Continuing education helps dairy feed consumers more efficiently
By Darren Turley
TAD Executive Director
Dairy producers from Texas and across the region gathered in early March in Amarillo for the High Plains Dairy Conference. As usual, this two-day event was full of interesting and informative speakers who addressed diverse issues of interest to producers. The conference continues to develop into one of the best dairy industry conferences in the country, and outstanding attendance proves it, with more than 500 attendees this year.
The breadth of educational seminars shows that the knowledge it takes to be a successful dairy farmer in today’s world continues to grow and evolve.
Texas’ continued growth in milk production goes hand-in-hand with the development of the High Plains Dairy Conference.
Texas dairy farmers are exceptional at assimilating and then adopting new ideas that can increase the profitability and productivity of their farms. This could be new methods of milk production or practices to keep cows healthy. All this information is covered at the High Plains Dairy Conference every two years.
These two leading-edge topics are examples of the quality information that has been presented at the High Plains Dairy Conference in recent years and then implemented by dairy farmers:
- Beef-on-dairy
A growing number of dairy farmers are diversifying their income by breeding and selling beef-on-dairy cross calves. The beef market is very interested in this hybrid that produces very good quality meat while being traceable to its originating farm and breeding information, two points of information that are important to the market. Dairy producers can quickly adapt their breeding programs to include beef genetics into their calves and provide the feedlot industry a continuous supply of calves for decades to come.
- Methane emissions
Methane capturing technology is being implemented on several dairy farms across the state. This is another way to diversify a dairy farm’s income potential while continuing the industry’s commitment to the environment.
Other topics on this year’s agenda were unimaginable just a few years ago, showing that while dairying has been around for generations, it continues to move forward. For example, attendees heard presentations on emissions reduction technology, the use of AI now and in the future, and data integration. Technology in particular makes it an exciting time to be in the dairy industry, which, at its core, is still about taking care of cows and producing milk to feed a growing population.
The wealth of “continuing education” supplied through the High Plains Dairy Conference, jointly coordinated by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and New Mexico State University Dairy Extension, as a part of the educational activities provided by the U.S. Dairy Education and Training Consortium, are just another reason Texas continues to be one of our nation’s leading milk producers.