Precision dairy farming can reduce costs and increase performance for dairy producers as they use the latest technologies to streamline their operations. The University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment and the University of Minnesota are co-sponsoring the second U.S. Precision Dairy Conference and Expo at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester, Minnesota, June 24-25.

The program includes diverse precision dairy topics with an update on experiences and developments from Europe from Henk Hogeveen from Wageningen and Utrecht universities, Netherlands. UKAg dairy professor Jeffrey Bewley will lead a session on making sense of cow sensors. University of Minnesota’s Marcia Endres will talk about factors that influence success in robotic milking and automated calf feeder systems.

Industry-sponsored sessions include information management, precision feeding, robotic milking, automated body condition scoring, various individual cow sensors, automated ventilation and cooling, data-driven decisions to maximize profits, teat spray robots for rotary parlors and more.

In addition, ten dairy producers from California, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, and Wisconsin, as well as Ontario, Canada, will share their experiences with precision technologies. The conference gives attendees an opportunity to visit these farms virtually and learn from users of cow sensors, inline milk sensors, robotic milking systems, automated calf feeders, automated TMR (total mixed ration) feeding systems, and smart barns. Program details are available online, http://precisiondairyfarming.com/2015/program.

A trade show will be open June 24-25, where participants can visit with industry experts and learn more about various products and technologies available today and coming in the near future. Sponsors and exhibitors include Platinum sponsors Afimilk, AgStar, AMS-Galaxy, DeLaval and Lely and media sponsor Dairy Herd Management.

The event ends at 11:15 a.m. on Thursday, June 25, so participants can also attend day two of the 2015 Hay and Forage Expo held at Hernke’s Dairy in Cannon Falls, 40 minutes north of Rochester.

Register online at http://precisiondairyfarming.com/2015.  Registration is $50 for producers, university students and university employees.