Record attendance, excellent speakers, great
entertainment and informative exhibits were the ingredients that attracted the
largest ever attendance to the 2008 ADPI/ABI Annual Conference. This meeting is
"where the dairy industry does business" and that is exactly what
over 700 attendees from 16 countries found out over the 3 day conference held
in Chicago, Illinois, April 27th through the 29th.
The 2008 conference kicked off with keynote speaker Dr. Barry L.
Flinchbaugh, who treated attendees to an entertaining and informative view of
the Farm Bill and his thoughts on the upcoming election between what he likes
to describe as the race between "The Kid, The Old Man and The
Madame." Dr. Flinchbaugh is a Professor of Agricultural Economics at
Kansas State University.
The Three Waiters, singing actors in the guise of ordinary waiters,
delivered a show full of humor, sophistication and great surprises during the
Recognition Luncheon. During the luncheon, ADPI recognized John Whetten with
the 2008 Award of Merit. Whetten's esteemed career at Challenge Dairy Products
began in 1979 and spanned for 26 years until his retirement in 2007.
The afternoon finished with a breakout session focused on "Global
Opportunities for Butterfat" with presentations from representatives from
U.S. Dairy Export Council, Darigold, Inc., Kraft Foods and Ecoval Dairy Trade.
Meeting attendees then had an unparalleled opportunity to network with
representatives from throughout the domestic and international dairy industry
during an industry reception.
Attendees got the second day of the conference started with a little shot of
Southern comfort as the Dairy Market Outlook Breakfast featured a wonderful
presentation from Ronda Rich, a best selling author and award winning sports
writer.
The third general session of the conference offered an outstanding line-up
from speakers focusing on topics from global trade to dairy ingredient
research, highlighted with a presentation from Richard Field from iRIS
Consulting.
Mr. Richard Naczi, CEO of the American Dairy Association and Dairy Council,
Inc. was the featured speaker during the Industry Luncheon and gave a fantastic
presentation on "Sustainability from Farm to Table".
The conference came to a close as the Customer Appreciation Reception gave
attendees an opportunity to show their appreciation to their customers, while
sampling a vast variety of cheese including award winning cheeses donated by
CME Group, Jerry Dryer, Rice Dairy, Jana Foods, T.C. Jacoby & Co. and MCT
Dairies.
Start planning now for the 2009 ADPI/ABI Annual Conference to be held: April
26 - 28, 2009, Hyatt Regency, Chicago, Illinois.
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