‘Raising the Bar’ at 2020 AFAC Livestock Care Conference

Fresh ideas and insights on the latest farm animal care practices will take the spotlight at the 2020 Livestock Care Conference, hosted by Alberta Farm Animal Care (AFAC) March 18-19 in Olds, Alta. Registration is now open at www. afac.ab.ca.

This year’s theme is “Raising the Bar” with an agenda designed to both showcase and drive a broad spectrum of ongoing advancements.

A broad contingent of livestock industry and farm animal care community partners are expected at the annual conference, featuring industry leaders and producers discussing the latest farm animal care opportunities.

“Raising the Bar is a fitting theme for this year’s conference,” says Annemarie Pedersen, AFAC Executive Director.

“It reflects an understanding among livestock producers and the entire industry, of the expectation that we must collectively continue to seek ways to improve livestock care practices. We look forward to highlighting organizations and individuals that are doing just that.”

The pre-conference agenda on Wednesday, March 18, includes a “Tools for Difficult Encounters” workshop, the Meet the Experts session which connects students with mentors, and a Pub Night welcome event.

Thursday’s agenda begins with the AFAC AGM and then keynote speaker Dr. Frank Mitloehner of the University of California, Davis will kick off the conference, speaking on the importance of industry striving to improve and support best practices in one another, while also addressing bad actors. The agenda also features producer and industry panel discussions as well as the Awards of Distinction presentations and the latest research in dairy production.

“We look forward to celebrating the good work being done in Alberta’s livestock sector. We want to share examples that can serve as both models and inspiration for those attending the conference. This will include an emphasis on practical approaches that are good for the animals and are also economically sustainable,” says Pedersen.