2019 Program

Lely’s future farm vision and the importance of data –  Alexander van der Lely, Lely

Hear Lely’s story from the CEO of Lely, Alexander van der Lely. A brief history of the innovations and how strategic business decisions are made. Robotics and automation for the dairy farm have come a long way and there are many lessons learned. Learn Lely’s vision for the future farm including the role of data.

The Power of Storytelling – Tim Scott

In the chaos of today’s world, with a barrage of messages coming at us 24/7, everyone is becoming more and more self-selective to the messages they are willing to allow into their “message banks”. We do this mental filtering by necessity, not only to cull, but also to balance the good and bad, and to save those things of meaning. In these overly-messaged and highly-filtered times, storytelling becomes mission-critical for brands and companies….for without it, their messages end up in the “clutter file” of almost everyone.

Our brains are wired to receive stories, not lists of facts. It’s why the telling of stories long precedes any written language. Yet we complicate even the simplest of stories. We overthink, we overanalyze and, instead of providing our audiences with things of value that are worth saving, we send them more clutter because we are convinced that OUR clutter is MUCH more interesting than anyone else’s.

So how should we think about storytelling? And why is it so powerful? Hopefully this presentation will provide some easy to use ideas and principles for breaking through and getting your customers to embrace you as a brand, as a company, and as the PEOPLE behind the stories you tell.

Connecting with the Consumer and the Success of the Dairy Industry – Norm Mullin

Sustainability and Resource Efficiency – Jamie Zimmerman

Growing our business for the generations to come, are we shaping the right model? – Francisco Rodriquez

In the current milk production system and growth model, cows in large dairies are grouped together to help make labor more efficient. This approach has been successful for the past several decades, but the game has changed. Traditional labor is no longer available. In addition, with the consolidation of the dairies, their closeness to cities, and the amplification of consumers’ opinions on social media, that model raises additional challenges like the lack of succession planning, poor consumer perceptions, and permitting and regulatory constraints. To reverse the result of the status quo and help dairies achieve sustainable, profitable growth we propose a new revolutionary growth model, optimizing what we have and expanding by taking advantage of the great benefits robotic milking has to offer. Recently, our proposed growth model has been impacting and advancing a few of the most innovative dairies around the world, now it is time to take it to the next level and help shaping the modern industry we all want for the generations to come.

Connecting with the Consumer and the Success of the Dairy Industry – Ronan Loftus

Consumers are seeking greater levels of information on where and how their food is produced. Ronan will share his experiences on how DNA technology has helped achieve full tractability through complex meat supply chains and how this is being communicated to consumers to support brand building. He will also share some perspectives on how the technology could be used within the diary sector, either to authenticate specific attributes, or ultimately help trace milk back to farms of origin.

Closing Keynote – Let our cows tell our story… –  Brian Bolton 

Milk – The Master Key to Unlock Your Herd Information – AgSource Dairy

Milk analysis for ketones, fatty acids and milk quality can now provide insights into cow health, immune response and nutritional changes. Listen to lessons learned from herd trials for weekly milk sampling on groups of cows and the potential for improved management decisions.

What is possible with automatic calf feeders already today and what is around the corner. – Foerster-Technik

Automatic calf feeding systems are known to save labor and increase calf growth due to the higher milk intake. At the same time, modern machines generate a wealth of data that can be used for assessment of health status and weaning success. Together with new sensors like activity neckbands with search-LED or cloud-connected thermometers, the calf health insight can even be broadened and partly run automatically. This breakout session will demonstrate how to access data and come to fact-based decisions on future usage of the animal.

Select your future profit – An intelligent view on calf management! – Holm & Laue

For maximizing the profit of your dairy at given resources you need to raise the best calves. Combining single data sources to a pool allows to identify the profit maximizing cow already after weaning. This session will give you an overview of modern tools and possibilities for intelligent data inquiry and combination.

Herd insights brought to life with augmented reality – Nedap

Relevant information presented at the right time and place
With a growing need to feed the world, herd sizes and the level of technology implemented are rapidly increasing, resulting in an overload of data. In this tech talk Roxie shares Nedap’s vision on technology and shows how the use of futuristic technologies like augmented reality can provide relevant insights from Nedap CowControl and other systems presented in the most intuitive way above the animals in the barn. A technical solution aimed to make the interaction with the technology much easier.

Implementing Technology to drive Efficiency – VAS 

The Innovation Break-out Sessions allow the Connect Summit Attendees to learn about what individual companies are doing to bring technological value to the dairy business. Attendees can interact with members of these companies in a smaller setting and see live demos of the value each can bring to the farm. The sessions by each company are repeated and attendees can choose to attend two of the three presentations.

Emerging Motor, Data, and IoT Technologies Optimizing Cow Health and Comfort – VES Environmental Solutions Inc. 

For decades, dairy facilities were only naturally ventilated, or more recently ventilated with fans. But emerging technologies are enabling dairy farmers to transform barns and milking parlors into climate-controlled environments, centered around the biology of the cows and people inside them. We’ll explore how smart motors, real-time data, and the Internet of Things are improving the health and productivity of innovative dairy farm, all year round.