Announcing the Eighth DISCOVER Conference on Food Animal Agriculture:

 

REDUCING DAIRY COW CULLING RATE

        Creating an Environment for Success


October 3-6, 2004     Abe Martin Lodge     Brown County State Park     Nashville, Indiana

Sponsored by the American Dairy Science Association

 

Reducing Dairy Cow Culling Rate: Creating an Environment for Success will identify and quantify causal factors contributing to current turnover (voluntary and involuntary culling) of cows from dairy herds on a local and national basis. Additionally, research needed to reduce turnover, especially for involuntary reasons, will be brought forth for discussion. Discussion will focus on controllable and uncontrollable issues leading to cows leaving the herd, how factors contribute to the decision to eliminate a cow, when during the life cycle should culling occur and what is an acceptable level of turnover within the dairy herd.  To facilitate current and future discussion, a working group within the organizing committee will develop a paper on nomenclature for culling that provides consistency among terms for stakeholders. All of this is an effort for creating an environment for cows to succeed on modern dairy farms.

 

Who Should Attend?
Members of the research community, veterinarians, livestock breeders and producers; leaders of livestock industries and organizations; livestock facilities and equipment manufacturers; animal and animal health industries; members of the DHIA industry; dairy software people; and governmental and regulatory agencies should be a part of this interactive program. Additionally, consultants, advisors and others with an interest in creating an environment for the cow to succeed should register.

 

Conference Format

The American Dairy Science Association launched the ADSA DISCOVER Conference Series in June 1997. Designed to provide a format and venue that encourages in-depth discussion of cutting-edge science, these conferences do not publish proceedings, nor do they allow citations from the conference. Programs focus on topics of importance to the science of food animal agriculture and are held in a relaxed, informal setting. Sessions for this conference will be primarily in the mornings and evenings, with afternoons free for recreation, relaxation or further discussion.

 

Registration Fee

Registration postmarked by September 3, 2004 is $395.00, which includes sessions and most meals. After September 3, the registration fee will be $495.00 and will be accepted on an availability basis. To optimize interaction among participants, registration will be limited to the first 120 applications received.

 

Accommodations

The conference will be held at the Abe Martin Lodge in Brown County State Park near Nashville, Indiana. All participants are responsible for making their own lodging reservations.  DISCOVER Conference rate: $65/night single or double occupancy. Reservations can be made online at http://www.indianainns.com/, Group Code: 101y4. You will also be sent a housing form upon receipt of your conference registration, by request, or by visiting the DISCOVER Conferences Web site.

 

Travel

The site is about one hour south of the Indianapolis International Airport and is easily accessible from I-65.  Shuttle service and rental cars are available at the airport. Advance reservations are necessary for shuttle service. The meeting site is 15 miles off I-65 and is midway between Columbus and Bloomington, Indiana.

 

Program Committee  

Ken McGuffey, Elanco Animal Health (Co-Chair)                  Michael Schutz, Purdue University (CO-Chair)

Basil Eastwood, USDA-CSREES                                           Duane Norman, USDA-ARS                                   Bill Baumgardt, DISCOVER Opportunities 

John Fetrow, University of Minnesota                                 Richard Patton, Private Consultant                        Molly Kelley, DISCOVER Conference Series

Jud Heinrichs, Pennsylvania State University                       J. Richard Pursley, Michigan State University

Gordie Jones, DVM                                                          Gary Rogers, University of Tennessee       

Ken Nordlund, University of Wisconsin                                John Smith, Kansas State University

 

For complete conference information,

including the latest program and registration materials, go to: http://www.adsa.org/discover/

                                                                                        

American Dairy Science Association  DISCOVER Conference Series  Phone: 217/356-5146  Fax: 217/398-4119  Email: adsa@assochq.org