• Jon Greenwood and Rick Zimmerman to Receive the PRO-DAIRY Agriservice Award
• Empire Farm Days Dairy Profit Seminars 2016
• New Forage Management Resources Available
• Bunker Silo Safety Partnership
• PRO-DAIRY is Recruiting for the Next Class of the Academy for Dairy Executives
• Save the Date: Operations Managers Conference and the Herd Health and Nutrition Conference

Jon Greenwood and Rick Zimmerman to Receive the PRO-DAIRY Agriservice Award

NYS Agriculture Commissioner Richard Ball and PRO-DAIRY Director Thomas Overton will present the PRO-DAIRY 2016 Agriservice Awards to Jon Greenwood, Greenwood Dairy, Canton and Rick Zimmerman, Executive Director, Northeast Agribusiness and Feed Alliance, Albany during Dairy Day at the NYS Fair on Monday, August 29. These awards are given in appreciation and recognition of outstanding contributions to NYS agriculture through support of the PRO-DAIRY program.

"Both Jon and Rick have been excellent supporters of PRO-DAIRY programs and tremendous leaders within the New York dairy industry. Jon is an active collaborator on applied research and through his co-leadership of the Northern NY Agricultural Development Program has been a staunch ally to applied research and extension. Rick is a longstanding partner for PRO-DAIRY programs and has worked to enhance these programs through his role as Executive Director of the Northeast Agribusiness and Feed Alliance, and more recent efforts to make on-farm renewable energy strategies more achievable for our New York farms," Dr. Overton said.

View the 2016 Agriservice Awards release on PRO-DAIRY's website.

Empire Farm Days Dairy Profit Seminars 2016 Recap

This year's Dairy Profit Seminars at Empire Farm Days featured Enhanced Herd Health through Effective Protocol Management, Spreading the Word – Manure: The Planning and Implementation Process, and The Changing Labor Environment – Responses and Approaches. Supplementary articles are featured in the July 2016 The Manager issue in DAIRYBUSINESS & HOLSTEIN WORLD.

For more information about PRO-DAIRY, visit prodairy.cals.cornell.edu. 

Julie Berry, Editor  |  Tom Overton, Director  |  Facebook

PRO-DAIRY's Forage Management Specialist Joe Lawrence and collaborators at Cornell University and Cornell Cooperative Extension have created new Forage Management Resources in response to current needs. They are posted under the "Resources" section of the Production Management tab on PRO-DAIRY's website.

• Setting the Stage for Success: Corn Silage Harvest
• Late Summer Alfalfa Harvest? Take Labor Day Off!
• Resources for Forage Management in a Drought Situation
  

NEDPA, NYFB, NYCAMH, PRO-DAIRY and a team of dairy producers have formed a committee to work with OSHA and NY DOL industrial safety experts to review bunker silo related activities to identify practical safety recommendations for dairy farm operators. This fall, we will be working with willing farms to photograph and video filling, packing and covering for review with the committee. Farms will be anonymous and review will be at a neutral location, so no citations can be issued. We are still working out how this can be done but are seeking drone related options for optimal all around safety. 

The NYS OSHA Work Group also on August 19 released an e-Alert with Bunker Silo Safety Tips.

The next Academy for Dairy Executives will be held in Western New York, beginning in December 2016. The Academy for Dairy Executives Program (Academy) is an educational opportunity that is designed to provide progressive young dairy executives and agriservice personnel the opportunity to increase their knowledge of the leadership and management skills necessary to run a successful dairy. The Academy provides a forum for producers to learn and interact with each other and the presenters during three one-night sessions over four months.

Save the Date!

• Sponsorship opportunities are available for the Operations Managers Conference, scheduled for January 24 and 25, 2017 at the Holiday Inn, Liverpool/Syracuse. The conference theme is: Precision Management: Merging People, Cows, Crops and Technology. This conference provides an opportunity to increase management and operations skills and interact with other managers.
  

• The 2017 Herd Health and Nutrition Conference will be held on April 12, 2017 at the Holiday Inn, Liverpool/Syracuse, in collaboration with the Northeast Agribusiness and Feed Alliance. The Herd Health and Nutrition Conferences provide an opportunity for dairy producers, veterinarians, feed industry representatives and agriservice personnel to increase their knowledge of current herd health and nutrition management techniques while interacting with other professionals.