County.
• July 19, at King’s Restaurant, 1920 Leesburg Road, Grove City, Mercer County.

The cost of Dairy PROS meetings is partially offset by a grant from the Department of Labor & Industry’s Workforce Investment Board. A new approach to registering for DairyPROS offers an incentive to companies that support the center’s Allies for Advancement Program.

If an organization is a supporter of the Allies for Advancement Program at any level above $250, any member of the organization can attend the Dairy PROS meetings at no charge. If the organization is not an Ally for Advancement, each member from that organization who attends the Dairy PROS meetings will be charged a $20 registration fee.

For more information or to register for the July series of Dairy PROS meetings, visit this website: www.centerfordairyexcellence.org and click on the “Dairy PROS” icon in the middle of the page. Questions about the Dairy PROS meeting series can be referred to Penn State Extension Dairy Team at 1-888-373-7232 or to the Center for Dairy Excellence at 717-346-0849.