PDP Dairy Summit Will Examine Protein Market Opportunities
Professional Dairy Producers has scheduled the 2026 PDP Dairy Insights Summit for December 1 at the Madison Marriott South in Madison, Wisconsin. The event is intended for commercial dairy-farm operators and agribusiness executives, and will examine developments across the food system, including protein consumption, dairy-ingredient research and the management of milk with higher solids content.
The programme will bring together industry analysts, researchers, processing executives, nutrition specialists and dairy managers. Kevin Ryan, founder and chief executive of Malachite Strategy and Research, will discuss changing consumer-demand profiles. Tom Benson, executive vice-president of Actus Nutrition, will examine the position of functional dairy ingredients relative to alternative protein matrices in commercial manufacturing.
Rebecca MacKay Allen, senior vice-president of global growth platforms at Dairy Management Inc., will present commercial partnerships supported by the dairy check-off that are intended to expand the use of dairy protein in quick-service restaurants and consumer packaged goods. Culinary dietitian Tessa Nguyen will discuss dietary frameworks connecting clinical-nutrition evidence with wider consumer eating patterns.
Animal science and farm management will form another part of the meeting. Dr Jeffrey Bewley, executive director of genetics and innovation at Holstein Association USA, will outline genomic-selection approaches focused on true-protein and casein yields per cow, alongside reproductive longevity and somatic-cell control. Jacob Guenzler of ProAGtive Dairy Nutrition will address ration formulation, amino-acid balance, rumen-undegradable protein efficiency and feed conversion.
Marlena Wagner, a fifth-generation Wisconsin dairy producer, will provide operational examples from Jagiello Dairy Farm in Lena, where she manages an 850-cow commercial herd. Her presentation will cover the use of breeding programmes focused on milk components in a commercial-scale operation.
The summit’s programme also describes the financial role of milk components. Federal Milk Marketing Order pooling formulas place greater value on higher butterfat and protein tests, while cheese plants and membrane-fractionation facilities require particular component levels for their manufacturing processes. The meeting will address how farm production specifications relate to processor requirements, including the use of spray-drying and filtration assets.
The conference has been accredited for up to 4.25 Dairy AdvanCE continuing-education credits. The accreditation is available to farm owners, herd managers and consulting nutritionists attending the event.
