Professor appointed advisor of Professional Dairy Producers board

Steve Kelm, professor of dairy science at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, has been appointed as an advisor to the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin (PDPW) Board of Directors. This two-year appointment was made at the annual PDPW business conference in March.

PDPW has a nine-member board of directors; all must be active dairy producers. Four advisors, appointed by the board, represent the dairy industry, academia and/or the agricultural finance sector. The board and the advisors meet regularly. The advisors can share ideas and opinions just like any board member but they do not have voting privileges. In addition to Kelm, two current board members have an affiliation with UWRF: Brian Forrest of Stratford, and Marty Hallock of Mondovi are both alumni.

As a strategic initiative, PDPW is proactively developing relationships with companies that have significant influence within the food system. During the March board meeting, the group defined key audiences and strategies for on-going education within the industry. In 2013, PDPW offered more than 60 days of educational programming for dairy farmers.

Another major strategic initiative for PDPW is how to bring the next generation into the dairy industry. PDPW already provides activities geared toward young people with their Youth Leadership Derby program for high schools students, and strong mentorship and internship programs for college students, while continuing to advance new model initiatives to meet this need.

Kelm served as chair for the Animal and Food Science Department at UWRF for six years and is currently the associate chair for the department. In 2002, he was honored by UWRF with their highest award, the Distinguished Teacher Award. He received the National Advisor of the Year Award from the American Dairy Science Association in 2000.

Kelm is excited about his appointment with PDPW. “I believe in and enjoy what PDPW is trying to put forward,” he said. “They have a progressive culture, go out of their way to try to meet the needs of all different types of producers, and have a smart board that does a good job of keeping the big picture in mind.”