Annual/Termination Reports:

[04/27/2009]

Report Information

Participants

Participants in the meeting included:

Geoff Benson, North Carolina State University
Jim Bannon, Auburn University
Bennet Cassell, Virginia Tech
Lane Ely, University of Georgia
Wayne Gauthier, Louisiana State University
Sue Mosley, FMMO-Atlanta
Jodie Pennington, University of Arkansas
Dan Webb, University of Florida
Jeffrey Bewley, University of Kentucky
Jack McAllister, University of Kentucky
Terry Kiser, Mississippi State University
Stephanie Hill, Mississippi State University
Hal Harris, (ret) Clemson University

Brief Summary of Minutes

The annual meeting of members of the SERA-15 Planning Committee was held in conjunction with the 35th annual Southern Dairy Conference at the Westin Atlanta Airport Hotel in Atlanta, GA. The meeting was conducted on the afternoon of Tuesday January 27, 2009, and was called to order by Wayne Gauthier, chair, at 2 pm.

Participants in the meeting included:

Geoff Benson, North Carolina State University
Jim Bannon, Auburn University
Bennet Cassell, Virginia Tech
Lane Ely, University of Georgia
Wayne Gauthier, Louisiana State University
Sue Mosley, FMMO-Atlanta
Jodie Pennington, University of Arkansas
Dan Webb, University of Florida
Jeffrey Bewley, University of Kentucky
Jack McAllister, University of Kentucky
Terry Kiser, Mississippi State University
Stephanie Hill, Mississippi State University
Hal Harris, (ret) Clemson University

Dr. Kiser reported that the request to renew SERA-15 has been submitted. Some revisions need to be made and he will accomplish those. The final report of the 2008 activities, culminating in the 35th Annual Meeting, is due March 27, 2009. Dr. Kiser asked that the group attempt to identify someone to take over Dr. Gary Rogers role in posting conference proceedings on a SERA-15 web site. No one with such expertise or resources to provide them has been identified.

The minutes of the 2008 meeting were presented and approved.

The committee discussed the budget for this years annual meeting. Some members were concerned that budget constraints at Universities across the Southeast might affect attendance at the 2009 meeting. The committee requested that planning for the 2009 meeting include consideration of several cost cutting suggestions such as changing the dates of the meeting for less costly hotel space on Monday-Tuesday rather than Wednesday-Thursday. Alternative hotels might be less costly. A group of core values were to be retained:

" 1.5 days of presentations
" Lunch on the first day
" Two breaks on day 1 and one break on day 2
" Milk and ice cream at breaks supported by product donations
" A social hour with cash bar encourages social interaction and should be maintained if not too costly

Geoff Benson led a discussion of DAIReXNET, a web site for dairy extension material intended to expand the impact of publications developed largely for individual states. The site has been active for over a year and provides access to a broad audience on highly flexible time schedules. Uses of the site for the public include look-up access to information and methods to query experts with specific questions. SERA -15 members can become active by contributing information or serving as editor for subject matter areas. The group was encouraged to actively support this electronic extension effort.

Prior to the meeting, a member had requested that there be some discussion of a Dairy Consortium proposal floating among several southern universities. This concept is intended to address the loss of access to undergraduate instruction in various areas of dairy herd management. Dan Webb described a set of by-laws he had seen for such a cooperative effort. Apparently the idea has gained some traction at some southern universities, but no one present at the meeting had direct knowledge of or experience with the activity.

Geoff Benson reported on an effort to obtain basic mailbox milk price data through a survey. This was a topic reported at the previous years meeting. The objective was to keep an active database of milk prices from around the Southeast. Only Kentucky had been successful in reporting such data for very many farms. Dairy farmers either dont wish to share these data or choose not to commit to a routine reporting system.

The group agreed to discuss travel budgets for the 2010 36th Annual Meeting of the Southern Dairy Conference at the August 2009 conference call.

Members of the group were reminded to send their annual reports to Bennet Cassell. Information on number of farms and dairy cows, production parameters, and any significant developments in the dairy industry in each state were basic items of interest.

Jeffrey Bewley of the University of Kentucky was elected as Vice-Chairperson for SERA-15.

35th Southern Dairy Conference

The 35th annual meeting of the Southern Dairy Conference was held at the Westin Hotel, Atlanta, GA on January 28-29, 2009. Approximately 110 conference participants registered for the event. The conference attendee list included 96 pre-registered participants from across the Southeast. Participants were from a wide variety of milk marketing, dairy industry support, and educational organizations.

The Southern Dairy Conference focuses on both milk marketing and dairy management practices for the Southeastern United States. Presenters are from government, industry and educational institutions, and are asked to speak without honoraria. Some, but not all, travel costs are covered by conference registration fees. The program for the 2009 event follows:

Wednesday, January 28, 2008

7:30 am Continental Breakfast
8:00 am Registration

Presiding: Wayne M. Gauthier, LSU Agricultural Center

9:15 am Welcome
9:30 am National Dairy Situation and Outlook
Mark Stephenson, Cornell University
10:30 am Farm Bill & Dairy Policy
Mark Stephenson, Cornell University
11:00 am Impact of Changes in FMMO Provisions
Sue Mosley, Southeast FMMO 7 Administrator
11:30 am Perspective from Order 6 on Changes in the Federal Order Program
Calvin Covington, CEO, Southeast Milk, Inc.

1200  1:15 pm LUNCH

Presiding: Jodie Pennington, University of Arkansas

1:15 pm New Directions: Meeting Unmet Demand Through Partnerships and Innovation
Cheryl Hayn, General Manager, Southeast United Dairy Industry Association (SUDIA)
1:35 pm Consequences to U.S. Dairy Exports of a Softer Market
Tom Suber, President of the United States Dairy Export Council (USDEC)
2:05 pm Making Cents of Sustainable Dairy
Rick Naczi, Executive Vice President of Strategic Industry Analysis and Evaluation, U.S. Marketing, National Dairy Council
2:35 pm National Dairy Challenge
Gary Hay, LSU Agricultural Center

3:00  3:20 Break

Presiding: Steve Nickerson, University of Georgia

3:20 pm Milk Quality, Shelf Life
Steve Oliver, Co-Director, Food Safety Center of Excellence, University of Tennessee
3:45 pm Transmission of Food Borne Illnesses
Steve Oliver, Co-Director, Food Safety Center of Excellence, University of Tennessee
4:10 pm Bulk Milk Transportation Security and Traceability System
Chris Thompson, University of Kentucky

5:30  7:00 pm Social Hour: Cash Bar Only.

Thursday, Jan. 29, 2009

7:00  8:15 am CONTINENTAL BREAKSFAST

Presiding: Geoff Benson, North Carolina State University

8:15 am Impact of Genomics on Genetic Improvement of Dairy Cattle
Bennet Cassell, Virginia Tech
8:50 am Animal Rights, Animal Welfare and the Dairy Industry
Kay Johnson Smith, Animal Agriculture Alliance
9:15 am Adaptations of Dairy to Increasing Feed, Fuel and Fertilizer Costs & Regional Competitiveness
David Anderson, Texas A&M
9:45 am Freedom of Use of Scientifically Proven Technologies in Dairy Production
Terry Etherton, Pennsylvania State University

10:15-10:45am Break

Presiding: Bennet Cassell, Virginia Tech

10:45am State of Dairy Industry
Steve Larson, Editor, Hoards Dairyman
11:45am Concluding Observations & ConferenceEvaluation
Bennet Cassell, Virginia Tech

12:00 Noon Adjourn


Respectfully submitted



Bennet Cassell
Professor, Dairy Science
Virginia Tech, Blacksburg

Accomplishments

SERA 15 Accomplishments:<br /> <br /> The annual meeting of the SERA 15 planning committee is one of the very few opportunities for university personnel from the Southern region with interest in dairy marketing, production, and economics to share experiences and join in a unified educational effort targeted to southern dairy industry and producers. This year, as in all years, the planning committee meeting allowed members to share information about the dairy industry and academic/extension activities in their respective states. Members discussed issues important to planning and conducting the Southern Dairy Conference itself, an activity that continues with an intensive conference phone meeting in August to plan the next years meeting. This year, the group celebrated the 35th consecutive Southern Dairy Conference. Such longevity attests to the vision and commitment of the planning group, and rates as the single most significant accomplishment of the group. <br /> <br /> Southern Dairy Conference Accomplishments:<br /> <br /> The 35th Annual Meeting of the Southern Dairy Conference was held January 28-29, 2009 at the Westin Airport Hotel in Atlanta. Approximately 110 participants were registered. Presentations were made by 14 speakers. Post conference evaluations were highest for presentations on the economic outlook and policy, views of technology by modern society, and for genomics. The conference traditionally presents a mixture of economic analyses and production practices, with a few presentations by service groups such as the SUDIA and the Federal Milk Market administrator. The mix has been successful in the past and conference participants rated all presentations highly again this year.<br /> <br />

Publications

Publications are not a routine part of the SERA015/Southern Dairy Conference. Power Point Presentations for 2008 are listed on www.southeastdairyextension.org. The 2009 presentations will be forthcoming.

Impact Statements

1. Universities from across the Southeast successfully planned and conducted the 35th annual Southern Dairy Conference, which was attended by approximately 110 participants. Planning committee members (13) participated in the annual planning meeting, which resulted in selection of leadership to continue the efforts of group to conduct a 36Th conference in 2010. The educational accomplishments of the Southern Dairy Conference itself are highlighted in the impact statement for that event.
2. The Southern Dairy Conference exposed all participants to the most recent information about the southern dairy industry as well as to a national view. Participants were able to interact with conference speakers and with each other to more fully understand the current dairy situation in the Southeast and to discuss a variety of dairy activities for the coming year. Conference evaluation forms revealed that many participants value the interactions between diverse industry groups as among the most important benefits of this meeting.

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