FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Tri-State Dairy Nutrition Conference is celebrating its 30th year in 2022, a milestone delayed due to COVID-19.

This year’s event is April 11-13 at the Grand Wayne Center in downtown Fort Wayne. The 30th conference would have been last year had the pandemic not led to the cancellation of the 2020 event. The 2021 conference was conducted virtually.

“It’ll be really good to be back in person,” said Maurice Eastridge, a professor of animal sciences at The Ohio State University. “We’re seeing really positive movement in registrations. I think everyone is excited to be back together.”

The conference attracted about 450 people in 2019, he said. The 2021 virtual event drew a pretty good following, Eastridge noted. “In planning for 2022, there was a lot of feedback that people wanted to be back in person. We certainly felt the timing was right.”

For people who might not feel safe attending in person, the conference will have a virtual option, he said. The plan is for those watching virtually to be able to see the presentations live.

Eastridge hopes the conference has at least 350 registrations, though he’d like to see more. Some consolidations in the dairy feed industry had caused attendance to dip below 500 for the 2019 conference after several years above that number, he said.

The first day of the conference features an afternoon mini-symposium sponsored by Balchem. Undergraduate and graduate student presentations are also scheduled.

Sustainability and feeding management will be the focus of afternoon sessions on the 12th. “Sustainability is an issue we’ve heard a lot about in the industry and in the media,” Eastridge explained. “One of the sessions will examine how to look practically at the net zero (carbon imprint) initiative.”

Later in the afternoon, speakers will discuss alternative forages and increasing milk fat yield.

The latest Nutrient Requirements of Dairy Cattle, published last year, will be the topic of several speakers on the 13th. The guidelines for feeding dairy cattle were last updated 20 years ago, Eastridge said. The presenters will share information on how best for formulate for energy, protein and trace elements in dairy cattle diets.

“Getting the practical aspects (of the new guidelines) into the hands of people on the front line balancing options is important,” he noted.

This year’s conference won’t include breakout sessions as in the past, Eastridge said. “It’s hard to do simultaneous sessions virtually. This will be a learning year (with the virtual option). We’ll get a little experience under our belts.”

The cost to attend the conference in person is $185 until April 1, and $215 after. For those who choose the virtual option, the cost is $100 until April 1, and $130 after. Eastridge said he would appreciate if potential in-person attendees would register as soon as possible so organizers could better know how much food would be needed.

Fourteen continuing education units will be available at the conference: two for the Balchem mini-symposium, three for an Alltech pre-conference on the 12th and nine for the conference itself. The American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists exam will be given April 12.

The conference is sponsored by Michigan State University, Ohio State and Purdue University, For more information, including the agenda and registration form, visit www.tristatedairy.org.