Registration is open for the 2023 Operations Managers Conference, which will be held January 31 and February 1 at the Doubletree by Hilton, East Syracuse, NY. Presented by Cornell CALS PRO-DAIRY and the Northeast Dairy Producers Association (NEDPA), Operations Managers Conference provides an opportunity for the people responsible for day to day activities on dairy farms to increase their management and operations skills. This year’s conference theme and topics focus on managing for consistency while leading through change. A variety of topics presented by local and national dairy leaders offer education and applicable strategies for management teams, whether their focus is cows, crops or people.

Featured keynote presentations apply across management specialties and include:

• Earning Public Trust in Modern Dairy Practices – Amy te Plate-Church, The Center for Food Integrity
• Everything You Must Know About Sleep But Are Too Tired to Ask! – Dr. James Maas, Sleep for Success!
• The Intersection Between Animal and Human Wellbeing and Productivity – Dr. Noa Román-Muñiz, Colorado State University

A key attribute of this conference is the number and variety of specialty breakout sessions, including:

DAIRY BREAKOUT SESSIONS

• Using Employee Level Reporting to Get Better Outcomes for Your Team – Judy Moody, Dairy One
• Calf Barn Ventilation – Tim Terry, Cornell CALS PRO-DAIRY
• Epidemiology of Bovine Colostrum Yield and Brix Percent in New York Herds – Trent Westhoff and Dr. Sabine Mann, Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine
• Improving Dairy Herd Health Monitoring and Management Using Automated Monitoring Technologies – Dr. Julio Giordano

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT BREAKOUT SESSIONS

• Conflict Management for Those Who Do Not Like Conflict Management – Marcus Brooks, Cornell University Organizational Development and Effectiveness
• Improving Communication Among English- and Spanish-speaking Team Members – Noa Román-Muñiz, Colorado State University
• Engaging Today’s Employees Using Technology – Dr. Kaitlyn Lutz, Cornell Cooperative Extension
• Lean 5S: Making the Physical Workplace Work!– Dr. Richard Stup, Cornell University
• Creating a Culture of Safety in Your Workplace – Karl Naegler, NYS Nursery and Landscape Association and Michael Halter, Haylor, Freyer & Coon
• Structure: Reducing Chaos and the Broken Stove Meetings – Collin McCarthy, Cargill Animal Nutrition

CROPS BREAKOUT SESSIONS

• What is NetZero and What Does it Mean to Me as a Middle Manager? – Kirsten Workman, Cornell CALS PRO-DAIRY; Lauren Ray, Cornell CALS PRO-DAIRY; and Dr. Mike Van Amburgh, Cornell University
• Planting Green: Advantages of Delayed Cover Crop Termination in Western New York – Aaron Ristow, American Farmland Trust
• Corn Planter Workshop – Shawn Bossard, Cornell Agricultural Research Station
• CAFO Updates: How Do They Apply to Me as a Middle Manager? – Kirsten Workman, Cornell CALS PRO-DAIRYA complete agenda with full session descriptions and speaker biographies is available at cals.cornell.edu/pro-dairy/events-programs/conferences-seminars/operations-managers-conference. Early bird registration is available through January 9. Sponsorship and exhibit opportunities are also available. For more information, contact Heather Darrow, PRO-DAIRY Conference Coordinator, at hh96@cornell.edu or (607) 255-4478.

  –Cornell CALS PRO-DAIRY
  Northeast Dairy Producers Association