Chairman’s Welcome
On behalf of the organising committee I would like to invite you to Southland for the 41st annual conference.
Come and rub shoulders with other farmers, who like you, also think outside of the square and apply it to their dairying operations.
The theme of this year’s conference is “Tip of the Iceberg – Complying to the Future”. As we all know environmental compliance issues for dairying have come under the spotlight and the focus will remain on us into the future, it is important for all farmers to be proactive rather than reactive. This is why we have invited international speakers from three countries who are dealing with the growing international requirements for compliance; our own national speakers such as Alistair Nelson from Rissington Breedline, suppliers to Marks and Spencer and the Rt Hon Dame Jenny Shipley who is active in international trade especially in the Asian region; as well as many other informative and entertaining speakers who will get you thinking about meeting compliance standards.
We are also lucky to have obtained the services of both a New Zealand and Southland farming icon, Jamie MacKay, who will be both chairing a session and running his Farming Show from the conference.
Southland in the early 1990s had about 50,000 cows, 20 years later there had been over an 800% increase in numbers to over 420,000 cows. The phenomenal growth in dairy farming has been due to the relatively cheap land, high per cow production, large amount of land available as well as the foresight and determination of the dairy farmers in the area.
While you are here, why not take part in the trip organised by the committee to Mount Linton Station, which is one of the largest privately owned sheep and beef stations in New Zealand, with its parallels to large herd dairy farming. In addition the committee has arranged for a trip to the Bill Richardson Truck Museum, not generally open to the public, which is probably the largest museum of its type in the world.
Because we are country folk and proud of it, we are finishing the conference with a celebratory country hoedown dinner and dance sponsored by Summit Quinphos. Dress up and come along. Come to Southland for the conference, spend some time here, have a good look around, learn and have fun at the same time.
Steven Josephs
Chairman - Southland Large Herd’s Committee 2010
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