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The Dairy Calf & Heifer Association (DCHA) drew nearly 350 members from 27 states and seven countries to its 2025 DCHA Annual Conference and Trade Show, held April 8-10, in Westminster, Colo. With the addition of short courses and virtual tours, and continuation of simultaneous interpretation (English to Spanish), DCHA continued its quest to be one of the industry’s leading resources in networking, owner/manager and worker education, and improvement in raising dairy calves and heifers, and beef x dairy crosses. Attendees, who represented dairy calf, heifer and beef-cross raisers, dairy producers, veterinarians, academia and allied industry professionals, learned about heifer replacement economics, pain perception in calves, animal transportation, calf digestive challenges, managing financial risk, bovine respiratory disease prevention and treatment, prioritizing data metrics, communication strategies and leadership inspiration.
“DCHA is committed to providing exceptional professional development opportunities for dairy employees and managers,” said DCHA President Kendall Wassenaar, Orange City, Iowa. “Regardless of a farm’s location, size, business model or enterprises, every farm relies on people – from calf feeders to CEOs – to flourish.”
This year’s conference revolved around the theme “Ascend to the Summit.” “We celebrated the dairy industry’s strength and innovation, but also challenged DCHA members to seek improved results and continue their ascent toward excellence – yielding enhanced outcomes for all those involved in the dairy calf, heifer and beef-on-dairy businesses,” said DCHA Conference Program Chair Brian Wesemann, Furst-McNess Nutrition. “DCHA strives to be the ‘go-to resource’ for everything related to raising healthy calves, heifers and beef x dairy crosses. This year’s conference offerings strengthened DCHA’s position in this quest.”
During the DCHA Annual Meeting, members approved the 2025-2026 slate of candidates. DCHA board members are President Kendall Wassenaar, Orange City, Iowa; Vice President Kerry Yanez, Chowchilla, Calif.; Past President Clint Al-Ag, Friona, Texas; Northeast Regional Director John Balbian, Amsterdam, N.Y.; West Regional Director Jason Anderson, Bellevue, Idaho; Producers-at-Large Kolton Kreitel, Syracuse, Kan.; Rodolfo Nava, Portales, N.M.; Jim Van Patter, Beaver Dam, Wis.; and Brooke Vanderloop, Brillion, Wis.; Academia Director Joe Dalton, University of Idaho; Corporate-at-Large Directors Ellen Cushing, Hustisford, Wis.; Jorge Delgado, Andover, Minn.; Adam Geiger, Madison, Ga.; Mike Overton, Blairsville, Ga.; and Brian Wesemann, Burlington, Ill. David Casper, Freeport, Ill., retired from the DCHA board of directors.
DCHA thanks its annual meeting sponsors who contributed to the program’s success. The Diamond sponsors were Elanco Animal Health and Merck Animal Health. Platinum sponsors included Cargill and Zoetis. The Gold sponsor was TechMix Global. Silver sponsors included Anpario, Boehringer Ingelheim, DBC Ag Products, Diamond V, Esmilco, Inc. and Land O’Lakes Animal Milk Solutions. Bronze sponsors were Actus Nutrition, Agri-Plastics, Arm & Hammer Animal Nutrition, DairyMax, First Defense/ImmuCell, Hoard’s Dairyman Farm Creamery, Papillon Agricultural Company, pbs animal health, Phileo by Lesaffre and Zinpro. Media partners included American Dairymen, California Dairy, Hoard’s Dairyman, Holstein International and Progressive Dairy.
The Dairy Calf & Heifer Association (www.calfandheifer.org) was founded in 1996 based on the mission to help dairy producers, calf managers and those professionally focused on the growth and management of dairy calves and heifers. With a national membership of producers, allied industries and research leaders, DCHA seeks to provide the industry’s standards for profitability, performance and leadership, serving as a catalyst to help members improve the vitality and viability of their individual efforts and that of their business.
