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Here's a dairy opportunity! How does it sound to take 3 days away from the farm, travel with a chartered bus with dairy farming friends to Madison, Wisconsin, hear a tremendous assortment of timely information at the PDPW Business Conference, network with hundreds of other dairy farmers and industry folks, and top it off with a visit to 2 dairy farms that are considered some of the best in the country! All of this can be yours for $250 per person plus lodging.

We will be visiting the PDPW Business Conference at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison on March 18-19, staying at the brand new Holiday Inn Express & Suites at special nightly rate of $109+tax, which is walking distance from the conference, and then visiting Crave Brothers and Rosy-Lane Holsteins on March 20 before heading home.

This trip is a $600 value, but because we have received grants from the PDP Foundation and Indiana State Department of Agriculture, as well as other industry support, we are able to offer this trip to you for a huge discount.

This is what's included: transportation from Lafayette, Fair Oaks or Merrillville, all meals except for Friday's quick lunch, and conference registration (normally $400 alone) ALL for $250! Because of obligations that we must meet, we are requiring non-refundable pre-payment for this trip. Your IDP membership dues must be up-to-date, and we will accept cash, check and credit cards. 

Download a registration form with more information and a tour agenda here. If you prefer to pay by credit card, call LuAnn Troxel at 219-508-3433 who can take your credit card and registration information over the phone. This is an opportunity that you do not want to miss! As of this time, the bus is about half full, so we have plenty of room for YOU! DEADLINE IS MARCH 6, FIRM!

As you know, agriculture has been a part of our Indiana culture for centuries and we are confident the industry and our farmers will thrive in the future.  However, we have to bring others to the table and engage them in a conversation about how agriculture is building a better Indiana. This forum is brought to you by Indiana Soybean Alliance and other key stakeholders.
 
For this year's Forum, we invite you to "pull up a seat" and join us in a conversation about the dollars and sense of agriculture.  As we all know, our local communities are looking for economic development opportunities and Indiana agriculture is the partnership that has always been the foundation for success in the local community. -and the Beyond the Fence Awards brought to you by Beck's Hybrids.
The Indiana Dairy Producer's annual meeting then begins at 1:30 PM. This includes announcing the dairy producer of the year awards, a short business meeting and crisis preparedness training (see article below).
 
Please visit www.indianasoybean.com/forum to register for the forum and the IDP annual meeting or just click here.

 

"There's no harm in hoping for the best, as long as you are prepared for the worst." -Stephen King

 

Are you prepared to handle a manure spill on your farm? A natural disaster? An activist protest or undercover video? An INS raid?

 

Indiana Dairy Producers is partnering with the American Dairy Association Indiana Inc, your Indiana dairy checkoff, to help producers prepare and recover from a potential on-farm crisis.  

 

The training will take place immediately following the business portion of the IDP annual meeting on March 16th at 1:30 PM at the Indianapolis Convention Center downtown. This meeting follows the Livestock Forage & Grain Forum. There is no cost to attend the IDP annual meeting. However, there is a $25 cost to attend the morning forum and lunch.  

 

The dairy industry has an extensive, industry-wide crisis plan for a variety of potential farm crises, from foreign animal diseases to radiation leaks to undercover videos.

 

After attending this crisis training you will:

 

�Have a written crisis plan

�Have a list of emergency contacts

�Have a crisis PR plan

�Know which crisis events are most likely on your farm

�Have an understanding of the dairy industry's overall crisis plan

�Understand the role of the dairy checkoff in a crisis situation

�Know how to call upon your support system for aid during a crisis

 

Whether a crisis is occurs on your farm, a neighbor's farm, or in the media, you will be prepared to respond and recover. The dairy industry crisis plan will allow all farmers, processors, and industry groups to speak with one voice to support each other. Being able to survive a crisis situation is part of what makes a dairy farm a sustainable family business in this information age.

 

For more information on the training, contact Jackie Barber (barber@winnersdrinkmilk.com or 317-842-3060).

 

To register for the IDP Annual Meeting, click here. Make sure you check the box indicating you are attending the "optional dairy meeting" during registration.

Please give a warm IDP welcome to First Farmer's Bank & Trust, our new IDP Gold Sponsor, and read the note below about this farmer-friendly bank! 

 

First Farmers Bank & Trust is committed to holding true to our roots as an institution with a passion for helping our neighbors and our community.  We are convinced that the best way to do that is by combining the most modern financial products with the most old-fashioned ideals of customer service.  

 

With over 500 years of combined experience in Agriculture, we continue to provide customized programs that meet just about any financing need.  As part of our commitment to Agriculture, we are always proud to support local producers and the Indiana Dairy Producers organization.    

 

Visit First Farmers website here or contact Doug Wilcox at FFBT at (260) 359-2165.  

Tom Fuhrmann, DVM

It was wonderful to have such good participation at the IDP Regional Dairy Meetings. Nearly 250 people attended the northern meetings in Middlebury, Shipshewana and Decatur. Tom Fuhrman was the keynote speaker at the meetings, and his dynamic style made it difficult for even the earliest-rising dairy farmer to fall asleep after the provided lunches.

To recap just a few notes that Dr. Fuhrmann made at this talks, he was able to drive the point home that facilities, cows and feed can all be re-created in similar fashion, but management isn't on auto-pilot. Truly management is what separates many farms from reaching their true potential of quality, efficiency and profitability. The managers that can accomplish these three things well will be better poised for efficiency and profitability. Specifically, management is:

• Systems of work that are in control
• People that implement work systems correctly
• Monitoring to assure that both people and systems are in control

See our pictures from all 6 Regional Dairy Meetings here.
Read the Farmer's Exchange article on this topic here.

Maurer-Stutz became a sponsor of IDP just after the first of the year, but they soon realized they wanted to go even higher. We welcome them as a Gold level sponsor at this time, and we invite you to learn more about this innovative engineering company.

Maurer-Stutz, Inc., a Midwestern provider of engineering services, is pleased to

announce the official opening of its new office in Muncie, Indiana. Aaron Orebaugh, PE, leads the Muncie office which will initially focus primarily on agricultural and general civil/infrastructure projects including permit assistance and site design for livestock production facilities, livestock waste storage and treatment system design, and nutrient management planning (including CNMPs). This new office is located at 5830 West Kilgore Avenue in Muncie, Indiana.

   

Client-focused...quality and efficiency driven...integrity bound. At Maurer-Stutz, Inc. these are the basic tenets that serve as our belief system, binding our team members together and underpinning our fundamental approach to our relationships with our valued clients and their needs. Our company slogan, "Working with you by design", encompasses the spirit of our firm's client-focused philosophy and our dedication to providing creative, cost-effective solutions to engineering challenges in water, wastewater, stormwater, transportation, general civil, structural, agricultural, land surveying and environmental infrastructure.

 

Our professionals have dedicated their careers to partnering with our clients to develop cost-effective, workable solutions to address infrastructure challenges. Thus, whatever challenges your infrastructure provides, you can be confident that our team members at Maurer-Stutz, Inc. have very likely faced these very same issues during their careers. Let us put that comprehensive experience to work for you.

Contact Aaron Orebaugh at (765) 273-6228 or visit their website here.

Stewart-Peterson presented an exclusive webinar for IDP members on Feb. 11th where their marketing experts discussed current milk market and feed conditions. They also discussed "hedging your hedge" and gave insight on understanding the milk curve. To view and listen to the full webinar at your convenience, click the archive recording link here.

Farmers who are considering succession planning would benefit from CliftonLarsonAllen's one day workshop with Farm Journal's Legacy Project on March 5. The workshops offer hands-on training, featuring three speakers who are experts in succession planning, tax and legal issues. Also, you will use a step-by-step workbook to assist in your readiness and help with implementation of your plan. Click here for more details and register here.