The 2012 World Dairy Expo has come and gone, and we thought we'd take some time to share the week with you through numbers, photos and editors' experiences:
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71,788: The number of total people who attended the show
- 600+: The number of visitors who pinned our Proud to Dairy map. The map, pictured at right, featured the U.S., a larger version of Wisconsin and a global view.
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345: The number of entries from 23 states in the World Forage Analysis Superbowl. Click here to see the winners.
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200: The number of Progressive Dairyman, Progressive Forage Grower and Proud to Dairy hats we gave out
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95: The number of different countries represented at the show
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75: The number of videos we recorded of attendees telling what makes them Proud to Dairy and/or what they like about our magazines
- 51: The number of weeks until the next World Dairy Expo on October 1-5, 2013.
Below, view a photo slideshow from the event. Photos by Progressive Publishing Webmaster Ray Merritt. Story continues below photo slideshow.
Finally, we wanted to share with you the week through the eyes of our editors. Read below to find out what the 2012 World Dairy Expo held for each of them. 
Rebecca Ragain, Progressive Dairyman Web News Editor
As a first-timer at World Dairy Expo, it was interesting to see in real life many of the dairy products about which I've been writing. Photos just don't convey the size and complexity of some of the equipment.
But, as most attendees probably say, it was the people that made the event enjoyable. At our booth, I met readers who stopped by to make sure we keep running Yevet Tenney’s column.
I spoke with a dairy student I interviewed by email for a recent profile in Progressive Dairyman. And it was great to hear from the dozens of folks who paused to say simply, “I get your magazine and it’s great.”
Lynn Olsen, Progressive Forage Grower Editor
What a great time of year this is! The fall colors were so beautiful flying into Madison, I had lots of appointments set and time in the booth to talk to current and potential subscribers...so much to look forward to!
Only my third year in attendance at World Dairy Expo, I'm to the stage where you start to recognize people you have seen before, and getting to know people is truly my favorite part of traveling.
As we hear from more and more folks that they enjoy the magazines and appreciate the work we do, I feel inspired to come home and work even harder to make things better.
It's also a critical time to meet with our valued allied industry partners to plan editorial content for the coming year. I appreciate learning what they are hearing from their customers and "through the grapevine" to know what issues we should address to best help producers.
I am grateful for their willingness to contribute articles and share their knowledge. And even though many of our agricultural practices have been around for awhile, there's new technology, products or processes to improve the way things get done.
As the industry continues to contract, it will become even more important to look for ways to be more efficient and productive. I hope our team can play even a small role in supporting you and your on-going efforts to do those things that will make your operation sustainable.
Dario Martinez, Progressive Dairyman Southwest Editor and El Lechero Editor
Although this year was a quick trip for me due to a family wedding that same week, I had a great time visiting the many people that stopped by our booth or that I met with and ran across at World Dairy Expo.
An especially memorable moment was when Jorge Delgado’s sisters, who live in Ecuador, stopped by our booth. Jorge currently authors articles for El Lechero, our bilingual dairy publication.
Their other brother, Juan Delgado, was also featured in a previous edition of the magazine. The two sisters stopped by our booth after seeing their brother’s photo from the cover of the magazine featured on one of our show displays. Click here to see the photo.
Overall, hearing all of the great comments and feedback reaffirms our commitment to our readers in providing timely and helpful information in all aspects of the dairy industry. I look forward to serving all of our readers in 2013!
Karen Lee, Progressive Dairyman Midwest Editor and Progressive Dairyman – Canada Editor
For me, this was one of the best World Dairy Expo's in years. Of course, I enjoy the event every year, but for some reason this one was better than the rest.
Maybe it was the last encounter I had that day with a family I've gotten to know from Canada. It could have been that I met a consumer to fulfill an obligation I had for our next print issue and while doing so I made a fair trade with a gentleman from Japan, leaving him with my World Dairy Expo lanyard and taking home a Japanese fan.
I could possibly contribute the feeling to the fact that my days were full of meetings that all turned out to be productive or that my booth shifts flew by because there was always somebody walking by that I knew, from which a pleasant visit was had.
All in all I can't really define what made the 2012 World Dairy Expo stand above the rest, but I do know I'm not the only one who felt that way. From the smiles on the grounds to the social media chatter afterwards, I'd say a good time was had by all.
Walt Cooley, Progressive Dairyman Managing Editor
Going into World Dairy Expo, one of the goals of our team is to plan out portions of our editorial content for 2013.
We spend the week looking at new products and talking with producers about articles that would be helpful. We also watch carefully for up-and-coming topics.
As the herd health and nutrition editor, many of my conversations at World Dairy Expo focused around systems, protocols and new technologies that help producers better manage dairy margins. Undoubtably, the number of inefficient dairy farms in operation is dwindling.
Most rations contain specific nutrients for a reason. Most herd health protocols contains vaccines and treatments for a reason. Most dairies are running lean for a reason. Cutting these reasonable things will sacrifice milk.
After visiting World Dairy Expo, I believe 2013 will be a year for precision monitoring and production technologies to shine. These will help producers get more from less.
Emily Caldwell, Progressive Dairyman East Coast Editor and Web Editor
When planning out my schedule for the week at World Dairy Expo, I had equal amounts of time allotted for meeting with companies, doing interviews or attending seminars, and spending time in one of our three booths at the show. This made for a hectic but well-rounded week.
Every year at Expo, I also get to see Jouni Pitkaranta, who I wrote about in 2008 when I first interned at Progressive Dairyman. Where else but World Dairy Expo can you connect with a Finnish architect with a passion for dairy barns?
The 10-hour drive from and back to my home in Pennsylvania always gives me a chance to admire the changing colors of the leaves through the five states I travel. It's also a good opportunity to reflect on 2012 and plan for what's in store for 2013! FG
What was your favorite moment from World Dairy Expo? Share your thoughts in a comment below!
