Three dairy farmers will join the speakers at the Breimyer Seminar, July 13 at the University of Missouri.
They are John Schoen, Oak Ridge; Sean Cornelius, Hamilton; and Lloyd Gunter, Conway. The producers will bring local ideas on “Revitalizing the Missouri Dairy Industry.” The panel will be moderated by Ron Grusenmeyer, director of producer relations for Midwest Dairy Association, Overland Park, Kan. Richard Fordyce, director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture, will join the agenda to pull together “Top Issues for Revitalization.”
The seminar theme is based on legislation passed this year by the Missouri General Assembly and signed by the governor.Dairy cow and dairy farm numbers have dropped in recent years, but milk production and processing remain economically important to Missouri, says Joe Horner, MU dairy economist.
“To maintain needed dairy infrastructure we must maintain cow numbers,” Horner says. The number of dairies dropped 40 percent since 2000.
The seminar, named for former MU professor Harold Breimyer, will focus on dairy opportunities, says Ron Plain, MU Extension livestock economist. He is program chair.MU professors, industry leaders and the farmers will tell the dollar impact of dairy in Missouri.
Opening the program will be economists Horner and Scott Brown. Both work in the dairy area. State Rep. Bill Reiboldt, Neosho, will discuss plans for future funding for the Missouri Dairy Revitalization Act of 2015. He led efforts to pass the bill.
Scott Poock, MU Extension dairy veterinarian, will talk on dairy production. Randy McGinnis, Dairy Farmers of America, Kansas City, Mo., will cover marketing and processing. Dairy initiatives in other states will be told by Corey Geiger, managing editor of Hoard’s Dairyman magazine.