Released Feb. 18, 2008

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The 2008 Indiana Regional Dairy Meetings will take place in five Indiana cities on five days in March from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Dates and locations are as follows: March 4 in Rockville, March 5 in Haubstadt, March 6 in Columbus, March 11 in Goshen and March 12 in Decatur.

The Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service Dairy Team, Indiana Professional Dairy Producers and the Indiana Forage Council will sponsor the meetings, which will provide producers with current information and examine issues regarding the dairy industry.

"There are two distinct things we want producers to take away from the meeting," said Mike Schutz, Purdue Extension dairy specialist and coordinator for the meetings. "We want them to learn new information they can implement on their farm and also give them the chance to interact with other producers about dairy-related issues."

During the meetings, Schutz will provide the milk price outlook. Other speakers include Chuck Jamison, DVM Cargill Animal Nutrition; Ron Fuhrmann, Indiana Professional Dairy Producers president; Tamilee Nennich, Purdue Extension dairy specialist; and members of the Indiana Forage Council.

Nennich's session, "Turning Your Liquid Gold into Assets," will address how producers can benefit from manure as a valuable commodity and not just a waste product.

"The price of fertilizer has gone up, which means the nutrients within manure have more value," Nennich said. "I will teach producers how to look at the total picture of manure, figure out what its worth and provide different strategies for marketing it as fertilizer." The registration deadline for the Rockville, Haubstadt and Columbus meetings is Feb. 26, and the Goshen and Decatur deadline is March 4. Entrance is free to the first registrant from an IPDP member farm or family, and any additional registrations is $10 per person. Non-member registration is $20 per person. Each registration includes lunch and one copy of the meeting materials per farm. The Haubstadt and Decatur meetings are in conjunction with the Southwest Indiana Holstein Association and the Adams County Dairy Herd Improvement Association, respectively. For more information, contact Schutz at (765) 494-9478, mschutz@purdue.edu.

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http://news.uns.purdue.edu/x/2008a/080218SchutzDairy.html

Contacts: Hannah Brescher, (765) 494-8402, hbresche@purdue.edu

Mike Schutz, (765) 494-9478, mschutz@purdue.edu

Tamilee Nennich, (765) 494-4823, tnennich@purdue.edu