Southwestern Ontario Dairy Symposium – An event by dairy producers for dairy producers.

Important Speaker Announcement

Due to unforeseen circumstances Dr. Tine van Werven will not be able to present at this year’s symposium.

At 10:20am, Dr. Ann Godkin and Dr. Dave Kelton will be presenting “Reducing Antibiotic use at Dry-off – the Pros and Cons”. The presentation will give a short summary of the response of dairy producers and veterinarians in the Netherlands in response to a change in regulations that caused a change in antibiotic use permissions (slides courtesy of Dr. Tine van Werven), followed by a short description of the Ontario Antimicrobial Stewardship project.

At 10:50am, Omic McDonald from Dairy Distillery will be be presenting on the “The Vodkow Story, Past Present and Future”. Omid McDonald is the founder and CEO of Dairy Distillery, makers of Vodkow, a smooth and creamy vodka made from milk permeate. Omid’s experience making alcohol for drinking suggests there is also potential for making fuel ethanol from surplus milk permeate.

For full bios on these speakers please visit the program page.

Announcing Southwestern Ontario Dairy Symposium 2020 Keynote Speaker

“The Food Professor” – Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University

Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, Professor in Food Distribution and Policy at Dalhousie University

Dr. Charlebois will be presenting on The Future of Canadian Agriculture. Charlebois will delve into the Canadian Food Guide and what it means for rural and urban consumers. He will also cover the trends in plant-based protein and other topics impacting agriculture today.
Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is a Professor in food distribution and policy in the Faculties of Management and Agriculture at Dalhousie University in Halifax. He is also the Senior Director of Agri-food Analytics also located at Dalhousie University.

Full Day Speaker Line-up for Southwestern Ontario Dairy Symposium 2020

9:00 am	Exhibits Open
10:15 am	Welcome
10:20 am	Reducing Antibiotic Use at Dry-off – The Pros and Cons Dr. Ann GodkinCeptor Cattle Health and Education Programs Dr. Dave KeltonDairy Farmers of Ontario Dairy Cattle Health Research ChairUniversity of Guelph
10:50 am	The Vodkow Story, Past Present and Future Omid McDonaldFounder and CEODairy Distillery
11:00 am	The Future of Canadian Agriculture Dr. Sylvain CharleboisProfessor in Management and AgricultureDalhousie University
12:15 pm	Hot Lunch featuring “Food from our Farms”
1:30 pm	Planning for Non-authorized Visitors on the Farm Kurtis AndrewsFarm and Animal Welfare LawyerKurtis R. Andrews, Barrister & Solicitor Emily den HaanDairy ProducerHaanview Farms/Sheldon Creek Dairy Sgt. Laura Lee BrownRegional Community Services CoordinatorOntario Provincial Police Mike von MassowAssociate ProfessorUniversity of Guelph
2:45 pm	Opportunities to Improve Herd Reproductive Performance Dr. Stephen LeBlancProfessor in the department of Population Medicine at the Ontario Veterinary College, and Research Program Director – Animal Production SystemsUniversity of Guelph
3:20 pm	Speak your Mind!
4:00 pm	Exhibits Close

For more information on the presentation topics and the speakers click on the Program tab at the top of the page.

An Interactive Event Planned by Producers for Producers

Planned and sponsored by Dairy Farmers of Ontario, through its Dairy Producer Committees in Essex-Kent, Lambton, Middlesex, Elgin, Huron, Perth, Oxford, Waterloo, Wellington, Brant, Norfolk, Wentworth, Haldimand and Niagara, in cooperation with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs.