Dairy women from all sectors of the industry came together Nov. 1-3 in Minnesota for the Dairy Girl Network (DGN) national conference, which provided ample networking opportunities for attendees and a variety of sessions to learn about topics affecting the dairy industry.
Keynote speaker Mary Ledman discussed influencers, detours and the global dairy industry. She encouraged the ladies in the audience to leave themselves open to possibilities as she told a story about climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
“I encourage you that with every detour in life, there is a new path and there will be new experiences,” she said.
When asked by an audience member during the Q&A about how to find a mentor or “influencer,” Ledman mentioned some of her own mentors earlier in her career and provided this advice for others.
“You have to go to events and take opportunities [to grow] whether it’s a trade school, college or going to [a conference or joining a club],” Ledman said. “As a participant, you will find that at some point you gravitate toward someone [who may become a mentor or influencer in your life] and it’s a mutual connection because they see something in you as well, but you’ve got to put yourself out there.”
She emphasizes the importance of paying it forward and helping others in the industry.
“I think it’s incumbent upon us that have had influencers or mentors to be influencers to younger people ourselves. So this environment here [at the DGN conference] provides that type of mentoring, and mentoring can sometimes have other terms like an influencer,” she added.
Other general session speakers focused on managing inflammation in dry cows, facing change, building an authentic brand presence on social media, building a business and sustainability. Additional breakout sessions provided insight into next-level maternity cow and neonatal calf management, accounting, dairy trends and insights, legal considerations for farms, diversity, crisis management, building stronger communications on dairy teams, global factors impacting milk checks, dairy monitoring technology and tips for maximizing results with dairy reproductive programs. DGN founder Laura Daniels concluded the conference with an inspirational message and tools to help attendees navigate a life of purpose and thrive through adaptation and action.
Industry experts offered their time, expertise and resources for one-on-one conversations with attendees on topics like farm safety, social media, photography, legal questions, coaching and more.
Evening entertainment included DGN’s rendition of the DGN Tonight Show featuring Claudia, Evelyn and Jojo Leubner of the NY Farm Girls. Host Bec Shaw interviewed the Leubner sisters about their experiences building a social media presence, their farm, interacting with consumers on social media, sister trivia and more.
Pre- and post-conference sessions offered opportunities to learn about adding value to dairy beef, dry cows, Enneagrams and mental health training.
Pamela Selz-Pralle accepts the DGN Leading Impact award. Photo by Kimmi Devaney.Pam Selz-Pralle of Humbird, Wisconsin, was honored with the first DGN Leading Impact Award. Selz-Pralle mentors and models making better leaders to lead stronger dairy organizations, be leaders in their communities and the voice of dairy farming. Her experience and leadership ranges from production agriculture to industry development to consumer advocacy. Yet, Selz-Pralle still manages to adventure into new projects while still keeping things going strong at home farming with her husband, Scott. They have been awarded Holstein USA Outstanding Younger Breeders, Wisconsin Jaycee Outstanding Young Dairymen and bred the World Record Milk Cow. She was honored as a Wisconsin Master Agriculturalist, one of four women in its 45-year history to receive this award. On the farm, she instituted an uncommon calf feeding system of mob feeding, group pens, in a positive-pressure ventilated barn. She has become a national spokeswoman for her program at major events and fields questions regularly from those touring her innovative, data-supported calf-feeding program.
The DGN Forward Under 40 (+4) Award recognized four passionate dairywomen working to better our industry today. The DGN Forward Under 40 Award is presented biennially at the Forward TogetHER Conference. For 2022 only, women age 44 and under were eligible for the DGN Forward Under 40 (+4) award. Because the 2020 DGN Forward TogetHER event was held virtually, award recipients were not honored. Therefore, the 2022 award criteria was modified to Forward Under 40 (+4), opening the door for women who may have missed the opportunity in 2020.
Award winners – Forward under 40 (+ 4) award winners: Left to right is Cassie Monger representing Compeer (sponsor of Forward Under 40 (+ 4); Julie Abrahamzon; Amanda Freund. Not pictured: Emily Yeiser Stepp. Photo by Kimmi Devaney. The four dairywomen recognized for the DGN Forward Under 40 (+4), sponsored by Compeer Financial, were Julie Abrahamzon of Kansas City, Missouri; Amanda Freund of East Canaan, Connecticut; Leaine Souza of Tulare, California; and Emily Yeiser-Stepp of Leesburg, Virginia.
