Midwest Dairy has attended many conferences and leadership activities this year to connect with farmer leaders in attendance. Developing farm and community leaders is important to Midwest dairy, and what better way to reach those leaders than by participating in conferences they already attend.
Midwest Dairy met with future young dairy leaders at the 10th Annual Food Animal Networking Event hosted by the Gopher Dairy Club at the University of Minnesota. This event connects dairy students to opportunities from dairy-based employers, allowing Midwest Dairy to network with prospective students. Throughout the evening, staff involved with past and future young dairy leaders shared the many programs Midwest Dairy offers, encouraging college students to apply for internships and dairy ambassador opportunities as deadlines soon approached.
A gathering in Kansas City, Missouri, also took place recently, allowing dairy farmers from Minnesota, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, and Arkansas to hear from dairy checkoff partners. Partners such as Casey’s, KC Mom’s Network, and Lee’s Summit Public Schools were present and explained why partnering with the dairy checkoff and local dairy farmers are valuable to them. The event kicked off with comments from the “Voice of the Kansas City Chiefs” Mitch Holthus, a private tour of GEHA (Arrowhead) Stadium, and ended at Jasper’s Italian Restaurant. Dairy farmers also participated in an ENGAGE workshop while at the event to learn about today’s consumers and discover tips and techniques to have meaningful conversations about dairy farming with them.
Lastly, Midwest Dairy sponsored a breakout session at Dairy Girl Network’s National Conference. The Dairy Girl Network’s 2022 Forward TogetHER national conference took place in Prior Lake, Minnesota, with over 250 dairywomen attending the conference in person and online. Midwest Dairy was a proud sponsor of a conference breakout session titled “Running Out of Gas: Keeping up on Social.”.
During this breakout session, Midwest Dairy led a panel discussion with three dairy farmers, Lindsey Borst, Megan McAllister, and Carrie Mess, who shared their stories and experiences with social media. The group also shared tips and tools farmers can use to help stay motivated to post on social media. The topic was well received, with the 30-plus attendees in the breakout room.