Program plans have been finalized for the 2019 International Precision Dairy Conference, a learning and networking event to be held June 18-20 in Rochester, Minn.

Early bird registration ends May 1, and online registration closes June 12.

The two-day conference will have five plenary talks and 36 breakout talks, along with two poster sessions and a small trade show. The event includes speakers from the U.S. as well as New Zealand, Australia, Europe and South America, according to an announcement from conference organizers at the University of Minnesota.

Plenary topics include dairy digital trends in the industry presented by international consultant Aidan Connolly; large-scale robotic milking presented by Indiana dairy producer Brian Houin (36 box robots); data ownership and use of technology presented by Dutch dairy producer Ron von Burgsteden; technology and dairy cow health monitoring presented by Dave Kelton, and an agricultural venture capital perspective presented by international technology consultant Kieran Furlong.

Most of the 20-minute breakout talks on June 18 will focus on sensor technology and use of data, the organizers said. On June 19, there will be nine breakout talks on robotic milking, including one about the largest robotic dairy in the world (in Chile) that milks 4,500 cows with 64 box robots. Other topics on June 19 include field robotics beyond dairy, practical use of inline milk data, automated calf feeding and mastitis detection.

More details on the schedule are available on the conference website.

An optional dairy farm tour, which requires separate registration, will follow the main conference on June 20 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

For more information, contact conference planning committee chairperson Marcia Endres.