WHERE WE BEGAN.
IRDBF held its inaugural meeting and conference in June 2016 at Hamar Norway, hosted by Geno. Forty six delegates from seventeen countries gathered for this important occasion. A set of guidelines for objectives, structure, management, and member responsibilities was adopted.
A governing board of five members was established, three from Europe and two from the rest of the world. The board’s first task is to establish a Constitution for the federation, financial matters, social media presence, and membership base.
Official speakers at the conference presented information about genomic selection and statistical performance of the Norwegian Red Cow; cross breeding also featured. Another topic of discussion was improving the extender used in frozen semen storage. An interesting segment was economic and welfare challenges of dairy farming. Another segment analysed worldwide cost of milk production. A most interesting presentation on the work being done on feed use efficiency was also given, and was labelled the next big issue to follow health traits in dairy cow breeding.
The conference was largely held in the pretty regional city of Hamar on Lake Mjosa. The tours continued by road to Trondheim on the west coast of Norway, for some additional farm visits, and cultural experiences.