More than 1,200 people battled yet another winter storm to attend the Midwest Dairy Expo in St. Cloud, Minnesota, Nov. 30-Dec. 1. Plenty of educational opportunities, networking, a trade show, scholarship auction and an entertaining evening dinner kept everyone occupied as the snow fell outside. With the theme, “Small Decisions Changing Lives” the educational sessions included topics on cow comfort, herd health, estate planning, calf raising, profitability, breeding, activism and the 2012 Farm Bill.

The trade show, free to all attendees, featured more than 100 sponsors in two different areas.

A scholarship auction held on Nov. 30 raised more than $9,000 for the Minnesota Milk's and Upper Midwest Dairy Industry Association's scholarship programs.

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At the evening meal, Lance S. Fox, D.V.M. with Alpharma Animal Health , shared his tale of his climb to the top of Mt. Everest. During that banquet, the Minnesota Milk Producers Association awarded Gar-Lin Dairy Farms as Minnesota’s 2010 Producers of the Year, Representative Mary Ellen Otremba at the 2010 Legislator of the Year, and Commissioner Gene Hugoson as the first recipient of the Bruce Cottington Friend of Dairy Award. PD

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—From PD staff