The 2011 annual conference of The American Dairy Products Institute (ADPI), Elmhurst, Ill., and The American Butter Institute (ABI), Arlington, Va., runs April 24-27 at the Chicago Marriott Downtown in Chicago.

"The ADPI/ABI annual conference is a gathering that is truly unique in the dairy industry,” says Greg Dryer of Saputo Cheese USA, Inc., Lincolnshire, Ill. Dryer is ADPI’s incoming president. “This meeting is designed to facilitate doing business, and plenty of business gets done each year in Chicago. The ADPI/ABI annual conference offers excellent content, informative speakers, abundant networking and valuable opportunities to revisit existing business relationships and to establish new ones."

The conference, titled “Where the Dairy Industry Does Business,” will kick off with a panel of industry economists and experts, moderated by Mary Ledman of Keough Ledman & Associates, Libertyville, Ill., who will discuss the current outlook for dairy markets. Business valuation expert Allen Oppenheimer will examine how all dairy business owners and managers can create value in their businesses.

The butter industry session will feature the panel discussion “Looking Ahead - Future Dairy Policy Changes & World Outlook Perspective,” moderated by Irv Holmes of Challenge Dairy Products, Dublin, Calif. Panel participants will include Jerry Kozak, executive director, ABI; Mike McCully of Kraft Foods; Bill Curley with Blimling & Associates; and Tom Suber, U.S. Dairy Export Council and aDairy Foodscontributing columnist. The butter industry program also will feature a full lineup starting with a morning breakfast as Richard Field of Orrani Consulting, Madison, Wis., will analyze the current state of dairy markets in China. Then, Andrew Novakovic, chairman of USDA’s Dairy Industry Advisory Committee, will discuss his personal perspective on the prospects for meaningful federal order reform, a Dairy Industry Advisory Committee (DIAC) recommendation, which has not been widely discussed to date.

Jaya Kumar, president of PepsiCo’s $12 billion Global Nutrition Platforms will discuss why PepsiCo recently purchased the largest dairy company in Russia and how the company plans to triple its revenue from nutritious food and beverages by the year 2020.

Additional topics will include status reports on CCC surplus products, the new
Food Safety Modernization Act and other regulatory developments, as well as practical advice on dealing with food recalls drawing on the massive Peanut Corporation of America recall and tips on how your company can protect itself from financial exposure and legal liability.

Other events include honoring the recipients of ADPI’s Award of Merit and Jim Page Memorial Scholarship.Dairy Foodsproduct development editor Donna Berry will talk about innovative new products.

The complimentary social hours held each afternoon in the exhibit hall and the sizeable receptions held on Monday and Tuesday evenings will provide abundant opportunities to network with more than 750 senior level executives from manufacturers, marketers, suppliers, distributors and brokers of manufactured dairy products, industry analysts, journalists, key government officials and trade exhibitors. Tuesday’s reception will also allow attendees to taste test a variety of world championship cheeses.

To see the entire agenda and to register for the conference, go to www.adpi.org.
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The American Dairy Products Institute (ADPI) is the national association for manufactured dairy products. ADPI's main purpose is to promote the acceptance and use of processed dairy products, both nationally and internationally by communicating the many positive health and nutritional attributes of milk-derived products. Additionally, ADPI serves its membership by representing the industry's interest in government and regulatory affairs, establishing product standards, providing technical assistance and marketing support, collecting and disseminating key production and utilization statistics, monitoring current dairy industry developments and collaborating with other dairy associations on issues of common interest. Current ADPI membership includes manufacturers of evaporated and condensed milk, dry milk, cheese and whey products; firms that provide supplies and services to processors; and many companies that either use or trade these manufactured dairy products or are otherwise involved in the dairy industry. For more information, visit www.adpi.org.