Raising the Roof is a biannual fixture on the Australian dairy calendar, bringing together dairy farmers looking to invest in housed systems and looking to learn the world’s best practice.
This year’s event will be held at Riverlinks Eastbank in Shepparton, Victoria from May 20 to 22.
Raising the Roof will be held over three-days, and like the last event, over 300 people are expected to attend.
The event includes international experts at the forefront of cutting-edge technology and innovation, and will include in-person and virtual farm visits.
The latest resources and insights into feed pad and contained housing infrastructure are also a highlight.
There is also an opportunity for networking with like-minded peers and industry stakeholders.
Some of the topics covered will include:
- Calf facilities
- Maternity facilities
- Animal health - such as heat stress and reproduction
- New types of facilities coming to Australia
- On-farm climate and energy initiatives
- Nutrition management in PMR and TMR systems
- Managing effluent
- Getting your team right
- Planning for success.
Guest speakers include:
Dr Gordon (Gordie) Jones is a globally recognised dairy performance consultant with more than 40 years of experience.
Dr Jones specialises in cow comfort, housing design, herd productivity and dairy management.
He has worked with dairy producers, veterinarians and nutritionists across the United States, and internationally, and has played a key role in the design and development of large-scale dairies, including Fair Oaks Dairy.
He is also a partner in Central Sands Dairy, a 3500-cow operation, and was named one of Progressive Dairy’s most influential people in dairy.
Noel Kelly is founder of Creva International from Galway in Ireland.
With more than 20 years of industry experience and a lifetime connected to farming, Noel works globally to deliver practical, long-life solutions in cow comfort and calf rearing.
Through Creva International, he supports large-scale farm projects, distributors and partners across international markets, with a focus on durable, hygienic and easy-to-install systems that improve performance on farm.
Oliver Moore is the senior vice-president of the New Equipment Division (UK) GEA Farm Technologies.
With more than 21 years in the global dairy industry, Oliver brings deep expertise in automation, equipment design and large-scale dairy systems.
Jurgen Steen is GEA Farm Technologies' national sales manager for Automatic Milking Systems.
With 28 years of international experience and more than 200 farm automation transitions, Jurgen is known for his practical approach to designing future-ready milking systems.
Dr Mario Mondaca is a senior technical application and research engineer for VES-Artex in the US with expertise in heat stress and dairy cows.
Dr Mondaca has done extensive research into the psycho-environmental relationships between the cow, the facility, and the environment.
His knowledge of engineering and cow comfort allow him to bridge the gap between animal specialist, facility designers and engineers.
Nigel Cook is a director of the US-based Dairyland Initiative and a professor in food animal production medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
His sessions will be focused on maximising cow comfort and transitioning so that cows can rest when they want to for as long as they need to, so we can maximise health and productivity
Other speakers include Mike Ryan (Eagle Direct), Tom Farran (Farmanco), Christian Bannan (South East Soil and Water), Clare Fitzpatrick (Progressive Rural Solutions) and Janine Price (Scolexia).
More than 300 people participated in the last RTR, held over three days at the Hunter Valley in 2024, where attendees heard from industry leaders and global experts about industry best-practice in feeding and housing infrastructure.
Tickets can be found at https://tinyurl.com/4wwcdm7a