From May 1 to 3, a group of young dairy enthusiasts came together at the University of Guelph for a conference in dairy management, co-managed by 4-H Ontario and the Ontario Holstein Branch.
The fifth annual Dairy Sen$e conference was at capacity, drawing participants aged 18 to 25 from across the province.
The workshop was developed by the Ontario Holstein Branch and 4-H Ontario in 2010 in order to fill an education gap in business management within the industry.
“Five years ago when we decided to put this program on it was mainly based on giving young people more education on the business side of dairy farming,” says Jason French, general manager of the Ontario Holstein Branch. “We’re really trying to make sure the Dairy Sen$e program gives them some practical and financial knowledge that they can take home and use in their own operation or to be able to ask their parents more questions about how their operation is managed.”
The first day of the conference saw the group receive some media advice from Andrew Campbell of Fresh Air Media, as well as presentations from Farm Credit Canada, TD Canada Trust, CIBC and AgCareers.com. The following day, participants headed to New Hamburg for a tour of Heeg Dairy Inc., a dairy farm owned by Sytse and Anita Heeg. While there, they learned about a Herd Navigator for reproduction, disease prevention and transition cow management. In the afternoon they continued to Den-Lee Farms Ltd., owned by Greg, Shelley, Dennis and Sandy Kuepfer, where they learned about the importance of milk quality, land stewardship and genetic selection in reaching goals.
“The typical journey for a 4-H member in the dairy side has a lot to do with showing and fitting and working with the livestock— but we never really get into the business side,” says David Rose, a presenter from CIBC, Dairy Sen$e planning committee member and Ontario 4-H Foundation Trustee.
“Dairy Sen$e gives them an opportunity to look at financial statements, learn a little bit more about balance sheets, income statements and the performance of the business. We’re hoping to make them better dairy farmers, better business people, and because it’s 4-H, we’re trying to make them better people overall.”
Participants were divided into case study groups on the final day of the conference, to analyze financial information based on case study farms. They then gave a presentation on their recommendations for how these farms could improve their operations. The information they acquired through the workshops and tours was instrumental in developing their case study presentations. Finally the group received a presentation by Doug Jack on family succession from the firm of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP.
