Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

WIDA would like to wish our members, volunteers, sponsors, and friends a very blessed and Merry Christmas! We hope everyone has a safe, healthy, and prosperous 2017 as well. We appreciate all of your support in 2016 and look forward to working together for another successful year in 2017.

This holiday season, WIDA will again be making donations of $100 to local food pantries for the purchase of dairy products in each of the counties where we have dairy producer members. Thank you to the members who are helping with donation distribution. 

RSVP - WIDA Annual Meeting

Our annual meeting is just around the corner and will be taking place on Monday, January 23, 2017 at Prairie Winds Event Center in Orange City, IA.

Join us for a fun evening as we will also be celebrating our 10-year anniversary. Social hour will begin at 6:00 pm, with dinner being served at 6:30 pm. Following the meal, our business meeting will take place, and we will end the night with some entertainment from Tim Moffett, also known as Tim the Dairy Farmer. Check out Tim's website to learn more about him:  http://www.agcomedian.com/.

To ensure an accurate count for dinner, please RSVP by January 18 by texting or calling 712-441-5308, or emailing info@wiadairy.com. We hope you can join us! Check out the annual meeting invitation by  clicking here.

2017 Membership Renewals 

We would like to thank everyone who has sent in their membership renewals for 2017. Your support is greatly appreciated as it allows us to continue to serve as an advocate for the dairy industry, engage with consumers, support farm families, and help build the next generation of leaders. Please take a look at our "Celebrating 10 Years of Growth"  report to see how your membership is benefiting you.

Membership renewal materials have been sent out, so if you have not received your membership packet yet, please contact Jenna at info@wiadairy.com. 

Industry partner members who would like to receive an invoice or who would like to pay by credit card can contact Jenna at info@wiadairy.com.

Focusing on Herd Health Pays Off

Thank you to Kelsey  Klarenbeek of Van Beek Natural Science for submitting this article. 

Dairy producers should avoid compromising cow health and nutrition in favor of cutting costs when the milk prices are lower. Reducing cost in health and nutrition may ultimately lead to lower milk production and higher veterinary costs offsetting any short-term savings. According to Mike Hutjens, dairy nutritionist from the University of Illinois says "Trying to save even 15 cents per cow per day could result in increased somatic cell counts, delaying in getting cows pregnant and other health issues that cost significantly more than 15 cents per day." "Dairy farmers must make economical sound feeding decisions which return a profit when prices are either at $24 or $17."

Dairy farmers should have a close working relationship with their veterinarian and nutritionist to work together to discover products that would cover multiple affects on a farm when deciding where to start cutting cost. It is not advised to cut health supplements from a herd health management program as producers should remember that high-producing cows will always make money regardless of the milk price. It is important to continue focusing on milk production and not be tempted to take short-term shortcuts that could jeopardize herd health and productivity.

Click here to view the full article and learn more about the role good nutrition has in preventing diseases in fresh cows and improving herd performance. 

ISDA Annual Meeting - January 4, 2017

Iowa State Dairy Association's annual meeting has been moved to Wednesday, January 4, 2017 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Cedar Falls, IA. 

More information on ISDA's website will become available as we get closer to the meeting. 

Mark Your Calendars - PDPW Human Resources Workshop

Have questions about hiring, retaining, and engaging top notch employees in your dairy operation? PDPW's Dairy Human Resources workshop can help! WIDA will be hosting the workshop in Orange City at the Sioux County Extension office on Friday, February 3, 2017. This training provides a basis for creating an effective, productive hiring and on-boarding system that will retain top talent (eagles) and repel the rest (turkeys). Participants will walk away from this workshop with information and tools that will help them recruit and hire the best, develop a team of eagles, and engage and retain their employees. Attendees will also hear from a panel of dairy producers on how they hire, retain, and grow employees.

Click here to check out the brochure to learn more about the workshop and learn how you can get signed up.

Volunteers Needed for Siouxland Home Show

June Dairy Month Open House Set for June 28, 2017. 

Mark your calendars for our 10th Annual June Dairy Month Open House on Wednesday, June 28, 2017! Our open house will be taking place at Summit Dairy, owned by John and Rachelle Westra, near Primghar, IA. 

More details to come on our website as planning continues.