<b>By MELISSA HART<br>
Michigan Correspondent</b></p><p>

FRANKENMUTH, Mich. — Two feet of snow didn’t keep dairymen from flocking to the 2008 Great Lakes Regional Dairy Conference.
It was another record-breaking year in attendance as dairy producers and industry converged on the small German town for three days of educational seminars, organizational meetings and industry networking.<br>

During the day, attendees took advantage of the expertise offered by speakers such as Dr. Paul Fricke of the University of Wisconsin, Dr Mike Hutjens of the University of Illinois and Dr. Mike Allen of Michigan State University, who discussed everything from getting problem breeders pregnant to dairy nutrition.<br>

In addition Kathleen O’Keefe of Holstein World spoke on effective utilization of the Internet to market purebred cattle; Sarah Fogleman of Fogleman Human Resource Management Consulting of Oklahoma discussed how to communicate effectively on the farm; and Dr Norman St. Pierre of The Ohio State University was on hand to help dairymen make profitable decisions on the farm.
Back by popular demand, the producer panels proved to be informative. The first panel involving Aubrey Lettinga of Walnutdale Farm, Wayland, Mich., Sean Tollenaar, Tollcrest Holsteins of Wheatland, Calif. and Brad Ritter of Ritter Farms, Byron, Mich. discussed everything including reproduction. Dr. Paul Fricke moderated the panel taking questions from the audience on solving problems around getting cows pregnant for more profitability.<br>

Mark Adam of NorthStar Cooperative and a member of the conference planning committee said, “The reproduction producer panel featured three very different types of herd sizes all having different challenges and opportunities. All three participants discussed their success stories and obstacles that they face on a day-to-day basis. The key to good reproduction practices all centered around identifying strong estrous signs and/or a detailed systematic synchronization program.”<br>

The second producer panel discussed how to effectively manage the labor force on the farm. <br>

Sarah Fogleman put the panelists through their paces as they offered what they have experienced, good and bad, on their dairy operation. Panel members included Arno Schot of New Flevo Dairy, Clayton, Mich., Steve Hook of Hooks Dairy in Breckenridge, Mich. and Steve Cary of Cary Dairy Farm, Inc., in Battle Creek, Mich.
“Communications on a dairy farm between employer and employees or just between family members was a focal point of the employee communications panel,” said Adam. “More questions were asked and written down than there was allotted time for them to be answered as the panel members visited about the challenges of operating active dairy operations that hire between 15-35 family and non-family employees.”<br>

Adam said the take-home message was that every person has their own set of learning skills and expertise. It takes proper communications and a focused work effort to utilize these individual skills to their best abilities, then owners and managers need to adapt those skills to each operation to provide a true team atmosphere and sense of accomplishment to fulfill the mission of that dairy enterprise. Each panel member expressed that managing people to operate a dairy offers a total different sense of management skills than it did when just managing the dairy with a few family members.<br>
The “Dean of Agriculture,” Orion Samuleson, kicked off the conference by discussing how the dairy industry has changed since he grew up on his Wisconsin boyhood dairy farm.<br>

While agricultural evangelist and radio personality Trent Loos of Nebraska brought home the message of making sure that as producers of food and fiber, farmers need to open up the farm gate and allow the public in to see what happens realistically on the farm. He also urged producers to stand up for their industry and reiterated that the family farm is a great place to raise a family and he encouraged parents to keep their children involved in the farming operation.<br>

The 2008 Michigan Dairy Senior and Junior Ambassadors were named. Lynnae Slavik, of Ashley, was selected as the senior winner while Brittany Westendorp of Nashville was named the junior winner. <br>

These two enthusiasts will spend the next year promoting the dairy industry across the Great Lakes region.<br>

Tom and Deanna Stamp and Linwood and Elizabeth Dale of Dale-Stamp Farms, Marlette, earned the 2008 Dairy Farmer of the Year, awarded by the Department of Animal Science at Michigan State University. Dale-Stamp Farms, established in 1976, consists of three different farming enterprises including a herd of Holstein cows, a crop farm and a heifer and dry cow operation.<br>

The 2009 Great Lakes Regional Dairy Conference will change venues and be in Grand Rapids. For more on the 2009 conference, visit www.glrdc.msu.edu