Message from the President
Message from DPC President Keith Hay
A very sincere Thank You to everyone who attended our 54th Annual Conference of the Dairy Practices Council in Nashville, TN last fall. Our pre-conference workshops on Automated Milking Systems, Preventative Maintenance for Pumps, Valves, Gaskets and Heat Exchangers and Environmental Monitoring and Sanitation Controls were informative and well received. We also enjoyed our first ever post conference tasting tour of Yee Haw Brewing Company. Positive feedback was obtained from the conference and the Executive Board has met since the conference to analyze the information received in the post-conference survey. The executive board appreciates the depth of your thoughts and suggestions to enhance the conference and the DPC organization. As a reminder, as you go about your work and travel, please continue to promote DPC. We grow as an organization by explaining the value of being a member and sharing your experience of attending the conference.
I would like to welcome a few new faces to Executive Board. Lisa Wetzel, Training and Outreach Unit Director for the MN Department of Ag, Dairy and Meat Inspection Division representing State Regulatory and April Skinner, Account Manager for Charm Sciences Inc. representing Industry Suppliers. We look forward to including their many years of dairy experience to further enrich our board and leadership as we plan our conferences and look to the future.
The board will be convening on April 10 & 11 in Cromwell, CT. We will be putting the plans in place for the 2024 Conference in Madison, WI, as well as looking ahead at hotels and logistics for the 2025 prospective conference location of Cromwell, CT.
Additionally, be sure to check out the newly revised and updated GL #073 Layout of Dairy Milkhouses for Small Ruminants and GL #078 Biosecurity for Sheep & Goat Dairies on your Member Compass. Not sure how to gain access to the Guidelines? Please contact Mary Wilcox and she will assist you.
As always, please reach out to me (khay@pa.gov) or our Executive VP Mary Wilcox (evp@dairypc.org) if you have any thoughts or comments. We look forward to seeing you in Wisconsin over some cheese curds!
