From innovations and top congress speakers to practical tuition
Dairy industry professionals who visit VIV Europe 2018 from around the world can find new products and solutions for their business in a special Smart DairyTech showcase that has been arranged as a feature of the show’s Welcome Hall. They will also have the unmissable opportunity to participate in a top-rated international congress and attend practical sessions at a Dairy Learning Centre.

Open on all three days of the show, the Smart DairyTech showcase hosted by VIV Europe presents innovations including the application of an Internet of Things (IoT) approach to dairy operations. GD Animal Health and Cynomys are two of the exhibitors sharing their product ideas in this field.

Wednesday 20th June 2018 is when the Global Dairy Farmers (GDF) Congress 2018/Western Europe arrives at VIV Europe. Participation in the full-day session is free of charge for anyone attending the show as a registered visitor.

GDF call their congress ‘From high tech and smart farming to short chains and added value’. Lecture topics lined up around this theme include the move towards data-driven agrifood business as viewed by Dr. Sjaak Wolfert, Senior Scientist Information Management & ICT in AgriFood at Wageningen University in The Netherlands (seminar 21st 16:00-18:00). Afterwards, a panel discussion involving Wageningen specialists alongside executives of major dairy production equipment companies Lely and Connecterra will delve further into the SmartTech/ Big Data Management universe.

Among other topics on the congress agenda will be market trends in the dairy sector, consumer behaviour, positioning a dairy co-operative and the challenge of achieving sustainability.

Learning centre offers interactive experiences
The two days 21st-22nd June bring the inaugural VIV Europe Dairy Learning Centre to the Welcome Hall. This is an initiave from VIV and the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, which is sharing its expertise at VIV Europe by moderating a two-day programme of short, practical and interactive sessions for compact groups of visitors on a free-to-attend basis. Expect know-how on the practices of milk production, extending from nutrition and reproduction to health management and welfare, imparted by experts from knowledge institutions — such as AERES University of applied sciences, Utrecht University and Wageningen University — and also industry partners including NEDAP Livestock Management, GD Animal Health and VES Environmental Solutions.

Also available during the second and third day of VIV Europe will be ‘Ask a Vet’, offering the opportunity to put questions directly to veterinary advisers and seek answers on healthcare that can help your dairy business to grow.

A growing show

All this will be on the agenda even before mentioning the fact that, on all three days, the exhibition section of VIV Europe 2018 contains a solid core of dairy sector suppliers. With a total of 600 exhibitors, the show is the top-quality global expo of the big names in farm equipment equipment, feed and health supplies, breeding materials and processing systems. Checking the exhibitor list at show website viveurope.nl finds 124 stand-holders with products or services relating to dairy cows and another 111 companies offering items for farms that have cattle or calves.

The previous edition of VIV Europe, held in 2014, had welcomed 20,212 visitors from 136 countries. A visitor survey at the time revealed that approximately one-third of the attendees were interested in dairy cow, beef cattle or calf management. Either they operated a farm or their occupation was connected to milk and beef production as an adviser, supplier or processor.

With an increase of 200 square metres compared with 2014, the new net display area becomes 24,500 square metres and will welcome an increased number of visits compared to 2014.

Clearly the dairy industry will be well represented among the exhibitors. The signs similarly point to another strong representation by the sector in the ranks of the attendees in June — testifying to the continued appeal of a global animal proteins platform that serves the world’s leading players with innovation, education and exciting opportunities to advance their business.