Thursday, September 25, 2025
8:30 – 11:30 am Farm Tour: Tre-G Farms, 8183 Route 20, Manlius, NY 13104, hosted by the Smith Family. Please go directly to the farm.
Noon – 1:00 pm NODPA Field Days Registration and Lunch, The Pompey Rod and Gun Club, 2035 Swift Road, Pompey, NY 13138
1:00 – 2:30 Emerging Technology to Enhance Organic Dairy Production: a panel discussion on virtual fencing, robotics, pasture and herd management software, and more. Ryker Smith, Tre-G Farms, Bob Church, Lely Robotics, and Julio Giordano, Professor, Cornell CALS Department of Animal Science; Director, Cornell Agricultural Testbed and Demonstration Site (CAST) for the Farm of the Future; Associate Director, Cornell Institute for Digital Agriculture; and Martin Perez, DVM, Ph.D., Program and Operations Manager for the Cornell Agricultural Systems Testbed and Demonstration Site (CAST) for the Farm of the Future.
2:30 – 4:00 Trends in Organic Dairy: Identify and analyze emerging trends and players that will be part of future markets available for organic dairy farmers. From A2A2 genetics, regenerative organic certification, organic certification to direct sales from the farm, how can producers take advantage of changing markets and opportunities? Nathan Weaver, Windhover Farm, Canastota, NY, Mike Davis, General Manager, Membership & Bulk Sales Divisions Upstate-Niagara, Inc. (UNC), Eric Sheffer, Sheffer’s Grassland Dairy, and Christopher Wolfe, Cornell University Professor of Agricultural Economics (invited), Tom McGrath, Family Farmstead Dairy, Worcester, NY (invited).
4:30 – 5:30 The Dairy x Beef Calf Market: An analysis of the current high returns and breeding decisions for the future. Robert Goodling, Horizon Farm Credit, presenter
5:30 – 6:00 Trade Show and Social Hour
6:00 – 7:00 NODPA Annual Meeting and Banquet
7:00 – 8:30 Keynote Presentation: Enhancing production by breeding for the best cow characteristics for every production system. Michael McCaffery, AAA Weeks Analyzer
8:30 pm End of day
Friday, September 26, 2025
6:30 am – 9:00 Continental Breakfast
7:00 – 9:00 Producer-Only Meeting, Henry Perkins, past NODPA President, facilitator
9:00 – 10:30 Lessons from Successful Grass-Fed Dairy Farms: Explore how to evaluate whether a grass-fed system aligns with your land base, infrastructure, forage quality, cost of production, herd genetics, finances, and family goals. We will also discuss key points for a successful conversion to grass-fed dairy, and research from the multi-year Northeast Grass-Fed Dairy Project, Sarah Flack, presenter
10:30 – 11:30 Better Nutrition = Better Milk Production, Cow Health, and Profitability. Using good nutrition practices to increase production and herd health with all production methods. Bill Kipp, MS, LAS, Animal Nutritionist, Independent Dairy Consultants, Inc., Middlebury, VT
11:30 – noon: Intro to Farm Tour Pastureland Dairy, 8062 #2 Road W., Manlius, NY, 13104: Peter and Jeremy Mapstone, hosts
Noon – 1:00 pm Lunch, door prize drawing
1:15 – 1:30 Travel to Pastureland Dairy
1:30 - Farm tour Pastureland Dairy, 8062 #2 Road W., Manlius, NY, 13104 Manlius, NY hosted by the Mapstone family
Posted: to Field Days on Sun, Jul 13, 2025
Updated: Sun, Jul 13, 2025
