Spotlight on 50th SASDT AGM and symposium

The 50^th SASDT annual general meeting and symposium with the theme “Dare to Dairy” was held at Kievits Kroon outside Pretoria from 9 to 11 May 2017. The programme was well balanced and included presentations by local and international experts and a visit to a robotic dairy farm in Rayton.
Dr Chris van Dijk and Christine Leighton gave feedback on the 2016 IDF World Dairy Summit. Dr Van Dijk closed with the following message: “What a privilege it is to be part of this great and wonderful industry involving more than 150 million farms and more than 240 million people on a daily basis. Milk most definitely has a future!”
The keynote speakers gave an overview of issues such as how the South African dairy industry had changed from a deregulated industry with a primary focus on production to one with a market-oriented way of thinking; the development of dairy products as a niche tourism product; food trends and consumer decision-making. One of the highlights of the event was a motivational talk on creativity presented by Dr Kobus Neethling. Look out for a full article on the event in the June edition of The Dairy Mail.