Herd'27
About
On behalf of the organising committee, we warmly invite you to participate in Herd'27 at the Novotel in Geelong on the 22-23 March. Herd'27 is a biennial conference with a program tailored to attract the herd improvement, genetics and animal performance industry. The meeting will feature a strong lineup of speakers from Australia and worldwide.
Herd'27 has a reputation for presenting exciting speakers at the cutting edge of dairy herd improvement, and the next forum will be no exception, with several world leaders on the program. Importantly, the Herd'27 gathering provides an opportunity for all interested in dairy herd improvement to unite, network and learn. We look forward to catching up with everyone in Geelong
Brought to you by Dairy Australia, NHIA, DataGene and Holstein Australia.
Full Registration (inc dinner) $360 | Early Bird $300 [Open until 31 January 2027]
Single Day Registration $200
Herd'27 Dinner $120
the program
Day 1 | Wednesday 22 March
11:00 am Arrival, Morning Tea & Registration
11:30 am Official Welcome - Conference Master of Ceremonies, Greg Duncan, Dairy Australia
11:45 am | From 2009 to 2045: Looking Back, Breeding Forward
Presenter: Dr Matthew Shaffer, Dairy Australia
12:10 pm | Directions in Breeding Programs and Bull Selections
Facilitator: Peter Thurn, DataGene
Panel: Dr Katie Olson, ABS Global, Jono Gleeson, Dairy Farmer and Trevor Parrish, Dairy Farmer
1:00 pm | An introduction from Zoetis
Sponsor Update: Daniel Abernethy, Zoetis
1.05 pm | Lunch, sponsored by Zoetis
2:05 pm | Diversifying Herd Recording Services
Presenter: Richard Miller, National Milk Recording, UK
2:45 pm | Turning Data into Better Herd Decisions | Part 1 - The Future of Herd Intelligence
Facilitator and Presenter: Dr. Stephanie Bullen, Dairy Australia - What do farmers want and need when it comes to herd-level decision making?
Presenter: David Chandler, Easy Dairy Automation Systems - Making data flow: Lessons from Australia's largest herd management software provider.
Presenter: Dr Matt Makin and Peter Best, Digital Dairy - AI-powered herd intelligence
3:35 pm | Afternoon tea, sponsored by Molbreeding
4:05 pm | Intro to AI - Rocco the Robot joins via Zoom
Presenter: Rocco the Robot, Robot for Hiire
4:10 pm | Turning Data into Better Herd Decisions | The Next Frontier - AI, Genetics and Herd Improvement
Presenter: Justin Walsh, Dairy Farmer - AI on the farm: A farmer's perspective
Presenter: Nick, Brasher, FarmWest - Putting AI and data to work for farmers
Professor Ben Hayes, The University of Queensland, QAAFI (Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation) -The future of herd improvement: Powered by AI
5:30 pm | Day One Wrap-up and Close
6:30 pm | Pre-Dinner Drinks, sponsored by Vetoquinol
7:00 pm - 10:30 pm | Herd'27 Dinner, sponsored by Elanco Australasia Pty Ltd
Facilitator: John Droppert, Bendigo Bank, Business & Agribusiness
Welcome: Lynnell Fisher, Elanco Australasia Pty Ltd
Day 1 | Thursday 23 March
8:00 am Arrival, Registration, Coffee and Mingle
8:25 am Welcome to Day 2 - Conference Master of Ceremonies, Greg Duncan, Dairy Australia
8:30 am | Trends Reshaping Genetic Evaluation
Presenter: Dr Sophie Eaglen, World Wide Sires
9:05 am | Beef on Dairy Opportunities
Presenters: Bec Barnewall, Dairy Australia - Calfways roadmap: Where are we at now?
Presenter: To be confirmed - Introducing the Trans-Tasman beef on dairy multibreed evaluation
9:40 am | Reproductive Performance
Presenter: Dr Paul Fricke, University of Wisconsin-Madison (online) - Getting cows pregnant: The science and practice of reproductive management
Facilitator: Kristen Davis, Dairy Australia - Timing is everything: AI, activity and ovulation
Panel: Dr Paul Fricke, Expert Dairy Scientist from University of Wisconsin-Madison, Chris Kendall, National Repro Consultant and NHIA AI Teacher (Beef and Dairy) from World Wide Sires, Dr Alex Ball, Expert Beef Repro Consultant from World Wide Sires and Ben Warnett, Repro Consultant from Profitabull.
10:40 am | Morning tea
11:10 am | From Tank to Pregnancy - Why Industry Standards Matter
Presenters: Sara Merckel, NHIA and Paul Kenny, Paul Kenny Cattle Artificial Breeding Consultant
11:30 am | Breeding Great Herd Replacments and Managing them to Maximise your Return on Investment
Facilitator: Emily Piper, DataGene
Presenters: Andrew Cavill, Corobina Dairies - Extracting the benefit from genomic testing
Presenter: Peter Thurn, DataGene - Breeding for reduced stature
Presenter: Phil Keegan, Apiam Warrnambool - Growing heifers to met your goals
12:40 pm | An introduction from Nybro
Sponsor Update: Marty Rowlands, Nybro
12:45 pm | Lunch, sponsored by Nybro
1:45 pm | NHIA Market Survey
Facilitator: Dr Alex Ball, World Wide Sires
Panel: Geoff Wood, World Wide Sires, Tyson Shea, Semex, Bruce Ronalds, ABS and Hilary Lunn, LIC
2:20 pm | Integrating IVF into your breeding program
Presenter: Helen Thoday, Trans Ova Australia - How IVF van enhance your dairy operation
Presenter: Brett Sweetnam, Inventia Genetics Technologies - IVF lessons from the beef world
Presenter: Nathan Shannon, Shannon Pastoral - How IVF works in a large herd environment
3:30 pm | Rocco's Wrap Up - The Future is in Good Herds
Rocco the Robot brings Herd'27 to a close with alight-hearted look at herd improvement's past and future-and how AI can work alongside people, data and science to help dairy innovation thrive.
3.40 pm | Official Close, Light Afternoon Tea
View the full program here
ACCOMMODATION
The Novotel Geelong is the official conference venue for Herd’27, 22–23 March 2027, offering delegates the convenience of staying onsite, with conference sessions, networking opportunities and accommodation all in one location.
Situated on Geelong’s beautiful waterfront, the Novotel is within easy walking distance of restaurants, cafés and local attractions.
We encourage delegates to book early to secure their preferred accommodation, as rooms are limited and availability cannot be guaranteed.
Delegates are responsible for arranging and paying for their own accommodation.
our sponsors
Thank you to the invaluable sponsoring partners of Herd'27
Keep a look out on Facebook for our Herd'27 updates. (need to update)
