Leadership. It’s a necessary skill not only for senior executives, but also for all those who want to strive for continuous improvement in the workplace.  The future of the dairy foods industry will rely on a new generation of leaders who understand and can overcome challenges that our growing sector faces and developing these future leaders is something that Cornell University and the International Dairy Foods Association is addressing through a collaboration known as the NextGEN Dairy Network.

In early October, IDFA teamed up with Cornell Food Science and Dairy Foods Extension to host the first-ever NextGEN Leadership Symposium.  The program gave an overview of the dairy foods industry from production to processing and marketing, while focusing on personal and professional development.

One of the highlights of the program was a tour of Walnut Ridge Dairy in Lansing, NY, where participants were exposed to daily operations on a modern dairy farm.  The group also went through Myers-Briggs Type Indicator profile training to discover how people with different personalities can interact in different environments.

Scott Thomas, 3M’s Director of Research and Development in Food Safety, discussed how innovation can revolutionize a company and ultimately lead to success. A variety of speakers from Upstate-Niagara Cooperative, Muller Quaker Dairy, Cornell University and IDFA covered different topics, highlighting the upstate New York dairy industry.

Forty-seven dairy industry professionals throughout the United States embarked on this leadership development journey in Ithaca, NY.  We are excited to announce that we will be hosting another NextGEN Symposium next year at Cornell University.  We look forward to seeing some of your team members here!