Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

The meeting convened at 4pm, with a few members arriving slightly later. Representatives from each state gave a short update on the status of the dairy industry. Everyone reported interests in better forage growth, stabilization of milk prices, and concerns over increases in feed and fuel prices for producers in their area. Most states reported a decrease in infrastructure, with the exception of Georgia and Florida who noted stable (if not slight growth) in dairy infrastructure. Representatives from UKY noted that in 2014 their Dean plans to relocate their dairy herd, and to potentially extinguish it all together. Discussion on possible plans for saving the dairy progressed and possibilities for intrastate collaboration in teaching, research, and extension were discussed. The Southwest dairy consortium was brought forward as a potential model for a SE consortium. Potential collaborations on USDA/NSF grants were proposed and will be pursued at a later date. The possibility of relocating the SERA15 meeting and SDC to a different hotel was discussed. The decision was made to keep the meeting in Atlanta and have UGA Conference Services explore more economical hotels in the same area. Results will be reported back to the committee through the 2012 Chairman (Stephanie Ward). Participation in SERA 15 was discussed and suggestions were made to remove inactive members and recruit new members to the committee. A letter of invitation will be sent to all departments across the southeast.

The 37th annual Southern Dairy Conference was held at the Westin Atlanta Airport from Jan 25-26th. This meeting brought together 129 people from academia, industry, producers and other stakeholders in the dairy industry to discuss current issues faced by dairy producers including on-farm production related topics, milk marketing, and health and nutrition promotion.