FORT WAYNE, Ind. — The 22nd Tri-State Dairy Nutrition Conference will be April 23-34 in downtown Fort Wayne. The early registration deadline for the event is April 12.

The conference is designed for feed industry personnel, nutrition consultants, extension personnel, veterinarians, dairy producers and anyone interested in the industry. Last year, more than 450 attended.

One reason the conference has remained popular is because of the high quality of the topics on the agenda, said Tamilee Nennich, assistant professor of animal sciences at Purdue University, and a conference organizer. The length of time each speaker is allotted allows for more topics to be discussed, she noted.

“The talks are a little shorter, though we do have a mix of 15 to 20 minutes, to 40 minutes, and that allows for a wider breadth of information to be covered,” she said. “It’s the opportunity to hear a lot of things over what’s basically one day.”

One theme of this year’s conference is herd health and management, Nennich said.

“Obviously the health side is important, but the management side of the lactation of the cow is also important,” she said. “Because the price of feed has increased the last few years, we’re really fine-tuning how we’re feeding those animals.”

The agenda for the afternoon of April 23 delves into herd health and management with presentations on hypocalcemia, feeding aflatoxin-contaminated feed and the effect of maternal nutrition on calf health and growth.

The next morning, topics focus on new technologies and improving animal and herd efficiency. Presentations will include residual food intake and the effects of nutrient variation on lactating dairy cows.

The conference will be in the Grand Wayne Center, 120 W. Jefferson Blvd. in Fort Wayne. The cost is $165 for registrations received by April 12 and $195 after. The event begins April 23 at noon with registration, and ends the next day about 12:30 p.m.

For more information, an agenda and registration form, visit http://tri statedairy.osu.edu

The conference is sponsored by Michigan State University, The Ohio State University and Purdue University.