The University of Kentucky College of Agriculture is partnering with Purdue University to offer the fourth annual Kentuckiana Dairy Exchange. The two-day meeting will give dairy producers an opportunity to visit other dairies and learn the latest from UK and Purdue specialists Aug. 2-3 in Fort Wayne, Ind. and the surrounding area.

Dairy specialists from both universities believe Kentucky and Indiana producers share many common challenges and have a wealth of knowledge and experience to share.

Presentations will feature sessions on making better decisions, getting cows pregnant on time and managing heat stress in dairy facilities.

Participants will tour Indiana dairy enterprises such as the Four Leaf Clover Farm, a 1,700 Holstein freestall dairy; Blessing Farms, a registered Brown Swiss dairy; Oneeda Dairy, a 150-cow, high-production Holstein farm; Shaum Heifer Operation, custom heifer raiser and forage harvester; Keuhnert Dairy, a 200-cow purebred Holstein dairy and the Beer Dairy, featuring an 800-cow, cross-ventilated freestall barn.

Kentucky participants may register and ride together on a bus departing the Hardin County Cooperative Extension office at 6:30 a.m. EDT. Aug. 2. The group will arrive at the Four Leaf Clover Dairy for a tour that will begin at 1 p.m. local time. Dinner, 6 p.m. at Don Hall’s Guesthouse in Fort Wayne, Ind., will be followed by presentations from 7 to 9 p.m. Breakfast on Aug. 3 will be at the guesthouse, followed by tours until noon. The Kentucky group will return to the Hardin County office at approximately 7 p.m.

Please RSVP with completed registration form and $50 registration fee (per person) by July 22. Make check payable to Kentucky PDCA and return to: Kentucky PDCA, c/o Larissa Tucker, 403 W.P. Garrigus Building, Lexington, KY 40546-0215. For more information, contact Tucker at 859-257-5986 or email larissa.tucker@uky.edu. The registration fee will cover bus transportation from Kentucky to the tour locations as well as lunch and dinner on August 2 and lunch on August 3.

Meeting participants are responsible for their own room reservations. A block of rooms is reserved at Don Hall’s Guesthouse in Fort Wayne. under “Dairy Exchange” at a rate of $78 per night for a room with two double beds and includes breakfast for two. Reserve rooms by July 20 by calling 260-489-2524.

The Kentuckiana Dairy Exchange is sponsored by UK and Purdue Cooperative Extension Services and is supported by industry sponsors including Dairy Farmers of America/DMS, Afimilk USA, Farm Credit Services of Mid-America, Venture Milling, Kentucky Dairy Development Council, Alltech, Mycogen Seeds, Select Sires, Bluegrass Dairy and Food, Arm and Hammer Animal Nutrition, Advanced Comfort Technology, Burkmann Feeds, Novus International, DVM Systems and Foremost Farms.