2017 WORLD DAIRY EXPO • ALLIANT ENERGY CENTER • MADISON, WISCONSIN, USA • WWW.WORLDDAIRYEXPO.COM • 95.7 FM
Expo Daily Edition SAturday, October 7, 2017
ATTENDEE INFORMATION Friday's ATTENDANCE: 14,657 total attendees International attendees: 2,554 from 94 countries
In This Issue: Champion Spotlight of Int'l Junior Guernsey Show page 5
OneOn-One with Lisa Behnke page 8
A tireless advocate for dairy page 12
The Word On The Street page 14
Champion Spotlight of Int'l Junior Red & White Show page 16
Today's highlights: 5 p.m. Parade of Champions & Selection of the 2017 Supreme Champion held in the Coliseum 6 p.m. World Dairy Expo 2017 Closes
Find today's full list of events in the Official Program or daily schedule available at information booths around the grounds.
SHOWRING RESULTS Text WDERESULTS to 727-4-WDEXPO for Showring results
FLAVORS OF THE DAY Grilled Cheese
All Wisconsin Sandwich of Brick and Colby
UW-Madison Cheese Stand next to the Arena Building
ICE CREAM
Caramel Collision • Strawberry Cheesecake • MacKinac Island Fudge GEA Ice Cream Stand located in the Exhibition Hall
#WDE2017
Creating the world’s finest dairy show Expo board of directors pioneering strategic plan BY BRITTANY OLSON Staff writer
In the wake of a successful 50th World Dairy Expo and the grand celebration commemorating the milestone event, Expo’s staff and board of directors are now looking to the next 50 years of the show – five years at a time. An event the size and scale of World Dairy Expo takes an astonishing amount of time to plan and coordinate. Even though the show is open for just five days, it takes 20 months to plan. For example, the theme for the 2018 World Dairy Expo was already determined this spring, which allows the graphics to be unveiled at the end of today. “The vast majority of the planning for World Dairy Expo, held each October, occurs from December through June. After that we are in the execution and delivery phase,” said Scott Bentley, General Manager of World Dairy Expo. “The staff uses the current year’s Expo as a platform to improve the following year’s offering. So, we will take the best of the 2017 Expo and ensure that we incorporate these elements into the 2018 show.” That train of thought aligns with what did not work at the current year’s show, as well. “Once the show is complete, we send out surveys to commercial exhibitors and Dairy Cattle Show exhibitors and review sur-
KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR
Dave Lee purchases an item from the Purple Cow Gift Shop with help from World Dairy Expo volunteers – (from left) Carol McKinley, Donna Georgeson and Rhonda Meinholz. Volunteers are an essential part of making World Dairy Expo run successfully. veys from attendees to see what went well,” said World Dairy Expo Board President Al Deming. Bentley agreed. “Status quo is not an option. As the saying goes, ‘If you are not moving forward and gaining ground you are actually losing ground,” Bentley said. In December, the Commercial Exhibitor Committee and Dairy Cattle Exhibitor Committee meet, and contracts for commercial exhibitors are mailed out in January. A month later, the annual budget is finalized, which is then reviewed by
the Finance Committee and approved by the Executive Committee and Board of Directors. It takes a lot of orchestration from both Expo staff and officers to make the show the grand event that it is, and also from stakeholders and volunteers. “We are very fortunate to have a large army of World Dairy Expo volunteers and stakeholders that have a great deal of experience in helping to plan and manage the week of Expo. They do much of the heavy lifting associated with this world-class event,” Bentley said. According to Bentley, all
forward-thinking organizations must have plans and strategies in place to ensure a successful future; and Expo is no exception. “World Dairy Expo created a five-year strategic plan in 2011, which was adopted by the board of directors in December 2011, Bentley said. “With the completion of the 2012-2016 five-year plan, and the celebration of the first 50 years of World Dairy Expo, it was [natural] for the Turn to PLANNING EXPO | Page 3
Youth Showmanship Contest has record-breaking participation BY DANIELLE NAUMAN Staff writer
The World Dairy Expo Youth Showmanship Contest enjoyed record-breaking participation with 424 youth donning white pants on the colored shavings Thursday evening. Youth from 25 U.S. states, three Canadian provinces and Australia competed in the three age divisions. Brianna Meyer of Chilton, Wis., rose to the top of the Junior Divisions, which featured participants aged 9 through 12. Judge Laura Phoenix of Woodville, Ontario, Canada, sorted through the youngest division of the contest. Meyer is the 12-year-old daughter of Larry and Jennifer Meyer. She is a seventh grader at Chilton Middle School. This is Meyer’s fourth year walking on the colored shavings, and the third year she has participated in the Youth Showmanship Contest. “I’ve never placed in the top 10 before, so winning this year was really cool,” said Meyer, who enjoys participating in
WORLD DAIRY EXPO
Judge Norm McNaughton (back, left) selected Taylor Vander Meulen of Brighton, Ont., Canada, (back, second from left) as the top showman in the Intermediate Division of the Youth Showmanship Contest, from a field of 192 participants. showmanship contests at many shows she attends. The first time she grabbed a hold of a leadstrap and headed to the showring at a local fair, she was about two years old. “My mom has taught me a lot about
showing and showmanship,” Meyer said. “Every year we go over the rules and watch showmanship videos. We spend a Turn to SHOWMANSHIP | Page 4