::::: Introduction to the SA Large Herds Conferences :::::

Ever since a Large Herds Conference was first mooted for South Africa during the latter part of 1998,there has been a growing interest from farmers and industry alike both here and overseas. News spread fast and requests for more information are received from several European countries, North America and several from New Zealand.

Since the first conference in 1999, several overseas delegates have attended the five conferences held to date, the last one being from 23-25 February 2009 at Champagne Sports Resort, Drakensberg. Amongst these were a number of internationally acclaimed dairy academics and scientists, some of whom took part in the event, amongst them Professor Prof Dana Tomlinson, Zinpro Corp, USA; Basil Doonan, Davey and Maynard Agricultural Consulting; Nicola Shadbolt, Associate Professor in Farm and Agribusiness Management, New Zealand; Philippe Jachnik, International Affairs Counsellor for CNIEL, France and Bill Russell, Dairy Extension officer, Dept of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia. The sixth South African Large Herds conference was the most successful to date. The biggest challenge facing the organising committee is finding a big enough venue!

A Large Herds Conference takes an holistic approach to dairy farming, concentrating on issues peculiar to the large herds operator. Topics such as Systems Management, Strategies for change, Operations Management, Market Trends, Environmental and Technological Trends, Finance and Taxation, Human Resource Management, Motivation and Lifestyle are addressed. These conferences are for progressive dairy farmers serious about their business. However, the conferences are not all work – braais, safaris, gala dinners, farm visits, etc are the order of the day.

This event gives South Africa a unique opportunity to join a select group in the farming community and also benefit from the most up-to-date information available. Delegates from leading dairy farming areas around the world regularly share knowledge and information on techniques and technology that are of enormous benefit to local farmers.

The aim of the conferences is to put participants in the position to, after the conference, take away a strategic business plan for their own farms, based on their own individual circumstances and needs. This is achieved by creating one-on-one interaction during the conference in the form of break-away groups facilitated by the various experts who participate in the conference.