The University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment is partnering with Purdue University to offer the sixth annual Kentuckiana Dairy Exchange. The two-day meeting will give dairy producers an opportunity to visit other dairies and learn the latest from UK and Purdue specialists July 30-31 in La Porte and North Central Indiana.

Dairy specialists from both universities believe Kentucky and Indiana producers share many common challenges and have a wealth of knowledge and experience to share.

The meeting will begin July 30 with registration at 1 p.m. EDT at the Argos Holstein Farm in Argos, Ind.

Exchange participants will spend the afternoon at Argos Holsteins, where Mike and Jan Heckaman and Max and Carrie Jo Bollenbacher work together to milk 670 Holsteins and Jersey cows, and at Nor-Bert Farms, a farm that milks 140 cows with Lely milking robots and use an automatic feeder to feed calves.

Dinner and evening presentations on July 30 will take place at the Best Western Plus in La Porte. UK dairy specialists will present information about precision technology and improving dairy management.

Tours resume July 31 with stops at:

·         Hesters Jersey Dairy – Ted and Karyn Hesters run an organic, grass-based dairy farm, milking 180 Jerseys. During the past year, they built a 16-unit swing parlor and holding facility.

·         YonEd Farms – Yon and Alice Linborg currently milk about 300 cows with a focus on healthy cows and calves.

·         Minich Dairy – Jim and Valerie Minich, along with their children Frank, Amanda and Charlie, operate a 600-cow dairy with several technological innovations.

·         Homestead Dairy, LLC – The Houin family operates a large dairy. They milk approximately 3,500 cows at four different facilities. They extensively use data and technology to improve management and keep things running smoothly across the facilities.

Participants may preregister by July 19 for $50. Make check payable to Kentucky PDCA and return to: Kentucky Dairy Exchange, c/o Larissa Tucker, 403 W.P. Garrigus Building, Lexington, KY 40546-0215. The registration fee will cover program costs, snacks and dinner on July 30. For more information, contact Tucker at 859-257-5986 or email larissa.tucker@uky.edu.

Meeting participants are responsible for their own room reservations. Blocks of rooms are reserved at: Best Western Plus in La Porte, 219-362-4585, under “Kentuckiana Dairy Exchange” at a rate of $89 per night.

The Kentuckiana Dairy Exchange is sponsored by UK and Purdue Cooperative Extension Services and is supported by many industry sponsors including Farm Credit Services of Mid-America, Kentucky Dairy Development Council and Indiana Dairy Producers. Tour sponsors are Micron Bio-Systems Inc. and Prince Agri Products Inc.

Kentucky participants can travel as a group leaving the Shelby County Cooperative Extension office at 7.a.m. July 30. For those traveling on their own, directions to the Argos Holstein Farm at 12928 18B Road, Argos, IN 46501 are:

·         From the north—Head south on U.S. 31. Go west on IN-10 for 2.4 miles. Turn left (south) onto Muckshaw Road. After 2 miles, turn left onto 18B Road. The farm will be immediately on the left.

·         From the south—Head north on U.S. 31. Go west on IN-110/CR 800N for 3.5 miles. Turn right (north) onto Muckshaw Road. After 2.5 miles, turn right onto 18B Road. The farm will be immediately on the left.