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Dairy Iowa, a partnership between individuals and organizations invested in Iowa’s dairy industry, will hold its annual June Dairy Month event June 8 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Heartland Agribition Center in Independence. The meeting’s keynote speaker is Kevin Murphy of Food Chain Communications, addressing the challenges faced by the dairy community from misinformation and extremist attitudes, and how to respond.

The day’s events are concurrent with a youth communications workshop presented by Midwest Dairy. All Iowa dairy youth enthusiasts are encouraged to attend.

The program includes a panel of dairy farmers sharing their labor-saving and value-added efforts, as well as roundtable discussions among many of the groups who work on behalf of dairy throughout Iowa. In addition to Midwest Dairy and the Iowa State Dairy Association, participants will include the Western Iowa Dairy Alliance, Northeast Iowa Community College, the Coalition to Support Iowa’s Farmers, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, and Iowa State University.

In addition, the meeting will host the presentation of the annual Ralph Keeling Awards given to individuals dedicated to Iowa’s dairy legacy, and scholarships presented by Midwest Dairy Association and the Iowa State Dairy Association.

Those wishing to attend may visit IowaDairy.org for more information, or may contact Mitch Schulte at mschulte@midwestdairy.com or 319-775-3451.