The Annual DMC Conference 2024
This year was DMC’s 10th Conference.
The 2024 conference had about 300 attendees which included some of the best dairy farmers in the country, along with the key role players in their businesses. These attendees include but are not limited to dairy farm owners, dairy farm managers, veterinarians, and nutritionists. The dairy farm owners, managers and veterinarians made up 70 % of the audience. This group of dairy farmers produce approximately 26 % of South Africa’s daily milk production. We are confident that this is an opportunity like no other to have valuable contact with the top performers and their teams, in the dairy industry.
This year we once again had an opportunity to congratulate the farms that are top achievers as far as calf mortalities and reproduction is concerned. It is amazing to see farms with calf mortalities between 3.7 % and 0.7 %, and 5.3 % and 1.0 % for Holsteins and Jerseys, respectively. The conceptions rates of the top farms ranged between 44 % and 61 % for Jerseys and Holsteins combined. We are proud to be associated with farmers that are truly world-class and always looking to improve.
Dr Jimena Laporta talked about what we can do to protect the unborn calf and therefore the longevity and profitability of the herd in future. Kees Bos reminded everyone of the importance of looking after the basics in the milking parlour to reduce SCC and mastitis incidences. Dr Arturo Gomez discussed issues regarding hoof health and what we can do to manage these issues from a practical perspective. Dr Anthony McNeel gave a very enlightening presentation about the value that genomic testing can add to any herd.
If you wish to learn more about what happened this year at DMC’s 10th Annual Conference. We have DMC’s Co-owner, Justin Moolman, giving us a breakdown of everything that took place. Here is some more information where Veeplaas Tydskrif dives a bit deeper, explaining what some of the speakers had to say at the conference.
View some highlights
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Speaker: Dr Arturo Gomez
Next frontier in hoof health management.
Speaker: Dr Anthony McNeel
How genomic technology is improving the sustainability of dairy production.
Speaker: Dr Jimena Laporta
Heat stress during late gestation impacts multiple generations of dairy cows.
Speaker: Kees Bos
Managing Mastitis.
