Today’’s the day, time to head north to Sioux Falls for this year’’s convention!  I”m finishing up a few things in the office this morning and then I”ll be hitting the road. 

One of the projects I”m putting the final touches on is the website workshop presentation Jen Indoe & I will be putting on Friday morning.  If you”re heading to convention, you should come by meeting room 1 of the convention center on Friday morning at 7 am.  We will have coffee & rolls along with our presentation of the Internet Services available through Holstein World and All Breed Access.   

*Special Note* If you”ve been on the fence about whether or not now’’s the time to create a website, here’’s a little incentive for ya!  We are offering a special convention discount of $50 off the cost of a website for the year.  Even if you are unable to come to convention, just send me an email (sschmidt@dairybusiness.com) by July 1st and you will qualify for the discount!

I”m really looking forward to getting out of the office and seeing some Holstein breeders this week.  If you”re not able to attend convention, stay tuned to holsteinworld.com.  We will try our best to keep you in the loop!  And remember, if you have anything you”d like to share on the blog, just drop me an email any time. 

 SOS

A group of Easterners have had quite the time trying to reach their destination these past couple days.  It has been reported to Holstein World that a group of national convention attendees planning on taking in the sites of the Black Hills, Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Corn Palace and other SD attractions with the Pre-Convention Tour have either missed, almost missed or their luggage missed the bus that left this morning.  Mechanical problems and an absent flight attendant are a couple of reasons for their rough start to National Convention.

Despite these trials and tribulations, it is assured to us by our SD Holstein hosts that the things they can control will be entertaining, enjoyable and fun!  They are really looking forward to hosting the convention this year and have quite the convention planned that will turn these sour lemons into some sweet lemonade.  For a look at this week’’s schedule, visit www.holsteinworld.com/southdakota2006.  We will be reporting on convention activities each day through Daily News on our homepage, this blog and the convention newsletter that we will be posting online.

Living in NW Iowa, I am really looking forward to the short 1 hour drive I have to convention headquarters in Sioux Falls:)  Best of luck and safe travels to my co-workers and convention attendees from across the U.S. as they make their way to this year’’s convention.  Can”t wait to see you there!

SOS

The All Breeds Blog is officially up & running!  This is our very first post so I thought I”d take some time to let you know a few things you can expect from this blog. 

1.  “Extra” information that would not be included in the Daily News.

2.  Bits & peices of miscellaneous information that any of our Holstein World/All Breed Access staff might like to share.  For example, it is a sunny, beautiful day here in Ireton, IA.  The morning temp is 60 degrees and the forecast calls for a high today of 84 degrees. 

3.  News from dairy enthusiasts around the country.  If there is something you read in the blog that you would like to comment on or something you would like to add, feel free to email me: sschmidt@dairybusiness.com. 

4.  Postings to the blog will be made daily and sometimes more than once a day.  So each time you are able to surf the Internet, you”ll want to plan a stop to holsteinworld.com to see the latest blog entry. 

5.  But most of all…expect the unexpected!  This is our first blog and we are really looking forward to seeing it develop.  Blog’’s have served as a unique way to share information online. 

This week in the All Breeds Blog you can look forward to hearing how the National Holstein Convention is going in Sioux Falls, SD.  We will be reporting frequently from convention with information like dairy bowl and dairy jeopardy results as soon as they are available. 

As I close this first blog entry, let me ask you a couple questions: What do you think of our blog so far?  What would you like to see us include in future blog postings?  Please take a minute to let me know!  Again, my email is sschmidt@dairybusiness.com.

Thanks & have a great Monday!

Sarah Olson Schmidt (SOS)