Australia’s dairy industry is set to tackle some of the biggest issues facing the sector head-on at the Australian Dairy Conference in Canberra from February 19-21.
A bold and strong agenda focusing on leadership, antibiotic use, bobby calves, genetics and dairy diet wars is set to generate contentious debate as the nation’s dairy industry equips itself to tackle these big issues in the future.
Experts from around the globe have been invited to shine light from their independent perspective on where the Australian industry is placed, how well it is positioned for the future and to impart key learnings from global best practice.
ADC 2019 programming chair Susan Wearden said that the program line-up was specifically tailored around the issues having the most impact on the dairy industry now and into the future.
«With growing consumer trends around the world and opinions towards milk-based products within the marketplace, we have identified that as an industry we need to be bold and brilliant to overcome obstacles and promote ourselves,» she said.
«Strong leadership is critical in this endeavour and so ADC 2019 kicks off with prominent leader perspectives before knuckling down into societal trends, on-farm applications and broader industry impacts.
«As an industry rather than shy away from these issues we are going to explore, debate and discuss so that the best outcome can be achieved moving forward.
«The focus of this year’s program is to really challenge thinking about what we do on farm, why we do it, question whether we can we do it better, and explore what impacts do my actions have on the broader industry.»
It’s a program for the entire dairy industry ranging from dairy farmers, processors, leaders and service providers, and an opportunity for them to be at the forefront of sustainable best practice.
«Part of the appeal of ADC is the ability to address content and deliver speakers that the dairy industry would not normally have the opportunity to hear from or access and we believe we have captured this essence and tone for Canberra 2019,» Mrs Wearden said.
Highlights and major topics for the 2019 ADC program in Canberra include:
Bold leadership — insights and perspective from leaders including Dr Brendan Nelson (former Defence Minister and curator Australian War Memorial) and Dairy Australia managing director Dr Dave Nation.
Behind the farm gate — antibiotics and bobby calves — NZ case studies on minimising antibiotic use, dairy farmer best practice including Dr John Penry (Anexa/Cognosco) and Jo Coombe (Dairy Australia).
High tech dairy farming — genomics and productivity gains via genetic data including Professor Andrew Cromie (Irish Cattle Breeding Federation) and Jared Ireland and John Pekin (Australian dairy farmers).
Insight into the world of milk processing — Rabobank’s Mary Ledman shows a global example of processor and supply base with mutual respect. Then a panel of executives from Australia’s fiercely competitive dairy companies take to the stage hosted by Rabobank’s Michael Harvey.
New frontiers in the diet wars — how real is the threat, how alternative are alternative milks and the value of speaking the consumer language including Dr Judith Bryans (International Dairy Federation), Dr Anneline Padayachee (Simple Scientist) and Melissa Clark Reynolds (Beef and Lamb NZ)
Farming from our phones — Young Dairy Network members showcase some of Australia’s best dairy farm apps.
Dairy Elders — Irish expert Dr Nollaig Heffernan talks about the Australian quality of resilience while journalist and broadcaster Virginia Haussegger interviews three dairy hero women sharing their stories of resilience, strength, endurance and wisdom to close the conference.
More information regarding ADC Canberra 2019 is available at website www.australiandairyconference.com.au.
