World Dairy Expo 2018 Review

World Dairy Expo 2018 was udderly fantastic! So many people, so much dairy technology and occasionally great weather! Wednesday was particularly a great surprise since it was about 80 degrees and sunny. Not bad for an early October day in Wisconsin.

This year was extra special for me as I had family friends come down from Northern Wisconsin to experience the expo with me.  They are retired from the dairy industry but this was a bucket list item for them to do. Needless to say, they loved it! For those of you that know me, I'm a website guy and my knowledge of the dairy industry is small but growing.  It was nice to tag along with people who knew the industry and what questions to ask 🙂

World Dairy Expo 2018 Cattle Show

The cattle show is something that is broadcast-ed throughout areas of the expo. There are TV Cameras in the coliseum that record the event through its entirety. On Wednesday, after working through the heat and walking a few miles, we decided to relax and watch the show for a while.  Just prior, we got grilled cheese sandwiches and chocolate shakes from the University of Wisconsin Cheese Stand. This is a must stop for everyone 🙂
It was nice to have a snack, relax and watch the show.

I'm not going to go into any results since the World Dairy Expo website has a full composite for you to view there. Click here for results page.

Cow Pavilions

Last year I did a quick walk through Pavilion 1 just to see the magnitude of the operation.  This year I made a point to traverse the length of both cow pavilions and, yes, that's a lot of cows! My goal, next year, is to get more pics of this area. The big take away was that you have farmers that are wholeheartedly dedicated to their farm with a passion for what they do.  There are a number of farms that camp out, decorate and thoroughly enjoy the experience!

A special thanks to all of the farmers that go through the work to make the show a success. I can't imagine the work involved in coordinating that. Without the cows it wouldn't be a much of a dairy expo!

Vendors at World Dairy Expo

There are so many vendors at World Dairy Expo, it would be impossible to do a short write-up on all of them. So, I decided to do a write-up of a small handful and, I figure, I will try and do a write-up of some others next year.

Feel free to contact me if you want to be interviewed next year.

Afimilk

One of the first I spoke with was a salesperson at Afimilk.  Their booth caught my eye as it was towards the front of the main exhibition hall and they had a cool looking setup that towered over the others.  From a marketing perspective, this was very smart. Their products are relatively small (or virtual) and this was a great way to pull you in. Afimilk does "Advanced Dairy Management Solutions" and, according to the sales rep., they have been doing this for about 40 years. Wow! Being in technology and loving statistics I was definitely in tune with this.  Afimilk helps monitor things like cow health, heat detection and milking efficiency.

Also noteworthy was the AfiLab milk analyzer that does in-line milk analysis. Among other things, it is very efficient at early detection of ketosis, alerts of reduced feed quality, blood alerts and washing problem warnings.

For more on Afimilk, please check out their website: https://www.afimilk.com/

BouMatic Robotics

BouMatic Robotics caught my eye last year already. From the great color branding to the cool displays, this booth is a winner! The automatic milking machine grabs your attention, so much actually, that you can easily miss their other displays.  The photo here is of their Robotic Feed Pusher.  It's fascinating to watch.  My family friend said, [sarcastically] "in my day, that was called a broom,". So true. If you needed a stark reminder of how technology has changed the dairy industry. This booth was it.

For more on BouMatic, please check out their website: https://boumatic.com/us_en/

Jourdain Group

A added perk of the dairy expo is meeting people from all over the World.  It's not called "World Dairy Expo" for nothing. JOURDAIN is a French based company that has an impressive legacy focused on innovation.  I had the pleasure to speak with Pierre-Olivier at his booth in the trade center building.

From their website, the Jourdain Group is, "a family business for more than the last 100 years, turned towards the conception and production of tubular cattle equipment at the start of the 1960s,". From a layman's perspective, they make really cool cattle stalls! Speaking with Kent from Agro Air Dynamics, you can purchase this amazing equipment by contacting Agromatic in Fond du Lac, WI. That's pretty convenient for farmers in the Midwest!

For more on JOURDAIN, please check out their website: https://www.jourdain-group.fr/en/

FAN

Let's talk German engineering for a second.  When I was introduced the the FAN Separator technology booth you instantly had the feeling of hardcore, quality engineering. I grew up around German accents so it wasn't too hard to figure out that this was a German based company. I wish I would have had more time to converse but this was one of my last stops on the way out of Expo as we were approaching closing time.

From their website, "The company develops, manufactures, and markets solid/liquid separation equipment and solutions for the mechanical and chemical-physical treatment".  It is important to note that their equipment is not just for the dairy and Agro industries. Their separator technology is for Agro, Biogas, Food Processing, Slaughterhouse, Pulp & Paper, MDF and Plastics industries. From their website, "Separation of solid and liquid manure of pig, cattle and poultry manure and digastates,".

For more on FAN, please check out their website: https://www.fan-separator.de/en/

QLF Quality Liquid Feeds

I've seen the QLF logo around many times and never had the chance to look into it.  My friend, Bob, got ahead of me and was talking to their sales rep.  I came in late on the conversation but they were talking about a liquid fertilizer that Bob recognized with the smell as "Molasses". I guess that was indeed the case and a conversation about the science of soil composition, pH, enzymes, etc. ensued. Aside from being very informative, that led me on some independent research on the company.

Looking on their website, I believe the product that started the discussion was L-CBF 7-21-3 MKP STARTER. Click here if you want to read more. QLF provides liquid feed supplements for the dairy industry. From their website, "using a liquid feed supplement in a lactation TMR to achieve optimal carbohydrate and degradable protein balance in the rumen helps enhance dry matter intake and milk production,".

For local Packer fans, here is a video of, All Pro, Jordy Nelson describing the business:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xw1SblCIxuM]

For more on QLF, please check out their website: https://www.qlf.com/

Agro Air Dynamics

I would be remiss if I didn't do a write-up on Agro Air Dynamics. A special thanks to Kent Englund and Brett Zickert for bringing me into this amazing industry. Here is a team of professionals that care a lot about the dairy industry, the farmers that work it and the customers that they support.  In that regard, it doesn't get any better than that.

Agro Air Dynamics has been working hard to get the latest in farm ventilation technology.  Keeping Cows Cool is a key element in reducing heat stress. Heat stress is a phenomenon that significantly reduces milk production. To quote Brett, "Cow comfort produces milk".  I think that simple saying says a lot.

The direct drive technology is a big thing right now. Agro Air Dynamics just did a product launch at World Dairy Expo for their new PMAC Direct Drive Fans.  You can read that article here.  The first thing you will notice when you see their booth is the build quality of these fans.  There are other producers of farm ventilation but Agro Air Dynamics definitely is top tier on quality, reliability and innovation.  The expertise for having a division dedicated to quality airflow says something too. Agromatic, the parent company, provides everything you need from rubber mats, Flex Stalls, barn feeding equipment, manure handling equipment, etc. Farm ventilation, however, is such a big thing that it is a specialty on its own.

For more on Agro Air Dynamics, see below...

World Dairy Expo 2018 Pictures

The Post World Dairy Expo 2018 Takeaway

Again, World Dairy Expo was a blast!  I look forward to going again.  With all of the amazing people and all of the technology and products, you realize how much the dairy industry is a part of everyday life. Especially in Wisconsin!

One of the things that I forgot to do was go back to the Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery booth and pick up some fresh cheese curds before I left. Major Bummer!!! The Comstock and Ellsworth locations are a favorite stop for friends and family up in Northwestern Wisconsin. My mother-in-law keeps her refrigerator stocked with Ellsworth Cheese curds every time we visit.

An ironic twist happened Saturday night, while stopping to get gas at a Kwik Trip in Oshkosh, WI. I glanced into their center cooler display and, there they were, bags of Ellsworth Cheese Curds!!! Needless to say, I picked up a bag and I'm finishing it up as I am finishing this article.  A fitting end to a great week of all things dairy 🙂

For more on Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery please check out their website: https://www.ellsworthcheese.com/

Thanks for taking the time to read about this ultra cool dairy experience!

Until next time...

About the Author

Vincent Paul is the owner of vPaulTech LLC, a Wisconsin based web development business. vPaulTech LLC creates custom websites, online applications and user interfaces. Vincent believes in helping support customers by understanding the industries that the customer operates in.  For helping a business like Agro Air Dynamics with their website, attending the World Dairy expo is the best way to get an understanding of the dairy market.

For more on vPaulTech LLC, please check out their website: https://vpaultech.com/

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More on Agro Air Dynamics

Agro Air Dynamics is a leader in farm ventilation. Agro Air Dynamics provides exhaust fans, vents and controllers.

Direct Drive Fans

Direct Drive Barn Fans are now available from your Agro Air Dealer.

***If you don’t have an Agro Air Dynamics Dealer, you can contact us today for a free quote.***

Ask for Brett Zickert.

They’ll be happy to help Keep Your Cows Cool!