A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to spend my week working at World Dairy Expo as a media professional. Getting the chance to experience Expo prior to this was always considered a treat, especially while in middle and high school. Travelling two and a half hours from home to Madison was a big deal at the time back then but seems so miniscule now that I have gotten to see parts of the country that I never thought I would get to. It was eye opening to navigate Expo through a different lens this year.
Younger me enjoyed having the chance to get out of school for a day to travel to Madison for FFA day at Expo. Surrounding FFA’s also got to go, so this was even more incentive to explore the grounds with friends that I didn’t normally get to see. Strolling around the grounds and the tradeshow while getting to watch big scale cattle shows was truly eye opening. I never would have dreamed that I would have gotten to cover World Dairy Expo through the scope of media years later.
Fast forward to this year, you never fully realize how much work goes into big events like these until you look behind the scenes, and holy cow – there is a lot of it! This event takes months if not years to prepare for, and everyone that has a hand in helping deserves a pat on the back. Getting to know industry professionals on a deeper level and gaining a better understanding of what goes on in the dairy cattle showing world was some of my favorite parts about Expo. Reporting on the media side of things brought me back to my childhood days when I attended Expo, someday dreaming of working at the world-renowned event.
After a long week filled with eating grilled cheese and drinking milk to my heart’s content, I was happy to get a moment to relax, but most importantly to reflect on what a full circle moment the entire week was. Younger me would be proud of myself. I finally did it.
Jenna Byrne is an associate editor for Hoard’s Dairyman. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville in 2022, majoring in agricultural business with an emphasis in communications and marketing. She grew up on her family’s dairy farm near Neillsville, Wis.
