Eight seminars will be held at International Dairy Week, covering topics from improving efficiency to heat tolerance.
Held at the Ballantyne Centre at Tatura Park, the seminars will run over three days with presenters from across the industry, including from Agri-Gene and Murray Dairy.
The benefits of probiotics in calf rearing. Presented by: Daviesway Dasco.
This seminar, presented by Robyn Plinkett, will focus on her extensive work with probiotics and interest in cow health and preventative medicine. Dr Plunkett has gained years of experience with dairy cattle and will speak on the role and benefits of probiotics during the milk feed phase.
Think differently about pre-weaning nutrition. Presented by: MaxCare.
Renowned ruminant nutritionist Ian Sawyer will challenge the traditional model of early calf nutrition. This discussion will focus on the importance of getting the early nutrition right in pre-weaned calves to deliver significant 'whole of life' production benefits in the herd.
The future of farming. Presented by: Lely Dairy Australia.
Founded in 1948, management systems company Lely originated in the Netherlands but today operates in more than 40 countries. Lely's dairy equipment manufacturing regional director Gert Aerts — who has extensive knowledge of dairy farming and research results that offer accurate management advice for successful automatic milking and grazing — will present this seminar. It will focus on solutions centred on free cow traffic to deliver freedom and flexibility for day-to-day activities and management systems that provide real-time information for quick and efficient decision making.
Managing cryptosporidium parvum in calves. Presented by: ProviCo.
A closer look at intestinal parasite cryptosporidium parvum will be the focus of this seminar hosted by Adjunct Professor Ian Lean. A recent study reveals cryptosporidium was contributing to calf scours on nearly 60 per cent of dairy farms. Prof Lean will provide an overview of best management practices, including innovations in the prevention and control of cryptosporidium in calves.
Chromosomal mating — creating the most profitable herd. Presented by: ST Genetics.
Genomic mating programs continue to grow in popularity, with ST Genetics breaking down the science and discussing how to achieve the most accurate information. Chromosomal mating is a multi-functional program to meet the needs of markets in different countries and regions optimising whole-herd profitability, managing recessive disorders in the herd, maximising the herd's GEBV and the frequencies of beneficial haplotypes or genomic regions and accounts for the impact of inbreeding.
Dairy hygiene best practice. Presented by: Daviesway Dasco.
With milk quality such an important part of any dairy business, Hamish Hunt will speak on good dairy hygiene practices in all types of dairy parlours. Mr Hunt has a keen interest in precision agriculture and is dairying business Daviesway Dasco's chemical process designer, specialising in applications for dairy, chemical and bio-pharmaceutical industries for 30 years.
Biosecurity and why it matters. Presented by: Murray Dairy.
Biosecurity will be at the forefront of this presentation, with Murray Dairy's Sarah Chaplin discussing how everything from border security to vaccinations and signs on the gate work together to protect the dairy industry and individual businesses. Dr Chaplin will outline how to manage biosecurity on-farm and how best to spend both your time and money.
Virtual farm tour and lunch with Blondin Sires. Presented by: Agri-Gene.
In his six years with Canadian farm Ferme Blondin, Dann Brady has largely been focused on developing their elite genetics and embryo business. Although not a 'traditional farm' — there are five to 10 flushes every week and new animals being genomic tested all the time — Ferme Blondin has now made the decision to begin its own AI company. Focused largely on high genomic type combined with great pedigrees, production and health traits, Mr Brady will talk about the unique challenges each day is filled with and provide a virtual farm tour of the Quebec operation.