Expo Seminars

Tuesday, September 29, 1 p.m.

“The Time is Right for a Succession Plan”
Dan Rupar, Attorney, Ruder Ware, L.L.S.C.
Sponsored By: Compeer Financial
Continuing Education Credits: ARPAS (1), RACE (1)

While 78 percent of families intend to pass their business on to their children, only 34 percent have created a succession plan.  Succession planning can help minimize surprises and future disagreements that arise from the highly charged atmosphere surrounding ownership transfer. The key to having a successful transition is starting the discussions early. This presentation is intended to open the conversation between owners and potential successors. Dan Rupar has considerable experience resolving the sensitive issues and complex legal matters that often go hand-in-hand when planning for the succession of your business. In his 23 years as a business attorney and estate planning professional, Rupar has worked with a number of farm families, assisting them in laying the foundation for future success. He has a particular skill in identifying and finding creative ways to resolve the legal, tax, financial and family conflict issues that are obstacles to successful transition planning.  

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Wednesday, September 30, 11 a.m.

"Feed Refusals: Waste or Cost of Doing Business?”
Dr. J.W. Schroeder, Associate Professor and Extension Dairy Specialist, North Dakota State University
Sponsored By: DeKalb
Continuing Education Credits: ARPAS (1), RACE (1)

Efficiency in feed bunk management suggests the lower the refusal, the better, at least from an economical perspective. Feed costs represent the single largest variable expense of producing milk. The economic incentives for creating a well thought out plan that includes monitoring and correctly managing weigh-backs as an effective tool in controlling feed costs. Dr. J.W. Schroeder, associate professor and extension dairy specialist at North Dakota State University, will discuss the issues around refused feed. Dr. Schroeder’s primary focus is on nutritional physiology for lactating and dry cows and heifer-rearing methods. He has published investigations of applied nutrition with byproduct feeds, pulse crops and oilseeds high in comega-3 fatty acids. Dr. Schroeder is also a member of the I-29 Dairy Outreach Consortium and the American Dairy Science Association.      

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Wednesday, September 30, 1 p.m.

“Adding Value to Calves by Breeding to Beef”
Jerry Wulf, Partner, Wulf Cattle
Sponsored By: Hubbard Feeds, Inc. 
Continuing Education Credits: ARPAS (1), RACE (1)

Wulf Cattle is one of the largest genetics-to-rail beef operations in the U.S. with 1,500 Registered Limousin and Lim-Flex females and 50,000 head of fed cattle marketed annually. In 2012, Wulf Cattle partnered with semen companies to launch their “Breeding to Feeding” program, which has sold over 225,000 units of Limousin and Lim-Flex to dairies across the U.S. The farm also runs a successful “Calf Buy Back” program which allows dairymen to add value to their bull calves by producing superior crossbred beef calves. In this presentation, Wulf will share his successes in providing the dairy industry with value-added genetics through breeding dairy cows to beef, while supplying the beef industry with high quality feeder cattle to help fill their feedyards.

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Thursday, October 1, 11 a.m. 

“Defining Factors That Create a Quality Heifer”
Dr. Michael Van Amburgh, Cornell University
Sponsored By: Land O’Lakes Animal Milk Products Company
Continuing Education Credits: ARPAS (1), RACE (1)

What does it take to produce a “quality” heifer and how do we know this? These are the questions Dr. Mike Van Amburgh will address, focusing on factors related to calf inputs and management, expectations for performance and the cost/benefit relationship from birth through weaning. Dr. Van Amburgh’s research program focuses on understanding the nutrient requirements and development of dairy calves and heifers. His work has evolved into describing and working to understand factors in neonatal life that establish lifetime productivity functions and outcomes. Dr. Van Amburgh currently works as a professor in the Department of Animal Science at Cornell University where he teaches multiple courses in Dairy Management. He also leads the development of the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System, a nutrition evaluation and formulation model used worldwide.   

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Thursday, October 1, 1 p.m.

“Design Criteria for Robotic Milking Barns”
Jack Rodenburg, DairyLogix
Sponsored By: Bayland Buildings, Inc. 
Continuing Education Credits: ARPAS (1), RACE (1)

Cow flow, traffic systems, feed and bedding delivery, manure removal, handling capabilities, foot baths, training new heifers and dealing with transition and special needs cows are all a bit different in a successful robotic milking barn. This seminar offers practical experience and research results on barn layouts, with an emphasis on minimizing labor, optimizing cow comfort and accommodating normal cow behavior. Jack Rodenburg will address these issues in barns for traditional, single box robots as well as double and multi-box systems. Rodenburg has conducted more than 100 seminars on barn design and herd management all over the world through his business, DairyLogix. As a Canadian dairy extension specialist for 34 years, he was there when the first commercial robotic milking systems in North America were installed. He soon recognized the potential of the new technology and has been involved as a farm advisor, researcher and barn designer ever since.    

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Friday, October 2, 11 a.m.

“Apps for Dairying: An Application for Calving Management”
Dr. Gustavo Schuenemann, Associate Professor, College of Veterinary Medicine – Ohio State University
Sponsored By: Calf-Star
Continuing Education Credits: ARPAS (1), RACE (1)

Calving-related losses and welfare practices have become well-known challenges facing the dairy industry worldwide. Management practices have been associated with these problems, however successful identification of the risk factors can be challenging. The use of applications for smart, touch-screen devices provides an opportunity to assess, in real time, several events occurring in dairy herds every day. Dr. Shuenemann will provide an example of this technology for calving management and will discuss its pros and cons as well as the economic implications. Dr. Schuenemann’s primary areas of research as an Associate Professor and Dairy Extension Veterinarian at the Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine at The Ohio State University includes transition cow management with an emphasis on calving-related losses, dairy personnel performance and the use of risk assessment tools for decision making.   

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Friday, October 2, 1 p.m.

“Agroterrorism Threat Briefing and Roles of Law Enforcement”
Stephen Goldsmith DVM, WMD Directorate-Biological Countermeasures Unit, HQ, FBI
Sponsored By: Quality Liquid Feeds, Inc. 
Continuing Education Credits: ARPAS (1), RACE (1)

Agricultural terrorism is a primarily economic attack against the U.S. that targets livestock and food crops. This seminar will describe the use of animal and crop diseases as asymmetrical warfare tools and what the indicators and triggers of these attacks are. As a longtime employee of the FBI and Army National Guard and Reserve veteran, Stephan Goldsmith DVM will present the role of law enforcement and agriculture agencies in the joint investigation of intentional criminal or terrorist attacks against agriculture. Goldsmith currently serves in the WMD Directorate-Biological Countermeasures Unit for the FBI as an agricultural terrorism subject matter expert. Previously, he served six years in the Hazardous Material Science Response Unit of the FBI Laboratory Division, and was a Field Veterinary Medical Officer and FAD Diagnostician with USDA-APHIS-Veterinary Services in Georgia, Bolivia and North Carolina. He also worked as the Assistant Bureau Chief at the Bureau of Contagious and Infectious Diseases with the Florida Department of Agriculture State Veterinarian’s Office as was in private large animal practice in South Georgia for 10 years.  

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Saturday, October 3, 11 a.m.

“Lameness in Dairy Cattle: Causes and Consequences”
Dr. J.K. Shearer, Professor, Iowa State University
Sponsored By: Hoof Supervisor
Continuing Education Credits: ARPAS (1), RACE (1)

Lameness represents the most costly clinical disease in dairy cattle with disorders affecting the individual claw or hoof, infectious diseases of the foot skin and a variety of conditions that affect the upper limb. Minimizing the impact of lameness on performance, profit and cow welfare requires early detection, prompt diagnosis and the application of effective therapy. Knowing the causes of lameness can help us define more effective control and prevention strategies. Dr. Shearer is a Professor and Extension Veterinarian for the College of Veterinary Medicine at Iowa State University. He currently serves as the Chair of the Food Animal Working Group of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Panel on Euthanasia and is a member of the AVMA Panel on Humane Slaughter. Dr. Shearer has received the AVMA Animal Welfare Award in 2011, and the Alpharma Award of Excellence from the American Association of Bovine Practitioners.     

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*This program was reviewed and approved by AAVSB RACE program for continuing education. Please contact the AAVSB RACE program at race@aavsb.org if you have any comments/concerns regarding this programs validity or relevance to the veterinary profession. AAVSB RACE provider World Dairy Expo # 395.