Thousands of cattle converge in Madison for 57th World Dairy Expo

Oct 04, 2024

By Tim Peterson

For Emily Yeiser Stepp, the week of the World Dairy Expo in Madison ranks right up there with Christmas as one of her favorite times of the year.

Stepp has been coming to Wisconsin for the expo — the biggest trade show dedicated to dairy in the world — since 2005 as a cattle exhibitor and a judge.

This week, her family’s pair of Brown Swiss calves made the trip with them to compete at the expo. “PSwift” and “Patagonia” each earned top-10 finishes among the roughly 3,000 head of cattle from the United States and Canada assembled on the Alliant Center grounds.

Stepp also serves on the board of the expo and is a leader with the National Milk Producers Federation. The week is an opportunity to represent her organization and meet with stakeholders up and down the dairy supply chain.

She talked with WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” about the event and some challenges facing the dairy industry, including threats like bird flu being found in cattle and the Farm Bill potentially expiring next week.

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Video: Sow Welfare and Group Housing Systems - Dr. Laya Alves

In this episode of The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, Dr. Laya Alves from the University of São Paulo, in Brazil, discusses how animal welfare regulations are evolving globally and their impact on pig production systems. She explains challenges in group housing, pain management, and euthanasia decisions, while highlighting the role of training and management in improving outcomes and economic sustainability. Listen now on all major platforms!

"Translating welfare requirements into daily farm routines without compromising economic sustainability remains one of the biggest challenges faced by producers globally today."

Meet the guest: Dr. Laya Alves / laya-kannan is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of São Paulo, Brazil, focusing on animal welfare in pig production, including pain management, euthanasia, and economic decision making. Her work integrates welfare science with practical farm management and sustainability. She collaborates globally to develop applied tools for producers.